Fantastic Skincare - Snail Optional 🐌

[botemp]

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For those who are taking a peek and wondering whether previous threads are worth reading, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients for our particular skin needs. Distinguishing the acid toners from the actives whilst avoiding the truly unimpressive and harmful ingredients with a hope to achieve a bit of anti-ageing, alleviate irritation and sensitivities with some idle chat in between. Deviations on this thread are mostly my fault.

If you're in need of some advice coming to grips with your skincare routine please don't hesitate to ask, we don't bite, only occasionally sting with a bit of Biologique Recherche P50 now and then . Just make sure to state clearly what your concerns and needs are in as much detail as possible, skincare is highly individual and a random recommendation for a 'good' product will be completely different from one person to the next.

Make sure you've read the earlier threads (or at the very least the first one) so we're not being asked to answer previously raised questions. It takes a lot of time and effort to answer these queries and often the answers can be found in previous threads, but if you still have questions relating specifically to you, use the following form to make life easier on us. We generally answer one a day on a first come first served basis. Not everyone will have answers and sometimes we can't answer you at all. We're only a bunch of amateurs that can respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

Skin type:

Approx age (range):

Primary skin concern:

Routine :

AM :

PM :

Makeup : eg. no/light coverage/medium coverage/heavy coverage

Occasional treatments:

Things I've tried in the past with disastrous results:

Things that are really working well for me now:

Any dietary/health concerns/pregnant:

What I'm willing to spend on a single skincare item: eg. >£10, £10-20, £20-50, £50-100, no limits.

I specifically [want help with/am looking for a product to/am curious about trying]:

---

Ahem, and finally a little note on spending. I'm well aware these threads cause many to reach for their wallets and spend with wild abandon. There can sometimes be a bit of a frenzy surrounding the excitement around a newly discovered product or on the back of great improvements when someone reports back. This is all great, it doesn't however, mean everything that's a sudden miracle for one will be it for you. Usually, it's a light bulb moment for connecting the right skincare ingredient with an individual experiencing a specific problem. Take your time to mull over decisions and question whether it's right for you too. Skincare is highly individual, it's a slow game that should cost mostly in patience, input, education, and perseverance. Please don't make it cost you financially needlessly.

Shop thank you, I knew they had a money back guarantee and they have refunded me but told me to just keep the product as they can't resell it so that's why I was asking if anyone wanted it, but nobody except you has commented lol and I'd rather it go to someone who will genuinely want and use it if that makes sense especially if I'm going to the effort of posting it out

Just checking in. No new skin updates.

Bought a small tube of the Hand Chemistry hand cream (pink one) to try as it was half price. It makes all kinds of claims to rejuvenate and transform hands after 11 days. My hands are in good nick so don't think I'll see much difference but you never know. Might be head-hunted as a hand model by this time next month.

Also got a couple of new Essie polishes. A grey one that leans a bit lavender/blue called cocktail bling and a navy blue one called Midnight Cami. Wearing the blue one now and I love it. It's a really glossy very dark blue but when you shine light on it, it has a slight very subtle shimmer of brighter blue bits. Goes really well with pale white skin. Could be a new favourite. (Pics from Pinterest)

Need a new top coat, if anyone has any they can recommend? (Apart from that seche vite one.)

I quite like the edge mirror gloss top coat
Wasn't keen on seche vite

Thanks Olli. I'll check it out. I haven't tried the Seche but watching YT reviews and it looks so gloopy. I like thin layers. Mirror glass sounds promising, the shinier the better.

You doing ok?

*gloss

EMPTIES:

• Biore SPF - the 2015 version. I have 2 more tubes. Shame they've reformulated it as I don't like the look of the reviews for the 2017 version.
• Serozinc. Love it. It'll be on my permanent list, I think.

PRODUCTS ON TRIAL:

• SVR Sensifine fluid. About a fortnight. I got this as a trial to replace the discontinued LRP Toleriane fluide. It's ok but not quite as good for my skin type as the LRP, slightly creamier. No noticeable smell. Nice texture, not oily, disappears quite quickly (I have naturally combination/oily skin so disappearing is good IMO). No tightness but my skin tone hasn't been quite as good over the last week or so, a few more spots than usual.
• Hibiscrub, for my back. About a week. Daily use, almost. No improvement yet, but I'm fairly sure no irritation either. It's very concentrated, very liquid. A little goes an awfully long way. I use about half a thimbleful each time I shower for my entire back, shoulders, & chest.

Toleriane cream cleanser. Have been using this for about 3-4 weeks, I think. No significant change since I've been using it - however my skin has become a little less clear - which I'd put down to the SVR Sensifine but now I think about it I'm not sure. Damn.

PLANNED PURCHASES:

• I've ordered the COSrx BHA, for my annoying nose pores. The PC BHAs just weren't doing anything for me.
• I really want to try the Biologique Recherché P50W if I can get an order put through on Mussler. I emailed them (in English, sadly, my German not being good enough - I can barely navigate the site let alone compose anything in German - thank goodness for auto translate). Am waiting for a response. If anyone in the UK has managed to put an order in, successfully, please let me know as I'm having technical issues with adding the shipping fee.
• Edenens Milky cleansing oil - spotted this on Bo's list & looked it up, looks nice & a more economical (& less scented) alternative to the Una Brennan Vitamin C cleansing oil, that I currently use. Would definitely love feedback on the Edenens.
• Urban Decay Naked Foundation - spotted this on Ollivander's list. I'm always on the lookout for a lightweight foundation with a good range of shades, especially at the pale end, & that will suit an oilier skin type. Must try next time I'm somewhere they have a UD counter.
• As mentioned above, I want to get a tube of the A313 cream. Pale skin but I get pretty deep & lasting pigmentation when I've had a blemish. Cheapest place I can find it in the UK is currently Ebay, works out to about £20. Is it really worth it? How long does a tube last?
• Am contemplating the Bioderma Photoderm Nude Touch SPF... I'd like to try this but am wary of spending so much on something with colour in it... as above I am vv pale & too often I have ended up looking orange, even with the lightest shade in various ranges.

SPECIAL MENTION:

• Una Brennan Vitamin C cleansing oil - Nice smelling oil. Great for removing makeup (although I have to take off waterproof mascara with a separate product first). Messes the bathroom sink up really badly, every single night, & I only use about a half a teaspoonful! However I find that sometimes I get a little bit of sensitivity & even stinging afterwards, especially towards the end of the week when I've work makeup for several days in a row (& hence used the oil for several days). I wouldn't buy it again. Or anything else from the range actually - I used a rose night cream that smelled divine & made my skin sting after a few weeks. It made a lovely hand cream though...

Dammit, sorry, I'm on a temporary NC. It's Lego here if you were wondering.

Enid - swigging morphine, being squished by the cat and binge watching buffy. Could be worse

Nom - I use 0.5 in that foundation. You could look at 008 in the Lancome 24hr, I don't find it heavy but I do use a beauty blender. About to test w7 feather light with a beauty blender so will report back!
Also MAC waterweight is lovely

They're giving out generous samples of the Lancôme 24hr foundation at the moment. I'm using 008 (I'm cool toned very pale- typical Irish Celtic type) with a drooling brush and a dampened blender and find it pretty light feeling but decent coverage. Will be buying it once the sample tubes run out.

I've never properly watched Buffy Olli I should though. It's exactly my kind of thing. for you.

at "drooling brush" wtf autocorrect?

That's supposed to say stippling brush.

'drooling brush' and no talk of Buffy as surely this will cause us all to fall out Team Spike all the way . I quite like the Kiko top coat but I don't demand much from those, always more finicky about the nail polishes themselves. Keep meaning to look into those speedy drying drops they sell too at Kiko, originally wanted them from Deborah Lippmann (my nail brand of choice) but they stopped selling that brand here and no one will ship nail polishes these days . Has anyone tried Guerlain polishes by any chance, found a really lovely nude pink but I fear it will just be expensive and a bit meh like Chanel polishes.

Lego/Nom I've put the feedback up from about a week's use of the Edenens and Bioderma upthread (both under €10 with EasyParaPharmacie who also do a very affordable price on two giant bottles of LRP Toleriane Dermo). I wouldn't recommend the Bioderma if you're anything under a NC/NW20 the colour I have (the lightest) is slightly peachy so think it would show up as orange on a fairer person.

I've attempted trying to purchase with Mussler but don't seem to be able to check out either, it might be just available to Germans only . I did attempt to checkout on the Swedish version of Skincity (skincity.se - don't change the language setting within the site as that will take you to the international version) and managed to check out up until the paypal window where you actually have to pay (where I opted out since I have no need for any P50 currently) so that does seem to work and is cheaper anyhow since their shipping is free (but base price of the product is higher).

Buttercup whilst the French Pharmacy have extremely high PPDs you really only want that if you're near large bodies of water, at higher altitudes, etc. during prolonged periods of exposure. The highest PA++++ rating from Japan just means it's 16 or over so could equally be really high but we just don't know the exact number and 16 is a very high rating already, especially for everyday use and not worth sacrificing the cosmetic elegance for. 8, however, like in the Clinique city block is a little low in comparison.

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT

Videos:

and the referenced BBC feature in case you can't access the BBC iPlayer.

Posts:

BBB Beauty Business News

This article on The Best Antiaging Products Designed for Women of Color is a bit the dumbed down version of this very interesting research paper Aging Differences in Ethnic Skin which is a bit of a neglected area (including on this thread, I can't remember who it was anymore but I had promised to look further into this but there really is very little reading on this subject unfortunately).

You don't need to buy this super spendy cream Zelens Marine Complex Deep Restorative Cream as I've been very unimpressed by most things Zelens so far but I did find it interesting to learn he hates Glycolic acid and the post contains some good info on algae in skincare.

The World Doesn't Really Need Dry Sheet Masks

Just a minor PSA to disregard SH's claim that SPF primers kill two birds with one stone is nonsense if you're serious about getting a good broad spectrum coverage. However, there's plenty of SPFs (from Japan) that work really well as a primer so the opposite argument stands .

Slightly/sorta off topic, The H&M Group is opening a new store concept, you lucky Londoners get first dibs later this year but the concept is interesting within the H&M group as it will not be a single brand chain, instead following the retail trend of carefully curated/edited smaller concept 'department' stores with a strong origin identity. A contemporary market if you will. I highly suspect it'll have an interesting beauty department, H&M has seriously upped its beauty game in the last two years (very happy and impressed with their eyebrow pencil) and &Other Stories already has this curated approach in their beauty department with carefully selected international niche brands (albeit mostly in store).

@botemp

Very VERY belated thanks for your incredible documents - they are SO SO helpful, I’ve saved them for reference, they’re so clear and so useful. Thank you, thank you.

Generally, as with all female specific diseases, there are just far too many unknowns with it as far as I’m concerned and a lot of medical practitioners tend to blame a lot of mystery symptoms on PCOS, rightly or wrongly which makes the entire condition rather frustrating. I’m very atypical with my PCOS with certain things (but suspect with a higher stress/bad food lifestyle it would unearth the more typical ones), last time they did an echo which only showed cysts on one ovary after which I was told that wasn’t possible .

It’s definitely possible! Although the strict diagnostic criteria for polycystic ovaries is at least 12 follicles per ovary, it’s actually possible to have PCOS without having PCO - if you have the other two criteria (irregular or absent ovulation, plus biochemical or clinical signs of hyperandrogenism).

My specialist is very much against the use of metformin, when I was diagnosed (I think it was about 7 yrs ago, maybe 8) she already claimed it was very outdated and she finds it more harmful than helpful long term especially in those that don’t have insulin resistance issues. My GP in contrast constantly tries to push it at me and considering she was heavily pushing the Diane-35 with my initial diagnosis whilst minimising my legitimate concerns I soon stopped listening to her. Would probably have done that anyway considering my Gyn is a rather highly esteemed peer in her field and GPs only seem to follow set protocols. After all these years I can say that lifestyle choices, minimising stress and some adjuvant therapies like acupuncture and spearmint tea

My consultant actually started me on metformin when I got pregnant due to the increased risk of miscarriage from PCOS (unfortunately my miscarriages weren’t PCOS related), but I’ve stayed on it and have seen a difference in my hormonal profile. My ridiculously high LH has come down markedly (one of the key traits of PCOS, although not one of the diagnostic criteria), and my recent bloods showed my androgens were well within normal range. He’s written a book on PCOS and said it depends on the woman - he didn’t originally want me on it because I was skinny, and said it was better suited to women who were more classic PCOS. But then my LH was so high it was prudent to start me on it (and I’ve seen beneficial effects since starting it)

Now we’re finishing treatment it will be interesting to see if the metformin makes any difference long term, if it means I have natural periods. Consultant wanted me to stay on it because if I have a natural period it’ll be better for my body than having to take Provera every 3 months to prevent the effects of unopposed oestrogen

Watched that video you posted this morning about the effects of the contraceptive pill - I certainly found Yasmin sorted my acne out a treat while I was on it: I got married with perfect skin, it all just went crazy (as predicted) when I came off it.

Really pleased that you’ve had success with lifestyle measures - really interesting to read about the spearmint tea, thank you!

Thank you for your advice on products!

I’m just finishing up the C+P and have bought LRP Toleriane Dermo Cleanser, and will get the Superdrug Vitamin E you’ve recommended for the evening.

Re: Eucerin hyaluron filler serum, yes this is the concentrate - you’ve suggested I use the superdrug vitamin E, thank you. I’d just bought a brand new set of 6 vials: is there a reason this would be inadvisable to use, or is it just that you recommend the Superdrug would be preferable

Biore Watery essence am waiting for this to arrive!

Thank you again for your advice, I’m going to buy the TO vitamin C as recommended (I’ve been using the PC BHA for a little bit now instead of the AHA), will monitor progress and keep you posted

Have a lovely weekend all

Thank you for the Sunday supplement bo

I'll look at Kiko too. I just want a top coat that is shiny and goes on easily and smoothly. Don't expect it to make polish last for weeks like some reviews I've seen seem to. I think that's down to the coloured polish mainly. Not tried Geurlain or Chanel, is Chanel polish not so good?

Lots of the recommended products are French pharmacy brands - what are the must have products that we can't get over here?

I know a makeup artist friend used to bring back gallons of Bioderma micellar water before you could get it over here, but what's the must have stuff now?

I go to Paris for work every couple of weeks and there's a pharmacy on every corner, so wondering what loot I should scour for?

Happy to bring back anything for anyone on here that you're desperate for!

Just a quick message for Enid I'm using Leighton Denny top coat at the minute from M&S and I'm impressed. Has actually made my polish last really well but like you I just want it to go on easily. Was using Essie before that as I love Essie nail polish (I thought those pics were your nails "what beautiful nails Enid has" )

I wouldn't recommend Chanel polish. Good colours but application and brush duff imo. I must come back and do my empties round up

That's interesting about the cityblock uva bo thank you! I think I will stick with it until it gets sunnier and then experiment with the body shop spf instead.

JD I've used the Superdrug hot cloth cleanser before and wasn't a big fan, I prefer a greasy balm texture. Which is not something I thought I would ever say after believing for years that I had very greasy skin! I didn't, I was just stripping it of any oils and making it overcompensate! I do have visible pores and a few scars as I had a lot of spots when I was younger. I treated my skin so badly! Hoping I'm starting to do something about it now with a decent routine.

I'm still devouring the threads, half way through the third one now.

Been experimenting with TO vitC, still don't love the texture but it's more tolerable if I use less and pat it into my skin. Whether I get results remains to be seen.

stainless i'm using the eurcerin filler night cream too, it is nice! I could be very happy repurchasing but night cream seems to be the thing I flit about with a lot. Would love to find the perfect one! Before Eucerin I was using the bog standard blue Nivea and before that was a garnier one. Both fine, didn't wow me but perhaps I just need this final step to be functional rather than flashy, if I've applied serums and oils first?

JD Thank you, I'm about to go in an M&S that sells LD nail stuff, I'll pop one in the basket. 💅🏻

They look exactly like my nails. My nails are pretty good actually, I like 'em short and well groomed. I bit them for years as a teen so take extra pride in them now.

Hello Wheat btw 👋🏻