Jolly Good: Clinique Moisture Surge Melting Mask Balm

Clinique have introduced a new skincare format with their new Moisture Surge Melting Mask Balm - I predict solid, portable oils will be a Thing in 2016 as a result.  Billed as a balm, it can be used on dry patches throughout the day, as a ten minute moisture boosting mask, or overnight as an intensive moisturising treatment.

I don't really suffer from specific dry patches all that often, so I've been using it mostly as an overnight treatment.  I'm very, very fond of using oils overnight - I love the smooth, plump, hydrated skin I wake up to in the morning, but I do find them messy - a couple of drops on my fingertips usually ends up mostly on my face, but also on my hands and sometimes on the carpet too.  Melting Mask Balm eliminates all the messiness of oil - I scrape a little bit off the top of the product with my fingernail, warm it on my fingertips, and massage it onto my face - no mess, no drips.  The next morning my skin feels smooth, soft and very well hydrated.

The major benefit of this product is that it turns the humble oil into a portable, easy to use, mess free balm.  I've also been sneakily using it to add a bit of definition to the ends of my hair in a pinch whilst travelling with little hair product - it works pretty damn well.  This little pot is coming with me on every trip abroad from now on.  Find it at Clinique now, where it costs £26.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Kiehl's Daily Reviving Concentrate

Kiehl's have brought out a new facial oil... for daytime use.  It's being marketed as a perfect pair for their well known and well loved Midnight Recovery Concentrate, which is a heavy, nourishing night time oil, and as you'd expect, the day version is a much lighter affair.

Daily Reviving Concentrate contains a mixture of oils including grapefruit peel oil, ginger root oil, and a whole heap of seed oils.  I've never personally used a facial oil during the day - my skin is dry/combination, and my nose and chin in particular can become quite oily during the day if over moisturised.  I've always kept the use of oils to the night, to give them the best chance of soaking into my skin, and to avoid them disturbing my makeup.  So it was with some trepidation that I tried out Daily Reviving Concentrate one morning a few weeks ago - and since then I've not really looked back.

A few drops smoothed over freshly cleansed skin absorbs almost immediately - there's no residue, no massaging required, and no fuss.  I've been layering the oil up with a very light moisturiser, but if you're oily you could probably skip it, and if you're dry you may want something a little heavier.  It definitely helps that I've been trying this product out during colder weather - light as it is, I suspect that Daily Reviving Concentrate would be too much for my skin in the sweaty summer months. During the winter, it's perfect, adding a shot more moisure without playing havoc with makeup.  The refreshing, citrus-y scent is also rather invigorating in the morning, too.

All in all, then, I'm a bit of a convert, aside from some minor gripes around the pipette packaging, which looks all cool and science-y, but provides too many opportunities to knock a full bottle of oil over onto the floor for clumsy old me.  Find it at the Kiehl's website, where it costs a reasonably spendy but not exorbitant £36.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Quick Pick: Aromatherapy Associates Soothing Face Oil

This facial oil is glorious for skin which is feeling a little stressed, a little pink from the sun, or a little in need of some TLC.  Made of a blend of pure plant oils, it's a heavy face oil, giving you plenty of time to massage it into the skin for maximum moisturisation.  It leaves a residue, making it completely unsuitable for use in the daytime, but left on overnight, skin feels soft and calm in the morning.

At £47 for 15ml, it's incredibly expensive - but, as with all Aromatherapy Associates products, you know you're getting a high quality skincare product made with cold pressed oils.  I also find that two tiny pumps go a long way - easily enough to cover face and neck with enough oil for a good massage.  Find it at the Aromatherapy Associates website.

Disclosure:  PR sample

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Una Brennan Super Facialist Cleansing Oil, Rose Facial Oil, and Neroli Facial Oil

I've been a fan of Super Facialist by Una Brennan's Vitamin C Skin Renew Cleansing Oil for a while, having picked up a bottle on a whim at Boots when I'd run out of my usual Origins cleansing oil.  I'd meant to write about it, but kind of forgot until another bottle turned up in the post, alongside two facial oils from the range.  The cleansing oil hasn't changed, still lifting makeup easily off the skin and leaving it feeling hydrated and super soft, but the packaging has - the bottle now sports a squirty flip-top cap rather than a twist off top, which makes dispensing just the right amount of oil easy.  Excellent.

The facial oils left me a little puzzled.  The bright and cheerful packaging suggested using them generously as a pre-cleanse, massaging them into the skin then removing with a flannel or muslin cloth.  For a blended facial oil, this seems a little wasteful.  You don't really get anything more out of using these before an oil cleanse, and even if you don't use an oil cleanser, using oil as a pre-cleanse doesn't seem as effective as just switching to an oil cleanse in the first place.

Anyway, as facial oils, they're lovely - rich, silky, and very hydrating.  I've been alternating between them nightly and my skin is soft, smooth, and plumped up in the morning.  They're an affordable, accessible way to work a high quality facial oil into your regime, costing a mere £14.99 each.  The cleansing oil is also well priced, at just £10.99 for 200ml.  Better yet, all three are currently on offer, with the Rose and Neroli oils reduced to £9.99 and the cleansing oil reduced to £7.33.

Disclosure: PR samples (although I have purchased and liked the cleansing oil in the past)

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Winter Essentials: 3 of the best facial oils

Ah, winter.  How I love thee.  Thick jumpers, knee high boots, warm tights, heavy coats, snuggling under blankets, fires, casserole, warm mulled wine, long hot baths, hats.  As much as I love winter for all of the reasons before, I also love it for allowing me to start using facial oils again - the cold, dry weather saps moisture from the skin, and there's nothing like a facial oil to nourish it back to health overnight.  Here are my top three.

Liz Earle Superskin Concentrate is a super rich oil which adds plenty of hydration.  It's a bit thicker and heavier than some oils I've used, and I tend to save it for nights when my skin's feeling really parched.  At around £40 for a 30ml bottle, it's not cheap, but a few drops goes a long way, and my skin always feels hydrated and plump the morning after using it.

Darphin Organic Rose Aromatic Care Oil isn't quite as hydrating as the Liz Earle oil above, but it is perfectly balanced, adding moisture and suppleness to the skin with an oil that feels light and is quickly absorbed.  Skin feels smooth and soft the morning after, with absolutely no residue at all.  At £45 for 15ml, this is one of the more expensive oils I've tried, but if you're looking for something to provide balanced hydration which won't overwhelm your skin, this is a great little bottle of oil.

The Sanctuary Therapist's Secret Facial Oil is a brilliant high street oil - it's light enough to use a drop during the daytime, but a few drops applied at night time plumps, smooths and hydrates the skin with no visible residue come morning.  I've actually been using this on and off for at least ten years in one form or another, and repurchase it between testing other oils as it's just so dependably good.  At £17.50, it won't break the bank either.






What's your favourite winter-time skin nourisher?

This post originated at www.londonbeautyreview.com. If you're reading it elsewhere, it's been stolen, violating my copyright.

Quick Pick: Darphin Rose Aromatic Care

At the moment, I'm using three oils regularly at night - Liz Earle's Superskin Concentrate when my skin is feeling dry and in need of lots of hydration, Spa Fabulous' Purifying Serum when my skin is breaking out, and this Darphin Rose Aromatic Care when my skin is behaving itself.  Described as providing "essential care for normal skin", it provides the nourishment and glowy complexion you get from using an oil at night, leaving no residue on the skin whatsoever.

The texture, whilst definitely an oil, is light and relatively easy to spread on the skin.  You might expect that it smells strongly of rose, given that it makes use of rose oil, but in fact it has a fairly neutral smell - certainly compared to the other oils I use on a regular basis.

When I wake up after using this oil, my skin is soft and supple, feels well balanced, and doesn't need a big cleanse before it's ready for makeup.  If your skin is generally normal, and you want an oil which is neither overly rich nor overly astringent, this one strikes a perfect balance.

I do wish that it came with a pump dispenser or something to regulate the flow of oil, though - the top of the little bottle is completely open.

It'll cost you £42 - expensive indeed, but a few drops go a long way on a cleansed face, and the little bottle should last you a fair while.  Find it here.

Disclosure: PR sample