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Category Archives: Skincare

The (Alternative) London Fashion Week Kit

BLISS softening socks1 The (Alternative) London Fashion Week KitLondon Fashion Week is upon us and that undoubtedly means that the internet will be overflowing with suggestions for a beauty kit needed to survive the relentless schedule of shows, launches and parties.

They’ll go something like this; blister plasters for feet which have trekked all over London from dawn till dusk. Caffeine tablets to prevent eyelid drooping. Nail polish for touch ups on the go. Anti-fatigue foundation. Sweets or biscuits, because there’s never enough time to eat. These guides contain invaluable nuggets of information for fashion week newbies and will undoubtedly remind you to stuff something or other into your handbag in a last minute panic.

Wait, what’s that… you’re not one of the privileged few going to London Fashion Week? Darn, those designers can be mighty forgetful when sending out the invites. Worry not; I have the perfect alternative LFW beauty kit for us mere mortals who will be sitting at home instead of on the front row.

origins high potency night a mins The (Alternative) London Fashion Week KitGet your beauty sleep and make it count. You don’t need to be partying with the fash-pack till 4am and rising at 6am, so cash in on those hours of snooze time and make them work for you. Origins High Potency Night-A-Mins is not only moisturising but it alos contains Vitamins C, E and H and it resurfaces skin cells. So, you don’t just look rested when you wake up, but completely revitalised.

Sebastian Penetraitt Masque The (Alternative) London Fashion Week KitConsider giving your hair a luxurious treat. Apply some coconut oil through the lengths and ends of the hair then apply a deep conditioning treatment such as Sebastian Professional Penetraitt Treatment Masque over the top. Stick it into a bun to keep it out the way and leave for as long as you can before shampooing… We’re talking a couple of hours here. It won’t look pretty at the time but that’s just fine seeing as we don’t need to worry about being papped outside Somerset House. The reward for waiting is worth it; enviably silky tresses here we come.

Finally, give your tootsies some love. They may not be hitting London’s pavements as hard as the Vogue staffers, but they still deserve some attention. Plump for some Bliss Softening Socks; the gel lining inside these wonders pushes moisturising oils into tough, rough skin. Wear them around the house with abandon whilst feeling sorry for editors hobbling in their Manolos.

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Dollface Reviews: Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX Temporary Face Tightener

peter thomas roth temporary face tightener Dollface Reviews: Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX Temporary Face Tightener

If you read my other blogs, you may know that I’ve just come back from a three week holiday in California (hence the ducks in the photo above, which are from our hotel in San Francisco.), and you know what that means: SEPHORA.

I paid a few visits to Sephora while I was gone, but the very first thing I purchased there – and quite possibly the best, too – was this: Peter Thomas Roth’s Instant FirmX Temporary Face Tightener.

This is a product which had been on my wish list for a long time: I’d read numerous reviews of it, and most of them seemed to agree that it does what it says on the tube: tightens the skin on the face, instantly erasing fine lines, and even working on deeper creases, like the nasolabial folds (nose-to-mouth lines) or glabella lines (the “elevens”). Those are my main two problem areas, so I figured if this could make them look even a little bit better, it would be worth the $48.

Of course, what it also says on the tube is that this is a “temporary” fix. It’s basically a serum-like product which work almost like a glue: it will instantly tighten your skin, and it will instantly erase your fine lines, but as soon as you wash it off – or it wears off naturally –  things will just as instantly go back to how they were. “Fair enough,” thought I, and off I went to try it out.

As you can see, the product comes in a 100ml squeezy tube. It’s an opaque, white-ish serum, not as thick as a cream, and not as runny as a liquid, and because it’s very pale, it was completely impossible to photograph against my equally pale skin, so here’s another shot of the tube instead:

peter thomas roth instant skin tightener review Dollface Reviews: Peter Thomas Roth Instant FirmX Temporary Face Tightener

You’re welcome.

I was desperate to try this, but was wearing makeup at the time I bought it, so I had to wait until the next morning, at which point I cleaned my face as normal and then, following the instructions, applied a thin film of the serum over my face, and tried to remain as expressionless as possible while it dried.

(Aside: I found this quite difficult. I figured they want you to remain expressionless so the product “freezes” your face as smoothly as possible, but it was almost irresistible to me not to pull some awful face and find out if it would stay like that. I AM only about five, though…)

It just takes a few minutes for this to kick in, and boy do you know about it! You can really feel the skin on your face tightening: it’s not painful or unpleasant, but it IS a little strange – I was almost afraid to look in the mirror, because it felt like my face was going to have dried into some frozen kind of mask.

I did look in the mirror, though. And…

WOW.

It. Works.

No, really, it does. And I know what you’re thinking, because trust me, I didn’t really expect it to work either. But this product totally erased my lines, even the nose-to-mouth lines, and even the “elevens”. I was completely amazed. In fact, I was so amazed, I made my husband and my mother try it too, and guess what? It erased their lines, too. About five minutes after you apply it, they just GO.

But.

Well, there had to be a “but”, didn’t there?

The product isn’t without its problems. Principle amongst these is that, as I said above, this is basically acting like a glue, which irons out the wrinkles and holds it there. If you’re not really, really careful, you will see this “glue” on your skin. Although it goes on transparent, it dries to a whitish film: on my pale face, it’s barely apparent, but on darker skin, like my mum’s, it looked much more obvious, and would require much more careful application. Even then, I suspect it may look a little odd unless you were putting makeup on over the top.

And about that… The first couple of times I used this, I put it on first, and then tried to apply my susnscreen over the top. (We were on holiday and out of doors all the time, so I was using a really thick, gloopy sunscreen.). This didn’t work out too well, because the sunscreen had to be rubbed in, and as soon as I started to do that, I found that I was rubbing the Instant FirmX OFF. I’d end up with a weirdly patchy face, with some areas showing this odd transparent “film” on the skin, and chalky white deposits around my nose and the corners of my mouth. Not a great look, and although the instructions tell you to simply pat water onto any areas where this happens, that didn’t seem to work with me, and I’d end up having to wash it all off and start again.

Eventually, I worked out that the FirmX was just as effective OVER my moisturiser/sunblock as it was underneath it. It still tightens the skin and gets rid of lines, but you don’t end up rubbing it off when you put moisturiser on, and if I’m very careful with the application of my foundation, it can be unnoticeable.

Note the word “can be” however. This does require VERY careful application. This morning, for instance, I tried to apply it in a hurry, without looking in the mirror, and ended up with those chalky patches all over my forehead: whoops.

In terms of how long it lasts, if I haven’t had to wash any of it off, most of the lines it removes will stay gone for the rest of the day. I do find, however, that the lines on the left-hand side of my mouth will start to reappear after a couple of hours, presumably because I’m using those muscles constantly (I have a weird habit of clenching my jaw on that side of my mouth, so the line there is deeper than on the other side). The line is much fainter than it is without FirmX, though, and every little helps.

So this is far from a perfect product, and it’s one that takes a LOT of getting used to: in fact, I’m far from used it myself, and I’ve used it a good few times now. I think it’s worth persevering with it, though – the skin tightening/wrinkle erasing effects are definitely impressive, and if the brand was able to tweak the formula a little to get rid of the whitish residue it leaves on the skin, I can see this selling by the shedload.

Want to try it? Click here to get it at Sephora, or, if you’re in the UK, I found it here and here.

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Dollface Reviews: Lacura Face Care Multi-Intensive Serum

lacura multi intensive serum review Dollface Reviews: Lacura Face Care Multi Intensive Serum

I promised a review of this a couple of weeks ago, but didn’t get round to it, so as you can see from the photo, my particular bottle of Lacura’s Multi-Intensive Serum has been well used since then. As you can also see, it’s taken to skulking around in the garden since then. Weird!

Anyway, as some of you may remember, this product was the subject of intense press interest when it first came out, because it costs just £3.49, but is said to have an almost identical effect to the much more expensive Protect & Perfect by Boots, which sold out instantly upon its release, and has continued to sell well ever since.

Now, I’m a big fan of Protect & Perfect, which is one of the very few products which actually makes an difference to my skin, and I’m also a big cynic when it comes to skincare claims (although a hopeful one: I never really expect skincare products to do what they say they will, but I buy them anyway, because hope dies hard when you’re ageing as fast as I am.), so I paid very little attention to the media frenzy surrounding the Lacura product, and proceeded on my merry way. In fact, when it dropped through my door one day last year, I simply stuffed it into my “to be reviewed” drawer and continued to work my way through the various different lotions and potions that had already made it from the drawer to the bathroom cabinet.

All I can say to that is: sorry, Lacura. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. I should have listened. Because this? This cream has been a complete revelation to me. Quick science bit first:

“Lacura Multi-intensive serum is a light cream gel which has been developed in accordance with the latest scientific research. The special combination of ingredients includes Vitamins E and C, Shea Butter and Macadamia Nut Oil. Its moisture complex has a 24 hour effect to help improve the skin’s elasticity. When used regularly the skin feels noticeably smoother and tighter.”

I started using it about… a month ago? Six weeks ago? As I said, I wasn’t really expecting much, so I’m not really sure. For about two weeks, I didn’t notice any difference at all, although I didn’t have anything bad to say about it either. As you can see from the image, it comes in a glass bottle, very much like the original Protect & Perfect, with a pump action dispenser, and the product itself is a light, white coloured liquid, which is neither runny nor thick:

lacura multi intensive serum Dollface Reviews: Lacura Face Care Multi Intensive Serum

It goes on smoothly, absorbs easily, and has a strong, sweet scent which isn’t unpleasant, but which gets a bit wearing after a while, I find. Honestly, though, if I didn’t know what it was, I wouldn’t have been able to guess it was a £3.49 cream and not a much higher-end product.

After two weeks use, morning and night, I was sitting at my desk one morning, and I found myself absent mindedly stroking my cheek. “So soft!” I thought. “So smooth!” And it was. A quick bit of background here: my skin has always been fairly clear, but it’s never been without its issues – I don’t ever really find myself thinking positive thoughts about it, let’s put it that way. After a couple of weeks of this, though, I could really see – and feel – a difference. My skin felt much, much softer, and was also much smoother and tighter, which meant that makeup went on better and looked better once it was on. Basically, it makes exactly the same difference to my skin that Protect & Perfect makes, and which I’ve never really found in other product. (In the interests of fairness, I should probably point out that it’s been a few months now since I last used P&P, and I don’t have a bottle of it in front of me to make a direct comparison, so I’m working purely from memory.)

As for fine lines… they’re still there. I’d have been utterly amazed if they weren’t. Honestly, I don’t really believe there are mere skin creams out there that can totally get rid of wrinkles. (If there are, I’ll buy them, though.) For me, though, it’s not really the fine lines that bother me. I find skin quality, sagging, and loss of volume to be much more ageing than the odd fine line, and while this product won’t do a whole lot on the last two on that list, it does make a big difference to the quality of my skin: I’ve even been using it around the eye area, where I have skin like dragon hide, and have noticed an improvement.

Overall? I can’t think of a negative side to this. I will definitely be buying again, and as it’s so cheap, I’ll probably be stocking up on it: it can be used either on its own or under your usual day/night creams. Personally, I’ve just been using it on its own, because I don’t feel I need anything else. I also use it on my hands and neck – thankfully the price isn’t a barrier to using as much of it as you like.

I should probably also add here that a couple of weeks ago I switched from this to the ‘Premium’ version which I wrote about earlier this month. It may be a bit too early to tell, but so far I actually like the original better: the effects are much the same, but the Premium version feels much greasier when you apply it, and the packaging feels cheaper. I will persevere, though!

Unfortunately, this isn’t available to purchase on line, but you can find your nearest Aldi here.

lacura skincare review Dollface Reviews: Lacura Face Care Multi Intensive Serum

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Lacura Naturals Premium Anti-Ageing Serum

lacura naturals face serum Lacura Naturals Premium Anti Ageing Serum

Aldi’s currently have some Mother’s Day specials in store from their skincare line, Lacura, but actually, these offers couldn’t have come at a better time for me, either: I have a review of Lacura’s Skin Serum planned for next week, and let’s just say that if this new premium version from the Lacura Naturals line is anything like as good as the original, Mother’s Day shoppers will have to fight off ME before they can get to it.

Luckily, they won’t actually have to, of course, because Aldi were kind enough to send me a bottle of the stuff to sample, and I’ll be doing that ASAP. In the meantime, you might also want to check out the Naturals Day & Night Creams (£4.99 each) (containing ingredients like sandalwood and rice butter to keep the skin soft without irritating it), or the Eye Cream (£4.99) or Hand Cream (£2.99), which contain similarly natural ingredients.

The Face Serum, meanwhile, contains ginger, which Lacura say is able to relax muscles, hopefully helping to ease those expression lines that are currently the bane of my life. It’s also £4.99, and all are available from Aldi. Look out for a couple of reviews from me soon…

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Dollface Reviews: Frownies Forehead and Between Eyes anti-wrinkle patches

frownies anti wrinkle patch review Dollface Reviews: Frownies Forehead and Between Eyes anti wrinkle patches

As I mentioned earlier this month, I’m currently engaged in a fight to the death with the attractive (not) set of pillow lines I’ve managed to acquire through years of sleeping in the same position every night, with my forehead crushed against the pillow. My first line of defence in this ongoing battle was the purchase of a box of Frownies Forehead and Between Eye Patches, which I’ve been diligently applying to my forehead (almost) every night since they arrived.

Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with Frownies, they’re little cardboard stickers, as shown above, which you tear off, dampen, and stick to your head. Yes, I know that sounds a bit bizarre, and, indeed, it looks a bit bizarre, too – in fact, even although I’ve been using these for a couple of weeks now, Mr Dollface still has to stifle a laugh every time he sees me with one stuck to my temple. The idea, though, is a good ‘un: once attached to the skin on top of the wrinkle you’re trying to remove, the Frownie will keep the skin taught, and prevent the line from forming while you sleep, simply by preventing your face from forming the expression that caused the line in the first place. Over time, they claim to remove lines altogether, making them a much less intrusive/expensive alternative to treatments like Botox.

So, do they work?

In a word, yes. And no. Let me explain…

 I’m mostly interested in using these to smooth out the pillow lines on my forehead, and prevent me from waking up every morning with a couple of train tracks on my face. (I’m also going to be trying them on the dreaded “11s” between my eyes, but for now I’ve been sticking to the pillow lines). Every night, I apply my Frownie before bed. When I wake up, as promised, the two lines that have become the bane of my life aren’t there: this is very, very good news for me, because previous to this, those two lines were very visible first thing in the morning, and still visible (although much less so) for the rest of the day. Now, while I can still see a very faint trace of them, they’re no longer visible at first glance, which is great.

The problem is, however, that instead of my usual two lines, I’ve been waking up in the morning with a NEW line. This is another pillow line, and it forms where one edge of the Frownie makes contact with the skin on my forehead. What’s obviously happening is that while I’m sleeping my head is pressing against the pillow, and that’s forcing the skin up against the edge of the Frownie, thus creating an all-new pillow line. This line, to be fair, is one that vanishes almost right away, so it’s not a big deal right now, but I tend to think that if I keep on using the Frownies, it will deepen over time, and I’ll have simply succeeded in moving the pillow lines to a different part of my face. This leads me to suspect that while Frownies do seem to be pretty good at erasing lines (at least for a little while), they may be more effective for expression lines, such as “the elevens”, than they are for the type of pillow lines that are caused by lying on your side. I’ve also noticed that if I miss a night, the lines will be back with a vengeance: Frownies say that once the line has completely disappeared, you can stop using the patches, but in this case I think the lines would just re-f0rm as soon as I stopped.

To break it down:

THE PROS:

  • Successful at getting rid of lines overnight.
  • Much less expensive than treatments like Botox, etc.
  • Easy to use.

THE CONS:

  • Created a different (albeit temporary) line where the patch meets the skin.
  • Would require continuous use to keep my particular lines at bay.
  • Not the most attractive thing to wear, especially for those of you who don’t sleep alone.

Dollface’s verdict: A good quick-fix for expression lines, although they’d probably be most effective as a preventative measure.

I bought my Frowies direct from the manufacturers website, where they’re currently £17.50 per box. This is a box of 144 patches, though, and I normally only use one or two per night, so they’ll last a long time, making them very good value. You can click here to buy a box.

Anyone else tried these? What did you think?

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Dollface Reviews: Skin Doctors Instant Eyelift Eye Lifting Serum

skin doctors instant eyelift serum Dollface Reviews: Skin Doctors Instant Eyelift Eye Lifting Serum

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time at all, you’ll probably know that I have a bit of an obsession with my under-eye area going on at the moment. This means I’m more or less willing to try ANYTHING that claims to make that area look better, so when the lovely people at Fragrance Mad offered to send me something from the Skin Doctors line to review, Instant Eyelift was my product of choice.

In retrospect, this probably wasn’t my wisest move ever, and, in fact, using this product has allowed me to realise that what I have under my eyes isn’t actually “bags”. Nope, they’re just very dark shadows. Sure, they may look a bit like bags, but it is but an illusion caused by the dark stripes that run underneath the eye sockets (or at least, they do when I’m not using something that gets rid of them – more on that subject next week), but they’re not, so an eye lift isn’t exactly what I need, as tempting as it sounds.

This is a shame, really, because if your eyes ARE in need of a lift, this product may well be of interest to you. This is a clear serum which comes in a pump-action dispenser, and is applied under the eyes to lift and smooth them. It’s an instant effect, but not a permanent one, so while it’s claimed that this will make your under-eye area look better within a few minutes of application, it won’t stay that way. In fact, it’ll last for about eight hours, before returning, Cinderella-like, to normal.

I’ve tried this a few times now, following the instructions on the box, which tell me to shake the bottle thoroughly and then apply a few drops of serum under each eye. Importantly, you’re not supposed to use your facial muscles any more than necessary while it’s drying, which will tale 2-3 minutes. What’s actually happening here, you see, is that the serum is forming a “film” over your skin, which will tighten it and hold it in place, creating the illusion of smooth, non-baggy eyes. In other words, it effectively “freezes” your skin in place, although the word “freezes” is misleading here, because a) it’s not cold and b) you will still be able to move the skin afterwards – it’s not going actually immobilise anything. The reason they tell you not to blink your eyes too much, or screw up your face, say, while it’s drying is that if you do that, it’ll just seal the expression lines you’ve just made in place instead, and no one wants that, do they?

Naturally, as soon as I knew I wasn’t supposed to move my face while I this serum was drying, that was ALL I could think about doing. I kept getting an almost-irresistible urge to screw my face up into the most grotesque shape possible, just to see what would happen. Well, you would, wouldn’t you? Thankfully, I managed to restrain myself, and sat out the three minutes with my face as expressionless as an ACTUAL doll face.  As I waited, I could feel the serum starting to take effect. It’s a curious kind of sensation, and a little bit like the feeling of a clay face mask drying on your skin: you can feel the skin tightening as it dries.

Once it was done, I looked in the mirror, expecting to see someone several years younger staring back at me. Nope, it was just me. In fact, I didn’t really see much of a difference at all, although I have to point out that this is probably because I don’t really have “eye bags” as such. From the tightening I could feel going on, I have a feeling this would have a much more obvious effect on someone who DID have pronounced lines or sagging under the eyes, although I’m curious as to what would happen at the end of the eight hours: does your face just suddenly dramatically collapse, I wonder, causing you to age instantly in front of whomever you happen to be talking to at the time? That would be… well, kinda cool, actually, as long as it wasn’t ME doing the ageing. I do enough of that already, thanks.

I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to wear makeup on top of this, as it basically creates a “film” on the skin. To my relief, though, my makeup went on as normal, so I was able to apply my usual trowel-load of foundation and under-eye concealer. (I still looked like a raccoon today, though. I seriously need to get more sleep.)

Here’s a before-and-after shot from the Skin Doctors site, to give you an idea of what this SHOULD do, and I just want to stress that this is NOT ME:

skin doctors instant eyelift Dollface Reviews: Skin Doctors Instant Eyelift Eye Lifting Serum

Pretty dramatic, huh? And this reinforces exactly why I’m still in the wrong age group to be able to really tell you whether this works or not: my eyes don’t quite look like the “before” shot yet, although just give me a few more months and I’m pretty sure I’ll get there.

If you’re there already, however, and you want to try this out, it’s currently £9.99 at Fragrance Mad: click here to order it.

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Dr Brandt Crease Release: a needle-free alternative to Botox?

dr brandt crease release Dr Brandt Crease Release: a needle free alternative to Botox?

I frown a lot. Oh, it’s not that I’m angry, you understand – at least, not all the time. Actually, it’s mostly due to the fact that my eyes are very sensitive to light, so I tend to squint and frown, even when I’m wearing sunglasses (which I do almost every day: people think it’s some kind of fashion statement, but it’s actually just that I don’t tolerate the light well. Perhaps I’m secretly a vampire?), and of course, the result of that is frown lines. Bad ones. In fact, the “elevens” between my eyes are becoming so bad that I can see them even when I’m not creasing up my forehead, and when Mr Dollface instructed me to “stop frowning” last week when I wasn’t actually frowning at all, I knew something had to be done.

Of course, the obvious answer to this would be Botox, but Botox is very expensive, and seems rather drastic, so instead I’ve been casting around, searching for something that might work without the risk of any unpleasant side effects. I’ll be honest: I have my doubts that such a product exists. I’m well aware that my glabellar lines (a.k.a. “the elevens”) are the result of me constantly scrunching up my face, and the only way to get rid of them is for me to STOP scunching up my face, and what kind of product’s going to do THAT, I ask you?

Well, Dr Brandt’s ‘Crease Release’ promises to do exactly that. According to the marketing material, it uses “gamma amino butyric acid” to “release the skin’s own muscle relaxers” and get rid of the kind of lines that are caused by repetitive facial movements. Effects are said to last for between 8-10 hours,  so this isn’t a permanent solution, but the company claim continued use will provide a longer-lasting reduction in wrinkles. Oh, and of course, it’s super-expensive, at £120 per pot. Ah.

I’ve done a bit of reading about this, and the reviews seem to swing wildly between people who absolutely swear by it, and say it reduces the appearance of even quite pronounced lines, and those who say it does absolutely nothing at all. That makes me relucatant to shell out £120 to find out which category I’d fall into, but as with all of these so-called “miracle” creams, if it actually worked, it could just be worth the investment.

Anyone willing to find out? Click here to buy it in the UK, or here to purchase from Sephora.

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Dollface Reviews: Rodial Glamtox Night

rodial glamtox night review Dollface Reviews: Rodial Glamtox Night

When I tell you this face cream costs £88, you’re going to instantly realise that I didn’t go out and buy it myself, but in the name of full disclosure, let the record reflect that this was sent to me last month, much to my excitement.

Now, if you have a very long memory, you may recall me reviewing Rodial’s Glamtox Peel at around this time last year, and loving it: in fact, it quickly went on to become one of my Holy Grail Beauty Products. When Glamtox Night arrived, then, I had very high hopes of it… but I must confess, there was also a little part of me secretly hoping it would turn out to be no good. Well, no one wants to find themselves suddenly dependent on a £88 skin product, do they? And when I remembered the lengths I’d gone to in order to extract every last, precious drop of Glamtox Peel out of the tube, I had a bad feeling that the little silver pot you see above was soon going to be making me want to spend a whole lot of money.

And did it?

Well, before we get on to that, let’s have a look at what it claims to do:

(more…)

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Dr Perricone’s Private Reserve Serum: yours for £595

dr perricone private reserve serum Dr Perricone’s Private Reserve Serum: yours for £595

Dr. Perricone’s Private Reserve Serum: it’s like one of those private members clubs that we ordinary mortals don’t even know exist, so exclusive is it. The story behind this serum is that it comes from the Doctor’s own private supply, which has previously only been available to a few famous faces: however, luckily for us, it’s now been made available at Harrods, so we can all sample it’s age-defying benefits.

Of course, I say “all”: given that this is priced at £595 for 30ml, I seriously doubt it’s going to be within the reach of most of us. In fact, you could argue that it’s not much less exclusive now that it’s being sold online. Still, I’m going to assume that for that price it really IS the miracle worker it claims to be, and those claims include anti-ageing, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant (a lot of “antis”, then), skin firming and collagen enhancing benefits, plus “a combination of five gold standard neuropeptides to improve texture, tone, firmness, radiance, smoothness, lines and wrinkles.” The blurb also states that your skin will feel firmer after just one application, which will certainly be reassuring after you’ve dropped almost £600ml on it. Personally, I’d want to look like Cheryl Cole after one application for that price, but I’m clearly not part of the target market for this in any case, so what does everyone else think? Would you spend £600 on a serum?

(Click here if you answered “yes”…)

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Dollface Reviews: Decleor Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse

decleor cleansing mousse Dollface Reviews: Decleor Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse

(Disclosure: this was sent to me as a press sample.)

Decleor is one of those brands I’ve only ever experienced on the rare occasions I’ve gone for a facial, so I was more or less a newbie to the brand when their Hydra Radiance Smoothing Cleansing Mousse landed on my desk a few weeks ago.

My first reaction was that this seems very similar to Liz Earle’s Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser: like the Liz Earle product, it comes complete with muslin cloths (two of them), which are used to gently buff the cleanser off your skin. The application is similar, too: you just add some water to the mousse, and then gently massage it on to dry skin before getting down to business with the cloth. It claims to be a three-in-one product in that it will:

1. Cleanse: duh!

2. Polish

3. Plump and hydrate the skin

I was most interested in the final claim, because I’m a complete sucker for anything that promises it’ll make me look younger, so it was with great excitement that I started using it about three weeks ago.

This comes in a pump dispenser, and doesn’t look particularly mousse-like until you add water, at which point it lathers up nicely (and smells nice, too). I’ve found that a little goes a long way: one pump is all I need to clean my face, so I suspect it’ll last for a long time, thus justifying the £27 price tag. (QVC, who sent me this, currently have it at an introductory price of £24, but they’ll only be selling it until May next year).

As far as cleansing goes, I’m fan of this type of “hot cloth” cleansing anyway, and I really liked this, the main benefit being that it cleans the skin really gently, so you’re not left with that dry, tight feeling you can get with some cleansers. It also leaves my skin feeling very soft, but, much to my disappointment, I can’t really see any difference in it other than that: there’s no reduction in wrinkles, anyway, so while this works well as a cleanser, I don’t see much evidence of “plumping”. I’d also read claims that it would remove even waterproof mascara, but that wasn’t the case for me, and I’m still using my regular eye-makeup remover with it. (With that said, I’ve yet to discover a cleanser that removes my mascara: I really wish I could, because it would save me some money and free up some space in my bathroom cabinet!)

Overall, this is a lovely cleanser, which is a pleasure to use, but which I probably couldn’t justify spending £27 on. If you want to try it out at the reduced rate of £24, however, click here to buy it from QVC.

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