The no pain peel !!!

When i was offered the chance to have a Cosmedix Purity peel at Skin solutions. I jumped at the chance. But i have to admit i was a little nervous, previous peels had sometimes been quite uncomftable, but i can honestly say i was impressed with Cosmedix.

My face was first assessed by Chloe Parry from IIAA using the VISA machine. Dr Alison Warner then assessed my skin and asked me some questions to ensure my skin was suitable for the Purity peel.

First my face is cleansed and to see where exactly the problem areas are. for my skin it is congestion and acne. I am currently struggling with a particularly bad and sore breakout.

Then the peel is applied, what first surprised me is it was more of a thick paste, then a liquid solution, the peel is gently pressed into the skin and left for 10 minutes. To be honest i really didn't feel much more then a tiny tingle, I had braced myself for intense stinging but this never happened. After 10 minutes Dr Warner then patted on a balm and the peel was complete. You ideally keep the peel on for at least 6 hours and then wash it off at home. The only downside is you are left with a yellow tint to the skin, so this did make for an interesting school run. As i attempted to cover my face with sunglasses, a hood and a scarf wrapped up to my eyes, but in all fairness I've had worse looking fake tans!.

that night my skin did feel dry when i washed off the peel but this is what you expect. Dr Warner had carefully selected my bespoke skincare routine (we discussed a choice of Environ products from IIAA or Cosmedix, Cosmedix products packed a bit more of a punch and less products were required, but these were more expensive then environ about £50)

Cosmedix - Purity Clean exfoliating cleanser

Only a small amount of this face wash is required meaning it is great value for money, its easy to use and gives you a very small lather so you do actually feel like you are washing your face, with cooling peppermint, lavender and tea tree oil, this helps to keep the pores unclogged and the skin fresh and blemish free!

Results RX- by Cosmedix - Anti redness serum, Reduce

This is a physician only range which means it formula is incredibly potent, the Reduce serum is designed to help calm redness so this would help me reduce the redness caused by acne, this product doesn't smell great, but only a small amount once a day in the morning is required, this is my least favourite of my new skincare.

Cosmedix - Clarity, acne and breakout control serum

Love this serum, the fresh and zingy smell is instantly uplifting, tea tree, witch hazel and calming willow, aid the skin in controlling breakouts and diminishing the appearance of scars and finally the  proprietary retinol complex really makes this a must have for oily prone skin. you only need a pea size amount, and absorbs into the skin super quick.

Cosmedix - Phytoclear clarifying moisturiser

This anti - ageing moisturiser is perfect for oily prone skin, usually oily skin struggles with moisturisers as they can clog the pores and leave the skin very greasy! Phytoclear has been special formulated with vitamin B to help fight the signs of ageing without leaving the skin dry and dull. as with the clarity serum a pea sized amount is more then enough for the face and neck.

The great thing about my new skincare routine is its the same products day and night, and simple to use. 

Post peel 24 hours 

So far i have noticed my skin has become oily, but i will give this 2 weeks as when you change your skincare products this can happen and this is what usually happens to me post peel.

Post peel 7 days

Skin is clearer, pores look smaller, skin tone looks more even, skin has slowly decreased daily in oiliness, less redness.

I have been really impressed with the Purity peel by Cosmedix and i really do think after having 3/4 peels at 2 weeks apart will really help my skin.

Really big thank you for Dr Alison Warner for managing to fit me into her busy Oxford clinic. I will be writing a separate post about Dr Alison Warner shortly.

For more informations about Skin Solutions Clinic and Dr Alison Warner see the link below

http://skinsolutionsoxford.co.uk

Youngblood christmas Party at Mrs Oorloff's Clinic, Oxforshire.

I was one of the lucky few to be invited to Mrs Oorloff's Youngblood Christmas Party on Thursday 4th December. and this gave me my first chance to discover the Youngblood brand.

Mrs Oorloff's Clinic is one of the few places in Witney that offer advanced skincare treatments and cosmetics, from face peels to Body contouring, Mrs Oorloff's Clinic has become very popular and not just with the locals, people are willing to travel to be worked on by Mrs Oorloff, Who herself has been in the industry for 28 years with International experience which include Sports therapy and within a medical setting for surgeons in the cosmetics sector.

The youngblood christmas party was a brilliant event, it was cosy and relaxed and of course we were all were very well looked after with Mulled Wine, Mince pies and Chocolate biscuits but all the food and drink aside they evening was to learn more about youngblood and what looks you can achieve.

Youngblood mineral cosmetics

Pauline Youngblood worked as a Paramedical Aesthetician for plastic surgeons and noticed that following surgery traditional make up brands were irritating the skin. The brand was created when Pauline noticed a need for a natural lightweight mineral foundation, 17 years later the brand is thriving with many celebrities and make up artists using Youngblood as there preferred choice. text from ybsskin.com

Kelly Wiseman - National Sales Manager gave me a fantastic make over and showed me some tricks and tips on how to create some of this seasons latest looks.

First of all my face was primed with "Minerals in the mist- Recharge" this can be used after cleansing pre make up application to help lock in moisture and/or to set your make up after application.

Personally i didn't like the smell of recharge (Mint and Ginger) but it did make my skin feel soft and fresh, so light when she spritzed my face it didn't feel sticky or wet just refreshing.

Next came the Mineral primer this helps give a good base for make up and helps with shine, pores and wrinkles, again this felt incredibly light and didn't block my pores!!!

My final product for prepping was Eye Impact quick recovery cream, this makes the eyes look less puffy and ingredients include caffeine, peptides and antioxidants, as i don't really suffer with dark circles or excessive puffiness it is unfair for me to judge how good this product was but as with everything else it was light and didn't leave the skin around my eyes feeling tight and pulled which some brands do.

The mineral make up

First Kelly applied the Mineral rice setting powder this stops the make up from adhering to the skin and almost creates a barrier, but a breathable barrier so your skin looks good but most importantly it is still given air to breath rather then sweating and causing breakouts!. I really like the rice setting powder and i did purchase this in the pressed version. (since purchasing have used everyday and find incredibly easy and quick use and my face has been oil free!!!)

The Loose natural mineral foundation in Barely Beige was then applied, again this is very quick and easy to apply and i have also purchased this. the colour works well with my skin tone, looks really soft and natural on the skin, as sometimes minerals can look quite dull and heavy.  The coverage is sheer to full depending on the look you want to achieve, As with most mineral brands you don't need to use a lot and the pot has been designed not to dispense to much, this really helps as most of us have tried to tip just a little and you end up tipping half the pot then its a mission to try and clean it up without smudging or making the mess worse! the foundation lasts a day, you could top up if you were going out in the evening which i have done on occasions, this was easy and didn't end up looking over baked or dull. The nice thing about the foundation is how it feels on the skin it doesn't feel like you are actually wearing make up, its not scratchy when applied and doesn't dust up and leave a cloud for you to walk into, didn't rub off on my clothes. And most importantly made my skin look better and i imagine over time it will actually get better.

The foundations and the youngblood cosmetic range are all paraben free and contain no talc, theres no grit or harshness when applying and its very easy to use. You can even do your foundation without a mirror! but as with any foundation its also about the brushes, i have a selection of Mac and Bobbi brown brushes which i swear by, Youngblood do also sell brushes and for those that are very lazy they even have a spray brush cleaner which dries quickly with no need to rinse.

Onto the eyes

Kelly then asked what look the other guests would like to demonstrate of course all the ladies say "smokey eyes" so the Starlet Gazer palette is picked up and I'm transformed into a glamorous lady. personally i don't like smokey eyes that strong but Kelly did a great job and spent lots of time explaining the technique on how to create the perfect smokey eye. the biggest thing to remember is to press the eyeshadow onto the eye, minerals are loose if you brush them onto the eye you won't get the minerals to stay, this is easy and it didn't feel like my eyes were being poked, just gentlly pressing the colour into place. then eye liner & Mascara were added to complete my smokey eyes.

The red lips were added to really give my make over the "wow" factor,  i really didn't like the red lipstick it was way to much, i prefer a softer colour and a little more colour on my cheeks, but Kelly was demonstrating how you can create a dramatic look using the young blood range.

I really enjoyed having the glamorous make over, but for day to day i purchased the setting powder and loose powder foundation, After using them for a week, i am finding it very quick and easy to apply, and also still able to use my favourite brands of blusher, bronzer and eyeshadow, because sometimes mineral make up doesn't work well with cream blushers but Youngblood did. I can't get my head around using mineral eyeshadow (I'm the queen of laziness and just use a colour crayon currently). With some brands you can find your skin has an initial breakout when you change your products this hasn't happened if anything my skin looks and feels better, its easy to remove at the end of the day and doesn't require 100's of cotton wool pads to do!

I am looking forward to seeing what youngblood bring to the market in 2015.

Thank you kelly from Youngblood and the team at Mrs Oorloffs

Lash Power http://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/makeup-articles/best-lashes?%3Fsrc=rss

Christmas countdown day 2

To win this KLAPP skincare bundle just follow and re tweet and/or share on facebook. If you need Nourishing and anti aging this is the perfect bundle for you. Good luck ladies winner randomly selected 7pm on Tuesdays 2nd December and notified Wednesday 3rd December