Weleda Skin Food

I love a good meal. So you can imagine how happy it makes me when a product offers to feed my skin. Yum. Please sir, can I have some more?

One of Weleda's best sellers, Skin Food is an anything and everything product, providing extreme nourishment for deprived, dehydrated, dry, depressed and desperate skin. You can use it on your lips, on your elbows and knees, on your face for a super-intensive mask, on your hair to smooth over flyaways or dry ends. You can use it like a hand cream, a nail balm, or you can just smell it because it smells delicious, like you might just squidge it all over a freshly baked ciabatta roll.  (Don't actually do that)

Skin Food contains a very simple list of ingredients including sunflower seed oil and extracts of wild pansy, calendula, rosemary and chamomile to nourishes and protect skin. It does this so well that it has won 10 Awards in 2 years, apparently, most recently bagging Best Skincare Product in the Ethical Living Awards. And it has been around since 1926 as one of the first products made by Weleda. The old ones are always the best!

I have included this product for a while in my make up kit as a natural alternative to classic Eight Hour Cream, and I carry it in my set bag too - invaluable for quick fixes for the actors and even the rest of the crew too. You always get someone wanting lip balm or hand cream. And they always come back for more!

Weleda Skin Food RRP £8.50 for 75ml
Available online at www.weleda.co.uk and in good health food stores.
Also available at Naturisimo for £6.50 saving £2. Magic.

Scientific Experiment Involving Trilogy Everything Balm

Right, so back on the Trilogy Everything Balm post I promised to test out whether or not this product can be used like as a cleansing balm. This is not a suggestion made on the packaging but in the wake of a new era in cleansing, the balm now seems to be very real option. Yes, there is a new era in cleansing. And I think that this balm might just be up for the challenge. So in the name of being a bit experimental. I've tried it out.

Before we go on, let me present to you by means of a bullet pointed list how my current cleansing routine goes. I am alternating between the 'Usual' and the 'Alternative'. The 'Usual' is as follows:

• Superdrug very cheap "natural" eye make up remover (it isn't really natural but it doesn't have parabens in and it doesn't sting so that's why I'm using it but I'll be straight with you here, I have suspicions about it, result pending)
• Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish
• Liz Earle Skin Tonic
• Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream
• REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel

And the 'Alternative' goes:

• Superdrug very cheap "natural" eye make up remover
• Neal's Yard Chamomile Cleanser
• Bit of Trilogy Everything Balm
• Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream
• REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel

So then. The important bit in the above scenario is what happens between Neal's Yard Chamomile Cleanser and Bit of Trilogy Everything Balm. Sounds mysterious.

Well, at first I was removing make up with Chamomile Cleanser and then rinsing with water as it says on the pot. Often I would introduce a flannel at this point or a muslin cloth for extra but gentle exfoliation. So, water, rinse, pat dry. Then, warm a bit of Everything Balm in my hands and lightly lay over entire face before proceeding to the Neal's Yard and the REN.

But cleansing with Chamomile Cream was taking ages and I was going through whole farms worth of cotton wool pads. And although I like it- it was kind of dragging my skin a bit. Now I'm 27, I won't lie. I'm getting worried about 'the state of things on my face' aka Ageing. Therefore I decided I needed a New Cleansing Technique- the Balm. 

Neal's Yard do a very luxurious Wild Rose Cleansing Balm, but it's a bit steep at £30-odd and I already own the Trilogy Balm. I'm sure it's similar. Why not give it a whirl? 

So cleansing routine 'Alternative II' goes like this:

• Superdrug very cheap "natural" eye make up remover
• Bit of Trilogy Everything Balm but all over my face to dissolve make up
• (hot water + flannel or muslin cloth)
• Neal's Yard Frankincense Hydrating Cream
• REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel

Well, the results were very impressive. I would like to present you a graph of my findings but I'm not sure how to plot either axis so I will describe. I was not faffing around for ages with bits of cotton wool stuck to my face. I was not dragging the skin around my precious eyes, which have seen far too much rough handling to make a good story, and I was very pleasantly satisfied with the removal of the day's grubbiness. Wonderful. The balm is so gentle, very silky (loving this word), really dissolved the cake of foundation I was wearing and was very easy to remove with a hot cloth. My skin felt so comfortable after this, not tight, not just a tiny bit tight, not squeaky, not sore, not red, not oily, not dry. Just comfortable and light and fresh. With definitely no need for moisturiser which is a first. But as you will see from the above set of bullet points, I continued in the rest of my routine and when I woke up next morning I felt slightly less worried about 'the state of things on my face'.

So, after that very scientific experiment, I can recommend the Trilogy Everything Balm does indeed have one more use. A very lovely and very simple cleansing balm. Well done Trilogy. 

Trilogy Everything Balm £10.50 for 45ml available at Naturisimo 

Neal's Yard Wild Rose Beauty Balm £35.25 for 50g available at Neal's Yard online and in store.

Ode to Lavender

Breathe it in. That luscious smell. That heady, wonderfully warm smell. I love it.

Lavender is very well known as a stress-relieving remedy, for calming and quieting the mind...

...(inhale)....and er, it's relaxing and stuff.

Sorry, so powerful was the effect of just looking at that lavender picture! I got a little unbothered about finishing this post. But no! Persevere.

So this isn't actually a skincare related post, although lavender is good for healing the skin and boosting circulation. This is actually just to say how very good it is at sending me to sleep - another well known effect, lavender is often used to help with insomnia. I don't really have insomnia, more impatience when it comes to snoozing. After the exhaustive process of cleansing face, teeth, toning, moisturising, maybe a little facial massage whilst we here, eye cream, have I missed anything... a bit of balm, a bit of hand cream...when I finally get to resting my head on that pillow I kind of just want to sleep NOW! I get bored trying.

Obviously there are sophisticated ways of filling the air in your room with the intoxicating pleasantness of this herb, like warming the oil in little bit of water over a precious little tea-light sat in a very round and contemporary oil burner. Or you could put just a few drops on your pillow (ok, a tissue to avoid any oily marks) and zonk out. This also conveniently avoids the dangers of falling asleep with a candle burning!

Although, it should be said that if you use too much of the oil it can wake you up a bit! So don't go crazy. Lavender, rather interestingly is a sedative in low doses and a stimulant in high doses. Other essential oils that help promote sleep are chamomile and marjoram... so look for those too if you'd like to make your own custom blend.

It is important to select a fine quality essential oil, naturally distilled without the use of chemical extraction because you'll end up inhaling that chemical residue.

For an easy alternative Tisserand and Neals Yard Remedies do a sleep promoting essential oil roll-on which you can apply to temples and pulse points. Lovely.

More on aromatherapy and essential oils to follow....

Put to the Test: Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

I have previously admitted on here that I have not always toned. There once was a time long, long ago where I wasn't really into the traditional 3-step of the cleanse, tone and moisturise. I'd obviously take off my make up. This used to be with such damp rags those make up remover wipes (which I now believe cleanse your face about as well as a sneeze from a stranger. Sure it looks clean but is it really... you know, clean?). Prior to that and we're talking a long time ago now, a bit of eye make up remover and rubbishy face wash.

Oh how things have changed...

I have grown to love a good cleanse. And another Liz Earle product, the famous Cleanse and Polish, had a lot to do with that. But we all know about this cleanser. It's in every magazine, it's reviewed on many a beauty website and it deserves to be a cult favourite because it is a dream for your face. And the method of softly buffing it away with a hot muslin cloth, although not unique to Liz Earle, plays an important part of the cleansing process (it's my favourite bit) and a very effective way of gently exfoliating too!

Right. Sorry. So I'm getting to the point. This toner was sent to me as a free sample from the Liz Earle website when I bought the cleanser. And boy! did I feel special receiving unexpected little hand-wrapped presents. I may have fallen for the trick but now I love this toner. It smells like baby powder in a very floral and old fashioned way which is so refreshing!

So after cleanisng, be it with the Liz Earle classique or another (I like to dabble but always return to it in the end) I now always sweep a little of this beautiful toning water across my squeaky but very comfortably clean skin. Morning and night. It freshens the skin and uplifts the spirit! It's contains calendula, chamomile and cucumber and natural vitamin E. All very soothing. Lovely. It also contains essential oils of lavender, rose geranium and sweet orange. And is a heaven-scent!

BUT. I'm afraid there is a but. And it is in bold. Fourth on the ingredients list is a PEG! (Before you despair there is a happy ending to this. Sort of.) A PEG?! Yes! It's PEG - 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil.

I was a happy user of this product before seeing how some PEGs have caused a sniff of suspicion. This discovery upset me. What could Liz Earle possible want with a PEG? Why would you do that to us Liz? I've been reading up on this... Pay attention.

Castor Oil is a common enough thing and comes from castor beans. It contains triglycerides or fatty acids which are useful in restoring the skin's moisture balance and alleviating dryness. The process of passing hydrogen through it gives it a thicker consistency and makes it more stable at room temperature. It is often included in cosmetics for it's preservative action. It's considered organic because both the oil from the beans and the gas are natural things. Great.

The PEG bit means the hydrogenated castor oil has been mixed with polyethylene glycol. And here lies the question. Is it bad? One of the issues I mentioned when discussing polyethylene glycol was that it can penetrate the skin and therefore allow other (harmful) ingredients in too.

But ...if the source is pure, with no nasty contaminants and the other ingredients in the product are also of trusted sources then it might mean that the polyethylene glycol allows the good, active ingredients to work their way deeper, taking their good properties to those hard to reach layers of your skin. Sound's OK.

The other issue with this ingredient is its use on damaged skin. My research on this hasn't helped dispell this and it remains to be unadvisable with the possibility of it causing kidney damage. Oh dear. Though we are talking about seriously damaged skin here. So, you know not your average face.

It's confusing. But Liz Earle are clear about their philosophy regarding the selection of ingredients and promise to use natural and the highest, purest grade available. So, although this skin tonic is not a true natural wonder, I am still loving it for its fresh feel and revitalising qualities. Let's not forget the anti-inflamatory and healing properties of calendula and chamomile! This is in no way your usual harsh, astringent toner. In fact the majority of the ingredients, after a quick google search are very moisturising and very soothing on the skin. But Liz, listen up! I'm blaming you if my kidneys fail.

So there. I've learnt something in writing this. I will certainly check for the presence of PEG ingredients in products and will avoid using them if my skin is in anyway inflamed or damaged. And if you see those PEGs where there are parabens and other such nasties then be warned, they might be working their way right down in to the darkest realms of your dermis, running amuck!

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic £11.75 for 200ml

Available at Liz Earle and in store at John Lewis

For a very helpful insight into PEGS see here.

Bamford Hand Cream

It's winter. Everyones skin has shrivelled up. We know this happens every year. My hands have not escaped this. I was telling my Mumma about a lovely Ren hand cream which I kept testing out in John Lewis during numerous visits whilst Christmas shopping and which I still don't actually own but will and when I do you'll hear about it. And she saw my Ren and raised me a Bamford. I love the name Bamford. It refers to Lady Bamford (of the blue blood variety) I believe and also a lovely luxury natural skincare range.

I was not disappointed when I used this. In fact I was very happy and rather grateful to my Mum! After applying only a smidge my hands felt divine. Softer than soft. No one can argue with that! It contains jojoba oil, beeswax and aloe vera and is fragranced with chamomile, geranium, lavender and tea tree. 

Lovely stuff.

Bamford Organic Camomile Hand Cream, £15.00 for 75ml

Available at Liberty's and Daylesford Organics