Dr Nick Lowe The Secret is Out skin care range

As you may know I have been using the Liz Earle skin care range for quite some time and have been loving it - my skin has been calm, happy and unblemished.  I know it has it's nay-sayers but I have got on really well with Cleanse and Polish, I think for me the fact that it has got me actually cleaning my face properly has made all the difference.  Back in the bad old days - before I read Beauty Mouth (Ness - the link there is for you! xx)- I had decided that my skin didn't tolerate water well so used cleansers I could smooth on and tissue off.  My head spins round thinking about that now!  I my defence back then I was also wearing much less make-up, but even so it would explain why my skin looked pretty crap a lot of the time.  Muslin or face cloth, makes no odds but using a cloth gives your face a mini-exfoliation each time you cleanse and its this that I think is key to clear, happy, healthy skin.  

Soooo, whilst I loved the Liz Earle Skin Repair cream and the C&P I had decided that perhaps at 45 I should be looking more at preventing the affects of ageing than I was.  I have already mentioned Beauty Mouth, if you have never read Caroline's blog I urge you too, her credentials are massive and her knowledge more so, anything I know about skin care has come from reading Caroline's blog.  She wrote a brief post here recently and it was the point aimed at over 40's in her precis at the top that hit home!  I had no idea which products contained Vitamin A and what peptides were let alone where I could find them.  At this point I should say if I had a big enough budget I would just buy every product Caroline ever recommended - I don't, so I needed to find some alternatives that I could afford.  I am completely aware that in doing so I am no doubt buying products with less active ingredient than their more high end counterparts, but I figure its a start!

Necessary peptides - did a bit of googling and apparently Matrixyl and Argireline are the top peptides to instantly reduce appearance and creation of wrinkles.  Hylauronic acid is also hailed as being massive in helping the skin to restore mositure.  So next I googled "skin care Matrixyl Argireline" and up popped this Dr Nick Lowe The Secret is Out Anti-Age lifting cream.

Ta dah! contains the necessary peptides and costs £25 - bloody brilliant! It also has Vitamin A, C & E and an spf of 15.
I had a look at the full range on the Boots site, then on the Dr Nick Lowe site, then I did some further googling for reviews and found several including this one here which pretty much answered all of the questions that I had at the time.  I was in the car and off to Boots faster than you can say early on-set dementia.


To make things even better Boots were running their 3 for 2 promotion on skin care so for £53 I got the Lift and Repair Night cream (£27.56) and the Lifting Super Serum (£25.52) and I got the Anti Ageing Lifting Cream (£25.48) free!

I genuinely hadn't expected to see any visible improvement in my skin, anti ageing is all about the long haul after all, but I was actually very surprised at how much better my skin looked even within a couple of days.  My complexion was clear and even and whilst I am aware that this makes me sound nuts, I did look younger.  Maybe this stuff has something into it that seeps into your pores and then into your brain and causes delusions, I have no idea, but I could literally see a difference.  


I am using the Lifting Serum in the mornings after cleansing.  It does contain some Dimethicone, so if that is an issue for your skin you might want to avoid this.  You know when you apply a primer that is just Lancane in a fancy tube or any product that claims to make your skin instantly feel like silk  that you have just masked your skins texture with a heap of silicone? Well this doesn't feel like that, I can still feel my skin through it.  What they say about it:

The Star Ingredients

• Linseed Extract to improve skin's elasticity and firmness.
• A powerful Peptide Complex that visibly refines the skin's surface, fading expression lines .

Additional features and benefits

• Acai and Goji berries - extremely rich in antioxidants
• A powerful Peptide Complex that visibly refines the skin's surface, fading expression lines
• Vitamins A, C and E to help smooth, rejuvenate and protect the skin

I follow that with the Lifting Cream, this is a very heavyweight moisturiser that I can still feel on my skin - I apply it on my neck and decolletage as well - in the evening when I am cleansing.  I have dry skin and like this sort of heft in a moisturiser, I would strongly recommend going to Boots and trying this from the testers before buying if you aren't as dry skinned.  What they say about it:

• New generation peptides Matrixyl®, ChroNOlineTM and Argireline ® to help reduce instantly, and over the long term, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Hyaluramine® and Hydralys® to help restore the skin’s capacity to retain moisture. With time, the skin recovers its supple and elastic qualities.
• Anti Age Cranley Complex combining potent anti-oxidants Ferulic Acid, Pomegranate and Raspberry with Vitamins A, C and E.

In the evening I am using the Avene Emulsion reviewed here and then the Lift and Repair night cream, this is my absolute favourite of all the products. It has a body butter like consistency and an orange flower smell that I just love, its soothing to apply and the fragrance is so relaxing, if this was giving me warts I would still be tempted to use it! What they say about it:

This rich, readily absorbed cream works during the night helping to tone and firm the skin. The advanced tightening and hydrating formula with Sodium Hyaluronate, peptides and super fruits Acai, Blueberry and Pomegranate also helps to replenish and revitalise. With regular use, fine lines and wrinkles appear reduced the skin looks more youthful, fresher and more radiant.

I think by now you have got the gist of this post!  I am really loving this range and wish I had found it years ago.  I asked the kids for the Cleanser and am not completely loving it, it does seem to be more aimed at smooth on tissue off cleansing and I am not going there!  I think I am going to buy a balm cleanser too and then alternate between the last of my C&P, this cleanser and the balm to keep my skin in tip top condition.  From the range I'd like to try the Neck and Decollete firming cream too and maybe the Instant Face Lift too, just to see what happens *ping and I'm 9 all over again* maybe?! Has anyone else tried any Dr Nick Lowe products?  What did you think?  I am rushing around recommending this to anyone that will listen!

Top: Serum, Middle: Day cream, Bottom: Night cream

Serum ingredients:
Aqua (Water), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Glycerin, PEG-12 Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Alcohol, Euterpe oleracea Fruit Extract, Linum usitatissimum, Lycium barbarum Fruit Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Carnosine, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Sorbate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sorbic Acid, p-Anisic Acid, Tocopherol, Silymarin.

Lifting Cream ingredients:

 Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetearyl olivate, Dimethicone, Sorbitan olivate, Glyceryl polymethacrylate, Hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycans, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea butter), Phenoxyethanol, Polyacrylamide, Pullulan, Methylparaben, C13-14 isoparaffin, Parfum (Fragrance), Propylene glycol, Butylene glycol, Rubus idaeus (Raspberry) leaf extract, Cucumis melo (Melon) fruit extract, Ferulic acid, Propylparaben, Punica granatum (Pomegranate) extract, Sodium lactate, Algae extract, Laureth-7, Disodium EDTA, Phospholipids, Sodium benzoate, Sodium hydroxide, Potassium sorbate, BHT, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Retinyl palmitate, Quaternium-15, Caprooyl tetrapeptide-3, Dextran, EDTA, Tocopheryl acetate, Ascorbyl palmitate, Palmitoyl oligopeptide, Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7

Lift And Repair ingredients:

 Aqua (Water), Cetearyl ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, Cetearyl alcohol, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Polyacrylate-13, Punica granatum (Pomegranate) sterols, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene glycol, Cetearyl glucoside, Polyisobutene, Parfum (Fragrance), Salicyloyl phytosphingosine, Benzoic acid, Disodium EDTA, Isoquercetin, Sodium hyaluronate, Sodium lactate, Euterpe oleracea pulp powder, Polysorbate 20, Decarboxy carnosine HCL, Sorbitan isostearate, Dehydroacetic acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium hydroxide, Vaccinium myrtillus (Blueberry) fruit extract, Potassium sorbate, Sorbic acid, Hexapeptide-9, Benzyl salicylate, Hexyl cinnamal, Butylphenyl methylpropional, Limonene, Linalool, Alpha-isomethyl ionone.

Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturiser

Am about to confess to something weird, I have googled Liz Earle skin care for years, looked at the website, read glowing reviews and never purchased anything, in spite of knowing that it would be perfect for my skin.  Part of the reason is that on a limited budget I am terrified of making mistakes and when you could only purchase on line I was loathe to part with my cash - I like to have tried things on the back of my hand before opening the purse!  I also think a tiny bit of the reason is that I am weirdly envious of Ms Earle, I mean have you seen her? She looks so amazing. Which for anyone normal would have been reason enough to purchase anything and everything produced with her name on it.  I am clearly not normal!

Having known instinctively that my skin would completely love this cream I was still amazed by just how much!  I honestly don't think my skin has ever felt more comfortable.  I am sure that everyone has already tried Liz Earle Skin Repair cream and I am preaching to the converted but just a quick overview for anyone that hasn't!   The cream itself is dense and rich without lagging your face in oil, I have dry skin so bought the version for dry skin, often heavier creams for dry skin are not a great base for make up, this is not the case with this.  It soaks in well leaving my skin feeling calm and plump.

It smells like heaven, not an overly strong fragrance just a lovely comforting smell which helps to make it a pleasure to use.

Obviously its chock full of skin loving ingredients and if you have mature, dry, sensitive skin that needs a lot of moisture and love I strongly recommend you give this a whirl.

I am all about getting the best product for my skin for the least amount of money and for just £17.50 for 50ml this cream ticks all those boxes too.  Available on line here as well as in John Lewis and Liz Earle stores - dying to visit the one in Leeds!   

The Cleanse and Polish, Instant Boots Skin Tonic and Superskin Concentrate are all now on my list of things I really want to try!

If you are already using Liz Earle let me know what your absolute fave product is and I'll add it to my list! 

Superdrug Vitamin E All Over Body Cream

I was very kindly sent a tub of Superdrug Vitamin E All Over Body Cream to review.  I have to be honest and say that my general morning routine doesn't really allow for a great deal of slathering on of unguents and lotions, certainly not on my body, all the time goes on my hair and face - the bits people are going to see!  I do also feel that when you are not loving your body it often doesnt get the attention it deserves, so the arrival of this coinciding with my latest attack of the mighty weight issue was timely indeed!

The first thing that was apparent about this was that it is a mahoosive tub of body cream 475ml to be exact which for £2.99 is seriously barginous - a big tub of aqeous cream would be about the same price, but who would want to smear that all over themselves?!

So what do Superdrug have to say about this:
 

Give your skin an intensive hydrating treat every day with this all over body cream that's rich in naturally soured Vitamin E. Non-greasy and easily absorbed, it will moisturise, soften and smooth your skin to leave it feeling refreshed and looking radiant. Our naturally sourced vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which revitalises and protects the skin, helping to combat the damaging effects of the environment and prevent premature ageing.

So no terrific claims that it will rid your body of cellulite or make your more toned, just that it will hydrate and moisturise and I have to say it does the job very nicely!  I hate putting on body cream and then finding that it leaves my skin feeling greasy and you have to haul your jeans up over oil slick legs, yuk!  This soaks in really well and left my skin feeling soft and very comfortable with a light, delicate scent that wont upstage your perfume but just smells clean and light, lovely.

The only downside to this for me was that the tub has no seal, either external or underneath the lid, that said it wouldn't be hard to tell if a tub had been played with and for £2.99 you cant have everything!

You know that great big tub of cream that you keep by the bed and smooth onto elbows and knees at bed time, or rub into your cuticles cos your hand cream is still in the kitchen, or grab big handfuls of when you skin suddenly feels dry and tight?  This is the perfect big tub of cream! Its cheap enough that you can be generous without breaking the bank and nice enough to use that you want to be generous with it!

 

Superdrug Optimum Swiss Apple Cream

What is it with Superdrug?  I just never think its a good as Boots and that anything of their own brand is going to be rubbish compared to the same product produced by Boots. I think its called being a snob?

So I was in need of a moisturiser and I was in Superdrug and spotted the day cream version of the much hailed Swiss Apple night serum.  I am sure you have all heard about this so I'll precis. Scientists in Switzerland noticed that when the apple fell from the tree it didnt wrinkle as rapidly as they had expected so they assumed that something in the apple was preventing early on-set wrinkling.  Which leads me to conclude that a) Swiss scientists are horribly under employed and b) that they have really weird thought processes.  So having done some scientific stuff at the apple they drew out the magic ingredient and sold it to the people that make a serum that costs £245 and to Superdrug who make a serum that costs £11.99.  Which, frankly, is also pretty odd and makes me think that the Superdrug serum was once stored on the shelf next to the appley magic stuff but thats as close as it got and likewise the newly released £9.99 day cream would be similarly lacking in any kind of active ingredient.

Here is the back of the box so you can read the dramatic claims for yourself:

Some pretty big claims don't you think?To be honest it was the mention of Hyaluronic Acid that swung it for me as I am pretty sure I read somewhere recently that its fab.


I have to say that for £9.99 its as nicely packaged as some of the more expensive creams I have tried.  Nice heavy glass jar and I like that the jar was sealed with a foil seal - it is Superdrug after all where finding a product that 20 thirteen year olds haven't already slormed all over the faces can be a complete chore.

The cream itself has a nice dense, cushiony feel to it and is not in the least greasy and has no real scent, that I have been aware of.


If you are a regular reader - hi! - then you'll know that I have some rosacea and very sensitive skin so I was a little concerned that this would cause me all sorts of issues.  The very first time I applied it I was a bit heart in mouth, initially there was some slight sensation, that I thought was going to increase to stinging but which stuck at tingling.  I have been using the cream for 4 days now, morning and evening and as I have been to the gym 3 out of those 4 days have used it again mid-morning after my shower.  Folks something weird is happening - my skin has never looked better!  Now it might be that I have been going to the gym so much and all that sweating is flushing the crap out, or maybe its the healthy eating; all that fruit and veg.  Or maybe its this £9.99 pot of appley magic?  Of course it could well be all 3!

It isn't always the best base for make up as it tends to form a sort of paste on your skin, that balls up and rubs off when you smooth on make up, it doesn't happen all the time and nor does it happen everwhere but its worth applying it and letting it settle before reaching for the foundation.  I have very dry skin and its mattifying tendencies have left me a tad dry a couple of time too, easily remedied by popping on a quick dollop of some Avene cream prior to the foundation.


I have every intention now of purchasing the night serum to see how I get on with that as well.  I do think that a slightly longer test than 4 days is going to be vital to give a really balanced review of this, so will post again at the end of the month just to update you but so far I'm impressed.


Bloody hell, have just found that on the Superdrug site you can buy both the day cream and the serum for just £16.98 rather than the usual price of £21.98 - bargain and wish I had spotted this, or that they had it in store perhaps?! 

 

Botanics -

Having been blown away by the fabulty of the Botanics Cleansing Balm and cleansing brush I decided to give some of the other skin care products in the range a whirl.  Most of my skin care concentrates on moisturisation, hydration and dealing with the needs of my sensitive, redness prone general freak out of a face, the aging issue is overlooked.  And that worries me. Gawd knows the aging is an issue!

Deluded or what? "First signs of aging" having your bus pass is not a first sign of aging love ok - women in their mid 40's are slightly beyond that stage, but it was all they had in the anti wrinkle serum front on the display so it had to do.  I do like this, although I think its better suited to an oily skin perhaps, it is very mattifying and leaves your skin with a sort of velvety but not moist feel, making sense?  Whilst I dont actually believe that anything in a tube can erase existing lines I am ever hopeful that it can help delay the appearance of new ones!

I also don't really have a night time regime, apart from the usual cleanse and apply Organic Surge night cream so I thought perhaps adding something to help with radiance would be a good idea - ok AND it was 3 for 2 so I needed something else in my basket!  I like how this applies, it feels very comfortable, it has the effect of sort of sloughing off the dead skin cells on the surface of your skin, I apply it and then the night cream and I get that "peely" balled up stuff appearing as I rub in the night cream, presumably thats my inner radiance being revealed!

This however is the star of the show, I am loving it.  It is a really nice cooling gel that I am using morning and night and I have to say I think the skin around my eye is looking much fresher and plumper - I get very dry, papery skin round my eyes and this combined with the Avene Rich Eye cream has really helped.  I had wanted the eye and lip serum, they are still on my wish list, but as they weren't around I thought I'd give this a whirl and I am really glad I did.

 This is the anti wrinkle serum, top, the radiance serum, middle and eye gel, bottom.
The Botanics Ultimate Lift Eye Gel for mature skin is £6.12.  The First Signs of Aging Intensive wrinkle reduction serum isn't on the Boots website but was £9, or there abouts and the Radiance Night Renewal Serum is £9.18.  I have used all 3 of these for over a week now and none of them have caused any problems with my rosacea or skin sensitivity so I think they would probably be ok for people with similar skin to mine.

Have you used anything from the Botanics range that you think is overlooked and that more people should try, or anything that similarly isn't getting the love you think it should from any other range?  If so, share! 

Holiday Haul - part 2 Clarins

Duty free 5am, what else are you going to do but shop! Had cleared a purchase of Clarins Multiactive day cream with his nibs; I have tried all sorts and always end up coming back to Clarins for moisturiser, I know its high end but having used a splash of their sensitive skin toner, a squirt of body shop sensitive skin serum and a bit of eye cream I really only need a smidge of this to make my skin feel, and smell, fantastic!


I was having a peruse then as I have used nearly all my Eau Dynamisant, which is my absolute go to fragrance, year after year - its fresh, clean, crisp and makes me feel happy. The Clarins lady who was testament to the power of their products, 5am she's at work and looks fresh as a daisy, pointed out that the Eau Dynamisant was £22 on its own or £23.95 with a body lotion. Bargain, no decision to be made!


And then because I had now spent over £50 I qualified for this

which contained these

Result! I love the Clarins hand cream (although now thanks to Nikki's Nails it has a rival, more of that later!) the moisturising mask is lovely but at £30 for a full sized tube I would be hard pushed to justify a purchase, although when Em's skin dried out really badly on hols and I gave her a mini facial - she is SOOO blessed to have me for her mum! she loved this and did suggest splitting the price of a tube, so maybe. The lip gloss isn't my sort of thing ordinarily but this was lovely on holiday and whilst I probably wont use it much in real life I will hang on to it for a bit longer as it adds a nice non-sticky shine to my usual Dior lip serum stuff.

Back from hols

But nothing to report. The major downside of being broke is that I don't have money for lovely shiny goodies. I suppose I could blog about my duty free purchases - I got Clarins Multi Active cream, as a purchase that I had told Steve I was going to make and so did on my card and then a sneaky replacement of my Eau Dynamisant!! It was £22 for a bottle on its own or £23.95 for the spray and a free body lotion - you know which one I went for! And my hols got off to a flying start because having spent that much I got a free little make up bag with a mascara, lip gloss, face mask and hand cream. Ok so now I have to take photos of my haul and they can be my first post hol blog post.

Photos coming up v soon.

Am still on a mission for a pale lilac nail varnish too btw so maybe I can shake out all my pockets for enough shrapnel to get one in Leeds on Saturday!