Pestle & Mortar Superstar Retinol Night Oil, my excited but limited thoughts based on 3 weeks of use

I am never really sure about reviews of skincare products. I mean I love skincare, I have an extensive range, it is what I spend my money on, it is what I think about before I go to sleep and what I day dream about during the spaces in between. What I am really doing is putting my thoughts out there about a product which may or may not suit somebody else. However given that I currently get about 2 views per day and that includes my own maybe it is neither here nor there, to the person who looks at my burblings, welcome, but please bear in mind that these are my own rather excited but initial thoughts.

So Pestle & Mortar Superstar Retinol Night Oil. This had been on my radar for a while after that post by Caroline Hirons

I have been using Sunday Riley's Luna Oil and indeed had repurchased, but I was not using as regularly and wanted something which felt a bit more nourishing for the winter months. 

I have been using this for all of 3 weeks, stupidity to make any vast claims really but I am in a bit of a giddy mood for I do bloody love this. 

What can I say about this? It is elegantly packaged, housed in a slim black tube with a pump which works. It has no smell at all, not even an oily scent, it is odourless. It has a thickness to it, it is not a dry oil to my mind, nor a thin oil, it is an oil which disperses easily across my skin with a stickablility which enables massage but not drag. 

What have I noticed after such a short space of useage? I am worried that I am whizzing through it and it will be gone, the instructions are for half a pump at night but I didn't see that until I was looking on the website last night and I have been using a full pump which lets face it is not a vast amount, probably around 1.75mls if that, but the tube feels suddenly lighter and it is currently sold out on the website and I am panicking somewhat, because it really does feel good on my skin, I mean really good, like a good tonic of goodness, it seems to get into all my nooks and crannies and plump them out a bit and then calm all the redness and plump out the thinness.

This is currently £63 for 30mls. It is sold out at the moment from the stockists that I know of, ie the Pestle and Mortar website and the Cloud10 Beauty website. I think this is my new favourite treatment oil, and may have reached the status of needing one in storage at all times.

Ingredients: Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil*, Rosa Canina (Fruit) Oil*, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil**, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Oil*, Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate, Retinyl Palmitate, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil***, Nigella Sativa (Black Cumin) Seed Oil**, Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu/Foraha) Seed Oil**, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil*, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Tocopherol, Calendula Officinalis Flower Oil**, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil**.
*Cold Pressed | **Cold Pressed and Organic| ***Steam distilled

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm

I bought this. And I used it all up. And I am really not sure about it. 

So it is a balm cleanser. With not a whole lot of ingredients in to upset or irritate the skin, unless one happens to be allergic to those ingredients, for after all one can be allergic to anything.

It is designed to be applied, dry face, dry hands, massaged in and removed with some form of hot cloth, beit muslin or cotton flannel, so far so ubiquitous cleanser.

It is quite a thick balm, not unlike lard in texture and without smell. I wouldn't call the texture buttery (Emma Hardie Moringa Balm) or oily (Vaishaly Cleansing Balm, Omorovicza Thermal Cleansing Balm) or gel like (Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm) or grainyish (Eve Lom), it is of its own, soft is the term I would use. 

I like that it can emulsify with the addition of water, and it certainly is effective in makeup removal and general cleaning ability.

And yet, I find that I miss that little bit extra, the texture and scents of the other balms give me that added thrill of pleasure, this is utilitarian, it does the job quickly and efficiently and there is nothing wrong with that, indeed my skin is going through a sensitive, weak phase, likely due to a change in temperature, and it needs quick gentle thoroughness, and this is probably the product to deliver for me right now.

It is around £20 for 125mls

Nude Advanced Renewal Overnight Repair Mask or First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream

In an attempt to soothe my sad, aged and properly dehydrated skin in the sudden albeit seasonal drop in temperature in the UK, I decided to compare and contrast a couple of products that I have in my stash.

Compare and contrast takes me back to A-Level English Literature; Compare and Contrast the Poems of Gerald Manley Hopkins and John Donne with Particular Reference to Form, or some such fancy.

So Nude Overnight Mask is that, an overnight moisturising mask - I first came across this after Ruth's review on a model recommends, whereas First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Cream is marketed as a rich hydrating moisturiser. Nude is housed in a tub, and First Aid in a tube. Neither is fragranced that I can tell.

I have shown the textures below, both blobbed and then sheared out slightly.

The Nude has a thicker texture, and is more of a smear and leave sort of application and it feels more oily than the First Aid cream which really is more of a thick cream, dolloped on rather than smeared if that makes sense.

I like both of these, my skin feels comfortable immediately post application with each product and in the morning my skin feels like it has been taken care of, it feels hydrated and comfortable. But getting down to the nitty gritty of texture, the First Aid is immediately cooling on application, it feels more immediately hydrating I suppose, however in the morning there is no residue, maybe a good thing for some, but for me I want evidence that a product hasn't been sweated off in the night. The Nude, whilst it does not feel cooling, and if truth be told, on me feels a little greasy on application, it is still there in the morning, and at this time of year, my skin needs that.

Nude Advanced Renewal Overnight Repair Mask is £42 for 75mls - I bought mine from SpaceNK

Ingredients: Water (aqua), butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), caprylic/capric triglyceride, glyceryl stearate se, glycerine, beeswax (cera alba), Theobroma grandiflorum seed butter, cetearyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, hydroxypropyl starch phosphate, sclerotium gum, ethylhexylgycerin, palmitic acid, stearic acid, lactose, milk protein (lactis proteinium), sodium dehydroacetate, glycyrrhetinic acid, citric acid, galactaric acid, ficus carica (fig) fruit/leaf extract, bifida ferment lysate, helianthus annuss (sunflower) seed oil, lactic acid, Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, honey (mel) extract, phenethyl alcohol, glycolipids, sodium hyaluronate, tocopheryl acetate, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter) nut extract, potassium sorbate, tocopherol,

 

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream is £9 for 56.7g - mine was free in a You Magazine Beauty Box

Ingredients: Colloidal Oatmeal, Water, Stearic Acid, Glycerin, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Allantoin, Sodium Hydroxide, Dimethicone, Xanthum Gum, Disodium EDTA, Chrysanthemum Parthenium (Feverfew) Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Butylene Glycol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus, Ceramide 3.

Odacite Pomegranate + Rose Geranium Serum Concentrate Hydration

There is a sudden drop in temperature in the UK and my skin for the first time is actually suffering. I used to read all the "ramp up your skincare routine for the coming cooler months" articles with somewhat distracted interest, because it never really applied to me, my skin has been resolutely oily for all my life really - I was not smug but sort of bored. 

Well now, I have flakes (yes bloody flakes) around my nose and on my cheeks, I have a red angry rash type thing - I can't even describe it, it is so alien to me - at the base of my neck which is irritated by anything on it.

Now I think that it is dehydration rather than dryness, but I am taking no chances. Gone are the flannels for removing cleanser, makeup, grime and in are the muslins - far gentler. 

And in are the use of oils during the day - hence the Odacite Po + R serum. Which curses upon curses I have used up.

Anyway it is very good, it is a little bottle of oil (5mls)of pomegranate oil, rose geranium essential oil and vitamin E oil and that is it, to be added to one's current moisturiser, or directly onto a moist skin, a few drops at a time.

Double curses that I have used it up because as I coaxed the dying mls out of the bottle over the past two days I realised how absolutely essential it is for now, it is quite thick if applied directly to the skin, but has sunk in admirable and not caused any of the usual oily overkill which accompanies day time oil application on my skin - perhaps I am transitioning to drier skin? perhaps this is how it starts, a sort of permanent change in skin during the seasonal change? perhaps it is transitory and next week I will be back to my oily self, who knows.

£33 for 5mls - I bought mine from Cult Beauty plus a few others

Sunscreen as primer?

I started to compose this post at the beginning of the summer but stalled because I became bogged down with the enormity of it, and I fear that this is a quest which is only just in the initial stages, I am at the foothills of the mountain, or maybe I haven't even left basecamp.

Anyway here we go. The premise for me was to lighten the load of my face base as I entered the sunnier parts of the year. Of course in the UK sunshine and warmth are always optional, and I wear an SPF50 every day rain or shine inside or out - Ultrasun Anti-Pigmentation SPF50 for Face if anyone is asking and it is common throughout this blog. But that is applied pre skincare and I want something which is a sunscreen and a primer, if I am honest I want something that makes my skin look like porcelain, I want my skin to look flawless, I want the moon, and probably the stars, I want my daughter's skin, which I had 30 years ago but didn't bloody appreciate.

So above is a selection of what I am currently trialling and have trialled, and yes they are all SPF50, apart from the Omorovicza which is SPF30.

As a disclaimer I do rather like the slightly chalky slighty white cast that a mineral SPF can leave, I find that it does knock out the pinker areas of my face and generally gives my uneven skin tone a little bit of a blur.

Vichy Mattifying Face Fluid Dry Touch and Velvety Face Cream SPF50
I managed to get through a tube and a half of the mattifying one over the summer and into autumn of last year. It is okay, it is light and fluid and a little goes a long way, although that isn't really the objective because one really should slather on an SPF. Any white cast disappears pretty quickly on me, but I was disappointed in this because it was not mattifying at all, infact I bought the velvety face cream from Vichy and preferred it. 

Skinceutical Sheer Mineral UV Defense SPF50
I am of course going to completely contradict my disclaimer, because this does leave a white cast, but try as I might, I cannot get on with this product, even though it comes highly recommended and feted as a great all round sunscreen. It has good ingredients, good level of protection, but it did bugger all for me other than sit whitely on my skin whilst I rubbed and smoothed and pummeled in increasing attempts to get the product to absorb. It maybe that I am simply just piling product on top of product and something had to give, but it didn't work for me. 

Avene SPF50 Cream
At the moment this is my favourite. It comes in a cream formulation which I have and a lighter version which has a small blue rectangle on the mostly orange tube. It is a tube with an integral pump and the texture is a thickish cream which has that bit of chalk that means it does have a whiteness, and some smoothing and some blurring. 

Bareminerals Prep Step Mineral Shield Daily SPF50
Very lightweight, very white. Similar to the Skinceutical in its texture, but this does absorb a little better into my skin. I am still working through this one, it has a bit of a shiny finish but again this maybe because I am using product on product on product.

Omorovicza Mineral UV Shield SPF30
Creamy textured, this sits happily on my skin over the top of all my skin care and underneath any makeup. Probably better for my oilier skin going into the winter months rather than summer.

Cane+Austin Protect Broad Spectrum SPF50
I bought this originally for my husband, but ended up stealing it to try. Thin, easily absorbed, a little bit mattifying on my skin, I rather like it, better though for me for warmer days.

La Roche Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 - Soothing Repairing Balm SPF50

This is really what it says on the tube, it is rich and soothing and calming. Probably it is a tad too rich for my skin, but the tube is perfect to slip into my hand bag and apply as a hand cream with an SPF.

I have just used up my tube of the Avene, and have another ready.

Pretty Iconic by Sali Hughes

I read this at a gallop, ordered when it first came out and absorbed in great chunks, racing through each page, eager for the next. Of course I ended up dissatisfied and am now absorbing this book at a more sedate and proper pace which is befitting, for this book deserves time and respect.

I liked Pretty Honest, but I love Pretty Iconic. I think it is because I recognise so many of the products and experiences. In Pretty Honest I felt a bit lectured, perhaps that is too strong a word because I am a very huge fan of Sali Hughes on so many levels, I admire her dress sense, her delightful instagram pictures of her rescue dog and her ability to write, proper write about beauty without resorting to fripps and frivs (or fripperies and frivolities). I mean she is a proper journalist after all and that should be a given, but to see it in print and read it aloud is a sheer and utter visual and aural treat.

I would buy this for anyone who is over forty. To read it, is to wallow in the fantastic world of beauty in all its guises. I really really love it.