Years ago, before I went self-employed, I used to work within the beauty industry in marketing and creative roles. One of the companies I worked for was US based, and it retailed Skinceuticals. It was then that I first was fascinated with the skincare brand. It was only available in the US back then, although now, SkinCeuticals is available in the UK and I for one couldn’t be happier.
It’s a high-end brand in terms of price, mainly due to it being an advanced professional brand. The range has been specially formulated to help repair damage to the skin caused by the sun and pollution – one of the brands main aims. I remember learning all about free radicals and antioxidants when I did product training with them years ago, and loved how they place so much emphasis on lessening the damage caused by environmental factors.
They work to a ‘Prevention, Protection and Correction’ regimen, which when you look into it, makes perfect skin sense. There products are backed by science, with SkinCeuticals researchers being true pioneers in the field of antioxidants and photoprotective actives. Since then, antioxidants have been recognized as essential components for maintaining healthy skin. This is down to one of their most popular flagship products – C E Ferulic. This serum is loaded with vitamin C and is the baseline product for healthy skin. I used to use this when I worked in the skincare industry, and I do often think about picking it back up again!
Although SkinCeuticals have a mission to improve skin health, fight the major signs of aging, ease the effects of UV exposure, pollution, stress, tobacco, etc, I have found they have products which are brilliant for my breakout prone, dull skin. Today, I just wanted to share three hero products from SkinCeuticals from SkinStation – an online retailer part of the Aesthetic Skin Clinic group of medical and cosmetic dermatology practices. This means that behind the site are a team of exceptionally experienced doctors and clinical nurse practitioners.
Keeping in mind I wanted to keep on protecting my skin from the elements, yet also work on deep cleansing and de-clogging my breakout prone skin, I stocked up with three products to work together to do so.
The key one which I haven’t used before is the SkinCeuticals Clarifying Clay Masque, which aims to draw out impurities and deep clean the pores. It’s known as a skin refining masque, and boy does my skin need a bit of refining right now! It’s part of the brands ‘correct’ step, formulated with clay and botanical extracts, plus a hydroxy acid blend, to lightly exfoliate the skin to enhance healthy cellular turnover. It’s also loaded with zinc oxide and chamomile work to soothe and reduce inflammation caused by acne.
I have used this approximately four or five times since it arrived, and I find it a winner for completely diminishing any oil and sluggish, dull looking skin. It feels nice to apply and not too ‘tight’, and once rinsed off, it’s like I can almost feel the grime and build up being taken away. I only use it once a week at the moment as I feel that’s all it needs, but there be no harm in me using it a second time for days when I wear lots of heavy makeup.
The second product which has completely won me over, and one I will now be buying repeatedly, is a cleansing product. The SkinCeuticals Glycolic Renewal Cleanser Gel has been fabulous for me, although it’s worth having a heads up that I swear by acids in my skincare. Obviously it is each to their own, but as I have acne prone skin which is dull with a slow cell turn over, acids really do the trick for me. I also have blemish marks, scarring and lots of pigmentation and melasma, so I need acids to lightly shed away dull, rough skin daily to increase the turnover of healthy, fresher skin cells.
I also like a thicker, creamier gel texture for my cleanser as I use it in tandem with my NuSkin LumiSpa, to increase the effects of the exfoliation. The thinner, or more foamy cleansers don’t tend to work as well for me and my regime, so this one is absolutely spot on for texture.
The cleansers is formulated with a high concentration of 8% Glycolic acid, which is why I put it down to effectively dissolving any cellular cohesions in my skin’s top layers. It took around 3 days before I saw the improvement, using twice a day, in which the improvements were smoother, silkier, glowing skin. To touch, it felt so silky, and after around 7-10 days, I noticed my stubborn red marks were fading quicker. I’d recommend this for those with any type of skin type, such as both dry and oily. However I’d rave about it more for those with pigmentation, aging skin or breakout prone skin, which is the category I fit into!
On top of keeping my breakout prone skin at bay, I chose another correct product – the SkinCeuticals Mineral Eye UV Defense SPF 30. Now I’m 35 my eyes are really showing the signs of aging, and this eye product aims to protect and perfect the delicate eye area from the sun’s harsh UV rays, which we all know can cause premature ageing, fine lines and wrinkles.
I know that the skin around my eyes is especially thin, and this product is quite sheer in texture too so it doesn’t feel heavy when it nourishes the delicate skin. It also has a subtle universal tint that is suitable for all skin types, which diffuses and improves the look of skin tone around the eyes.
Best if all, it has a 100% mineral base, with UVA and UVB SPF 30 protection. I wish I had used an eye cream with SPF when I was younger, as it’s definitely my eyes that are the first tell tale signs of my age these days!
If you’re like me and are particularly interested in skincare that is recommended by skincare professionals and dermatologists, SkinStation has been a go-to for me lately. Their skincare products and brands can treat a whole host of different concerns and skin problems, rather than ones that just work to create a healthier effect, without treating the skin. They offer a range of Obagi, Dr Dennis Gross, iSClinical to name a few (all the fabulous American brands I used to work with back in the day!) that each have fantastic reviews.
Let me know if you have ever used any of these brands, and if you’re a newbie to SkinCeuticals, or a die hard fan like I now am!
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