eye treatment Archives - Conversations through the middle

DHC Revitalizing Moisture Strips – Eyes

February 12, 2014

Saggy skin under the eyes is something I’m susceptible to – I don’t know if it’s water retention, just a symptom of getting older, or tiredness, but there it is most mornings, enhanced by dark circles of varying hues.

I was rather pleased therefore to receive a box of DHC Revitalizing Moisture Strips. Packed in sachets of two, with six sachets in the box, these contain olive leaf extract, soy, mulberry, peony, aloe vera, amino acids and something called alpha-arbutin, which is a lightening agent derived from a plant.

According to DHC these uner-eye masks are designed to firm and moisturise the under-eye area, brightening and freshening into the bargain.

I tried them out the other night – after cleansing and toning, according to the instructions, I gently pressed the two fabric strips under my eyes (the underside is covered in a layer of gel, which contains the active ingredients). My immediate thoughts were how cooling the gel was and how comfortable the strips felt.

The directions specify 20-30 minutes for the treatment to work, or you can leave them on overnight, which is what I did. The next morning the skin under my eyes did look less puffy – yay, but alas, I didn’t see any noticeable difference in my dark circles.

The moisture strips are fine to use once or twice a week, and they’re easy to add in to your skin care routine – just peel off the backing strip and apply.

Beauty – cooling eye gels

October 19, 2012

Today I’m feeling a little rubbish – a mixture of the cold germs that are flying around everywhere at the moment and one to many glasses of wine last night – on a school night, too!

A good, long walk with the dog in the countryside, in the pouring rain, helped blow away the cobwebs and these little lovelies – Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels by Skyn Iceland – finished off the job.

I have used these once before – you simply apply the pads underneath your eyes; the gel feels cold and ‘sticks’ them in place (thought they’re not sticky in a sticky sort of way), then relax for 10 minutes. After using them I found the skin under my eyes looked tighter, the bags weren’t so prominent – and the effect lasted a few days. Be careful not to apply them too close to your eyes though – I did that and felt like they were dragging down the skin; no idea if they did or not but it felt very weird.

It’s the coldness of the gel pads I like; they’re an alternative to the rollerball eye treatments out there, such as those from L’Oreal or FAB (my personal favourite), with their cold metal applicators. Unlike those treatments, which I tend to use most days, the eye gels are a once a week treat (if you have lots of them) or, as in my case, a beauty pick-me-up whenever you need a boost.

40s Chic – and so I am (!!)

September 6, 2012

It’s that day again, the day when I climb ever further into my 40s. It amazes me just how quickly time passes – and how blinded we are by it. When I look in the mirror I still see a woman in her 20s and I feel no different than I did when I was 18, except perhaps I’m a little bit wiser and a lot more cynical.

One thing I’ve noticed when it comes to beauty, in your teens and 20s it doesn’t matter what make-up you use or even if you have a skincare regime, you look good regardless. A couple of decades later and it does matter, very much so. This is the time that lack of cleansing, moisturising and sun protection comes back to bite you on the bum and when what you put on your face affects not only how you look but the ongoing appearance, even health of your skin.

I’m lucky in that my mam was very conscious of skincare and cosmetics. Her advice and enthusiasm rubbed off on me and I’ve been using moisturiser since I was at least 15 years old, perhaps younger. Her favourite was Nivea then Oil of Ulay (when it was Oil of Ulay). I still can’t pass a Nivea tin without sniffing it and being transported back decades. Oh the power of fragrance memories.

I now have my own favourite skincare products and they have become more sophisticated over the years, each designed to do a different job in holding back the years. Not all of them are expensive, many are natural (I have a soft spot for organic ingredients and plant extracts) and some are luxuries that remain on my wishlist rather than in my bathroom for the majority of the time. In no particular order they are:

A great day or night cream that feels gorgeous even as you’re applying it.
You only need a little and it sinks into the skin very quickly

I’ve been using this for years and it always does the job.
This is as good as some of the more expensive creams I’ve tried and it’s better than a few others

My current favourite eye treatment and one I told you about here

Melvita organic skincare is another of my favourite
brands and its Youthful Skin Serum is lovely under moisturiser

Lovely and light, this is one of my favourite daytime moisturisers. I blogged about it here

I have told you about this before here. It smells fabulous,
it makes a change to using night cream and as it’s an oil, you only need a few drops

Finally, as a sunscreen for your face, I haven’t yet found anything to beat this.
It’s not too sticky, not too thick, absorbs sort of quickly (quicker than other facial sunscreens I’ve tried), and it smells good. I first posted about it here

So just to finish off, I would like to say have a (virtual) piece of cake on me and a refreshing cup of tea (or wine) and let me know about your favourite beauty products in the comment section below. Enjoy the party!

Beauty reviews – lips, eyes and nails

August 6, 2012

The new Liz Earle Signature lip colours are something to write home about. As you know if you read 40s Chic regularly, I love cosmetics containing natural ingredients, especially those that offer some kind of benefit besides looking lovely – anti ageing properties, skin firming ingredients, that sort of thing. These do that.

They’re part of the new colour collection and launch this autumn. I have two of them in my hot little hands – raspberry and sweet pea, both of which are variations on a pink theme, so should suit almost everybody.

For daytime wear I would say they’re spot on – the colours are subtle, nothing outrageous here, and the consistency is light. Importantly for me, they don’t taste of anything; so many lip glosses and lipsticks taste of fruit, mint or even a sweet artificial something that make me go meh to put it mildly.

The consistency is smooth, not sticky, the effect they give is not too sheer but has a slightly wet look, and my lips feel soft, even to the touch, when wearing this. The colour stays put too and passed the highly sophisticated glass test I subjected it to.

There are 19 shades in the range, all contain shea butter, avocado and vitamin E, which could explain why they feel so soft. uk.lizearle.com

Raspberry

Sweet Pea

And a swatch from me – the shades are very close to each other
and hopefully you can see the slightly wet-look finish

I don’t know about you but I hate the fact that as I get older the lines under my eyes seem to reproduce, sprouting little lines themselves. And first thing in the morning the bags under my eyes wear luggage labels! (Probably says something about the state of my liver, perhaps I need a good detox).

Anyway, for the last week or so I’ve been trialling the Detox Eye Roller by FAB and I have to say I like it. One of the things I like most about it is the metal ball that feels sooo cold against your skin as you apply the product. Now I know that’s not what the product is all about, but first thing in the morning when your eyes are still tired, or later in the day after a stint at the computer, that metal ball is a godsend; it wakes up your peepers immediately and the effect lasts for several minutes.

The eye roller is a serum that contains bio marine extracts to help tighten and smooth your skin, as well as everyone’s favourite ingredient, hyaluronic acid, which locks in moisture, creating a plumping effect. There’s also glycerin to soften and hydrate, skin firming polymers and peptides to boost collagen production.

According to Fab: “Using the roller ball not only stimulates the skin, it also allows a no touch application to maximise the efficacy of the polymers. Mobilising lymphatic fluid that can pool in the neck and central face is an ideal way to optimise skin turgor and snap, giving skin a younger, more refreshed appearance.”

I certainly find it refreshing and have it at hand on my desk all day so I can reapply whenever I feel like it.

If you’re unfamiliar with the brand FAB stands for First Aid Beauty and was launched in the USA a couple of years ago. You can get it at Boots or from Feel Unique.

I have been wanting to try Bourjois 1 Second Gel nail enamel for a while and eventually tracked it down in Superdrug a couple of weeks ago. I bought two shades (there are 19 of them), one is Taupe Classy (or as Dot calls it, poo colour, though I’m sure that’s not a beauty term), the other is Figue Chic, a mid purple.

The idea is these enamels give a gel finish without all the faff of a gel manicure, and they’re easy to remove with normal nail polish remover, rather than having to book a session with a manicurist or go through the cover-your-fingers-in-acetone-soaked-cotton-wool-then-wrap-them-in-foil- and-sit-for-ages removal ritual. According the the website you also just need one coat and that is dry within a minute (the one second of the name refers to how long it takes to paint each nail).

I have a couple of problems with this: one coat looks great – mostly. With the dark taupe shade coverage is good but you need a second coat otherwise when you hold your fingers up to the light you can see through it on your nail tips. This may not be such a problem with a lighter shade. Also, for me at least, it takes more than a minute for the enamel to dry – perhaps it has something to do with the heat of your skin? I don’t know but what I do know is I managed to smudge it more than 10 minutes after applying it.

On the plus side, I love the extra wide brush, which covers your nails in the shortest time; it makes such a change from those polishes that have mean, skinny little brushes. I also love the finish – it is indeed gel-like, feels so smooth and I can’t stop touching it.

Obviously it doesn’t last as long as a gel manicure, but it’s an easy way to create that gel look at home.

I have tried it without a top coat and achieved a shiny effect, but in this image I have applied a top layer of Revlon Quick Dry Top Coat for ultra shiny. www.bourjois.co.uk