One for the Mums

I have been following local brand geoskincare for awhile now, and love just about everything they do. The products have integrity both in terms of performance and organic standards, and they also smell absolutely scrumptious.


I was planning to buy my Mum something girly and smelly for Mother's Day anyway, and then I saw this beautiful gift set, which includes a cleanser, hand cream and premium quality  candle. The limited edition candle is called 'citrus delicious' and I now know why. From the moment I lit it, I craved lemon meringue pie...it's that good! I also love the packaging, but what can I say? I'm a sucker for  love hearts. 


This might be a 'Mothers Day' special, but if you're not a Mum and you get one for yourself, I promise it will be our secret.


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Organical botanicals

I have been knocking around the beauty industry for a long time now, and have been lucky enough to experience some of the most beautiful and revered spas in the world, so it takes something pretty special to make me rave about a salon. Somehow, in the space of a month, I have two to rave about! 

I’ll tell you about my trip to Lucy & the Powder room later this week, but today, it’s all about a teensy little salon I visited in Ellerslie, X Factor.

Just a few minutes after meeting owner Jocelyn, her passion for sustainable practice was clear. X-Factor has been fitted out with only quality, sustainable materials and the serene, minimalistic vibe instantly put me at ease. Jocelyn prescribed an anti-ageing facial, and explained that the science-lab ampoule packaging was used in place of preservatives and chemicals – key to the Phyts philosophy.

Phyts have created premium, organic, 100% natural skincare out of their laboratories in France for over forty years and haven’t used chemicals or ingredients tested on animals, ever. The products contain no synthetic preservatives, no artificial fragrances, no colouring agents, no GMO, no petrochemicals and no parabens. Wowser…

After a quick glass of Intelligent Water, which has been treated so that the molecules are perfectly aligned (another story altogether, in the meantime you can google it), I was settled into my cosy treatment bed for a truly holistic hour and a half. I can’t call it a facial, because it was so much more!

A combination of smell, healing touch, soothing music, soft light therapy and Reiki, my whole body seemed to melt into the bed and when it was all over, I was calmer and more centred than I have felt in a long time, not to mention glowing skin to boot. My therapist, Alison, truly had the healing touch.

To read more about X-Factor visit their website, and if you’re out that way, I cannot recommend a visit highly enough.

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Hands up if you're confused about sunscreen?

Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown

I've been researching an article on sun protection, and boy did my jaw drop, more than once. I've clearly had my head in the sand since circa 1990 when sunscreen was touted as the be-all-and-end-all in melanoma prevention. It's been drilled into us to never get sunburnt, but unless you read the fine print you could be doing just as much damage, long term, as previous 'un-sun-educated' generations.

 

For years, I have tuned out when sun safety messages come on television, thinking I know it all already. 'Slip, slop, slap', right? Well, things have changed Beaunz belles, so you need to re-educate yourself. Most experts now say that sunscreen is NOT your best protection against melanoma. Sunscreens do help to prevent sunburn, but studies show that this gives us a false sense of security, so we stay out in the sun for longer and expose ourselves to more UVA rays, which penetrate deeper and cause more damage. A new 'du du duuuuu' for me was that many common sunscreen ingredients generate free radicals that actually accelerate skin ageing and can cause skin cancer themselves. If you don't apply the right sunscreen, enough of it, and often enough, you could actually cause more damage than going without (not recommended either). Sheesh...

 

Cancer experts recommend staying out of the sun altogether during peak hours (10am-4pm) and covering up with a hat, shirt and sunglasses. Sunscreen should be used in addition, to protect areas like the face, neck, arms and hands. But, this is where it gets really confusing, because sunscreens are not all created equal. Natural vs mineral vs chemical...zinc vs titanium...nanoparticles vs micronised...UVA vs UVB protection...here I was thinking as long as it was SPF30 and didn't contain retinyl palmitate, I was doing my job.

 

It is important to be informed so you can make your own decisions. There is comprehensive information and a database of sunscreens ranked according to safety and efficacy here , specific sun protection facts for kids here and a thought provoking article written by Gill South for the NZ Herald here. 

 

Personally, I have been using a newish product called Shelter on my face, and it is the best sun protection skin care product I have come across (especially as it is packed with hyaluronic acid and doubles as a great moisturiser). I stocked up on The Cancer Society Mineral Zinc for my body, and Ultra Children's sun screen for my daughter , as well as this ditsy print hat by Bébé. All I need now is a cute sun protection suit and some sunglasses for her. Who said being responsible isn't any fun?

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The one essential for beautiful skin

Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

On Thursday I had the pleasure of an in-depth skin consultation with Linda Jackson of the Face Place in Albany, for an article I am researching on Cosmeceuticals (if you're wondering what I mean by cosmeceutical here is a great article written by Milly Nolan of Mindfood.com). I had dozens of similar experiences in my 10 years of beauty marketing so I usually leave feeling a little hohum.


With Linda, I had not one but two lightbulb moments. First of all, I asked her what the most important thing is to use on your skin (assuming she would say 'moisturiser'). Her response was 'vitamin A because it is essential to the nucleus of every skin cell. If you don't do anything else to your skin, at least use vitamin A in some form, but get professional advice first to avoid reactions.'  Vitamin C and other antioxidants came in second and third, followed by moisturiser (she even said it is better to be slightly under-hydrated than under-treated with vitamin A) and last of all, cleansing. Apparently, we all cleanse far too often and should only do it once a day at most, in the evening, to remove makeup and the grime of the day. That's it.


The second 'ding' was that she talked about my home care routine for 50 out of the 60 minutes of our appointment, only mentioning her treatment recommendations at the very end. When I commented on this, she was quick to emphasise that home care is 70% of beautiful skin, and if clients aren't prepared to invest in that, there is little point prescribing a lengthy and potentially pricey treatment plan. It was refreshing to hear such an unapologetic (and logical!) approach to home care, which is so often an afterthought at beauty salons.


How about you, beaunz belles? Have you used vitamin A on your skin? Did you notice a difference?


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