With it being nearly Valentines day I have to confide in you, I'm harbouring an intoxicating and dizzying love for Oskia skincare, never having used it.
It all started with a spare hour I spent wondering around the beauty hall in Liberty's. I didn't mean to fall in love. I just did. I was actually just looking at the Korres stuff because they have a natural tinted moisturiser I wanted to investigate. And as I walked aimlessly around, perusing the various counters and shelves, I came across the understated seduction of Oskia, on an unassuming stand with no heavy promotion, no blazing signs nor annoying shop assistant to sidestep. Just subtle and beautiful and sleek. And expensive.
Oskia's ethos is nutritional skincare, with its fundamental ingredient being MSM. This is not a little sugary chocolate sweet, nor a messenger service by a computer giant. It's methylsulfonylmethane, a naturally occurring and most bio-available form of sulphur.
Known as the 'beauty mineral', it's found in plants and helps boost collagen production. It helps skin defend itself from the saggy and sad effects of ageing by bolstering itself with lovely, delicious plump new skin cells that make you look healthier and youthful.
But I won't know because I can't afford it.
To indulge my new found love I tested out the Perfect Cleanser, on my hand obviously, I didn't go rubbing it all over my face right there on the shop floor! And without having actually used it (properly) I can confidently say it is divine. It's like a very thick oil or a silky, milky balm. It's velvety. It's smooth. It feels nourishing. I did in fact want to rub it all over my face right there on the shop floor! But it would be better to use with water which does in fact turn it into a milk, removing dirt and all the rest for beautifully clean skin. It seemed a very luxurious cleanser and made my skin glow after tissueing it off with a bit of toner from somewhere else... (thanks Korres) It feels like it's worth every penny and every pound.
Equally the Day Cream is a silky lotion that for whatever magical reason did just convince me that it was going to to take my skin out for a good meal and maybe give it a kiss goodnight. A girl can dream.
Oskia say they use 98% natural or nature-identical ingredients. Although this suggests a little scientific synthesising, according to them, this means that we are talking about pioneering bio-active ingredients that are clinically proven to work. With nature comes a bit of science to formulate products that will support and rebuild skin cell health through the provision of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and glucides. These work to fight current and future signs of ageing. For the record the other 2% of ingredients are Eco-cert and Soil Association approved preservatives. So they certainly are doing their best.
One point that Oskia make, and one that I have been wanting to discuss on this blog, is that beautiful skin needs feeding like any other organ in the body. If we don't eat enough of the nutrients our bodies need then it shows. We feel tired, lack the ability to fight off infection and skin looks lack-lustre. Every organ needs nourishing on a cellular level and since the skin is the largest organ of the body it surely needs feeding. So they also offer MSM tablets you can take which support your skin from the inside too.
So, as I've mentioned, the products are expensive. If you're feeling rich or you are rich I very much recommend spending your money on products that approach skincare in this natural and holistic way. You could certainly pay a lot more for a lot less if you compare to other luxury skincare brands.
And if you are feeling particularly touched by this Romeo and Juliet style love-affair (I'm pretty sure the cleanser loved me too) then feel free to send me your purchases instead. All of you.
Oskia Nutri-Active Day Cream £52.00 for 30ml
Available from www.oskiaskincare.com and Liberty's
Great post Sarah :)
ReplyDeleteI think that the key fact most people forget is that the skin IS an organ. And one which we can actually see and thus will tell the tales of a 'life lived well' or a 'body treated badly'...
Our eyes maybe 'the windows to our soul' but our skin is the 'insight to within' water, water, water and as much 'love' as you can muster.....
I think of it as cost per wear - it applies to shoes and so should apply to skincare too!
Katy x