Astral cream; it is BRILLIANT

[Gatekeeper]

thank you to whoever recommended this; I bought some 2 weeks ago and my skin hasn't looked so good in years. I use it on my face and neck and leave for ten mins before giving it a dusting of Lily Lo mineral powder.

skin looks and feels like rose petals and I am chuffed to bits!

Hooray! Glad someone else likes it. I occasionally worry I am single handledly keeping astral going!!

Yes it's lovely (and cheap), I've used it for years.

Another one who has been recommending it for years!

I wonder if there is going to be a worldwide shortage in manner of Delia's cranberries and liquid glycerine!

just goes to show that all these expensive creams are not always necessary! I use Nivea and I love it. Might give Astral a try now.

Isn't this what Joanna Lumley claims to use?

The only thing that concerns me about using this cream, is that it doesn't contain SPF. I would much rather spend a fiver, or whatever it is, than £60 that I spend now on Olay Regenerist serum and moisturiser, but then it contains SPF 30, which is the only reason I use it. I always hear than sun protection is the only anti aging cream that actually works.

If Astral starts containing sun protection, I'm switching!

*that sun protection, not than.....

Use a separate SPF - it's better for your skin anyway.

Do you mean an SPF on it's own?

I think it was Bang Goes the Theory which tested 4 moisturising creams. For moisturising properties, astral beat that Creme de la mer stuff or whatever it's called and was, I think, second to Nivea.

I adore Astral and have used it for years. I'm sure I can hear my dry skin actually sigh with pleasure when I put it on!

I use Nivea as a night cream, I find it too thick for day time

I love Astral! The best thing about it is, because it only costs a couple of quid, you can smother as much of it over your face as you like, which is obviously far more moisturising than using it sparingly, which is how I would use more expensive creams. I can literally feel my skin drinking the stuff in when I put it on.

I've swapped my skincare routine!Was using a neutrogena retinol day cram at night (ok,ok!) and Garnier youth something during the day (only 32 but sleep deprivation has made me want to make sure nothings happening lol)

I now use the neutrogena in the morning (has built in sunscreen) and Nivea blue pot at night,thanks to mumsnet.My skin is a million times better,not dry more,feels nicer and glows more.

Can I use night cream on top of a facial oil, which I use to give myself a facial massage before I go to bed?

Is it just the normal astral body moisturiser people are using on their face? Not seen a facial one about.

Just the bog standard one, yes.

I find I don't actually need very much.

I bought some Astral on the back of this thread last Monday. I used it every day since and at the weekend, developed three of the biggest spots I'd ever seen. They had their own gravitational pull!

Was I just unlucky?!

I'm off out to get some. Sometimes new products do cause spots at first.

I got a 500ml tub for 3.99 at Superdrug as it is on at 1/2 price . You can get a small tub for 64p so you can try it out to see if your skin likes it

'Can I use night cream on top of a facial oil, which I use to give myself a facial massage before I go to bed'?

Yes, I do this. I do oil cleansing with sunflower oil, remove with wet warm flannel, spray on some Avene thermal water spray then massage in a few drops of sunflower oil. Let that soak in for a bit then a layer of Nivea just before bed. Skin is glowing!

You can use body moisturisers on your face, just be careful of scented ones if you have sensitive skin. I use Palmers fragrance free cocoa butter lotion (I get mine from my local afro beauty place) on my face and it makes my dry skin feel like velvet.

Will get one of the mini pots of Astral and give it a go, how rich is it compared to Nivea blue pot creme or Palmers cocoa butter lotion?

Lotto, thanks, I'll give that a go then. So do you put on the oil twice? I didn't know you could put sunflower oil on your face! I'm using rosehip oil, which smells disgusting (fortunately fades quickly) but has got some really good reviews. Do you add the Nivea cream even when you can still feel the oil on your face. Even though the oil sinks in quick, I can still feel it on my face a couple of hours after I put it on.

I warm up a little puddle of oil between my hands, rub gently and massage all over face for a minute or so, then remove with a warm wet flannel. Repeat the flannel bit if you need to. Then spray with water (skin is dry and dehydrated) and pat in just a few drops of all, all over face, throat and cleavage. Rosehip oil gets rave reviews but did nowt for me.

I do add the Nivea while my face still feels oily. It doesn't bother me at all but may be a bit too much for some.

I've used sunflower oil for hot cloth cleansing and as the base for a sugar scrub - worked well. I know sunflower oil is supposed to be the least allergenic oil.

Rosehip oil is best for skin repair eg acne scarring, it's not for everyone - my skin is quite dry but it broke me out.

I use Astral :) only at night though as it's too oily for me during the day. Apparently Joanna Lumley uses it and look how good she looks !! lol