Stories
Sharing everything I know, love and passionate about.
Sustainable Gifts has become a Bestseller on Etsy!
Posted by Alina Perfance on
Sustainable is in a fashion now!
During lockdown 3 we have sold lots of our Sustainable Letterbox Gifts as contact-free presents that will fit through a letterbox for every British house!
You can add personalised message and whole gift contains zero plastic!
Read more
Sustainable Gifts has become a Bestseller on Etsy!
Posted by Alina Perfance on
Sustainable is in a fashion now!
During lockdown 3 we have sold lots of our Sustainable Letterbox Gifts as contact-free presents that will fit through a letterbox for every British house!
You can add personalised message and whole gift contains zero plastic!
Read more
Beauty Balm - ultimate skin treatment
Posted by Alina Perfance on
When you think 'Balm' something 'very thick and rich' comes to mind.
But this Balm is a superlight skin smoothing treatment that you can use in many ways:
- Layer with you face cream for a skin boosting treatment;
- Apply before make up to make skin smooth and perfect looking;
- Apply as overnight face treatment;
- Use on face, eyes and neck to remove tiredness and treat dull skin;
- Apply on lips as healing treatment;
- Use as a Make Up Melt - dissolve make up and remove with reusable cotton pads or hot cloth;
- Wake up morning hot cloth face cleanser;
- Apply on cuticles overnight to reveal soft manicured hands in the morning.
I'm sure there are many more ways to use it!
Powerful botanicals of anti ageing Rosewood and acne clearing Tea tree with calming invigorating aroma!
Light oils of Jojoba and Calendula will heal skin and fight both wrinkles and acne.
Plus antiseptic natural Yellow Beeswax is skin healing and preserves all botanicals in this balm!
Only sustainable glass jar beauty packaging to reduce amount of plastic on our planet.
Try it and you'll love it!
Read more
Beauty Balm - ultimate skin treatment
Posted by Alina Perfance on
When you think 'Balm' something 'very thick and rich' comes to mind.
But this Balm is a superlight skin smoothing treatment that you can use in many ways:
- Layer with you face cream for a skin boosting treatment;
- Apply before make up to make skin smooth and perfect looking;
- Apply as overnight face treatment;
- Use on face, eyes and neck to remove tiredness and treat dull skin;
- Apply on lips as healing treatment;
- Use as a Make Up Melt - dissolve make up and remove with reusable cotton pads or hot cloth;
- Wake up morning hot cloth face cleanser;
- Apply on cuticles overnight to reveal soft manicured hands in the morning.
I'm sure there are many more ways to use it!
Powerful botanicals of anti ageing Rosewood and acne clearing Tea tree with calming invigorating aroma!
Light oils of Jojoba and Calendula will heal skin and fight both wrinkles and acne.
Plus antiseptic natural Yellow Beeswax is skin healing and preserves all botanicals in this balm!
Only sustainable glass jar beauty packaging to reduce amount of plastic on our planet.
Try it and you'll love it!
Read more
Facial oil that will change your skin
Posted by Alina Perfance on
How oils can improve your skin no matter what skin type you have - the secret in application and everyday skincare routine. You can get rid of acne, lines and wrinkles and make your skin glowing just by using facial oil everyday and here is how!
Myself I had Combination skin, my make up use to shine from excess of oil and I had breakouts when I was stresses.
I would never apply oil on my face I did quite opposite - gel cream were my favourite. I use to think that face oil will make my skin worse! I ended up swapping from one face gel to face emulsion and there were days where I applied foundation on bare skin! Cause I wanted it to last!
My skin have became dehydrated - you know that slight greyish and tired skin look - that's skin dehydration. Lines, even those that you don't have started show up in daylight. I was only 26...
I wouldn't say I was doing a bad job of taking care of my skin - high end skincare cream for Oily and Combination skin: gel cream, alcohol based face toner and that fancy gel wash with scrub particles. Foundation just for my skin type and powder - lots of it! Was my skin ever looked great? Never. Promises of high end brands that you are doing the right thing but you just need to buy another extra product! and then another one and another one..
Then I started making my own skincare I have entered a world of Oils and Botanicals. All oils that you are using for face have to be cold pressed and organic - only they are preform miracles!
Oils are different - there are lighter oils and there are more replenishing.
Our skin produces oils to protect itself!
Oils preserving youth and helping to fight wrinkles!
Oils making skin healthy glowing!
Oils are good for skin!
And finally after two years of experimenting I have created my own facial oil - Elixir No 1 - a perfect blend of Jojoba (antiaging, wrinkle smoothing), Apricot Kernel (very light oil, perfect even for Oily skin) and Calendula Oil (anti acne, soothing, redness healing). With added botanicals of Sea buckthorn and Rosemary this facial oil turns into Elixir - absorbs quickly, smells of edible berries and perfect to mix with face cream or foundation.
The last but not the least thing - if you have experienced the same thing with your skin as I did take this advice in consideration when you chose skincare products:
- Avoid SLS and Detergents, they are only over washing and over cleansing your skin to make it more oily. Once Natural Skin Balance washed off skin starts to produce oils to protect itself from over drying. This is a natural skin mechanism.
- When you are choosing face serum or facial oil - go for natural! Mineral Oil, Petroleum Jelly are synthetic and cheap ingredients used by many skincare manufacturers.
- Apply oil onto damp skin or mix with cream - works best when oil has a bit of water.
- Choose 'clean' make up - most of foundations (even high end) contain synthetic pigments and synthetic oils to help blend well once applied on the skin, but slip off by lunch time.
- Buy online from Independent make up and skincare brands and on marketplaces like Etsy - this is how you get quality product and the most for your money. Pharmacies and mass-market brands pay millions 'to be on the shelf' and very little to make a product and put it into plastic bottle - this is how business works.
We are so lucky to live in time where we have million of choices of everything! So use it!
Read more
Facial oil that will change your skin
Posted by Alina Perfance on
How oils can improve your skin no matter what skin type you have - the secret in application and everyday skincare routine. You can get rid of acne, lines and wrinkles and make your skin glowing just by using facial oil everyday and here is how!
Myself I had Combination skin, my make up use to shine from excess of oil and I had breakouts when I was stresses.
I would never apply oil on my face I did quite opposite - gel cream were my favourite. I use to think that face oil will make my skin worse! I ended up swapping from one face gel to face emulsion and there were days where I applied foundation on bare skin! Cause I wanted it to last!
My skin have became dehydrated - you know that slight greyish and tired skin look - that's skin dehydration. Lines, even those that you don't have started show up in daylight. I was only 26...
I wouldn't say I was doing a bad job of taking care of my skin - high end skincare cream for Oily and Combination skin: gel cream, alcohol based face toner and that fancy gel wash with scrub particles. Foundation just for my skin type and powder - lots of it! Was my skin ever looked great? Never. Promises of high end brands that you are doing the right thing but you just need to buy another extra product! and then another one and another one..
Then I started making my own skincare I have entered a world of Oils and Botanicals. All oils that you are using for face have to be cold pressed and organic - only they are preform miracles!
Oils are different - there are lighter oils and there are more replenishing.
Our skin produces oils to protect itself!
Oils preserving youth and helping to fight wrinkles!
Oils making skin healthy glowing!
Oils are good for skin!
And finally after two years of experimenting I have created my own facial oil - Elixir No 1 - a perfect blend of Jojoba (antiaging, wrinkle smoothing), Apricot Kernel (very light oil, perfect even for Oily skin) and Calendula Oil (anti acne, soothing, redness healing). With added botanicals of Sea buckthorn and Rosemary this facial oil turns into Elixir - absorbs quickly, smells of edible berries and perfect to mix with face cream or foundation.
The last but not the least thing - if you have experienced the same thing with your skin as I did take this advice in consideration when you chose skincare products:
- Avoid SLS and Detergents, they are only over washing and over cleansing your skin to make it more oily. Once Natural Skin Balance washed off skin starts to produce oils to protect itself from over drying. This is a natural skin mechanism.
- When you are choosing face serum or facial oil - go for natural! Mineral Oil, Petroleum Jelly are synthetic and cheap ingredients used by many skincare manufacturers.
- Apply oil onto damp skin or mix with cream - works best when oil has a bit of water.
- Choose 'clean' make up - most of foundations (even high end) contain synthetic pigments and synthetic oils to help blend well once applied on the skin, but slip off by lunch time.
- Buy online from Independent make up and skincare brands and on marketplaces like Etsy - this is how you get quality product and the most for your money. Pharmacies and mass-market brands pay millions 'to be on the shelf' and very little to make a product and put it into plastic bottle - this is how business works.
We are so lucky to live in time where we have million of choices of everything! So use it!
Read more
Capture Totale: £140 luxury and the marketing fairy tale
Posted by Alina Perfance on
I got it for Xmas and I was testing it for more than six months before writing this review. I'm not a big fan of night creams but this is something special, I would definitely re-purchase this product again.
I thought this cream will be shiny and leave an oily film on the skin in the morning (I have Combination skin) as this Capture Totale is luxury concentrated.
The only feeling on the skin I had in the morning is - perfectly smooth skin, recovered redness from sunburn from the day before and absolutely 'young and rested' complexion.
I'm a big fan of luxury products, but I really didn't expect this effect from a usual cream.. but if your skin needs something special, or you feel your sin is suffering from stress and needs a boost of youth overnight - this is what you really need.
So, to give you more information I went on dior.com and it really claims to be a stress relief for your skin (!), but the thing is I figure out this before reading this information on the web, so it does the job (!)
Back in the past I worked in as a Beauty Advisor for luxury brands and I do remember ladies who use to coming back to re-purchase Dior skincare and spent £££ and I must say they looked amazing on their age. I wouldn't say they looked twenty years younger but they looked quite good and really luxury. This is a fact.
Name: full name is Dior Capture Totale Creme de Nuit Haute Regeneration Visage & Cou (Intensive Night Restorative Cream Face & Neck)
Range.
Capture Totale - is a global anti-ageing range (all signs visible of ageing),
Packaging.
deluxe button opening jar, refillable (the inside of the jar can be replaced and outer part of the jar reused). So if you buy refill it saves you over £15.
Texture.
Rich cream but of collagen kind of texture, it does absorb easily and the first effect you feel on the skin is 'relax' and 'replenish'. To be honest, I was expecting it to be greasier that's why I'm not a big fan of night creams, I just apply serum and that's it.
This product has changed the way I feel about night creams, I heard that night creams just have to be in daily skin routine if you are over twenty five. But in the real life, because my skin is a combination I really didn't like the way night creams clog skin and I just wanted the skin to rest and feel free. But using light serums or Salycilic Acid based products bot gonna make much of anti age effect.
Application.
If your skin is Combination and you still want to use rich anti ageing products like Dior Capture Totale then the best way is exfoliating your skin and make sure it stays smooth and clean before you applying products like that. I would strongly recommend using toner before applying expensive stuff like that, straight away when skin is still damp after toner (I use Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2, because it is exfoliating as well).
Apply the cream onto the fingertips with spatula provided (more hygienic way), heat it up onto your fingertips for 5 seconds and then apply with smoothing movements from the centre of the face to the sides and then spreading to the neck upwards.
The amount of cream for one application should be 'a size of a pea', maybe a little bit more but not much than that. If you will use it this way this cream will last you for over six months. As you on the picture after the application skin appears smooth and not shiny at all.
So, here are ingredients you can find on Dior website:
Longoza Extract - So, Longoza is actually a town in Madagascar but not the mysterious name of an Exclusive plant. Dior does not mention Longoza Extract in the list of ingredients for this cream. I haven't found any botanical sources about the plant either.
But what really is exclusive and states in the list of ingredients is - 'Aframomum angustifolium' - is a basically a Madagascar Cardamon, a tropical plant with edible fruit and seed, mostly used in food and used as an aphrodisiac. (Source: http://tropical.theferns.info)
And Grape Seed Extract - great soothing properties, antioxidant, is it not an expensive or exclusive ingredient as you may guess. That's about all inforation you can find on the official dior web.
Before giving the full list of ingredients I can say that this is the only Scientific names of the chemical compounds but we still don't know how those ingredients have been derived.
It may give you an idea what's in the jar, what goes on your skin and it is a really luxury and expensive cream or just a ripoff? And is it actually worth £140 for 60ml jar cream? It is for you to decide.
Now is a full list of ingredients as it stated on the box:
AQUA - water is a base of all face creams, helps to dissolve most of the ingredients, only not oils and for those emulsifiers used;
GLYCERINE - locks moisture in the skin, a good carrier for oils and extracts;
DECYL OLEATE - skin conditioning agent, ester of Decyl Alcohol and Oleic Acid;
HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL GLYCERIDES - skin conditioning and viscosity controlling agent, derived from palm oil;
DIMETHICONE - silicon-based polymer, lubricating agent;
MANDIFERA INDICA (MANGO SEED BUTTER) - non-comedogenic (doesn't clog skin pores or creating acnes), a rich source of fatty acids and Vitamin A, perfect anti-age ingredient as smooth fine lines;
BUTYLENE GLYCOL - organic alcohol, solvent and conditioning, petroleum byproduct, not good;
CETYL ALCOHOL - emollient, thickener and carrying agent for most cosmetic ingredients;
PANTYLENE GLYCOL - solvent and skin conditing agent;
HYDROGENATED COCO-GLYCERIDES - hydrogenated coconut oil;
HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE - synthetic polymer, and skin conditing and lubricating agent;
Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate - salt of Aluminium, preservative;
DECYLOXAZOLIDINONE - plasticizer, basically white crystals, skin conditioning, antimicrobial agent;
DIGLYCERINE - produced during reaction with glycerin, rich in fatty acids and used in cosmetic moisturisers;
GLYCERYL STEARATE - fatty acids from animal and vegetable oils, emulsifier (helps mix water and oils without separating);
MYRETH-3 MYRISTATE - surfactant, emollient, synthetic polymer, not good for skin;
PEG 75 STEARATE - emulsifier, skin conditioning, polymer, nothing good is about this one;
CITRUS MADURENSIS FRUIT EXTRACT - hybrid of Citrus and Kumquat, skin toning and conditing benefits for skin;
ALCOHOL - it is not specified which alcohol and from which plant it was derivated, in big quantities may irritate the skin;
PARFUM (FRAGRANCE) - helps to create a nice scent to cosmetic products, some people have an allergy to a fragrance in personal care products;
HYDROGENATED PALM GLYCERIDES - palm oil after a process of hydrogenation, that allows liquid oily product remain solid at roo temperature;
ACRYLATES/ C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER - synthetic product, controls a state of texture of the cream;
CETETH-20 - emulsifier and emollient;
STEARETH-20 - synthetic polymer;
DISODIUM EDTA - preservative, chelating agent - small percentage (2%) is cytotoxic and weakly genotoxic;
TOCOPHEROL ACETATE - Vitamin E;
XANTHAM GUM - natural thickener, found in food as well;
SODIUM HYDROXIDE - caustic soda, inorganic, unsafe only for eyes, non toxic;
SECALE CEREALE - Rye extract;
YEAST EXTRACT - is a mixture of flavonoids, sugars, vitamins, and amino acids, helping to reduce the amount of oxidative stress that occurs on the skin, the benefits of yeast extract can induce a calming effect that can help soothe and alleviate problematic skin
DECYL GLUCOSIDE - cleansing agent;
MALVA SYLVESTRIS (MALLOW EXTRACT) - soothing for dry or sensitive skin;
DIMETHYLMETHOXY CHROMANOL - antioxidant, synthetic version of vitamin E;
ADENOSINE - yeast derived ingredient with calming and soothing properties;
SORBITOL - sugar alcohol;
BUTYLPHENYL METHYLPROPIONAL - synthetic perfume used for washing powder;
HYDROGENATED SOY PROTEIN - skin and hair conditioning agent;
SODIUM METABISULFITE - food preservative;
SODIUM TOCOPHERYL PHOSPHATE - emulsion stabilising agent, skin conditioner;
LIMONENE - fragrance ingredient that naturally occurs in citrus;
CAPRYLYL GLYCOL - skin conditioning agent;
HEXYLENE GLYCOL - fragrance;
BHT - Butylated hydroxytoluene or Dibutylhydroxytoluene, is a lipophilic organic compound, chemically a derivative of phenol, that is useful for its antioxidant properties;
'Aframomum angustifolium' - is a basically a Madagascar Cardamon, a tropical plant with edible fruit and seed, mostly used in food and used as an aphrodisiac. (Source: http://tropical.theferns.info)
POLYMER ALCOHOL - gel-based thickener;
GERANIOL - natural fragrance ingredient, known as 'oil-of-rose';
RICE PROTEIN - perfect for allergy prone skin and rich in amino acids;
CITRONELLOL - derived from Lemongrass and used as a fragrance ingredient;
ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE - fragrance and masking agent;
EVENING PRIMROSE ROOT EXTRACT - moisturizing, soothing and used in hair products for detangling properties;
GRAPE SEED EXTRACT - rich in proanthocyanidins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, all of which are very potent antioxidants that help to diminish environmental damage and soothing properties;
CELLULOSE GUM - thickener;
ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN - deodorant agent, highly irritating;
Kluyveromyces - yeast extract;
SODIUM BENZOATE - food preservative;
POLYGONUM BISTORTA ROOT EXTRACT or Snake Weed plant - antioxidant;
TOCOPHEROL - derived from plants is basically vitamin E;
CITRIC ACID - preservative;
POTASSIUM SORBATE - is a potassium salt of sorbic acid, a naturally occurring antimicrobial compound; used as a preservative;
HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE GLYCERIDES CITRATE - skin conditioning agent.
So here are all ingredients listed straight from the box of purchased Dior Capture Totale Intensive Restoring Night Cream.
Well, I had a bit of a shock after looking into each ingredient through my sources...
Here are some PROS and CONS for the whole Ingredient research for over three days of my digging:
PROS:
Mango Butter - is amazing anti ageing, restoring and soothing properties, which is non comedogenic as well and gives that lighter moisture for more Combination skins as well as for Dry.
6th place in the list of ingredisnts says that this cream is full of Mango butter as well as almost as an actual base for this cream.
CONS:
Polymers and synthetic skin conditioning agents - like petroleum byproducts or vaseline, which are cheap to produce and cost almost nothing;
Synthetic fragrance that used in washing powder - why would you use synthetic fragrances in £140 cream???
Palm oil - this is somehting you would expect in mass market products really, but here you go...
Cleansing agents and solvent - I can understand if we would be reviewing facial wash but cleansing agents in highend luxury cream? For what?
Made up name of Exclusive tropical plant - Longoza Extract..
FULL of preservatives.. for example, Phenoxyethanol - this preservative ususally the last in the ingredients list of most luxury cosmetic products, but here this one just right in the middle of the list that states to be not good. Well, this type of preservative is partuculary new and not satudied completely so I woudn't put too much hopes into it.
Is it worth your money?
To be honest, before I looked into ingredients I would repurchase it but now I can see that maybe there is nothing special about this cream.
What really doesn't make you trust to this product is the marketing made up tropical plant Longozola which is only a basic Madagascar Cardamon and used mostly for food.
I would pay for it £65 the most really but £140 for a cream full of synthetic polymers, lubricant and skin conditioning agents.
If you have any comment about this review feel free to leave a comment.
Read more
Capture Totale: £140 luxury and the marketing fairy tale
Posted by Alina Perfance on
I got it for Xmas and I was testing it for more than six months before writing this review. I'm not a big fan of night creams but this is something special, I would definitely re-purchase this product again.
I thought this cream will be shiny and leave an oily film on the skin in the morning (I have Combination skin) as this Capture Totale is luxury concentrated.
The only feeling on the skin I had in the morning is - perfectly smooth skin, recovered redness from sunburn from the day before and absolutely 'young and rested' complexion.
I'm a big fan of luxury products, but I really didn't expect this effect from a usual cream.. but if your skin needs something special, or you feel your sin is suffering from stress and needs a boost of youth overnight - this is what you really need.
So, to give you more information I went on dior.com and it really claims to be a stress relief for your skin (!), but the thing is I figure out this before reading this information on the web, so it does the job (!)
Back in the past I worked in as a Beauty Advisor for luxury brands and I do remember ladies who use to coming back to re-purchase Dior skincare and spent £££ and I must say they looked amazing on their age. I wouldn't say they looked twenty years younger but they looked quite good and really luxury. This is a fact.
Name: full name is Dior Capture Totale Creme de Nuit Haute Regeneration Visage & Cou (Intensive Night Restorative Cream Face & Neck)
Range.
Capture Totale - is a global anti-ageing range (all signs visible of ageing),
Packaging.
deluxe button opening jar, refillable (the inside of the jar can be replaced and outer part of the jar reused). So if you buy refill it saves you over £15.
Texture.
Rich cream but of collagen kind of texture, it does absorb easily and the first effect you feel on the skin is 'relax' and 'replenish'. To be honest, I was expecting it to be greasier that's why I'm not a big fan of night creams, I just apply serum and that's it.
This product has changed the way I feel about night creams, I heard that night creams just have to be in daily skin routine if you are over twenty five. But in the real life, because my skin is a combination I really didn't like the way night creams clog skin and I just wanted the skin to rest and feel free. But using light serums or Salycilic Acid based products bot gonna make much of anti age effect.
Application.
If your skin is Combination and you still want to use rich anti ageing products like Dior Capture Totale then the best way is exfoliating your skin and make sure it stays smooth and clean before you applying products like that. I would strongly recommend using toner before applying expensive stuff like that, straight away when skin is still damp after toner (I use Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2, because it is exfoliating as well).
Apply the cream onto the fingertips with spatula provided (more hygienic way), heat it up onto your fingertips for 5 seconds and then apply with smoothing movements from the centre of the face to the sides and then spreading to the neck upwards.
The amount of cream for one application should be 'a size of a pea', maybe a little bit more but not much than that. If you will use it this way this cream will last you for over six months. As you on the picture after the application skin appears smooth and not shiny at all.
So, here are ingredients you can find on Dior website:
Longoza Extract - So, Longoza is actually a town in Madagascar but not the mysterious name of an Exclusive plant. Dior does not mention Longoza Extract in the list of ingredients for this cream. I haven't found any botanical sources about the plant either.
But what really is exclusive and states in the list of ingredients is - 'Aframomum angustifolium' - is a basically a Madagascar Cardamon, a tropical plant with edible fruit and seed, mostly used in food and used as an aphrodisiac. (Source: http://tropical.theferns.info)
And Grape Seed Extract - great soothing properties, antioxidant, is it not an expensive or exclusive ingredient as you may guess. That's about all inforation you can find on the official dior web.
Before giving the full list of ingredients I can say that this is the only Scientific names of the chemical compounds but we still don't know how those ingredients have been derived.
It may give you an idea what's in the jar, what goes on your skin and it is a really luxury and expensive cream or just a ripoff? And is it actually worth £140 for 60ml jar cream? It is for you to decide.
Now is a full list of ingredients as it stated on the box:
AQUA - water is a base of all face creams, helps to dissolve most of the ingredients, only not oils and for those emulsifiers used;
GLYCERINE - locks moisture in the skin, a good carrier for oils and extracts;
DECYL OLEATE - skin conditioning agent, ester of Decyl Alcohol and Oleic Acid;
HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL GLYCERIDES - skin conditioning and viscosity controlling agent, derived from palm oil;
DIMETHICONE - silicon-based polymer, lubricating agent;
MANDIFERA INDICA (MANGO SEED BUTTER) - non-comedogenic (doesn't clog skin pores or creating acnes), a rich source of fatty acids and Vitamin A, perfect anti-age ingredient as smooth fine lines;
BUTYLENE GLYCOL - organic alcohol, solvent and conditioning, petroleum byproduct, not good;
CETYL ALCOHOL - emollient, thickener and carrying agent for most cosmetic ingredients;
PANTYLENE GLYCOL - solvent and skin conditing agent;
HYDROGENATED COCO-GLYCERIDES - hydrogenated coconut oil;
HYDROGENATED POLYISOBUTENE - synthetic polymer, and skin conditing and lubricating agent;
Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate - salt of Aluminium, preservative;
DECYLOXAZOLIDINONE - plasticizer, basically white crystals, skin conditioning, antimicrobial agent;
DIGLYCERINE - produced during reaction with glycerin, rich in fatty acids and used in cosmetic moisturisers;
GLYCERYL STEARATE - fatty acids from animal and vegetable oils, emulsifier (helps mix water and oils without separating);
MYRETH-3 MYRISTATE - surfactant, emollient, synthetic polymer, not good for skin;
PEG 75 STEARATE - emulsifier, skin conditioning, polymer, nothing good is about this one;
CITRUS MADURENSIS FRUIT EXTRACT - hybrid of Citrus and Kumquat, skin toning and conditing benefits for skin;
ALCOHOL - it is not specified which alcohol and from which plant it was derivated, in big quantities may irritate the skin;
PARFUM (FRAGRANCE) - helps to create a nice scent to cosmetic products, some people have an allergy to a fragrance in personal care products;
HYDROGENATED PALM GLYCERIDES - palm oil after a process of hydrogenation, that allows liquid oily product remain solid at roo temperature;
ACRYLATES/ C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER - synthetic product, controls a state of texture of the cream;
CETETH-20 - emulsifier and emollient;
STEARETH-20 - synthetic polymer;
DISODIUM EDTA - preservative, chelating agent - small percentage (2%) is cytotoxic and weakly genotoxic;
TOCOPHEROL ACETATE - Vitamin E;
XANTHAM GUM - natural thickener, found in food as well;
SODIUM HYDROXIDE - caustic soda, inorganic, unsafe only for eyes, non toxic;
SECALE CEREALE - Rye extract;
YEAST EXTRACT - is a mixture of flavonoids, sugars, vitamins, and amino acids, helping to reduce the amount of oxidative stress that occurs on the skin, the benefits of yeast extract can induce a calming effect that can help soothe and alleviate problematic skin
DECYL GLUCOSIDE - cleansing agent;
MALVA SYLVESTRIS (MALLOW EXTRACT) - soothing for dry or sensitive skin;
DIMETHYLMETHOXY CHROMANOL - antioxidant, synthetic version of vitamin E;
ADENOSINE - yeast derived ingredient with calming and soothing properties;
SORBITOL - sugar alcohol;
BUTYLPHENYL METHYLPROPIONAL - synthetic perfume used for washing powder;
HYDROGENATED SOY PROTEIN - skin and hair conditioning agent;
SODIUM METABISULFITE - food preservative;
SODIUM TOCOPHERYL PHOSPHATE - emulsion stabilising agent, skin conditioner;
LIMONENE - fragrance ingredient that naturally occurs in citrus;
CAPRYLYL GLYCOL - skin conditioning agent;
HEXYLENE GLYCOL - fragrance;
BHT - Butylated hydroxytoluene or Dibutylhydroxytoluene, is a lipophilic organic compound, chemically a derivative of phenol, that is useful for its antioxidant properties;
'Aframomum angustifolium' - is a basically a Madagascar Cardamon, a tropical plant with edible fruit and seed, mostly used in food and used as an aphrodisiac. (Source: http://tropical.theferns.info)
POLYMER ALCOHOL - gel-based thickener;
GERANIOL - natural fragrance ingredient, known as 'oil-of-rose';
RICE PROTEIN - perfect for allergy prone skin and rich in amino acids;
CITRONELLOL - derived from Lemongrass and used as a fragrance ingredient;
ALPHA-ISOMETHYL IONONE - fragrance and masking agent;
EVENING PRIMROSE ROOT EXTRACT - moisturizing, soothing and used in hair products for detangling properties;
GRAPE SEED EXTRACT - rich in proanthocyanidins, polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins, all of which are very potent antioxidants that help to diminish environmental damage and soothing properties;
CELLULOSE GUM - thickener;
ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN - deodorant agent, highly irritating;
Kluyveromyces - yeast extract;
SODIUM BENZOATE - food preservative;
POLYGONUM BISTORTA ROOT EXTRACT or Snake Weed plant - antioxidant;
TOCOPHEROL - derived from plants is basically vitamin E;
CITRIC ACID - preservative;
POTASSIUM SORBATE - is a potassium salt of sorbic acid, a naturally occurring antimicrobial compound; used as a preservative;
HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE GLYCERIDES CITRATE - skin conditioning agent.
So here are all ingredients listed straight from the box of purchased Dior Capture Totale Intensive Restoring Night Cream.
Well, I had a bit of a shock after looking into each ingredient through my sources...
Here are some PROS and CONS for the whole Ingredient research for over three days of my digging:
PROS:
Mango Butter - is amazing anti ageing, restoring and soothing properties, which is non comedogenic as well and gives that lighter moisture for more Combination skins as well as for Dry.
6th place in the list of ingredisnts says that this cream is full of Mango butter as well as almost as an actual base for this cream.
CONS:
Polymers and synthetic skin conditioning agents - like petroleum byproducts or vaseline, which are cheap to produce and cost almost nothing;
Synthetic fragrance that used in washing powder - why would you use synthetic fragrances in £140 cream???
Palm oil - this is somehting you would expect in mass market products really, but here you go...
Cleansing agents and solvent - I can understand if we would be reviewing facial wash but cleansing agents in highend luxury cream? For what?
Made up name of Exclusive tropical plant - Longoza Extract..
FULL of preservatives.. for example, Phenoxyethanol - this preservative ususally the last in the ingredients list of most luxury cosmetic products, but here this one just right in the middle of the list that states to be not good. Well, this type of preservative is partuculary new and not satudied completely so I woudn't put too much hopes into it.
Is it worth your money?
To be honest, before I looked into ingredients I would repurchase it but now I can see that maybe there is nothing special about this cream.
What really doesn't make you trust to this product is the marketing made up tropical plant Longozola which is only a basic Madagascar Cardamon and used mostly for food.
I would pay for it £65 the most really but £140 for a cream full of synthetic polymers, lubricant and skin conditioning agents.
If you have any comment about this review feel free to leave a comment.
Read more
Paying for a Brand?
Posted by Alina Perfance on
Doesn’t matter if you're spending couple quid for your face cream or you shop in High End Stores, you wonder what’s really in a jar?
Reading ingredients can help quite useful and you should know ‘they do not write information how it was derived and from Super Plant or Cheap Petrol.
But some chemicals you can’t really hide behind looooong complicated names.
So, here is four main Nasty Ingredients that cosmetic brands use the most.
#1
SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulphate or Lauryl Sulphate)
Cosmetic products: shampoo (you’d be straggling to find shampoo without it), facial cleansers, shower and bath, anything that ‘makes foam’. The way it cleanse it oxidizes skin and hair leaving residue.
Usually, SLS extracted from Coconut, so brands have a right to say about Natural Content on the label.
What may cause: Long term use of shampoo with SLS can irritate skin and hair and creates a coating that hard to wash out. Can stings eyes, dandruff and hair loss and accumulates in an organism.
What’s right: SLS free products: Macadamia Natural Oil Shampoo, Giovanni All Hair Products, Erayba Hydra-Ker Shampoo,
"I always used mass market shampoo. After a while I started notice hair loss. I didn’t dye my hair and always used conditioners, hair masks and leave to dry it naturally.
I started searching on internet and I found one article where scientists say that SLS may cause irritation, dandruff and even hair loss! I ran to my beauty mass market shop and didn’t find any shampoo without SLS! I finally found one in pharmacy. I swapped it.
My hair was slowly getting use to new shampoo. It became clean and healthy like never before. After couple of months hair loss absolutely gone and my hair back to normal! From now on I shop only for SLS-free products.
It might be an individual reaction, but think if you are using SLS for years?.."
#2
Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil)
Cosmetic products: Moisturizer, creams, body lotions, lip balms, hands creams.
What may cause: As ideal lubricant locks moisture and clogs pores making skin unbreathable and in this condition skin can be irritated, prone to eczema, dry out, otherwise the feeling ‘on the surface’ is really smooth.
What’s right: Aloe Vera Juice, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter are plenty not-so-expensive ingredients that will give a real benefit to your skin!
People who has eczema can’t use even natural based products and use Prescription Only products.
#3
Silicones (Dimethiconol,Silica)
Cosmetic products: Make Up Base & Primers, Foundation, Wrinkle Fillers and even some skincare products.
What may cause: Same as Mineral Oil or Paraffinum Liquidum lubricates and make skin’s surface plumped and smooth but gives for skin nothing.
What’s right? Silicones make skin immediately plumped and wrinkle-free.
To get the same effect helps Oat Sugars in Clarins Extra Firming Botanical Serum, Plant Proteins (Rice Protein/Soy Bean Protein) that gives smooth finish for skin.
#4
Preservatives (Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Chlorphenesin, )
Cosmetic products: All of them.
What May Cause: Skin Irritation, Skin problems (Rosacea, Acne) and even Cancer in some cases as most Preservatives accumulates in organism. All Preservatives has a toxic score and level of safety that you can easily search online.
What’s right? Citric Acid or even usual Table salt (NaCl) can be perfect natural preservative. Widely used to preserve antioxidants: Vitamin E, some plant extracts (Rosemary, Grapefruit, Grapefruit).
Potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)is a preservative widely used as in foods as in cosmetics.
Read more
Paying for a Brand?
Posted by Alina Perfance on
Doesn’t matter if you're spending couple quid for your face cream or you shop in High End Stores, you wonder what’s really in a jar?
Reading ingredients can help quite useful and you should know ‘they do not write information how it was derived and from Super Plant or Cheap Petrol.
But some chemicals you can’t really hide behind looooong complicated names.
So, here is four main Nasty Ingredients that cosmetic brands use the most.
#1
SLS (Sodium Laureth Sulphate or Lauryl Sulphate)
Cosmetic products: shampoo (you’d be straggling to find shampoo without it), facial cleansers, shower and bath, anything that ‘makes foam’. The way it cleanse it oxidizes skin and hair leaving residue.
Usually, SLS extracted from Coconut, so brands have a right to say about Natural Content on the label.
What may cause: Long term use of shampoo with SLS can irritate skin and hair and creates a coating that hard to wash out. Can stings eyes, dandruff and hair loss and accumulates in an organism.
What’s right: SLS free products: Macadamia Natural Oil Shampoo, Giovanni All Hair Products, Erayba Hydra-Ker Shampoo,
"I always used mass market shampoo. After a while I started notice hair loss. I didn’t dye my hair and always used conditioners, hair masks and leave to dry it naturally.
I started searching on internet and I found one article where scientists say that SLS may cause irritation, dandruff and even hair loss! I ran to my beauty mass market shop and didn’t find any shampoo without SLS! I finally found one in pharmacy. I swapped it.
My hair was slowly getting use to new shampoo. It became clean and healthy like never before. After couple of months hair loss absolutely gone and my hair back to normal! From now on I shop only for SLS-free products.
It might be an individual reaction, but think if you are using SLS for years?.."
#2
Paraffinum Liquidum (Mineral Oil)
Cosmetic products: Moisturizer, creams, body lotions, lip balms, hands creams.
What may cause: As ideal lubricant locks moisture and clogs pores making skin unbreathable and in this condition skin can be irritated, prone to eczema, dry out, otherwise the feeling ‘on the surface’ is really smooth.
What’s right: Aloe Vera Juice, Jojoba Oil, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter are plenty not-so-expensive ingredients that will give a real benefit to your skin!
People who has eczema can’t use even natural based products and use Prescription Only products.
#3
Silicones (Dimethiconol,Silica)
Cosmetic products: Make Up Base & Primers, Foundation, Wrinkle Fillers and even some skincare products.
What may cause: Same as Mineral Oil or Paraffinum Liquidum lubricates and make skin’s surface plumped and smooth but gives for skin nothing.
What’s right? Silicones make skin immediately plumped and wrinkle-free.
To get the same effect helps Oat Sugars in Clarins Extra Firming Botanical Serum, Plant Proteins (Rice Protein/Soy Bean Protein) that gives smooth finish for skin.
#4
Preservatives (Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Chlorhexidine Digluconate, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Chlorphenesin, )
Cosmetic products: All of them.
What May Cause: Skin Irritation, Skin problems (Rosacea, Acne) and even Cancer in some cases as most Preservatives accumulates in organism. All Preservatives has a toxic score and level of safety that you can easily search online.
What’s right? Citric Acid or even usual Table salt (NaCl) can be perfect natural preservative. Widely used to preserve antioxidants: Vitamin E, some plant extracts (Rosemary, Grapefruit, Grapefruit).
Potassium sorbate and ascorbic acid (vitamin C)is a preservative widely used as in foods as in cosmetics.