NIGHT CREAM

Wind-ter Getting You Down? Moisturise at Night!

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but the gale force winds are wrecking my head, espesh with being out on the horses in it. I haven’t minded the noise at night, though, and I’m doing my best work in the dreamtime to keep my skin from getting wrecked, never mind my head.

Lashings of cream at night is my only man these blowy days. I’m a big fan of sleeping through the hard stuff, and by deeply moisturising at least three times a week, at bedtime, I feel that I’m keeping my complexion in good nick.

Here are three of my favourites.

GREEN ANGEL
Yeah, I know it says ‘daily’ on it, but GREEN ANGEL Seaweed Daily Moisture Face Cream with Jasmine, Neroli & Vitamin E {€24.95} is well able for double duty at night. Anything with seaweed in it is going to be alright by me — add in those oils, and this is bliss in a jar.

NUXE
NUXE have a new addition in their Merveillance Expert Rich Correcting Cream {€40}, and it’s a good one. I’m happy to use this as directed in the morning, but have been finding it to be great at night, too. Actually? Rather better, as the consistency of the cream is rich and thick. While it does absorb nicely, I’m finding its thickness and richness to be better at the end of the day as opposed to the beginning of it.

ORIGINS
Oh, hello, darling. I love, love, love ORIGINS High Potency Night-A-Mins Renewal Cream {€45}, and wish they would make a version that was for the entire body. I hoard this, TBH, because it is like a miraculous new-face-in-a-jar. It never fails to make my skin glow the morning after the night before; the only thing I’ll say against it is that it smells so good, sometimes I keeping myself awake breathing it in. Just me…?

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I had long wondered about the day cream v night cream debate — as in, what’s the difference? — and posted about it here…

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Tried & Tested @ The Herald: Night Creams

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Some days I wake up and all I can think about is going back to bed. Especially at this time of year, especially on a day like today, when it looks like it doesn’t know what it’s going to do, and you just know it’s going to err on the side of gray rubbishy crap weather.

So, see here for a whole bunch of night cream options to send you and your skin nicely into the dream time.

I’m counting the hours…

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Just because: hilare; from this post.

CLARINS eye mask fail

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Watchoo Lookin’ At? Post-Sisley Facial Face on the 46A

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

Just evidence that I do ‘naked’ face too, sometimes. Especially after I’ve had a treatment.

Dude to the left was like WTF and I was all WTF right back.

And the lovely Gabriella from Sisley, who administered an amazing facial in the Beauty Rooms in Brown Thomas, was subtly WTF when I said no thanks to a bitta make up post-treatment.

I like to let the pores breathe, you know?

Did you know about the Beauty Rooms in Brown Thomas? I didn’t! They are tucked away on the ground floor, right off the main beauty hall, and the major brands offer treatments on a rotating basis. The facial is €50 against product, so if you don’t want to buy anything, you just stump up the nifty.

Now, day spa environments are generally noisy, and whilst tucked away from the buzz of BT, you’re not all that tucked. There is soothing spa tunes playing in the room, but you can absolutely hear what’s going on in the outside world. This did not bother me, which is amazing because it is exactly the sort of thing I would complain about. There was something about hearing all that activity beyond the beauty room door that I found thrilling, in a cinematic way. It was the urban soundtrack to my fancy facial.

And Sisley is fancy! The French brand uses botanical active ingredients and essential oils in its concoctions — I must admit to having an unfortunate olfactory reaction to a tinted moisturiser I had to test last year. I actually brought it to the counter because I’d thought it had gone off.

No such worries with any of the myriad products that Gabriella used in my facial. She used twelve products, from cleanser to pore minimiser, and since it was the end of the day, she also gave me a layer of Supremÿa At Night, which felt like an instant face lift, and ought to as it retails for €508.

…

If anyone has used this over a course of time, do get in touch and let us know if it was worth it?

The highlight of the treatment was the exfoliation with the Creme Gommante, priced at a less breathtaking €54. Gently, gently, Gabriella applied the buffing cream, and gently, gently, did she brush it off. We talked about it afterwards, as I wondered how did one try this at home? By trial and error, basically. It’s going to be messy until you get the hang of it. I appreciated her frankness.

I got a bunch of samples:

Including two of the scorned foundation, which I am actually gasping to try now.

The women of Sisley in BTs are lovely, go along and ask some questions, and tell them Sue sent you. You may not have the dosh to invest in that night cream, but it’s always worth checking out a few samples of things. And the holidays are imminent…!

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Check at the Sisley counter for upcoming Beauty Room appointments.

The Day Cream v Night Cream Debate Continues

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

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!

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

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?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 3 Comments

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?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

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…