# 141 Good Skin

I have good nails. I've been approached by several different people re a spot of hand modelling, but, well, I'm far too lazy and clumsy... I've never had a manicure that's outlasted the week, couldn't be bothered to shield mes mains in mitts, I don't care for my cuticles or take calcium supplements. My good nails and long fingers are a genetic gift, just like my odd teeth and propensity to gain weight around the bootie area. I've gotten so used to answering on autopilot, 'what, these old things, they take care of themselves,' that it was only a matter of time before Monsieur Ironique decided to serve me a kick in the chops - in the form of peeling nails that attracted the pitying glances of my manicurist. Once we established the fact that I was 6 months post-pregnancy she sighed, 'J-yes, I zee zis all zee time. You muzt luke after your nails better. Your vitaminzez were leached away by bebby; you breztfeed? J-yes, me too. So, zis is why your nails, they look like zhits.' I may have paraphrased that last bit, but, well, you get zee gist. What was once naturally perfect now requires a (ahem) helping hand. So, it's been Decleor treatment oil, CND Solar Oil, Philosophy's new hand & nail cream, no polish for a bit, and, yes, those supplements (I'm trying Healthspan's NURTURE range). I'm only a week in, but things are already looking up. I want to give the supplements etc 6 weeks though, so ping me back if you want to know how it went (and if I remember, I'll follow up here).

Onto the skinfront, which was also looking decidedly washed out. Yes, yes, I'm tired. No, no, I haven't had a full 8 hours for a full 7 months. But, that's okay. My body seems to have lain down and accepted it... well, I'd quite frankly pass out anywhere. To be fair to my face though, the skin really isn't doing that badly. I'm not spotty or ridiculously grey or dry as a coconut biscuit... but, I was lacking glow, a thing I used to have rather too much of (and needed regular t-zone wipes to rectify). What's helped? At the moment a combination of 2 cleansers - Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel, because it takes make-up off very quickly and rinses cleanly away; and then a quick scrub with Tata Harper's Regenerating Cleanser (which will go on sale in Space.NK in the UK in, I believe, April). I tried using the Tata Harper line exclusively for 2 weeks, but my skin got very very dry and just seemed to feel sticky all the time. It's weird, because I was layering on all of her serums and spraying the mist and doing all the massage - and I have to say, I had the very very highest hopes for this line - but it turned my skin into a bit of a confused mess - a bit spotty around the chin, dry around cheeks, and the undereye area wasn't served any favours by the serum either... my dark circles began to border on blue. Now, I know what you're thinking: I only gave it 2 weeks (which I chide others for doing over & over)... 2 weeks is not a fair trial, and because it is not, I do intend to return to it in the future at a time when the appearance of my skin is not so damn crucial. I'm a beauty director for chrissake, if the face doesn't look good, I have no value.

I need products that really work; really improve; really leave skin feeling balanced and moist and plump and radiant.

So, the two cleansers are working well together at present (Tata's cleanser smells divine) and because it's also gently exfoliating, it leaves a lovely dead-cell free base for my serum, which is Revive Moisture Extreme. This is really really good stuff. In just one week it's cancelled out every bit of dryness I was doing battle with, and really is injecting radiance back into the old mug. I just wish the tube were bigger as this baby is not going to last me another month. And it's really expensive. £220 expensive. Of course. It's also far from 'natural', which is what my skin routine always was, until I reached 30 and started to see a bit of a 'situation' in the mirror. So, it's one of the first very serious serums I've used - alongside Prevage Eye (with idebenone - very good stuff); and Creme's Radiant Serum (which did indeed make my skin look glowier, but after 2 months had not left it better hydrated, which I do so desperately need at present). It's grown-up skincare, and the results sure do make everything else look like a kid in costume.

Oh, and now for the thing I never thought I'd say (or type). I love the new Benefit face cream. As the PR's a good friend I did promise not to blog about it until March, but, well, we're almost there right? And I have no doubt that Brit Beauty Blogger got their first anyway! So, the Be Radiant line made its way onto my bathroom shelf DESPITE containing artificial fragrance (I hardly ever, ever, ever use perfumed products); despite not being natural or organic in any way (or even trying to be); despite being from a cutesy, quirky brand that I had never, ever once associated with skincare. So, words eaten, because I've been using the Face Cream for 2 weeks and it's one of the loveliest formulas out there. It's silky, velvety, completely absorbed, amazing before make-up, banishes dry patches like nothing else (no, not even Creme de la Mer felt more moisturising!). I've had no adverse reactions to it, I'm not spotty or stinging or red or sensitized, I just have softer, brighter-looking skin. People have commented. I'm happy as Larry. And that scent, well, let's just say, it's good enough to make me eat my hat (and a lovely, flowery hat at that). Now, that really is a surprise.

# 135 Funny Face

Funny stuff happens post-bairn. Hair growth fizzles out [barely shaved my legs in 7 weeks]; dry skin becomes suddenly oily again [the t-zone is back to teen-sheen status]; eye bags sprout eye bags for their eye bags, and then, all of a sudden, get used to sleeplessness and disappear, all by themselves [or is it the new 'kinder' mirror we've installed in the bathroom?!]; smooth as a baby's bottom skin develops barnacled patches [back of arms, like silk for 40 weeks, are now more sandpapery] and the hairs on my head are falling out in clumps, as the scalp relinquishes its stronghold on the excess pregnancy strands [I shed a daily hair rug for the bathroom floor. Thank gawd [and Mr Dyson] for my handheld hoover]. So, with new highs and lows comes new opportunities to TEST TEST TEST, and this I have been doing with renewed relish now that the 8-week-old is learning to sleep better at night [hoorah!].

What do I like?

Creme de la Mer The Body Lotion - After trialling oils from Mama Mio, Aromatherapy Associates and Erbaviva [all lovely, nourishing, great-smelling], I went back to this baby which is still half-full as I abandoned it while pregnant. Well, yes, it really is incomparably fab and leaves even awkward skin very soft. The back of arms are already looking & feeling better. I'm just not looking forward to re-purchase time. Ouch.

Origins Never a Dull Moment Scrub – Now, from all that I’ve tried & trialed & tested and learned, I know that rough-grain scrubs are no good for skin [not even the body]. Much better to look for fine Microdermabrasion-style formulas, or chemical exfoliants, such as those found in Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask. But, well, this one breaks the rules. I first purchased it while temping as a counter girl at Selfridges [13 years ago!], and though I’ve not used it in the interim, I was most glad to rediscover it last month. It smells lush & fruity, leaves skin very rosy and perky, and makes light work of rough patches. Best of all, it doesn’t leave skin sore or ‘scrubbed’ feeling.

Sue Devitt Micro-Aquatic Hydrating Marine Minerals Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 – Sue wins no prizes for snappy product names, but she does gain plaudits with this gorgeous, dewy, light base. Many bases claim to moisturise yet somehow highlight dry patches instead – but this is different. It makes skin softer, spongier and smoother. It also gives great glow & wears well throughout the day [tip: pat it into skin that is still slightly ‘moist’ after the application of your morning face cream].

And what just isn’t getting the baby bathed?

Origins Clean Energy Cleanser – There’s nothing glaringly wrong with this – it feels nice enough, smells zingy & contains nice things [olive/kukui/macadamia nut oils], but it just didn’t do anything special either. Skin was a bit shiny at times, dry at others and congestion on the chin was not kept at bay. It is absolutely dandy for removing a thin layer of slap, but if you want a deep, nourishing, purifying or balancing cleanse, there are better suds on the shelves.

The Body Shop Lip & Cheek Tint – There was a time when I used this a lot – before dates with the blokie; before dashing out to buy milk; on trains before meetings... because I believed it gave my lips a gorgeous bitten stain and cheeks a hearty, healthy flush. Now, 8 years in the beauty biz later, I’ve come to realise that this is seriously lacking. It’s watery consistency means the colour is never uniform – in my case, the insides of my lips always pink up more than the outer bits, which makes me look as though I’ve been sucking on home-made Ribena popsicles [not a great look for a 30-year-old professional]. Even after reapplying, layer upon layer, I found it utterly impossible to get an even colour across the entire lip. On cheeks? Even worse. Some bits of skin take, others do not – making the skin look a bit rashy. Consigned to the bin this one [and those fond memories, to the re-visited and corrected annals of time].

# 131 This Works Week

I've been making mental notes of all the good stuff all busy working week long, and really must get it down on this page before it all disappears into backlog oblivion. So, there's been a spate of new things [not necessarily new to the market, but new to my bathroom cabinet] of late, and I'm keen to share them with you, because it's been a really really good run, with ne'er a dodgy pot among the lot [I seem to be rhyming a lot today wouldn't you say?]...

Anywho, here's the stuff that's caught my attention:

Creme de la Mer Body Creme. Now, I feel a little bit bad bigging this one up. It's really really expensive, and, well, it already receives a hell of a lot of press coverage & between you and me, I get most excited by those secret finds that are ridiculously reasonable in price but just extraordinary in practice. But, I'm afraid, this one really is worth raving about. I've been using it on arms, thighs, calves and shoulders for 3 weeks [everywhere else is being subjected to lashings & lashings of Stretch Mark Oil - and at 36 weeks, not a mark to be seen, thank gawd - thanks Mama Mio and ESPA!]. What it has done to my skin really is rather remarkable. It's given it a silky stocking feel - it's not sticky or clammy & the product absorbs instantaneously, but over the days, it's just evened out the tone & texture of my skin, leaving it more, well, velvety than I've ever known it. Now, the main problem is, I love it so much that I cannot bear to finish it, because, c'mon peeps, what mother-to-be who's just spent over a grand on baby-ware can afford to blow over £100 on a new tube? I'd keel over with guilt before I forked out the cash, so, for the time being, I'll savour every last squeeze of this stuff & should my skin freak out once it's finished, well, it'll just have to get over it...

Clinique All About Eyes Serum. Perhaps it's the hefty workload or homely to-do-list, but I've been a wee bit skin-delinquent of late - not spending quite so much time on the ol' cleanse & massage as normal - and the Clarisonic's been sat in its cradle for 3 weeks untouched, which is stupid because it actually saves me time - I just can't seem to be bothered to take it from the bedroom to the bathroom when I'm ready to wash my face. LA-HA-ZY right?! Anyway, the eye creams I was trialling [one from Nia24 and one from Emma Hardie], were all ab fab - nothing bad to report really, but I just began to tire of the tap-tap and the pat-pat and the general unscrewing of lids etc etc. God, what IS wrong with me? So, after a Clinique Blogger's Evening a few weeks back I felt it only right to add a bit of the C-word to my beauty routine, and I popped this rollerball-style product into my fridge overnight with the intention of trying it in the morning. Well, what do you know -that was 3 weeks ago and I'm using it day and night, just the quickest and simplest of swipes from outer to inner eye, a simple pat with the ring finger, and I'm done. Eyes do not look any brighter, but I've not been as puffy as I am prone to [and I've gone without a lot of sleep lately!]. The fine lines brought on by dehydration have been kept in check too - and I'm realising that lightweight serums are better than nourishing creams when the main concern is not yet wrinkles. So, yah, I like this one a lot - I just keep forgetting to put it back in the fridge, which isn't actually the end of the world because the nifty metallic rollerbally thing stays very cool at all times - a nice soothing wake-up call when you've slept through the alarm as I have 3 times this week.

Rituals Yin Organic White Lotus & Yi Yi Ren Calming Bed & Body Mist. Wow, now isn't that a mouthful! This came in today's post and the bag it came in smelt so divine that I had to fish through the products, one by one, until I rooted out the culprit. I've been spraying it in my study all day [I know, it's meant for bed, but hey, anything that helps me take deep breaths while on deadline is going to be transplanted] - and I really really like the slightly old-fashioned, mum's house, innocuous soap-and-water, white-petalled-flower scent of it. It's making me smile, a lot, and for that I am thankful. I'm not sure I'd wear it upon my person, but as far as room scents go, this is so much cleaner and less obtrusive than the musky, sandalwoody, jasmine notes I'm so often drawn to. The problem with these ones though is that you can't really escape the 'scentyness' of them - whereas the Rituals one could pass for fresh laundry or babies post-bathtime, in the way that it is very natural and quiet. Yes, a new favourite.

Aldo Coppola Hair Care Range - for Hennaed hair - having been Copollad last week [and, I hate to admit, having a bit of a struggle with my new, much shorter, much messier, much choppier do], I am not having the same teething problems with the AC range of haircare which the lovely salon peeps sent home for me to try. The Henna shampoo - which protects all those lovely glinting highlights my hair is now imbued with - and Henna Highlighting Leave-In Conditioner, are absolutely fab. My hair is feather-soft, very very shiny, and scalp utterly untraumatised [there are no sulphates or other harsh surfactants in the range]. I shall certainly persevere with the hair, but with the haircare - well, I'm a wholehearted convert.

Next up on the testing block: Moroccan Oil Hair Treatment Oil and Hydrating Styling Creme - let's see if these latest cult beauty buys make this wayward mane of mine any easier to bring back to the beautiful creation which I left Coppola's salon with... sleek curls, bouncy bangs and a rush of unabashed root-lift... if ONLY I'd taken a picture!

# 124 Eye No

Hanne from Commecoco.blogspot.com asked when the right time was to start using eye creams & what might work for someone like her, in her early 20s...

Perfect timing given that I'm in the midst of an eye-cream quest myself - I had the dreaded WOODS LAMP treatment again last week which showed that the most dehydrated part of my face was the skin around my eyes; a bit of a shocker given that I do a twice-weekly eye mask (Sisley) & have been using Estee Lauder's new Time Zone Anti-Line/Wrinkle Eye Cream for the past 10 weeks which has [in their own words]:

'TriHyaluronic Complex, which plumps away the look of fine, dry lines and gives skin the hydration it needs to stay looking smooth, supple and revitalised. It infuses the eye area with 5 times the concentration of TriHyaluronic Complex found in the face formula.'

And though I'm not afflicted with lines or wrinkles just yet (well, I am only 29) - I'm well aware that dehydrated skin is far more inclined to age speedily, so I'm now on a mission to find a cream that will plump, illuminate, hydrate & moisturise.

Chatting to PR Clare Forde last week, it occurred to me that perhaps I've been looking in the wrong place. If it's hydration that I'm after, a deeply penetrating & easily absorbed serum could be the way to go - chased with something containing SPF for day perhaps, and reparative antioxidants & smoothing actives at night.

I'm old & just about wise enough to know that an eye cream is never ever going to cancel out dark shadows, permanently erase wrinkles or conduct a mini eye-lift. So, what do I want? I want the skin beneath my eyes to feel plump, but not tightened; soft, but not silicone-y; bright, but naturally so - not because of light reflective particles.

I'd been sent ESPA's Firming Eye Contour Concentrate a while ago - and hadn't realised that the

serum was actually meant to be used as a self-contained treatment regime (it comes in two mini bottles with pipettes). A few weeks in I desisted - I wasn't hugely fond of the smell (a bit fishy at times which is a side-effect of the marine algae), and because, I suspect, I am not yet suffering from saggy skin in said area, the tightening effect was not really to my taste. However, I have to say that after a perfectly-pitched facial at The Europe in Ireland (following a fair bit of eye work, massage & the application of latter concentrate), things did look a lot brighter. So perhaps I need to stick to the proposed course - give it the full 8 weeks, and then judge things anew.

For the moment, however, I'm trying Emma Hardie's Amazing Face Firming Eye Serum - it's a light, slightly creamy coloured gel and contains aloe, arnica, orange water & marine active. A little goes a very long way and I'm pleased with how the skin seems to sup it up - nicely hydrating, but accommodates a cream on top too if needed. I'll give this one until the end of May & we'll see where we stand.

And back to Hanne's question about a good eye cream... well, it's back to the old issue of what works for one, may not work for another.

In my entirely subjective experience:

I've tried and liked formulas by Sarah Chapman & Shiseido.

I've also tried eye creams by La Prairie (often thought to be the very best), but I've not been hugely impressed thus far. Anyone else had more luck?

As for staples, Dermalogica Total Eye Care SPF15 has been in my bag for years. I like the fact that it's just a simple to use formula - with built in protection & hydration. It's not particularly advanced, but then, throughout my early 20s I wasn't really looking for miracles. Now, however, I think I need something stronger. This will be the basis of much of my testing for the next two months... we'll see what the beauty bag throws up!

For night, Creme de la Mer Eye Balm is one of those formulas that really does seem to do the trick whenever I try it. And Mama Malcontent (who - if it's possible - has used even more eye creams over the years than I have), really believes it's the daddy. So, it gets a thumbs up - but budget-wise, not so great, sorry about that.

My earlier MISS MALCONTENT'S BEST OF BEAUTY posts (see labels, to the right), also cover what I deem to be the best products across 100 different categories. I intended it to be a good reference point for those new to my blog - so do dip in if you're after the perfect cream blush, a great mascara, or the ideal foot cream...

And in the meantime, I'd love to know what everyone else is using & loving...

#79 Dream Creme

Ah. So. Well. I'm struggling for a start. You see, I feel as though I've been wrong-footed. In the months that I've been writing my blog, a trend seems to have developed. More often than not, my blog has been about the very best 'little-known' products vs the worst 'big branded' products. You see, as much as I enjoy using (and abusing should they miss the mark) the Lauders and Neutrogenas of the world, I've been consistently more impressed by the more specialist, home-grown brands - the Korners, Omoroviczas and Sarah Chapmans out there. Well, a couple of weeks ago the Creme de la Mer Press Office saw fit to send out a big pot of their famous Creme to a bunch of beauty editors who had, perhaps, forgotten all about the miracle broth and its reputed benefits. The delivery coincided with the end of my regular night cream, so, I thought, why not give the famous formula a whirl?

I spatula'd a tiny bit out, rubbed it between my fingers as instructed on the pot, and massaged it all over my face. Ordinarily, I'd steer well clear of such a rich formula (which does not claim to be chemical or paraben free). My skin's on the oily side of normal - but with the onset of winter, I've been waking up to a more dry patches than normal and thought that this was probably as good a time as any to try the Creme.

First things first. I rather liked the smell.
Secondly, it's really, shockingly, unctuous and thick - like old-school Nivea - and the smallest amount (for me, a globule the size of a couple of peas) covered my face and neck.
Thirdly, it needs to be patted and rolled over skin - you can't simply rub it in like a lotion, but I found that my skin absorbed it easily, and felt spongy and soft just minutes later.
Lastly, I was afraid that the heavy formula might encourage breakouts so used it sparingly over my nose and chin.

As it turns out, it's been two weeks and my skin is entirely clear, soft and dry-patch free. The dehydration lines to which I'm so often prone, on my forehead and on the left hand side of my mouth, have all but disappeared - making my complexion look visibly younger.

Let me stress, however, that it has not been long enough to see any anti-ageing benefits (although, to be annoyingly truthful, I'm still wrinkle- and crow's feet-free), but as far as bright, luminous and even skin goes, this has done the trick. Of course, there are a lot of creams out there that can buy you similar results, but, not many that when accidentally smeared over a patch of eczema manage to shrink it overnight. Hmmm, miracle broth? Perhaps there's some promise in this pot after all.