Should you OXYGENATE your skin????

I noticed products that "oxygenate" the skin have become very popular recently. The PR surrounding these is very good and makes us believe that adding oxygen or oxygenating ingredients to our skin care products will do wonders for our skins. Will it????

We all know the importance of oxygene to, well, stay alive. The HYPE surronding these products feeds on our fear of polution and dull looking skin. Your skin looks great when you go away from the city, hiking in the mountains or having long walks on beautifull beaches, so surely the diffrence is in the quality of air and amount of oxygen your body is inhaling? But the breathing is a very complex process, especially at cellular level, so is it really just as easy to slap on a cream to have the same effect?

Sadly NO! Even worse, oxygenating from topical cream application will make your skin suffer!

Let's think about one of the oldest truths about skincare: free radicals are our enemy, hence antioxidant ingredients to combat them.
Let me start with explaining what are free radicals. If you look at a structure of an atom it is a centre build of particles called protons and neutrons. They are surrounded by pairs of electrons. Free radical will an atom (or group of atoms) where there is one electron missing. Now for the damaging effect: the lonely electron will look for a friend that he could be paired with, and when he finds him he will steal him! And so a different electron becomes unpaired and the domino effect continues...There is an abundant amount of research concerning free radical damage on our bodies. The free radical theory is not only concerned with superoxide (O2-) but also with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxide (OH-). Yet there's NO reliable research showing that applying any of the above ingredients to your skin will do it any good. Infact, as you can see, it's quite the opposite.

There are two types of products they claim to oxygenate the skin.
1st - ones containing oxygen or hydrogen peroxide. You'll know now to stay well away from these.
2nd - ones that claim to "increase cellular respiration". there is small amount of research showing that some cosmetic ingredients, like poly phenols, can boost cells respiration. That research refers to in-vitro studies, rather than in-vivo testing on living skin. There's no harm in using these products, but you just can't know if there's any benefit from it either.

Bottom line is that you should make sure that your skincare products contain powerful antioxidants, rather than bother about oxygenation.

Liz Earle sheer make up review and swatches

I ordered samples of Liz Earles sheer skin tint In my little beauty box from latest in beauty. I tried them all for a few times and here's the promised review. Yep, I have tried ALL of the colours without realising.... I read the colour on one of the samples and after assuming that all of them would be the same(I received 3) I opened one of the sachets and slapped the product on...you can imagine my surprise at colour no1 BARE being about 5 shades to dark for me. Still, determined to test the stuff, I just blended it over my neck and ears. It took my morning brain about 15mins to think to check other sachets :)

In the end I discovered I got sent a sample of three of the colours the sheer tint comes in:
01 Bare
02 Beige
03 Beach

What they say:
The perfect way to enhance your skin. Our rich and creamy, yet lightweight formula leaves all skin types looking naturally dewy, even and radiant. With mineral UV protection SPF15, it’s enriched with our own blend of natural source vitamin E, borage and avocado, specially selected to work in harmony with our skincare range.

My thoughts

Firstly, they smell awfull! A bit like mix of clay and stale oil (yuck!). Once you get over it, the product is actually quite nice. I used Real Techniques Buffing Brush and it blends very easily. You don't need much product to. A sample size of 2ml was enough for about 3 applications. I had a fruit acid peel done recently and my skin has been flaking a little, but this felt moisturising and evened out my skin tone without accentuating the flakiness. Very light, sheer coverage, for those with very dry skin. I found that as my skin got less dry, the skin tint was just to shiny. Not even dewy, as the product after few hours on the skin turned a bit grayish...definitely a no-go for those who like mat finish or those with oily skin.

Ingredients:
Aqua (water), Cyclopentasiloxane, C12-15 Alkyl benzoate, Zinc oxide, Titanium dioxide, Sorbitol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone, Isononyl isononanoate, Polyglyceryl-4 isostearate, Talc, Disteardimonium hectorite, Sodium chloride, Squalane, Borago officinalis (borage) seed oil, Polyhydroxystearic acid, Propylene glycol, Alumina, Aluminum stearate, Silica, Isostearic acid, Stearic acid, Aluminum hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium dehydroacetate, Methicone, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Persea gratissima (avocado) oil, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, +/- CI 77891 (titanium dioxide), CI 77491 (iron oxides), CI77492 (iron oxides), CI77499 (iron oxides).

Good ingredients with physical sunscreens, silica will give the makeup airbrushed finish and borage and avocado oils for nourishment. It may be a concern to some, that although Liz Earle claims to use all natural and best ingredients available, they still rely on parabens as preservatives.

Bottom line: If you can get over the smell, this is a nice tinted moisturiser option for those with dry skin.

RRP £21 for 40ml

Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser review

I am o bit obsessed with cleansing (see my post about importance of cleansing: http://justinabb.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/cleansing-first-step-to-beautiful-skin.html), so I always look to try new cleansers. Liz Earles' Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser is one of those cult products, that a lot of my clients seem to be using. I was very happy to see it as a gift with travel version of Aprils red magazine.

You get 30ml of the Cleanse and Polish with Muslin cloth (worth £5.50) and instructions on how to use it.

What they say:

"We only make one cleanser because this formulation is the ultimate in concentrated yet gentle cleansing power and works on every age and skin type.

Our plant based cleanser has a two-phase action, phase one is the cleansing. Free from mineral oil, it has a rich and creamy texture and swiftly removes all traces of face and eye make up, even stubborn mascara.

Phase two is the polishing. Polish off the cream using the pure muslin cloth to gently dislodge dead skin cells and help reveal clean, soft and radiant skin.

Naturally active ingredients include eucalyptus and cocoa butter for smoother, clearer skin."


My thoughts:
Beautifully creamy, works well at dissolving makeup, including waterproof liner and mascara. The product has almost same texture as Ponds' Cold Cream Cleanser. It feels very rich and doesn't "melt" on contact with warm skin, like most of these types of cleansers do, but stays in a thick cream form. If I massaged it to vigorously, or left too long on the face, I could feel a slight tingling sensation (hello eucalyptus!), so I would recommend to remove the product quite quickly, as it may lead to irritation. It did a great job at melting away my heavy eye makeup, but I preferred to wipe it away with damp cotton pads rather than muslin cloth. This way you won't stain your cloth and it feels much more gentle on the delicate eye area.

Ingredients:
Unlike the other cream cleansers, which are mostly just oil based, cleanse and polish lists water as the first ingredient. Being a water/oil emulsion it would explain why it stays stable as a cream and doesn't "melt". Apart from water, it is mostly cocoa seed extract, glycerin and beeswax. Disappointingly, it contains some irritating plant extracts like hops, eucalyptus and rosemary.

Bottom line:
I liked using it, but will avoid reaching for it everyday to prevent giving my skin irritation. I will keep it as my go to product when wearing a lot of heavy make up, as it did a great job at taking it of.

Latest in Beauty - My Little Beauty Box

Being  a Beauty Geek, I love testing new products, so I was very happy to discover www.latestinbeauty.com. It's a great website, that gives you a chance to "try before you buy" various cosmetics. I'm a GLOSSYBOX subscriber and like the element of surprise and not knowing what my box will contain. although great, it very often happens that I like and use only 2 or 3 products, out of the 5 I get. With Latest in Beauty you always know what products you'll be getting and have three different ordering options.

THEMED BOXES - A selection of luxury samples in limited edition themed boxes. Rather than having to subscribe and be charged via Direct Debit, you will get an e-mail alert about the latest edition of the box. You can than check if you like it and buy it.

BUILD YOUR OWN - You can pick and choose from different luxury samples and travel size products to build your own box.

LITTLE BEAUTY BOX - Gives you a selection of samples in three categories. You can choose one sample from each group. You pay by sending a text that costs £1.50 and entering the code received online.

   It took just two days for my little box to arrive, and here's what I've chosen:

SKIN DOCTORS COSMECEUTICALS GAMMA HYDROXY SKIN RESURFACING CREAM (2x3ml)

I have high hopes for this cream. With glycolic, lactic and salicylic acids to resurface and smooth the skin and bearberry extract and vitamin C to lighten and even out complexion, it sound like holy grail of face creams for me :)

BURT'S BEES THERAPEUTIC BATH CRYSTALS (44g)

LIZ EARLE SHEER SKIN TINT - (3x2ml, BARE 01; BEIGE 02; BEACH 03)

This tinted moisturiser won Grazia Beauty Award 2011 and Red magazine Best of Beauty 2012. Will be interesting to try it and compare it with others. I will do a separate post on that with colour swatches.