Grace Notes: May 2020
WORKING AS A BEAUTY WRITER PRACTICALLY REQUIRES ME TO TURN UP AT WORK WEARING AS LITTLE PRODUCT AS POSSIBLE – A BLANK CANVAS IF YOU WILL – TO BE SMOTHERED AND SWATCHED IN POTIONS AND PIGMENTS FROM 8 ‘TILL 5. AS IT'S MY JOB TO SWATCH AND SNIFF MY WAY THROUGH THE LATEST AND GREATEST BEAUTY LAUNCHES, EACH MONTH I DEBRIEF ON THE ONES WORTH WRITING HOME ABOUT.
Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Deluxe Moisture Body Creme
The body creme looks (and feels) like an indulgent dessert, dense and nourishing but not slippery or sticky, so I can get dressed straight away. It’s also the first body cream/lotion/balm etc that I’ve hit the bottom of in a long time (I usually get bored and flit between various ones), and the first that I really look forward to using when I get out of the shower because it barely adds any downtime to my morning routine.
Wildsmith Skin Active Super Eye Serum
In the eye cream vs eye serum debate I am strongly on the eye serum side of the fence. Although there are some lovely light eye creams out there that melt into a serum-like texture on application. Serums are especially beneficial to those who experience puffiness as creams can worsen this. I also think that unless your skin is especially dry or you’re really trying to target signs of aging, then you’ll benefit more from the concentrated blend of ingredients that a serum offers anyway. This one sinks in straight away, causing no irritation to my sensitive contact lens-wearing eyes.
Glossier Futuredew
Futuredew i.e the only “makeup” I wear these days. And yes, this is makeup and not skincare so stop sleeping in it (remove it with a cotton pad and micellar water and you’ll see the tint). Lockdown has worked wonders on my skin, which is currently the calmest and clearest it’s been since my early high school days. I’m convinced a lot of it is down to the fact that I haven’t been wearing the usual combination of concealer, foundation, bronzer, and powder on a daily basis, so I've no desire to apply makeup, especially as sitting at my kitchen table writing beauty articles 9-5 doesn’t exactly merit it. When I go “out” this is the only thing I apply after my skincare. It gives a lovely glow and has a blurring effect which helps to tone down any lingering redness.
Dermalogica Biolumin-C Serum
Like a lot of people, my skin is picky about vitamin C if the ingredient isn’t stable enough or it’s at the wrong pH or %. In the past I’ve never stuck with one vitamin C serum long enough to see results other than redness and sensitivity. This has been a total game changer. I apply it every morning and experience no tingling, no burning, and not even a hint of redness. Just major glow and the biggest improvement I’ve noticed to my pigmentation since I started using prescription retinol. If you can afford it, I can’t recommend it enough.
