Sunday Riley CEO C+E antiOXIDANT Protect and Repair Moisturiser

I bought this very recently as in last weekend as part of my purchases to qualify for the SpaceNK summer beauty bag. As such my thoughts are based on five mornings worth of use. 
Here is the blurb taken from the back of the box

To my mind it is a vitamin C enriched day cream.

And a vitamin C enriched day cream is right up my street currently, because I am struggling to get some vitamin C into my skin care routine and am failing - The Ordinary Vitamin C suspension in the tube does nothing for me other than smell somewhat of fake tan and give me a unfortunate warm glow to my already ruddy skin.

This is far more appealing to me. The texture is a rich, creamy gel, sort of cushiony without being claggy and cloying. It sits happily on top of my various layers of serums, and does not cause roll off of previous serums or subsequent SPF and makeup.

I was not an initial fan of the scent which is a sort of artificial orange smell a bit like those frozen Sun Lollies which were part of my childhood promising so much but in reality an awkward triangular dripping mess, smelling of oversweetened orange juice and tasting of water. Still the scent does dissipate and is with subsequent use rather pleasing. And oh what a joy see something so cheerily orange in the mornings.

£60 for 50mls I bought mine from SpaceNK 

More products that I have used up in the past couple of months

So, more products that I have used up in the past couple of months - probably over the summer if truth be told.

Sunday Riley Blue Moon Cleansing Balm - I have gone through two full sized tubs straight and have given myself a bit of a rest from this product, not because I have fallen out of love with it, but because I love it too much, and I zip through it if it was going out of fashion. For my skin, it just works, it is nourishing and hydrating. I have another pot to see me through the winter - my original thoughts here. £46 for 100mls

Margaret Dabbs Foot Hygiene Cream - another regular purchase for me, although for some reason I haven't lately, maybe the cooler weather. What I like about this product is that it removes and then prevents build up of dry skin on the feet by simply massaging it in everyday. Original thoughts here £18 for 100mls jar

Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water - I never got Bioderma, it just didn't suit me. This is cheaper and more effective. To be honest I only ever use it after my main makeup remover to check everything is off, it is almost a redundant step, and often it leaves my skin a bit too wet, almost an unwelcome cold and wet wakeup call after my soothing massaging of my current cleansing balm/oil, but sometimes I want the extra insurance, especially if I am going to follow on with a mask of some sort.

Omorovicza Copper Peel - I am very dubious about using any sort of abrasive exfoliant nowadays, my skin just can't take it any more and my thread veins have a nasty resemblance to ice skates on an ice rink. This is a two-phase product, a green paste applied all over and quickly followed by the clear gel which makes a sort of foam. There is no irritation at all, and my skin looks brighter, end of. £90 for 16 tubes, I use less than a third every couple of months or so.

Omorovicza Gold Eye Lift Cream - A very lovely, very nourishing eye cream. I find that Omorovicza does light but dense textures very well. I am not sure that I would repurchase this eye cream because I found my samples of the Blue Diamond Eye Cream by Omorovicza more suited to my needs. I can't find this on the Omorovicza website so maybe it is no longer available.

Nude Advance Renewal Eye Cream - I do have a bit of a thing about eye creams. This one is a repurchase several times over because it does slightly tighten, comes in a pump, is light enough to use am, but rich enough to use pm £48 for 15mls.

Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream

So I finished every last drop of this pale turquoise gel/cream moisturiser. Well I left a little smidge to swatch in a vain attempt to show texture - fail.

I bought this with no thought other than it is by Sunday Riley, I like her stuff, I have money to burn - actually I didn't have money to burn but I bought it anyway, such is life.

I have listed the ingredients below - after Caroline Hirons's extremely helpful post on ingredients, I only ever look for phenoxyethanol which is reassuringly second to last.

This is a very "wet" feeling moisturiser and I was fearful that it would sit on my skin am and make application of foundation/concealer problematic, so I restricted use to pm only. But this was an unnecessary precaution, it has sat happily on my skin, am and pm, and indeed adds an extra burst of hydration if applied later pm before bed rather than applying a heavier, richer cream which tends to make me feel too oily.

It is £65 for 50mls and I bought mine from SpaceNK. I would buy it again, but maybe it is more a spring/summer weight of moisturiser rather than an autumn/winter one.

Space NK Best of Beauty Gift

I received mine and was really impressed with the size of the bag and the contents. I do like a good beauty bag and prefer to save my money up and purchase either a Space NK or a Cult Beauty offer a couple of times a year - sad sap that I am the bag often swings it for me.

Lately the Space NK offers have been unobtainable or unremarkable for me, but with a 50th birthday and an interesting selection of products to try, it was a given.

In order to receive, one had to be an Ndulge member and spend £150  - I spent forever trying to decide what to buy but in the end decided to go for  Zelens Age Control Foundation and Sunday Riley Good Genes.

The Zelens is a long time want, I have Zelens Youth Glow Foundation but wanted to try Age Control, and the Sunday Riley Good Genes is a repurchase.

The contents of this bag is heavily skin care, and that was the motivation for me, although never having tried NARS Orgasm or BECCA Moonstone I am more than happy.

A few empties

These are the empties which I have used up over the last few months. 

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm - I have posted about this previously and this is my second 200mls pot. I like this as a makeup remover, it is a soft gel in the pot which needs to be scooped out, it is not so soft that it melts into an oil like say Emma Hardie Moringa Balm, but neither is it as as solid to get out of the pot as say Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Balm. It massages into the skin and when water is added it becomes a thicker cream. To my nose the scent of geranium is quite strong and that is probably my only slight criticism. It does the job effectively but it does sting my eyes - not the fault of the product, but the fault of me who can't be bothered to use a separate cleaner for the eye area. Whilst I am unlikely to repurchase again soon, I will repurchase again at some point because of its effectiveness.

Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads - I have tried many facial exfoliating lotions as can be seen here

And they have all been and indeed are effective, but at the moment my skin needs something gentler but with a bit more ooomph than Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion. The Zelens Pads are of a gentler weave all together and I think that that allows my general heavy-handedness to not result in sometimes worked over feeling skin, and post use my skin feels comfortable without the immediate need for moisture. I have already re-purchased.

Sunday Riley Bionic Cream - Bloody hell £90 for a moisturiser, but a bit of careful use of codes and Ndulge points reduced the initial outlay somewhat. I bought this because of the reviews on the SpaceNK website, I wanted a nighttime moisturiser and this was what I chose. It has a sweet almost bubblegum scent which is a little over powering for me. The texture is, well bouncy for want of a better word, there really is an elasticity to the texture. It is very moisturising and my skin feels a bit sticky post application but I like that, I don't want my nighttime moisturiser to sink without a trace. As I have said before, I have a bit of a thang for Sunday Riley products and I enjoyed using this very much, it suited my skin through this last winter with occasional supplementation of oil or serum and was a pleasure to use. I have too many other moisturisers waiting in the wings to re-purchase this again in the near future, but it remains on the radar.

MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cleansing Cream - Lovely lovely lovely. This is not a bog standard cream cleanser but a richly textured gently scented comfortable comforting cleanser. The cream is thick, it does emulsify with water, but again throughout the winter it cossetted my skin like nothing else. Am/pm, any time, I absolutely indulged in this cleanser. I have repurchased and am using currently.

MV Organic Skincare Rose Soothing and Protective Moisturiser - I found this perfect for over the winter. It is thick in texture and has an almost mattifying effect on my skin which I did not like to start with and coupled with a rose texture was almost ready to give up, but the texture sinks in gently and it really makes my skin feel comfortable and calm. I used it day and night and it worked equally well whatever time of the day. I am missing it already.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream - I enjoyed using this eye cream very much. The texture is a light cream, perfect for around my eyes. There is no scent that I can smell and there is enough of a texture to feel that it is doing something. Sadly for my eyes the rot has set a long time ago, and my eye woes are too far gone for creams I fear, but this one left my eyes feeling moisturised and looking a bit less crepy than before applying and I can't ask for more than that. I have too many eye creams to go through to currently buy again, but it is certainly one that I would repurchase in the future.

Show and tell

I have recently made a few skincare purchases and rather than frightening the horses by posting a video, this seemed the best way to show them.

And here they are sans packaging. A couple of Omorovicza, an Oskia and a Sunday Riley.

Omorovicza Omoressence -  I have been using this for about a month now and will afford it a post all of its own for I am more than delighted with this fortified water I suppose I would call it, very hydrating.

Oskia Renaissance 360 Cream -  I bought this in the hopes of addressing the age spots which run rampant across the perimeters of my face, and with the more clement weather approaching, one's thoughts turn to lighter textures in skin care and on a first couple of goes this seems to be ideal for me, but again a fuller post when I have been using it.

Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Cream - I almost feel as if Sunday Riley could package up scrapings from the floor and I would buy unseen and untried, for that is exactly what I did with this new moisturiser. I have to finish another moisturiser before I can start this and on a first trial I feel that this will be a pm moisturiser for it has a hint of oiliness about it which I fear may not sit well under makeup, however I need a more consistent, regular use before I can comment fully.

Omorovicza Hydra Melting Cleanser - I had my eye on this for sometime, and really need a new cleanser like a hole in the head but then Ruth AMR posted this and I was sold. I have used it but once because I have a few to use up first.

Something Blue - Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Cleansing Balm

I mentioned this product in a previous post where there was a distinctive blue hue to a current slew of beauty products, as can be seen below

But this product deserves a post all of its own - I have purchased, used up and now re-purchased this product for I don't think I could live without it.

It is a thick, waxy balm I suppose, it needs a bit of a dig to get it out, but it does melt quickly and it is blue - I feel as if my second batch is bluer than my first, but that could just be me. It does require a bit of work into the skin, it is not as melty as say Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing Balm, but that bit of resistance is okay for me as I find I am not slipping and sliding all over my face uncontrollably. It does slacken with the addition of water but it is rather a chore so I prefer to remove with a warm flannel.

I have used it to remove makeup but at only 100mls and £46 for that amount, I am loathe to frankly waste it on that function. For me I like to cleanse my face and then use this as a hydrating mask whilst I am in the shower in the evening, then remove and go on with various oils and moisturisers. 

Ingredients listed below

£46 for 100mls jar which is shallow enough and wide enough to get every last scrap out of.

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil - an update

For the final post of the year I thought that I would update on the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil which I purchase back in April and I would have to say is the one product which has made the biggest difference to my skin.

So I have finished my Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil, and my replacement has arrived and is ready to be opened.

I bought my original back in April - no it hasn't lasted me eight months, that would have been pretty phenomenal. I used it for about two months every night, then I dropped it to a couple of times a week, sometimes three times. I had a bit of a break of about a month, and then back to a couple of times a week.

I have never used a retinol product before, and all I can say is that this one product has made the absolute difference to my skin this year. Yes I still have all the little niggly bits which come with my age; uneven skin tone, broken thread veins, blackheads, open pores, but this product has evened everything out, as if it has put a sheer wash of optimism over my weary features and said "yes you may no longer pass for twenty five, or thirty five or even forty five, but your skin is in pretty good nick."

What I like particularly about this product is that it is easy to apply, the texture is an oil, so there is no difficulty in dripping it out from the dripper into my hand and then getting it onto my face which can be a problem with some products which have a texture almost like water.

My original review is here this product is now available from SpaceNK and Cult Beauty and I would indeed buy it again in a heartbeat. £85 for 30mls

Blue Copper, Moon, Cocoon

Looking around in my current routine, I realised that several products are blue, from the delicate faded chambray blue of NIOD Copper Amino Isolate Serum, to the pale turquoise of Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Cleansing Balm, to the deep petroly teal of Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil.

Maybe even five years ago I would have been suspicious about such a distinctive shade in a skin care product, when all I wanted was a neutral cream, maybe with a hint of buttery yellow, but now looking at the ingredients, this distinction is due to the ingredients, I think that Luna has colour added but it is the final ingredient in the list.

I cannot comment on NIOD having only just started to use this watery blue treatment, and Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Balm, whilst having worked my way through a third of a jar, is too beautiful a product to dismiss its worth with a sentence or two here, and Luna deserves an update all of its own.

Of course missing from this plethora of blue is May Lindstrom's The Blue Cocoon, but that is housed in my very special box.

And I don't even want to disturb it until 25th December.

Sunday Riley Sandwich

Most nights I partake of a Sunday Riley Sandwich. I cleanse and then cleanse again and maybe cleanse a third time, leaving my third cleanser on whilst I complete the rest of my ablutions. I will then rinse and rinse again and maybe rinse a third time, apply a "toner" of some sort and then continue with the aforementioned sandwich.

From what I understand from those who have contacted Sunday Riley directly, the order of Luna and Good Genes is Luna always first onto clean dry skin and then Good Genes, and the idea is to leave Luna on as long as possible without any other product on the top.

Now I don't know much about ingredients, I am learning but I do tend to switch off somewhat.  My approach to purchasing products may seem somewhat cavalier in that I buy what I like the sound of, I read magazines and blogs and websites and other customer reviews and dip my toe in and have a go.

Sunday Riley came onto my radar a couple of years ago, I started with the Ceramic Slip Cleanser - being the cheapest product in the range, liked what I tried and continued from there. I have reviewed Good Genes here, and my initial thoughts on Luna here and whilst they are each stand alone products in their own right, for my skin, the combination of all three has made the biggest difference which equates to more even skin tone and that is it.

An update on Luna Oil is to follow as I am now coming to the end of it. Flora Facial Oil (mine is under the previous name Isis) review to follow.

All purchased from SpaceNK or Cultbeauty with various offers/Ndulge points to redeem.

Sunday Riley Good Genes

So I have finished this up after around 6 months of use - it was a bit stop/start because I wasn't really sure how and when to use it, more about that later.

I wanted to try it because it is purported to be good for all those niggly irritations that my nearly fifty year old skin has in spades, thus hyperpigmentation, open pores, redness, dullness. And if I am honest, every product that I have tried from Sunday Riley has given results.

It has a slightly gel like tacky sort of texture with a strong lactic acid scent, and on me it does tingle, a bit, not much but it is there, even after regular use.

The full list of ingredients are as follows - Prickly Pear Extract, Blue Agave Extract, Lady's Slipper Orchid Extract, Cactus Extract, Aloe Leaf Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butylene Glycol, Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone, PPG-12/SMDI Copolymer, Stearic Acid, PEG-100 Stearate, PEG-75 Meadowsol, Glycyrrhiza Glabra Extract, Triethanolamine, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Steareth-20, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, DMDM Hydantoin

Touted as both a serum and a mask, the idea is to apply post cleanse on clean dry skin and leave to do its magic overnight, or one can apply a layer as a mask, and then remover, or one can add a pump to a pump of Sunday Riley's Ceramic Slip Cleanser.

I got a bit confused. It doesn't take much. I got confused about how much to pump out, 1 pump seemed rather paltry but 2 pumps seemed somewhat excessive. I applied it as a mask and sort of tentatively patted it into my skin, but then decided to stop being such a wuss and massaged it in more vigorously. And I used it a couple of times and was not really bowled over, and felt the tingle designed to make me feel like it was doing something, so back into the cupboard it went.

Then I read a bit more about it and decided that I would up the use a bit, so used it regularly as a mask.

However for me I think that it is best used as a nightly serum, post cleanse, pre oil (although apparently if one is using Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil one needs to apply that first and then Good Genes). This is what I have been doing for the past 3 weeks or so. And I have found that my skin is generally brighter, however I think that the Luna Sleeping Oil is a significant factor.

At £85 for 30mls this is a considered purchase for me. I am currently considering a re-purchase.

Minatures

I have a thing about minatures, not samples but minatures of the full size product, down to the glass jar (thank-you Omorovicza and Oskia) or glass bottle (thank-you Aurelia). 

Sometimes the minature is an improved version on the full size - Sunday Riley Start Over Eye Cream I am looking at you with your metal applicator missing from the full size.

Above is a small selection of some of my gift with purchase products.

Sunday Riley Charisma Creme Cleanser

I have almost finished this up and it has taken me the best part of four months of regular am and pm use to work out how best to use it.

So this is a cream cleanser aimed at dry to normal skin. It claims to remove makeup and I have found that it does with a bit of work ie a good couple of passes, but I tend to use it more as an am cleanser or a cleanser post makeup removal.

It is housed in a functional plastic pump which is see through enough to see when one has almost used up. And the pump is lockable.

It is very light and liquidy and spreads easily around the face.

And here is my problem, I find that it tends to sink into the skin, which is fine but it does not easily emulsify with the addition of water so I find it quite difficult to remove which irks me somewhat and it seems to leave a bit of a film on my skin which I am not sure I like although it does not have any adverse effect.

I like to use it a bit like a treatment mask which to be honest is how I use all my am and post makeup removal cleansers.

I think the ingredients are rather impressive for a cleanser which is why I like to leave it on my skin for a bit.

For me the best way to use this is to apply a decent amount, at least 3 pumps worth, apply to clean dry skin, massage for a good couple of minutes, maybe adding a tiny amount of water to loosen a bit, massage a bit more, leave whilst I am in the shower and then remove.

What I have found is that it is non irritating and non stripping but suprisingly deeply cleansing.

£35 for 125mls I think I will be repurchasing despite my raptures over Aurelia Miracle Cleanser.

Sunday Riley Start Over Active Eye Cream

I have almost used this up, and I reckon I will have had around six months use of it, day and night.

So this is a thick gel cream texture, thick in that it retains it shape when pumped out, and it feels thick when spread around the eyes, not so thick that it does not spread easily, but it needs some massaging in which in my opinion is no bad thing. It has no discernible scent that I can discern at any rate.

I am not a hundred percent sure about this eye cream even now that I am almost finished it. 

The positives are that I like the texture, the thickness and massageability is perfect. I like that it is unscented. I like that it feels instantly cooling and tightening on my eye lids, it does not interfere with any other product which I put on before or after, there is no pilling off. Also although it is £65, that is for 30mls where most eye products are 15mls in size.

But for me it irritates and stings, not on every application but every now and again even after six months of use.

I also have a problem with the packaging. This is housed in a glass bottle with a pump. The pump has ceased to function but I still have a good couple of weeks worth left of pumps and no way to get the product out which does not include a hammer.

Interestingly in the Cult Beauty goodie bag which I purchased at Christmas, there was a 15mls tube of the Active Eye Cream.

With a metal applicator, cue extra cooling.

Ingredients: Prickly Pear Extract, Blue Agave Extract, Lady's Slipper Orchid Extract, Cactus Extract, Olea Europea Fruit Extract, Rosa Rubiginosa Seed Oil, Methylsilanol Carboxymethyl Theophylline, Butylene Glycol, PEG-75 Meadowsol, Ammonium Polyacrylate, Isohexadecane, PEG-40 Castor Oil, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium, Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Glucosamine HLC, Urea, Artemisia Vulgaris Extract, Lecithin, Cholesterol Olry, Cholesteryl Chloride, Punica Granatum, Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Alpha D-Tocopherol, Thioctic Acid, Lutein, Methyl Paraben, Propyl Paraben, DMDM Hydantoin  

Currently £65 for 30mls.

Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil

I was not going to review this yet, having tried it for only five nights, but I could not resist, so this is purely and simply a first impressions picture heavy post.

This is the newest face oil from Sunday Riley. This has not yet been released in this country. Caroline Hirons posted about it at the beginning of this year, and I thought, I cannot bloody wait, so I went and ordered it from Sephora - more about that at the end of the post.

So this is a facial oil which contains retinol and the other ingredients are there to help minimise the irritation which retional can cause on the skin. Confession time here, I may have an A in A-level Biology and a BSc degree but ingredients is not really my thing, I worked damned hard to get my A-levels and my degree but it is as if I can no longer work up any enthusiasm for scientific data and information, I can feel it whispering out of my brain like ether.
I am a far more intuitive purchaser of products, if I like the look of it, I buy it, however I do read blogs and general reviews which are written by far more knowledgeable people than myself, and I would urge one to look more closely at the reviews of this product if one is interested in what particular ingredients do.

The idea is to apply to clean dry skin post cleansing and before moisturising. For me I tend to apply post serum as well.

It is a deep teal blue, partly blue tansy, partly german chamomile but partly I would say CI61565 (Green 6) and CI60725 (Violet 2) although they are right at the end of the ingredients list.

Now this does have a distinctive scent, it is the german chamomile to my mind, a slightly metallic, petrolly type of scent which does dissipate, but which I like, it is certainly not a grassy chamomile scent.

The texture is a thick spreadable oil. And I love it. I know it is too early to give a proper review but my skin is clearer, more even toned, brighter.  

I bought mine from Sephora, a suprisingly easy and straightforward process, it was £75.12 so I qualified for £6 shipping (any order over £75 from Sephora qualifies for a flat rate of £6 shipping), and there was £14.94 taxes on top of that so a total of £96.06 with a guarantee of no import taxes. It is 30mls in size.

I was kept fully update at each stage of the packing, dispatching and delivery process, I ordered it on a Sunday evening and received it on the following Monday.

I will update when I have finished this. As yet no date for UK release.