Learning to blog on the go, only for Diptyque

Well today should have been my day off work, but the opportunity came up to attend a training morning with fragrance and candle experts Diptyque and I couldn't pass it up! I love the candles and my partner uses their world famous Philosykos (fig) EDT, so off I trotted to Manchester to fill my head and nose with wonderful facts and smells.

I'm not going to focus on one particular product today, more on the brand name and what choices they provide their customers. As it has created such a extensive and unique range, it's only fair to familiarise people with a range of choices :) today's training was a good catch up on all their candles and the scents behind them, which is something I personally find fascinating! How a smell goes from a flower/root/leaf and so on and so on to a candle that burns for 60 hours, smells incredible all the way through burning and is free from any nasties is very interesting! Or maybe it's just me!

Diptyque was started in France and their flagship store resides in Paris, they have developed the range over 50 years and it shows in the quality of their finished product, each candle, perfume, oil and body care item has been perfected.

They cater for all tastes, from Eau Rose which is a beautiful perfume with notes of lychee, roses, honey and musk to the unusual Vetyver candle, which is developed from the roots of a grassy plant. It's smokey, woody and beautiful.

If you like floral, then the tuberose candle will be perfect for you as its strong and intense but the flowery smell of the tuberose shines through. A little idea of how intense tuberose is is that 72 hours after picking the flowers, they still haven't lost their amazing smell.

The Feu De Bois candle is perfect for a city dweller who craves the countryside, it's rare wood essences take you to the image of being plonked in front of a wood fire, breathing in its luxury.

And probably one of the most popular products is the Philosykos EDP, with it's white cedar and fig notes. Diptyque use all of the fig tree, the bark, leaves, branches and the actual fruit to give a varied scent, which believe me when you smell it you will understand what I mean. It's like heaven for someone who enjoys a musky but elegant smell!

Diptyque are launching a new fragrance soon and I'm already in love, but I will talk about that another day :)

Pop into your local Space NK and pick up your favourite luxury candle or scent soon as its so so worth it!

ITS ALL ABOUT THE SERUM

After spending the past few days being a poorly cow, I have been left with what can only be called dehydrated skin again. I can see it in the mirror and it majorly displeases me. I have been so tired I have committed skincare suicide and been very slack with my routine. Now Im a bit more perky I have got back on with the one product I would now recommend to anyone to remedy this and its by Caudalie and called The SOS Thirst-Quenching Serum.

It infuses the natural waters in your skin and puts back the necessary amount you need to fill out your dehydration lines and dryness, without leaving your skin feeling greasy and shiny. The thing with the SOS serum is that its oil free, which is a shocker for a product that caters mainly to dry skin types. Which is why I have found it such a life saver the past few weeks actually, As I mentioned in past posts I had been suffering from breakouts and that made me switch serums and moisturisers to less nourishing products. BIG mistake as within a few days I was devastated to notice very visible dehydration lines on my forehead and if you know me, then you can understand how this would effect my confidence, but I was convinced that it would help my breakouts so I persevered. It wasn't till someone I work with commented on them that I asked them for their opinion, luckily working in Space NK Apothecary I am surrounded by the right people to give me advice! She directed me to the Caudalie SOS serum and told me to use it as it wont feed my breakouts and will still nourish my skin as its oil free, I took instruction and starting using it that night and WOW, I felt it straight away. Its hard to believe that using one simple serum can make sure a difference in your skin after the first application, but it really does. My skin felt flexible for the first time in weeks and I didn't feel like my spots where being fed either. 

And now, after three weeks of using it (barring the last few days of self pity) my breakouts have ceased and my dehydration lines are receding to hell where they belong. I enjoy it being in my skin care routine as its easy to use, a little goes a long way, it smells delightful and it doesn't make my heart sink at the price (£29 for 30ml) AND results are very noticeable in a short space of time. Its full of natural extracts like grape water and grape seed and it contains hyaluronic acid to pump the skin and the super polyphenols which is just what the skin need to stay suple, hydrated and young. 

Caudalie as a brand are exactly what the large majority of us want out of a skincare specialist, they are realist with prices, they use very natural ingredients and they really do care about their customers and helping them get the best skincare possible. I have met quite a few people who work for the brand and each one knows their stuff through and through and it shines out then they train you on the products and I think this comes from the unique start up of the company to be honest. I will go into this in more detail in another post as I have prattled on far too long already! But as you can see its a fantastic serum for anyone dry or on the oily side, and I think it also reminds us that even if you are oily it doesn't stop your lower epidermis craving hydration. 

After a shocking day, all you need is Dr Brandt

I think the title of this post says it all really. I've had a terrible day and all I want to do is make myself feel better. I'm not a big drink to relax type of person or am I someone who finds it easy to wind down after a stressful day, so surprise surprise I do turn to external cosmetics to help me feel better. One of my favourite treatments By Dr Brandt is aways a solid first choice to rinse the stress away, the Detoxygen Experience is such a breath of fresh air for your skin.

If you are unfamiliar with Dr Brandt products then more fool you, he mimics his in-office treatments in his ranges (you will be seeing a lot more of these in the near future on this page) The Detoxygen Experience is a two part buy, first you start with the oxygenating facial in the black top dispenser and then follow with step two, the detoxifying creme concentrate. 

First you dampen your face with warm water, then pump the dispenser till you get enough to cover your whole face in the cream. Just a thin layer is needed and if you over load your face you will know about it very quickly! As I first found out when I used it! The cream actually oxygenates on your skin and your face will feel quite tickly as the the cream turns to a bubbly, foamy texture.  When you put too much on the bubbles start to gather in your eyebrows and up your nose, and it makes your partner look at you like your mental. 

As you can see ^^^ 

Rinse off after about 5 minutes and then pat dry and massage the second stage detoxifying creme concentrate into your fresh face! 

Apart from your skin feeling noticeably smooth and silky, i really think that after the first time of using this product my skin looked clearer. I have been suffering from break outs recently, which for me is unheard of as iv always had skin as dry as a desert and i feel this treatment has played a large part in helping me keep my skin pristine. 

I definitely think the hyaluronic acid in the product has played a part in helping keep my skin stay hydrated and even toned while suffering from breakouts and it doubles as a fantastic treatment that increases the luminosity in your skin as it has a protective shield to stop the nasties of everyday life, like pollution from causing damage to the skin. 

Sorry to go on, but there is one more very important aspect to this facial.... it contains detoxifying molecules that search out the nasties in your skin and neutralizes the toxins that cause your skin to stress . MAGIC :-) 

You can buy this at any Space NK and its a pretty good price of £64. 

Gasp, you say thats a lot. 

Its a lot when you first take in the price, but like most high tech products you pay for quality and if you want to treat your skin the same way you would your body (paying for the gym to fit into a size 8, fake tan, nails, hair dye) then whats the difference between shelling out for that then a product that makes you feel and look good? I wouldnt think twice if i had the money to spend £50 on a pair of shoes so why is skincare considered so much more vain and self indulgent?! what a funny world we live in. 

On a roll. The next step

So after my unashamed promotion of the Eve Lom cleanser, I decided that I would follow with the next logical step in a general skin care regime. Exfoliation! I first starting using Darphin Age-defying Dermabrasion a while ago and was first impressed by its texture, it's quite thick for a Dermabrasion and also cream like, as you can see in the picture!

I loved this, it was so easy to apply and you could see the dead skin gathering on the surface (pretty gross the first time you do it after not exfoliating for a while)


If you apply it to dry skin you get a really deep treatment, which is good if you have quite durable skin but I'd suggest dampening your face with warm water first to make it a smooth and relaxing treatment!

As it says in the box, it rejuvenates and polishes the skin and helps reduce the look of pores, age spots and smooths lines and wrinkles and it's true to its word from what I can see so far. My skin feels amazing after using it and il be honest, at first I was a bit worried as my skin was a bit red after the first time of using it but that vanished in a few minutes and I felt glowing :)

At £50 it's quite steep for some people and you may think why would I spend that amount on a treatment, but it lasts about 7-8 months as a little goes a long way and I'd trust the Darphin name to provide me with the best skin possible!

To end, great product! Worth the pennies and shows results as well as being an easy to use Dermabrasion.

First times a charm

Seeing as this is my first post, I thought I would stick to reviewing one of my favourite and also the most used beauty products that live of my bathroom shelf.........

Introducing Eve Lom Cleanser

I work in a shop full of cleansers, so many different ones that I could probably wash my face for a month and not have to use the same one twice. But the one that interested me most when I first started work was the Eve Lom, mainly because I had used a balm cleanser before and liked how it felt on my skin. When I took a tester home to try it, I was amazed. The texture is slightly grainy as it doubles as a light daily exfoliate, the smell is what I consider to be pure cleanliness! The clove oil is just enough to smell it as it the coco butter. 

You apply 50p sized amount of cleanser over a dry face and massage the eve lom evenly, then reach for your muslin cloth (each cleanser has a free one inside) and rinse it with warm water then lay over your face for a few seconds. Then take it off, the muslin cloth helps to deep clean your skin and rid yourself of old dead dirty skin! It helps to open your pores and clear blackheads to give a smoother feeling to the skin :-) Then rinse the milky balm off your face gently, apply over eyes as well to take off the darkest of eye make up. Then splash your face with cold water. Boom. Done. 

What I found from the first application was my skin felt smooth, silky and nourished, Which I assume is from the Egyptian chamomile oil. Some cleansers can make dry skin, like mine feel tight after using it but Eve Lom has Coco Butter in which has always been great for my skin. 

I have seen some people have break outs after using Eve Lom at first, but I have always put that down to it being such a deep cleanse and its bringing out old dirt trapped in the skin, which sadly does happen when you start using a really good cleanser! but all the people who have continued use of it have seen it settle down after a couple of weeks. Thankfully it does contain Clove Oil which works as an antiseptic so it will stop massive breaks outs :-) 

Extra Muslin cloths con be bought at £14 for a three pack, its good to have a three cloth rotation so you always have a clean one handy otherwise bacteria can be spread, which causes breakouts. NEVER use fabric softener to wash them as they need to be slightly roughish to get that deep cleanse and to get the dead skin off your face. 

You can buy Eve Lom at your local Space Nk Apothecary, its £40 for 50mls which lasts me 3 months, £55 for 100ml and £85 for 200ml. the 200ml will last you a year! 

All in all, Eve Lom Cleanser is not a product I will be replacing anytime soon from my nightly routine. 

To be honest my skin feel like poo when I don't use it and as the only 5 in one product that exfoliates, tones, moisturises, decongests and CLEANS the skin its something I would recommend to anyone reading this to try out. Pop into Space NK for facial with Eve Lom to test run it, you will see and feel the results straight away and be hooked!