DAY CREAM

I Used It All Up: Payot Paris Design Lift Visage

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I have never done this before. STG: I’ve never used up a face cream down to the very bottom.
PAYOT 1
Seriously.
PAYOT 2
What was it about this that made me keep turning to it? I asked myself…

This was out where you could see it every day — did that have something to do with it? Eh, maybe. I’ve got several creams in various states of use in the top drawer of a dresser, bu they are out of sight. They may have been out of mind. I think it’s more than that, though.

It doesn’t look any different to anything else you’ve used in the past. I know! So I just googled it: this has got calcium in it, as well as the fashionable Omega 3 and 6, and to quote is also contains ‘Payot’s new pepti-oriza calcium complex combined with a relaxing rice extract works at the heart of the cells to reactivate the skin’s vital functions and restore its elasticity in-depth’.

Okay. No, I know, so many words. Seriously, though, I used this after I applied serum, and I felt like this acted in perfect accord with said serum. It felt like it absorbed really quickly, but also left my skin feeling well-hydrated. Sometimes I feel like a day cream and a serum don’t mix very well — this one worked with a number of different brands.

I think it’s enough that you obviously used it all up. Well, maybe. I mean, it is expensive: I found prices from €60-80 for 50mls. But I will also say that it took me 6 months to use it all up through daily use. The serum helped it stretch, I think — let that be a lesson to us all!

Do you miss it? I do! And there is a nighttime version of it, I’d love to see if knocks out my current faves {which are: Clinique Turnaround Revitalizing Treatment Oil, Garnier Ultra-Lift Miracle Sleeping Night Cream and Clarins’ Mission Perfection Serum. Things are the same at night as they are in the day, apparently.} That would be quite the knock to the pocket, however.

Honestly, now: any difference to the face at all? Look, taking care of your skin is a cumulative, not an instantaneous process. I exfoliate, I get facials, I tend to it day and night. I gotta say, though, those brackets around my mouth that I am not crazy about? I have hardly noticed them. Could it be from this cream? It could — sure, we’ll see if my face falls off now that I’ve no more…

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Prices varied wildly, and I couldn’t even find one in sterling, so YMMV.

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UPDATE: It’s been discontinued, which explains the above, I guess. I understand that this is a more than reasonable facsimile.

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The Day Cream v Night Cream Debate Continues

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Or is it, in fact, concluded? The lads at Human+Kind have developed an All-in-one Day+Night Cream, a super-hydrating, double-dipping, wear-it-all-day-and-night-long concoction that makes having a million and one products in your bathroom superfluous.

{I like having a million and one products in my bathroom.}

Back in February, I had gone on record, wondering if it was actually necessary to use both a day cream and a night cream. Two days later, I posted a response to my own query, thanks to a talk given by Sally Penford of the International Dermal Institute. Okay, thought I, I will carry on observing the day v night divide…

And then this landed on my desk. Now, I have been using, to excellent effect, this brand’s Anti-Ageing Cream, at night, and I’ve been pretty darn pleased. I’m willing to give this a go, though, and will let you know how my skin reacts to it. At €23.95, this is great value, but we’ll see how quickly I use it up, given that it’s going to be in service twice a day.

And on a graphic design-y note: the packaging! Gorgeous!

Also! Sneak preview of how at least one varnished nail survived horseriding!

Day Cream v Night Cream: Ah Ha!

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Sometimes the stars align, and synchronicity engages, and you’ve just blogged about something, and then you go to a presentation that very evening, and the expert lady addresses the very issue that you had been pondering!

Or: the issue is a fairly common talking point, so NBD.

Either way, on the evening of the day that I had posted this, I went to the Dylan Hotel for a presentation hosted by Dermalogica, and given by Sally Penford of the International Dermal Institute. Sally is an independent skin professional, so wasn’t there to flog the brand {which hardly needs flogging, in fairness} but to address several common assumptions one makes about skin care and the use of product.

Imagine my surprise when we got to the question regarding whether or not everyone should use a night cream. And the answer is… Continue reading →

Day Cream v Night Cream: Eh… Hmmm?

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A short time ago, I wondered: what is the point of using a day cream and a night cream? Musings may be found here.

And if you don’t feel like back-tracking, these are the three duos that I’ve been testing for the last while:

>Ziaja Rose Butter Anti-aging Moisturiser and Night Cream (€6.99 each)
>Renovage (for Aldi) Protective Day Cream and Rejuvenating Night Cream (€9.99 each)
>Clarins Extra-Firming Day and Extra-Firming Night (€67/€71)

Well, on the most simplistic level, texturally I simply couldn’t tell the difference between the any of the twos. Maybe I’m not supposed to feel a difference, but I think I should — I really do! I feel like maybe the night cream should be thicker and richer or something. If one is only for day, and one is only for night, there should be a marked difference, right? No? <— That only adds to the whole WTF of the whole situation.

I am, in part, tired of being ‘told’ that I need a million and one things to comprise my regime, even though I love my regime. So contradictory! But seriously, I have felt, in the past, that I get more action from a serum, say, than I do from even a daily moisturiser — EVEN THOUGH I am supposed to use both.

But having said all that…

Both the Ziaja and the Renovage were pretty good, considering the price. I am a great believer in getting what you pay for, and in general, high quality for low price is a pipe dream. The former wasn’t too too rosy, and the latter wasn’t as overly scented as many of Aldi’s offerings can be. There was not much of a difference between the two, nor between the creams within the pairs, but I would give the Renovage higher marks, mainly because the packaging is more substantial. The Ziaja tubs are plastic, and okay, for €6.99 you’re going to get diamond-encrusted crystal, but still.

Now. Okay, look, I know, know, if you buy both the Clarins products, that is €138. Holy smoke. I know! But remember what we learned at Skintime? The bittiest, littlest amount of product can go for miles, if you apply it correctly. According to Skintime, a mere pea-sized scoop massaged between the palms and then applied to the face does the job. I have been doing this since I had my session, and it works a treat. I use less product, so that what I have will last much longer.

So if you invest in the Clarins, you know you’ll get good mileage out of it. Because? I have to say, this is the one I felt was the most effective, and had the most convincing night cream {despite the texture issue.} On the mornings I awoke after having used this, I felt like my face was… well-rested? Refreshed. Yeah, that’s it: refreshed to a degree that I didn’t feel with the others.

I don’t know, I think routine, and the comfort therein, has a lot to do with this as well. As does aroma and, yes, dammit —> texture! I’m going to keep my eye on this topic, and the next duo I get is going to be put through its paces. Because even though I am kind of convinced, I am not wholly convinced.

Day Cream & Night Cream: What’s the Point?

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It’s churlish for me to give out about having too many objects of a beauty-full nature cluttering up the place, but as I was moving things around the other day, I had to wonder, in true SATC talking-to-myself style: Is there really a difference between day cream and night creams?

I don’t usually have my logic-hat on when I’m thinking about beauty products. I don’t even think about beauty products, if you know what I mean: I simply accept them for what they are and am grateful that they are in my life. But now and then, I do wonder if my self-care routine could be made more simple, and the first thing I consider taking out of the rotation, if not outright chucking in the bin, is night cream.

Are those screams I hear? I got scolded roundly when I told a friend and fellow beauty colleague that I didn’t bother with eye cream, and I imagine that those in the know will start the finger-wagging any second now.

I’m on a bit of a campaign, however, to really understand what’s up with the why. Like, you can tell me, ‘Oh, anti-oxidants blah blah free radicals blah,’ but what’s it mean? And can I understand and believe it, without having gained a science degree.

Explanations are abundant, and okay, so they make sense: you need different things during the day as opposed to the night. During the day, you need to moisturise and protect, and during the night, moisturise and replenish. Okay, I get that. Also, here’s a cool thing, via allaboutyou.com:

During the day the skin’s energies are directed at protecting itself and you from stress, be it environmental or psychological. At night however cells focus on repairing themselves and damage sustained during the day. It follows that using different products for night and day supports the natural functions of the skin.

Okay! I totally get that, mainly because I think it’s cool that there’s a psychological aspect to skin care. As if I didn’t suspect that already!

I’ve got three day/night cream duos that I’m testing at the moment:

>Ziaja Rose Butter Anti-aging Moisturiser and Night Cream
>Renovage (for Aldi) Protective Day Cream and Rejuvenating Night Cream
>Clarins Extra-Firming Day and Extra-Firming Night

I will, of course, let you know how I get on…