The use of a little research…...

This was originally going to be a very different blog post, after a lovely trip into London to visit the V&A, I couldn’t resist having a look in Harrods. I love the food court and just the general feel of departments stores although I have never brought anything! Of course had a wonder around the beauty department and came across this product…..

Bliss: pore-fector gadget. The new must have gadget, using low level vibrations to ‘power-wash pores and eliminate impurities like dirt, oil and debris’. The proof apparently is in the toner which ‘goes on clear and looks cloudy after use’.

The results from testers seem very convincing:

100% felt the tool cleansed their pores

88% felt the tool left skin deeply cleansed and fresh

82% felt that their pores appeared less prominent

Now just for a bit of background, I have 4 skin issues I am trying to tackle

1- Dry skin

2- Breakouts

3- Scarring

4- Blackheads/clogged pores

So going just on advertising this seems perfect, of course there was no way I was going to hand over £127 without a little research. On my tube journey back I was pretty convinced that I would be purchasing this over the DermaNew Microdermabrasion kit (and I know I have mentioned how much I love microdermabrasion/exfoliation) since the bliss tool implies that it targets blogged pores specifically. The woman at the counter tested it on my hand and it didn’t feel too harsh although I can imagine that it could be if you pressed hard enough (which I am sure anyone with blocked pores probably would!) Something the sales woman said that did worry me though (which I haven’t seen recommended anywhere else) is that it can be used over spots to ’squeeze’ them out, that doesn’t seem like a good idea in terms of spreading bacteria and of course risk of scarring.

Anyway, having come home it’s only taken me about 10 minutes of searching two websites to decide I will not be purchasing this. Makeup alley is great for customer reviews of every beauty product you can think of, with an average score of 1.5 out of 5 and another blog where the tester didn’t notice anything other than the skin looking a bit more refined there was no way I was going to spend £127 on this. The DermaNew is in fact a lot cheaper and I imagine I will end up buying that.

I do love the combination of technology/science with beauty and healthcare and there are a lot of these tools which I and many others would highly rate, but as with all these things there are always ‘bandwagon’ items which come out. Additionally I am always on the hunt for a bargain, and this may seem in contradiction with some of the beauty items I will end up talking about, but the fact is, of course there is always a mark up and profit element to these things but particularly with these 'fusion tools’ (ooo I made up that term!) I can see the value in the theory and practical making of the science behind them.

So my conclusion is, always do your research. We have so much information out there available for us for anything and everything, so there is no place for impulse buying and believing in a sales pitch.

Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask Review

The Montagne Jeunesse Renew You Microdermabrasion Mask is a exfoliating mask designed to give you visibly looking younger skin since it contains a ‘rich complex of natural anti-ageing’ ingredients.

Generally I love face masks (see last post) and exfoliators so as a combination for me this is perfect. The mask comes with two chambers, stage 1 being the exfoliator, containing mild fruit acids and microbeads which you gently massage over your skin for 2 minutes following your usual cleansing. You then leave the masque on for 10-15 minutes (I generally always opt for the longer time). You then rinse off and apply the second chamber, containing a post-perfecting cream.

This is my second purchase of this, each sachet lasts for around 3 uses, and although it recommends 2-3 times a week of usage, generally I only used it once a week. However I love this product and potentially using it as suggested will only give a better result. It has no real smell and the microbeads are not too harsh. When leaving it on your face it does not really harden and is easily washed off. Your skin then feels so smooth and you can visibly see a difference from the first use with your skin appearing brighter, ‘cleaner’ and clearer. I experienced no drying effect after using, and the moisturiser sunk in well to my skin and added to the smooth and soft feel. I think I will always continue to use this product in my routine. I never brought it as an anti-ageing product, more to add with reducing acne scarring and redness of my skin. However, I use multiple products to help with this so I could not say that the benefits I have seen I can attribute to this alone.

Overall I have nothing but praise for this, I think the only negative would be having to be careful with storage after first use since you will not use it all in one go, but that is only because I was searching for something to say!

Face Mask Junkie!! Montagne Jeunesse Haul

I love face masks and doing home facials, nothing for me says ‘chill time’ more than sitting in my room with a face mask on watching tv shows.

Just to show my latest purchases, I love the Microdermabrasion (renew you) exfoliator face mask by Montagne Jeunesse, however it is a bit hit and miss as to whether you find it in the pharmacy or supermarket so I ordered directly from their website along with a few other goodies I wanted to try.

I will do a review of the microdermabrasion mask in a separate post just to keep this short and sweet (I’ll try to put the link here!)

Other than that I ordered, the overnight moisture mask, which has 3 separate applications. I have used this before since I have very dry skin. Simply, you place the entire sachet on your face and leave on overnight where it vanishes away, using every other night.

I also ordered the whitening mask, really just to see if I can find a cheap mario badescu version! Again you apply overnight, rubbing the cream into selected areas. I imagine once you have opened it, the contents will be good for multiple uses (expect a review!).

Finally I ordered the sensuous spice mask, which along with other favourites comes as a 100g tube, advertised as being good for up to 10 applications. I am hoping this will be similar to a mask I love from Body Shop. Both these masks contain cinnamon and warm up on the skin. I saw great effects with the Body Shop version so again I am hoping this will be a cheaper alternative.

Please come back for reviews on all these products and please let me know below if you have tried any, or what your favourite face masks are.