Kypris 1000 Roses and Moonlight Catalyst

A few weeks ago I met with Chase, the founder of Kypris, in Selfridges, where the brand have launched exclusively in the UK. 

Kypris is a high-end natural range that would not look out of place sitting next to Tata Harper or May Lindstrom on the shelf, except this is taken to the extreme. Don't be fooled or put off (as the English in particular tend to be) by the airy-fairy appearance. The product is extremely solid. I would go as far to say gorgeous. And it works. Which helps, obviously. :)

More importantly, they offer a night-time alternative to retinols for all you beautiful pregnant/breastfeeding ladies out there.

This is one of those rare brands where I could find a use for every product. I'm not joking. Based solely on the hand applications I did in the meeting, I asked for a bag for Ruth, Lily and Anna (who I was meeting up with afterwards). I wanted to share the love. 

For the sake of getting something up here for you to join the party, I honed in on two products, the Moonlight Catalyst and 1000 Roses, but this will not be the last you hear of Kypris on this blog. 

I thought I'd give an overview of the brand, then mini reviews on these particular products and explain why they were standout for me.

If you like your products vegan, natural and organic, but do not want to compromise on results, this is the brand for you. 

Their claims are extensive:

• vegan
• wild-crafted
• organic
• local
• cruelty-free
• clinically proven
• co-op grown
• sustainably sourced
• from small farms
• synthetic free
• women-owned farms
• no petroleum anything
• 100% natural & nature derived
• certified sustainable

There are three serums, three elixirs - which are essentially more oil-based, and a body product. If you saw my original Instagram post, you will know that there was a little confusion over the pricing. By confusion, I mean that the US/UK conversion didn't add up, so I queried it. You can always expect to be punished financially when a brand is made on the other side of the ocean/world - basically outside of your home country. That's just simple economics and it's the way business works.

If however, you saw the original pricing and were put off, as I know a lot of you were, come back to the fold! After I nagged spoke to Selfridges and the brand, they reviewed the situation and they have substantially altered the pricing and it makes much more sense now. I talk more about it in this video:

ANYWAAAYYYYYYY. 

ONTO THE PRODUCT.

Overall:

Natural? Organic? Man made? Vegan?

Purer than the driven snow

Tested on animals/sold in China?

No/No

What's not in it?

see above list - my favourite part is obviously 'no petroleum anything' 

1000 Roses

Who is it for?

Combination/hormonal or dry/dehydrated (ideally, although in reality anyone could use it)

What’s in it?

Helianthus annuus (Sunflower Seed) Oil, Cocos nucifera (Virgin Coconut) Oil, Vitis vinifera (Grape Seed) Oil, Adansonia digitata (Baobab) Oil, Aleurites moloccans (Kukui) Oil, Calophyllum inophyllum (Tamanu) Oil, Curcubita pepo (Pumpkin Seed) Oil, Ubiquinone (CoQ10), Opuntia engelmannii (Prickly Pear Seed) Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Extract, Rosa damascena (Rose) Oil, Hippophae rhamonides (Seabuckthorn Berry) Extract, Punica granatum (Pomegranate Seed) Extract, Rubus occidentalis (Black Raspberry Seed) Oil, Vaccinium macrocarpon (Cranberry Seed) Oil, Stearyl Glycyrrhetinate (From Licorice), Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (Vitamin C Ester), Rosamarinus officinalis (Rosemary Leaf) Extract, Non- GMO Mixed Tocopherols

Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?

None of the traditional aggravators. No fragrance at all. 

How do you use it?

'Apply 2-3 drops onto the skin' - I tend to do 5 and get it straight on to the face for massage - it's too expensive to mess around with - it can obviously be layered either over or under moisturisers/other products. 

What’s good about it?

Besides the 1000 roses in every bottle, it's loaded with Kaneka CoQ10, a huge antioxidant that also aids discolouration (pigmentation) and contains a vitamin c ester - making it much more stable and effective because it absorbs quicker. It's a beautiful product. The appearance of glowing, healthy skin is immediate. It soothes, hydrates, softens and leaves no sticky residue. If you had to choose between this and a super high-end serum from most department store brands (outside of my usual favourites), I'd look into this one.

What’s not so good about it?

It's £175.00 for 50 ml or £75.00 for 14ml. The price is reflective of the ingredients, but it will obviously price it out of the market for a lot of you, I know. If you're older, maybe try the smaller one and see if you think the results are worth it, before indulging in the larger size.

Where to use in your routine?

Anywhere depending on am or pm. Over serum, under moisturiser. AS your serum, on its own. Any which way you can.

1000 Roses is available from £75.00 at Selfridges.com or from $90.00 from KyprisBeauty.com

Moonlight Catalyst

Who is it for?

Everyone - but especially 'Environmentally stressed, experienced ( a really nice way of saying mature), acneic, or imbalanced complexions'.

What’s in it?

Water/Aqua, Glycerin, Lactobacillus/Pumpkin Fruit Ferment Filtrate, Xylitylglucoside, Sclerotium Gum, Algae, Anhydroxylitol, Xylitol, sh-Oligopeptide-1,  Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Flower Extract, Vigna Aconitifolia Seed Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides (Sea Buckthorn) Extract, Prunus Domestica (Plum) Fruit Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Water Extract, Hydrolyzed Fucus Vesiculosus Protein, Sodium Chloride, Trehalose,  Sodium Levulinate, Maltodextrin, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Anisate, Sodium Citrate 

Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?

No

What's not in it?

Vitamin A/Retinols in any form

How do you use it?

In the evening only, straight after toning, as you would a retinol. Anything else can follow. I would use a moisturiser or another Kypris Elixir on top as this is water-based and can take oil on top of it. 

What’s good about it?

I like that it has an original take on an evening product, an area that is so overwhelmed with retinols/vitamin A products. This is a heavy hitting serum. Fermented pumpkin enzymes are more effective but less irritating than AHAs, they're softening and decrease the signs of stress on the skin, including redness.

sh-Oligopeptide-1 is EGF, a powerful protein that binds to cell receptors and activates and accelerates cellular proliferation (speeds them up, airs them out). It also accelerates and promotes skin healing, increases the rate of skin renewal, and slows down skin thinning, which won't bother you if you're 25, but if you're the other side of 40, you'll know what I'm talking about. This is completely plant-derived, it's not the original human-cloned recombinant EGF.

The price. This is 47ml for £56.00. Think about the amount of overnight products that are 15ml, 30ml for a similar price, if not more. For the ingredients involved here, it's absolutely worth you looking into. You don't get ingredients like this in 'corporate' brands. Independent brands don't have to answer to shareholders about cost of goods, they are driven solely by passion for the product, not profits. They invariably add more expensive ingredients. Think Zelens, Lindstrom and Tata for starters.

What’s not so good about it?

If you are wary of EGF, whether it comes from barley or e-coli in a petri dish, you will still want to avoid this. I added EGF to my routine a while ago after BioEffect responded so positively to my post with thinking and research to reassure me of the difference between recombinant (human) EGF and biomimetic (plant) EGF.

Where to use in your routine?

After toning in the evening, underneath anything else.

Moonlight Catalyst is 47ml in size, £56.00 and available in the UK from Selfridges here and in the US for $72.00 from KyprisBeauty.com here - frankly it's a bargain for what it is.

N.B. Selfridges sold out online of Moonlight Catalyst after my Instagram post and it is still not showing as available. Maddening. I tried to warn them but to no avail. Apparently there is 'plenty' on the way. I'll flag up as soon as I hear.

More info on the brand here - it's currently available in Canada and Australia also, but I don't have that pricing.

*Worth mentioning I do not work with Kypris in any way, although I would consider breaking my 'no more skincare brands' rule because the products are the dogs bollocks. And this is not a sponsored post. And Selfridges, get your arse in gear please.

Pregnancy, Breasts, Dummies and everything in-between.

I know. 

I have four children. They are without doubt, the best thing about my life. Without doubt. Would die for all of them. Any time, any day. I went to see a play last week which included the line 'Having a child is like a piece of your heart leaving your body - it's just out there - walking around.' I couldn't have put it better. I love my kids. A lot.

Just to get that out in case it appears otherwise once you start reading.

The parenting 'Guidelines' given out by the government were different with each and every child. After the second I stopped listening to official 'guidelines' and went solely on my instinct. Best thing I ever did. A few of my friends have given birth recently and listening to their stories over recent weeks has literally filled me with rage. Some people have the lovely birth, no complications and are literally the walking embodiment of 'earth mother' - whatever the hell that means. Yay for them. The rest of us may have had a slightly harder time. This is for you Ladies.

Let's have a baby!

Before:

If you want a boy: eat red meat, salt and potassium (bananas), absolutely no dairy.

If you want a girl: no red meat, no/low salt, no bananas/potassium and tons of dairy, TONS.

Boy sex: Sporadically when you are ovulating, none during the time immediately after your period.

Girl sex: Basically a lot, from the minute your period finishes. A lot. You'll find men give little resistance to this guideline.

Fair to say this is not based on scientific testing - more on old wives tales that have worked for myself and friends. I traditionally eat a very 'boy' diet. I'm a salt addict. I'm not big on dairy. 3 sons.

When I was trying to have a girl, I changed my diet completely, stayed away from salty food and basically ate my weight in yoghurt. I also had Mr Hirons on a schedule. The poor man was exhausted. Happy, but exhausted.

Lo and behold we go for the scan and: NO PENIS. Ava.

Coincidence? Maybe. I think not.

When we went for number four, I didn't change a thing about my diet. I even said to the family 'I'm going to get pregnant, have a baby boy in the Summer and his name is Max.'

To be fair, I've always taken planning to the extreme.

During:

If you're tired, sleep. There's a special kind of tiredness that comes with pregnancy. I like to call it 'sudden coma'.  Even if it means leaving visitors to go to bed. Do it. Sleep. The people that mind don’t matter and the people that matter don’t mind.

If you're hungry, eat. You're not eating for two though, you're eating for a hungry pregnant woman. There's a difference. One is sensible, one is the little enabling devil in your head that says 'eat ALL of the ice cream'.

Labour:

If you are in pain, have the drugs. It's painful. There is no getting around it. A large obnoxious watermelon is literally trying to tear you in half. There is nothing to be gained from 'going through the pain'. It's a powerful experience with or without the drugs. Trust me. I've done both. Mind-blowing experience either way. I personally have no time for 'breath through it!' and people shouting 'You can do it! COME ON!'. I'm not a racehorse at the Grand National thank you very much. Stop putting unnecessary pressure on women to have no drugs. If you're in pain, unbearable 'kill me now' pain, have the drugs. My preferred drug was a mobile epidural. I had 4 extremely large babies. I felt no need to 'breath through' anything. I AM breathing. You however, won't be, if you keep yelling at me to 'BREATHE!'

I did, however, threaten to punch the midwife who told me the anaesthetist was on his break. 'He can have 'A BREAK' when I am not IN PAIN.'.

Equally, if you gave birth at home, in a birthing pool with candles and a doula, very happy for you. I really, genuinely, am. I hate you a little bit. That's not everyone's journey.

After:

Breastfeeding. We all KNOW that breast is best for babies, we're not MORONS. That's what they're FOR.

Breast, however, is not always best for Mum. And I'm sorry (not sorry), Mum comes first, not the baby. Mum, not baby.

Yes, disagree all you want, but a new Mum that is in bits because she cannot feed/doesn't have enough milk/simply doesn't want to breastfeed should not have the breastfeeding mafioso giving her a hard time and trying to make her feel like a failure. We do that to ourselves constantly when we have children, we don't need your help thank you very much. 

Breastfeeding, while undoubtedly being a beautiful thing, is also the most exhausting thing you can do while still 'technically' being awake. Your boobs feel like they are going to explode, your nipples look and feel as if they are going to fall off and frankly, sometimes you're in so much discomfort you wish they would. And guess what!? When you have subsequent children and breastfeed them - the uterus knows what to do as soon as that baby latches on - these are called 'after pains' - and no-one - NO-ONE tells you about them. By the time you get to child 3 and God Help Us - 4 - you are literally begging for pain relief to knock you out. And you know what's coming. You can't have any. Worse than labour. No really.

I have even more disdain for formula companies encouraging African women to buy formula instead of feeding their babies themselves. I know what Nestle are up to. This is not what I am talking about.

I'm talking specifically about the Western World and making women feel bad. It's not cool. That is all.

For the record, I breastfed all of my children, for varying degrees of time. When it was too much for me (depending on how many other children I had, let's be honest), I switched to formula. No guilt here. 

I love my breasts. They did a wonderful job.

I love formula. It helped me out when I was at my wit's end.

My offspring are intelligent, strapping men and children. Breastfeeding is a wonderful, unique thing that we girls can do - but not breastfeeding is absolutely not the end of the world. Please don’t give yourself a hard time. Your baby will be fine.

After:

Health Visitors.

Can we take a minute to talk about Health Visitors? Let me start by saying I've had 4 children and numerous health visitors. The first one was lovely, I was lucky.

The next three, I told them not to come back, I knew what I was doing and I was fine thank you.

Remember this is your house, your baby, your body, your family. If you are not happy, tell them to leave. Don't ask them, tell them.

If you are a health visitor and you know that you do a good, supportive job, we thank you, really.

I have too many friends though, that had bad experiences - mostly linked to breastfeeding if I'm honest (see previous) and the worst kind, the kind that turns up and hasn't read your file, doesn't know that you had the labour from hell and ended up in ICU (Max) and is wondering 'why Mum is in bed - she should get up and move around! *insert smiley face* Get out of my house.

Their job is to help you and offer advice, if you aren't getting that, they can leave.

In fact, anyone around you that is being anything other than supportive - can leave. Buh BYE.

After:

The Pyjama and Shower Rule.

People are strange creatures. A pregnant woman is the centre of attention for 9 months. As soon as you birth the Baby Jesus from your loins, he/she gets ALL the attention. Rude.

To remind people that YOU went through an 'experience/ordeal' (delete where appropriate) stay in your pyjamas for about 6 weeks afterwards. Especially if you had a c-section or are breastfeeding.

I'm not advocating becoming a sloth.

Get up, shower. I cannot stress how important it is to shower every day unless you are completely bedridden. One day rolls into the other if you don't. You need that two minutes to yourself to stand in the shower and think/cry if necessary – and it is so easy to put yourself last when you should put yourself first.  Trust me on this. The sooner a new mother puts herself first everything else falls into place. Why? Because she can cope.

Shower, then change into fresh pyjamas for as long as you need to until you feel 100%.

If that takes months, it takes months.

BUT: even the most ignorant visitor has to be completely insane to ask a woman holding a newborn baby wearing her pyjamas to make the tea.

If you're in jeans and a t-shirt, I promise you - you are the one in the kitchen making the tea while the Baby Jesus is passed around the family. Stay in your pyjamas.

And finally:

If you have no-one to hold the baby while you shower/bath, stick them in their chair. They may fuss, it won't kill them.

If you have a fussy baby, get a dummy. Yes, I know, even more divisive than breastfeeding, the dummy.

Used appropriately, the dummy will soothe the baby for FIVEGODDAMNMINUTES while you dry off and get dressed.

The problems only happen when it is used as a crutch for you to shut the baby up every five seconds. No. That's not what I'm talking about. Five minutes while you shower, make food, take care of your other children? Yes.

When it doesn't work out the way you planned.

I have four children. I've had more than four pregnancies. If you have also suffered numerous miscarriages, please don't give up. There is hope. And help available. And I send you all my love. And virtual hugs.

You don't have to listen to me.

I've only done it four times over a 23 year period. What the hell do I know?

N.B. Gina Ford and The Supernanny - whilst undoubtedly having moments of genius between them, also have zero children between them. Zero.

Sorry, that's like taking advice for your car from a bike manufacturer. They share similar componetry but don't really understand the mechanics.