What's New this month?

Hi Everyone!

Back in the land of the living albeit looking roughhhhh. It's a long one - but if you are borderline/full-on obsessive about all things beauty you may make it to the end.

Enjoy!

A full list of the products discussed are in the video description box.

Indeed Labs - Fillume

As mentioned earlier this week, coming next Monday is the latest release from Indeed Labs - Fillume.

What is it?
A moisturiser that claims to:

• restore the look of facial contours
• plump the appearance of furrow lines and laughter lines
• improve the tone and texture of the skin

What's in it?

The blimph says:

'5 Key Actives' *eyebrow*

• LINEFILL: A natural active from the seeds of sesame that works to restore lost facial volume leaving skin plumper and restoring the look of facial contours.
• ReGENESEA: Contains a special aqueous extract to help to redistribute subcutaneous fat, significantly improving skin smoothness, wrinkle density and wrinkle volume.
• Sym 3D: Stimulates fat cells to correct and bring volume to the skin through a unique dual mode action, resulting in added plumpness.
• Hyalufix: Creates hyaluronic acid, a high level hydrating substance that works to erase shadows, increase skin volume, improve radiance and diminish signs of wrinkles.
• PatcH20: A molecular network of natural biopolymers with a high concentration of moisturising complex glycerin, it provides immediate and long-lasting hydration through a molecular mesh that creates a protective film over the skin’s surface to reduce water evaporation. 

What does that mean?
Using a lot of different trademarked names for things is nothing new to the industry. I could mix up a batch of 'Hironsflex' out of glycerin and hyaluronic acid, trademark it and call it a 'key active'. It's still glycerin and hyaluronic acid.
And please don't get me started on things that allegedly shift 'fat' around or stimulate fat cells. It doesn't work on cellulite creams and as my mate Sali Hughes says, if it did, would we not apply this miracle potion to premature babies in high dependency units to beef them up a tad? Hogwash.

Possible allergy/acne triggers?
It contains silicones, alcohol and glycols if you are concerned about those. The texture however, is not silicone heavy and there is certainly no alcohol 'burn' on application.

What's not in it?
It's fragrance-free for those with problems with fragrance - either synthetic or essential oil based.
Parabens
Mineral oil

Who is it for?
Aimed at all skin types, it is targeting people with 'loss of facial contours' - it's hard to say what age that would come in at as it could depend on your lifestyle as much as your genetics and age. I.e. if you smoke, your face is going to look 'saggy' before that of a non-smoker, even possibly in your 20's - so go by your own lifestyle as well as your age.

How do you use it?
Apply a 'pea' sized amount am and pm. I needed a bit more than a pea. More a broad bean. :)

What's good/not so good about it?
Having said all of that, this is a lovely moisturiser that works brilliantly on top of very active serums. For 25 quid, it easily stands up against hydrating/plumping moisturisers with a much higher price tag, without the added costs for packaging and fancy boxes.
I would have liked a 50ml size though, even if that put the price up a bit.


I really like this cream - and I enjoy using Indeed Labs products, I just hope they keep it simple and don't start going down the 'too many claims/trademarked' names road - that would be a great shame and possibly distract from what is in essence, a great, affordable, range that for the most part, does what it says on the box.

Fillume is available from Boots.co.uk from Monday 26th January and is £24.99 for 30ml.

Fillume - new from Indeed Labs

New from the home of Hydraluron comes Fillume - a 'volumising moisturiser' aimed at targeting 'the appearance of subtle facial volume loss'.

I'll be trialing it this week but it claims to:

• restore the look of facial contours (does it come with a crane?)
• plump the appearance of furrow lines and laughter lines
• improve the tone and texture of the skin

Meaning that it's aimed at a slightly older audience, because if you're 20, you don't really have 'loss of contours' (unless you're a smoker - obvs).

First impressions are that it's light, yet nourishing and it's not too silicone-heavy (although it does contain silicone) and of course it's fragrance free - bonus for the people that have problems with fragrance/essential oils.

I'll report back by the weekend. :)

Fillume Volumising Moisturiser is priced at £24.99 for 30ml and is available exclusively at Boots UK and Boots.com from 26th January

 

indeed Labs exfoliator - Launch and Giveaway - CLOSED

As any regular reader of this site will know I am all about exfoliation. My preference is liquid exfoliants used at the 'toner' stage of skin prep - however, I am not impartial to the odd boost via something a little more granular. (I'm not talking about plastic balls or apricot kernals!)

indeed labs, home of hydraluron and retinol reface, launch their exfoliator this month in Boots - and it has some kick-arse ingredients.

The exfoliant itself is in a powder form and you add as little or as much water to it as you like to give you the desired strength. This one contains:

Bamboo extract - not lumps of bamboo or bamboo that will shred your skin

Rice bran powder - one of the best ingredients for softening

Pineapple enzymes - always good for some exfoliation

Okinawa red algae - algae of any kind is your friend

Hyaluronic acid - a must-have - and a nice addition to what would normally just be a 'scrubby' product

Suitable and gentle enough for all skin types and also good to throw into your cleanser if you want to give it extra 'oomph'.

indeed Labs are very kindly giving 5 lucky readers the chance to try the new exfoliator. Simply leave your name and some form of contact below (email or twitter handle) in the comments. Done.

Giveaway is open until Midnight on Friday 7th March and is UK only as this doesn't launch in other markets until later on.

exfoliator launches in Boots later this month and will be nationwide from April.

• Twitter:  @indeedlabs
• Facebook: facebook.com/indeedlabs
• Instagram: indeedlabs

PS - it really bothers my OCD grammar freak self that all of their products start with lower case letters. I would like to call it Indeed Labs Exfoliator. :)

12 Days of Giveaways. Day 10. Indeed Labs

It would be rude, frankly, to hold 12 Days of Giveaways and not include Indeed Labs.

Home of the now infamous Hironsluron Hydraluron, Indeed Labs hit 2014 running with the launch of the brand new Hydraluron Moisture Boosting Mask, perfect for the post-over-indulging-dehydrated faces out there. Holding 4 in a pack, they are all soaked in next generation 3D hyaluronic acid. (I have no idea what that actually means, but they bloody work.) There are four packs of masks up for grabs (to ONE winner).

And lest we forget, to keep that dehydrated skin turning over and stimulating collagen whilst you have a kip, we also have 3 tubes of Retinol Reface to be won.

Retinol Reface contains 3 types of retinol that soften, smooth and help reverse the signs of ageing. One of (if not THE) the mildest, non-irritating forms of retinol I've ever used.

ONE lucky reader will win ALL of the above. To enter, simply:

• Leave a comment below (Because of hideous spam, I approve all comments and will be asleep for the first 6 hours of this giveaway, please don't worry if your comment doesn't show - no need to send it more than once.)
• Giveaway closes at 11.59pm this evening (19th)
• Open UK/Ireland only.
• By entering this giveaway you are confirming that you have read the Giveaway T&C's.

pepta-bright from indeed laboratories - Review

My love affair with Hydraluron (Hironsluron) is well known. Well, Indeed Labs have done it again.

This is one of those products that you don't know you need until you use it and then can't bear to be without it. I wanted to use it for a few weeks to test the claims of fading scarring and pigmentation.

Let me say this from the off: if you are young, have bouncy fabulous skin and no pigmentation or uneven skin tone - you won't love it like I love it. Because bitch you may not need it. (You will still see the benefits - but they won't be as WHOA as someone my age.)

If, however, you have a face that shows you're 30+ and have lived a good life (ahem), worship the sun enjoy sunbathing, have suffered with adult acne and the resulting scarring - any of the above really - then you could do a lot worse than to check this out.

Presented as an 'Intense Brightening Treatment' it claims to do the following (with my subtle comments next to them):

1. Even skin tone - YES
2. Reduce and lighten pigmentation - YES
3. Prevent, treat and diminish dark spots - YES
4. Restore luminosity and radiance - OHMYGOD YES
5. Prevent photoaging - WHO KNOWS?
6. Stimulate cell turnover - TOO EARLY TO TELL
7. Maintain skin's hydration - YEP, USE LESS HYDRALURON AS A RESULT

In short, for me - its all about No. 2 - My acne scars are fading - and No.4 - as soon as you put this on your face it looks like someone has used QVC's soft-lighting-reserved-especially-for-you-know-who to make you look awake, alive and glowing.

What's impressive is what is left out of the formulation. 

It does not contain any:

• bismmuth oxychloride - the ingredient most commonly used to give 'radiance' in eyeshadows/eye creams - also one of the most common allergens and the reason I can't use Bare Minerals.
• hydroquinone - banned in the EU but still widely available in a lot of high-end brands - naughty
• kojic acid - like hydroquinone - skin bleach
• mercury - d'uh - its mercury
• parabens - I don't actually mind about parabens - a lot of fuss about nothing that now has a myth attached to it. Parabens don't give you cancer. Chillax.

Now a part of my staple skincare wardrobe - if you look at pictures of yourself when you were 20 and say 'GOD I look so YOUNG' - this is for you.

pepta-bright is available from Boots for £29.99 - and is at the time of posting on 3 for 2. *sits on bank card*

Sidebar: I use it AM and PM religiously. Its a commitment people. Keep it up.

* PR sample

New Year Skincare - Daily Beauty AM

If you follow me on twitter or Instagram you'll have already seen pictures like this - this is my morning routine of the moment. I thought I'd try and put some up here more regularly as I am always asked for further details on the products. (If you see one of these pics on twitter or Instagram and want more info just give me a kick - not literally - rude.)

Left to right are:

Sunday Riley Ceramic Slip Cleanser - really enjoying this. I use it in the mornings if I'm feeling grubby. It's like a runny clay and just cleanses and refreshes without drying. It doesn't in any way foam - ignore the description on the link.

P50 - I'm back to this at the moment - my post-Christmas skin needed the exfoliation and there's nothing quite like it. 

La Roche Posay Serozinc - as this is unbelievably not available in the UK (sort it out LRP), the gorgeous Amelia brought me enough back from Europe to survive Armageddon (THANK YOU!). Spraying zinc on top of your exfoliating toner stage gives you a little hydration before Hydraluron but more importantly for me its great for preventing breakouts. I toyed with the idea of linking to a picture saying 'WHY ISN'T THIS ON SALE IN THE UK YOU MUPPETS?' but thought it would be rude. Oh. My bad.  Also sidebar: the LRP has to be one of the most confusing/long websites out there. Please also fix that. Alrighty then.

Eysilix - still using this too. It's so easy, perfect texture, great packaging and helps my dark circles - which hardly any other eye cream does. 

Hydraluron - I'm changing this to 'Hironsluron' - still using it most days. Twice a day unless I'm going for an oil or balm in the evening.

Kate Somerville Deep Tissue Repair - I think this and the Goat Cream are the Holy Grail of KS's range. This takes 10 years off of my skin upon application. It is designed as a moisturiser but I use it as a serum underneath...

Kate Somerville Nourish Daily Moisturiser - I treat this as an overcoat. It goes on last on days I am dehydrated - which in this weather and after recovering from drinking alcohol (even a little) on a daily basis over Christmas - I am.

The Kate Somerville range is still unavailable in the UK. RUDE. Please also sort that.

I'm clearly feeling very bossy today.

*the above is a mixture or PR samples, purchases and gifts. All are fabulous.

No Affiliates.

2012 Awards. Eye Cream and Launch of the Year. Eysilix, Hydraluron and Indeed Labs.

I didn't get on with Nanoblur and could never be bothered with Peptalash (just one more thing to do too far - you know?) but Indeed Labs redeemed themselves completely with these two products this year.

Eysilix is essentially every eye cream you ever bought, with added peptides, all wrapped up together for £24.99, as opposed to some of the more ridiculously priced eye creams on the market at the moment. It contains 10 peptides, which doesn't always mean anything but in this formulation, for me, they work. I've noticed if I stop using it my dark circles are worse - it doesn't fix them permanently, if you stop using any cream they will come back - but it does help them on a day-to-day basis when I am using it.

No surprises for my Launch of the Year.

Hydraluron has basically been in my routine since I wrote this review when it launched. Nothing has changed, I still use it daily - most of the time 2 x a day. I've lost count of how many tubes I've used. It has absolutely helped keep breakouts at bay and my pretty much permanently dehydrated skin loves it. 

Eysilix and Hydraluron are my Eye Cream and Launch of the Year. Both are available at Boots.

A few weeks in the life of ....Instagram August and September!

 Bloody hell.

I thought it was just September I missed out. No. Weeks and weeks. Hopefully work will steady out a little (Who am I kidding? Really?) and I can get back to some Clinics and reviews asap!

I am in the last throws of planning a Live Winter Clinic so will have details of that soon. In the meantime... some titbits from the last couple of months...

Westminster Cathedral. Pretty breathtaking.

Harvey Nichols chips. Also breathtaking - for other reasons.

Zelens, La Prairie, Caudalie, Hydraluron and Ms Somerville.

Gigi

A nice working kit!

Puma in Carnaby St gets a couple of extra window dummies.

Broadwick St mural

Carluccio's. *weeps*

Me in a terrifying face mask. You're welcome.

Cleanser I can never remember the name of from pharmacy in Paris, La P, Sjal, Zelens, Hydraluron, Ms Somerville and Caudalie

One of my favourite places

One of my favourite pictures ever - source unknown

Beautiful packaging

A hotel bathroom after my own heart.

Saw at Thorpe Park - or as I called it: CHRIST ON A BIKE

Stealth. Lest said the better.

Me with long legs thanks to a very low sun!

Suti, Zelens, Sjal, La Prairie, Hydraluron and SkinCeuticals SAVED my face after Thorpe Park.

Damien Hirst putting me off my lunch.

Eysilix launch. Not me - for the record.

Trialling this.

Beautiful newness from Balance Me.

And possibly one of my most favourite pictures EVER of my Babygirl - she's perfectly sane. No really.