Excellent article in Guardian on moisturisers - links to scientific article on what works (not much) and doesnt (most stuff)!

[janmoomoo]

Great article in Guardian today
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/12/should-i-use-moisturiser

But even better is the article it links to at the end - research papers. Gives a scientific outline of what works and what doesnt. Very interesting.

And yes, Nanoblur is complete and utter crap. I did kind of this the optical illusion stuff they were purporting might work. But nah. How they get away with the "10 years younger in 40 seconds" crap, I'll never know.

You should have been in our house when I arrived home with it! DH was bent over with laughter! Howled, is the best description.

I just love the name, it's so taking the piss out of itself somehow - NANOBLUR

All I'm saying is I use these products because they have an effect. I can confirm they have an effect by keeping other variables at a constant. And I am fully aware of the effects of hormonal changes etc which is why I always use a product for 6 months and then stop for 3 weeks to see if skin reverts back to it's original state (I do my own experiments) - it always does btw. So though many may be doubtful, I will continue to attribute my airbrushed skin to my good skincare routine.

I would like to think that most of us are pretty astute - I certainy wouldn't believe a product like nanoblur would have as dramatic an effct as it claims. And I don't know any intelligent women who expect 'miracles' from skincare either but skin can most certainly be improved with a good routine - be it the oil cleansing method (which is horrible - hate the smell of olive oil) or creme de la mer. And good skincare isn't about anti-ageing, just combating the shit we have created for ourselves that skin has to deal with (stress, pollution etc).

I think we just need to agree to disagree...

My skin has also never looked as good as it does right now. I use good sunscreen faithfully, other than that i've a fairly ltd and cheap routine. I have in the past spent huge fortunes on skincare routines, (since i was a teenager, so a long time) on all sorts of magical wizardry, and can honestly say I never noticed any difference.

If any cosmetic company can show me one single decent trial showing positive effects of a product, as opposed to the effects of diprobase or whatever, then I will believe it. Til then, I will save my money, and use good sunscreen.

Yes, I agree, we'll have to agree to disagree!

Exactly, MissMac. A proper trial is a proper trial.
It also drives me nuts on ads when it presents figures like, "82% of respondents felt their skin looked better" or some such blah, as tho it were scientific fact and counted as a trial. What a load.

I agree. I always feel like I need the rest of the sentence.

"82% of respondents felt their skin looked better...than when they used any cheap moisturiser" (my usual routine) would be worth saying and I might spend £££ buying it.

"82% of respondents felt their skin looked better...than using nothing at all" (which is what I suspect the poll represents) is worthless.

I use glycolic acid, retin a and sun cream
Skin is good

for crying out loud - I wasn't claiming to be stood there in a labcoat with MS excel on my lap! I'd just like to think women are relatively intelligent when it comes to the small print at the bottom of the ads. Clearly you don't think so...

MrsMartin you're an expert on her own skin, and that's all that matters innit.

your not her

exactly...my fabulous fabulous skin . And if people ask my opinion I shall give it - I certainly don't think it will land me on 'sticky ground'.

My skin is a friggin nightmare so I too am well versed in what suits me and that doesn't necessarily apply to others. Nor does it matter that it doesn't :)

mrsmartin - you are also, I believe, a youthful 24 years of age (not stalking you - have just read the eye-cream thread), so this may also account for your good skin...

Oh, and the lady at your work - do you know if she suffers from eczema? I know a couple of people who suffer from this on their faces, and it does have a drying effect. Otherwise, I too, like you, would be surprised to see a person age 24 with crows-feet around their eyes. Typically those creep in in one's 30s/40s. So the fact that you don't have them either is not necessarily a result of your regime, though long-term it may postpone their arrival!

Forgive me, btw, and I got the wrong end of the stick, and you are in fact 40.

if, not and!

I use coconut oil. £3 for a massive jar and when I'm religious about it have baby soft skin and no wrinkles (that bit might be genetic) at 43.
And you can eat it too

Nope pen - obviously has something to do with wrinkles but not tone etc - and like I said - I had scarring (A burn on my chin, acne scarring and shallow knife cuts) that has all but been eliminated. Not to mention the usual conjestion that comes from being my age...when I stop using my products and go to a typical cleanse and moisturise routine the conjestion returns immediately and the knife cuts (my wrinkles really) become deeper again. Like I said previously - I'm not looking at it as magic creams that reverse the aging process - just products that have an effect of smoothing, plumping and resurfacing.

oh - and I have to put up with the over production of oil too...not a good look

You don't have to be ill informed, ignorant or totally gullible to be swayed by marketing or to be misled by the powerful, persuasive effects of confirmation bias.

We as humans have psychological systems in place that have as a downside an ability to read too much into patterns. It's not stupidity, it's human nature. And advertising and marketing exploit it. I am regularly exploited and consider myself to be of normal intelligence.

This is why we need the people in white coats to do proper trials.

Also - no she definately doesn't have eczema. I know ALOT of women in their mid twenties with fine lines, dehydration lines, awful patchy skin...

Anyway - let's just say I know what works for me, I have never claimed to be an expert in skincare (though I am when it comes to footwear/leather goods) and I'm not profiting or gaining anything from answering others when they ask my opinion. What drives me nuts is we all have our own minds and are capable of making our own decisions - anyone who sees an advert and goes 'oh well if it is in a magazine then it must work - I'll spend all of my expendible income on the promise of a miracle' then they quite frankly deserve to be parted with that money. Surely the whole point of forums like this is to discuss eachothers' experiences of using these products so that we can guage whether or not we think it is worth a shot.

That's all I have to say on it really.

For what it's worth, I use e45, oil cleansing or acqueous cream and oil topped with layer of humectant cream. Any to hand.

Apart from being a bit crap about sunscreen (and I used to smoke) when living in tropics I look younger than my 40 years and have not a single blemish. But then I've never had them (dry, Celtic freckled skin type)