🐌 Fantastic Skincare: We're So Drunk We're Seeing Elephants 🐘

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For those who are taking a peek and wondering what this all about, we mostly discuss a bit of advanced skincare here with a perspective of seeking out the right ingredients (rather than the latest new shiny product and all its empty promises) 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. Newcomers are always welcome but please note the following:

Questions and asking for help on this thread is encouraged, however, we can’t give you a specific routine to follow and hope it works out for the best. There are no overnight miracles in skincare whether it be in the form of products or techniques. It’s about perseverance, understanding your skin, assessing its needs and responding to that in a diligent manner.

These threads were created to help those who want to learn for themselves. We’re a group of interested and invested skincare nuts happy to offer tea and sympathy and dole out advice. Everyone’s journey with skincare is different, what is universal and binds us is that through actually learning about the different active ingredients it helps us get to know our skin and help us adapt as it will change many times throughout our lives - with seasons, hormonal changes, ageing, genetics etc. It's in everyone's best interests to get to know their skin and to keep reviewing those changes with the confidence that comes from the gathered knowledge here. We really encourage you to spend the time reading through previous threads and linked info sheets that the many contributors have taken the trouble to share.

By no means are we experts, we're only a bunch of amateurs that can only respond by suggesting what we would do in your place, for any severe conditions please seek out professional help.

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.

I am very slowly working on consolidating the gathered information from previous threads into easier to read formats but it’s slow going. I would suggest reading thread 1 and at the very least the following info sheets (provided they apply to you):

Where to Start

Basics of an Actives Routine

Skin Types vs. Skin Conditions Info Sheet

Anti-Ageing Info sheet

Adult Acne Info Sheet

Understanding Which Sunscreen(s) to Buy

Do I Really Need to Wear Sunscreen Every Single Day of the Year?

A Damaged Skin Barrier - Now What?

NEW SERIES:

So You Want To Buy A Retinoid - A Guide

WRT to The Ordinary/Deciem:

Most of us had long since stopped using it, partially due to the inconsistency of formulations and the worrying behaviour of the CEO on Social Media.

For more info on the latter, overview here

A good overview of alternatives is here

Since that compilation, other brands like the Inkey, Revolution Skincare, QRXLabs, and Alex Steinherr x Primark have launched with similar products/concepts.

From the limited experience on here, the Vitamin C 23% and Azelaic Acid from Garden of Wisdom (at Victoria’s Health) is well liked and much preferred over TO versions.

OCTOBER 2018: In other news, we’re two years old this month! We’re so old- Drunk Elephant is finally available in the UK, but all this celebration is probably overshadowed by the fear that our beloved LRP Toleriane Fluide may have been discontinued

@Tsmummy08

P&M retinol oil is reduced on Look Fantastic and you get a further discount using the code HURRY

I’ve PM’d you but thought I’d put it here too for anyone else who might be interested I think the HURRY code can be applied to anything on LF but it said for the first 250 customers only so HURRY

I just ordered Sallie. Mine will run out soon. It's lasted ages. And I'm now using it every night instead of every other night. I also clicked through TopCashBack so earned a little that way too. Thank you! Quite a saving on something I'd soon be buying anyway :-)

Did HURRY still work Pupsie? Mine cost a few pence over £40 with the two discounts so a really good saving, kind of wishing I’d ordered two but better wait and see if I like it first

I’ve not specifically gone Black Friday shopping (and have absolutely no intention of going into any real life shops ) but I’ve been keeping an eye on things I’m interested in and swooping in if they get reduced. I’ve got the IT cosmetics matte cc cream (arrived today but not tested yet) & the P&M on it’s way.

Oh and an Echo dot which was a total impulse buy but it was only £25 and I can return for free if I don’t like or think I’ll use it.

Yep. Same price - just over £40. About £20 saved.

I'll not go shopping either but we have saved a bit already this week imon things we specifically wanted for the DCs for Xmas.

mumno11 Going back to sunscreens: I've got dry, "mature" skin and was using Frezyderm spf 50 in the summer and am presently loving Skin Aqua Super moisture milk spf50 (a Japanese sunscreen). I use lots of actives so like to protect myself with a fairly decent sunscreen all year round. Biore water essence is great too but it can be a little drying due to a high alcohol content... hope that helps a little :)

Sallie BOOM! thank you!!! I didn't get a notification to say you'd emailed but came on here anyway and saw your comment, yay! I also feel I should've got 2 but I'm trying to be a careful in my spending at the moment :)

I’m glad you got it too Tsmummy I thought I’d PM’d you as well but I’ve never messaged anyone on here before so don’t know if it sent, I’m not sure if I even have the ability to PM turned on or not

Sallie I impulse bought the Echo Dot too and then cancelled it a few minutes later because I was trying to think when I would actually use it.

I then also nearly bought an Amazon Firestick but again wondered if I would actually need it.

As for skin care I really need to use up what I have on my shelves and not thin my skin too much. I could see small capillaries on my rosy cheeks this morning after my routine but they seem to have subsided.

So the P&M retinol oil has hydroxypinacolone retinoate which is Granactive Retinoid which is what TO have in their 2% emulsion as well as retinol, so is the P&M one stronger or just blended with better oils?

Enid I forgot to add that I mentioned a while ago that I have the Omorovicza mud cleanser, which I like but it leaves a film so maybe it's more for dry skin.

My Dot isn’t coming till December Tant and I’m swithering about cancelling it but for the price I’ll probably let it turn up and have a fiddle. A few people say they use theirs as a radio and/or speaker & ask it about weather, traffic, train times etc. I think I would make use of it for that especially if I’m in a rush and don’t have time to look things up.

I’ve never looked into any of the recent TO ret offerings as had a very bad experience (horrific peeling) with one of them so didn’t do any comparison. Looking at them both now yes I would say P&M has better oils, & I would hope is more stable than TO which I always found seemed to degrade and become either irritating or ineffective over time.

Sallie I wanted to get mine with a smart plug so I could ask it to turn off the light downstairs if anyone forgets (esp those afraid of the dark) or turn my slow cooker on from an app whilst at work. I'm still tempted.

I don’t have any ‘smart’ gadgetry which is why I was wondering if I’d even be able to use the thing, but if it works as a radio/speaker/alarm clock and can update on traffic etc in the morning that’ll be good enough for me. It’s not coming till 12th December though so will have to wait and see!

We use our Amazon Echo quite a lot. I use it to play the radio. When cooking I'll use it to do calculations ("what's x grams in oz, what's three quarters of y"?). Weather forecast, news briefing. There was a thread on here recently where people listed all the things they use if for. I didn't read it all - just glanced at is as I saw it in the side bar.

The kids have Dots in their bedrooms (xmas stockings last year). They use them for alarms. And we can communicate via the kitchen one ... "Alexa, drop in on DC". "Dinner's ready".

FWIW, I don't know if any of you have seen the "Amazon's Choice" badge against items? That's what Amazon deem to be a good all round choice if you want to buy via Alexa. So, if you say "Alexa, can you recommend a whatever" that's the one she will come up with. (I'm in charge of selling our products on Amazon).

FFS. I actually came on to say that whilst I love getting my skincare routine out of the way early evening, using an oil on my face (for example, the P&M Retinol Oil) makes me glasses a little greasy. Which is just annoying really.

I know we've touched on probiotics before. Has anyone tried Aurelia? Specifically this:

www.spacenk.com/uk/en_GB/skincare/treatment/serums/the-probiotic-concentrate-MUK200022149.html

pupsie I haven’t tried that particular serum but I have used Aurelia. I think it was a balm cleanser I used or could’ve been a facial oil. Either way I’ve never repurchased another product from the range.

Sorry to add to the echo/dot conversation but I am thinking of getting a dot for DS. You don’t need to have an echo as well do you? I have Amazon prime so I assume he will be able to listen to music and just basic stuff like ask the weather.

I've used quite a bit of Aurelia when it just came out back when I didn't boycott essential oils (they still don't irritate me but my skin does so much better without them). The balm cleanser cream is really lovely to use but it's nothing amazing on the cleansing front. The serums do diddly squat. The rose/night mask was comparable to the Sisley one but hardly cheaper and it made me break out. Night and day cream were nice enough but again nothing special, not worth the price tag. Facial oil smells amazing (all their stuff does and that's a real compliment from me as I usually hate anything scented) but nothing special on the skincare front. The probiotic spiel isn't really backed up by anything, your skin will see more use from probiotics by eating them regularly rather than slapping them on your face. I do like gifting their body oil (similarly smelly, larger size, reasonably priced), especially to someone pregnant as it's a 'no nasties' type product that anyone can use on their bump and is really a treat to use.

Just clicked on your link Pupsie, they didn't have that back then but it appears to just be based on bifida ferment, so it's a more expensive version of EL ANR in a teeny tiny 10ml bottle I do like a bit of bifida but I'd just get one of the famous Japanese or Korean toners which have a really high concentration of it along with some niacinamide, cheaper and lovely to use so long as you don't react to fermented ingredients.

Thanks Bo. I'm avoiding anything new at the moment. Just because what I have really works for me. But I don't want to miss out on sth amazing! I'm avoiding essential oils these days.

Jdster on further investigation it does play all the music from the free prime Amazon music thingy so I guess you could ask 'Alexa play some funky music' or 'Alexa play some relaxing music for homework' but you have subscribe I think for BBC Radio and other radio stations etc. No you dont need an Echo.

I'm loving my routine at the moment, I will list it later once I have more time

Oct/Nov EMPTIES, TRIALS, AND PLANNED PURCHASES*

ROUTINE

AM
If working (which is inside so I see no daylight atm on the way there and home)
flannel & water then LRP thermal water spray
or
Bioderma then LRP thermal water spray
If not working then Murad clarifying cleanser
Pixi retinol tonic
nivea Q10 eye cream (running out soon so will trial the ones in this years M&S beauty calendar)
Superdrug simply pure serum
No SPF see above (or frezyderm 30spf)
was using Nars TM but now trialling Rimmel Match perfection in 103 True Beige
Rimmel powder (also new and was in a free GWP)
During the day spritz liberally with Superdrug B.hyrated HA facial spritz

PM
if wearing makeup
Clinique TTDO or EH Moringa Balm (this 200ml pot has lasted forever)
followed by
Murad clarifying face wash (just this if no makeup)
or
Dr Sam's flawless cleanser (I use this alone & not followed by murad)

twice a week or so PC BHA 2% skin perfecting lotion (this will be in my routine forever)
Pixi retinol tonic when not using PC
Differin when not using PC or at least applied an hour after
Simply pure serum
B.hydrated facial spritz
either LRP tolerance fluide (have 2 more of these)
or Origins ginseng gel moisturiser
or M&S ultimate sleep cream (although not really needing this now as the simply pure serum is hydrating so well)
or clarins lotus oil (only if feeling very dry)
EOS lip balm

EMPTIES:

PC BHA 2% skin perfecting lotion repurchased already
LRP thermal water I have 5 300ml bottles on standby

PRODUCTS ON TRIAL:

Superdrug simply pure serum - I love this as it hydrates my combination skin perfectly and works well under makeup.

Superdrug B.hydrated the HA and the Vit C (have already repurchased for when I run out as was a BOGOF deal)
have used these for a 3 weeks or so

Veneffect micro exfoliant - used this twice so far once a month - love the smooth feeling it gives my skin.

PLANNED PURCHASES:

Products you’re considering purchasing and would like input on/bring notice to.

SPECIAL MENTION:

Superdrug Simply pure serum has noticably hydrated my skin.
Pixi retinol tonic is a pleasant toner to use after cleansing and seems to be keeping my skin in check.

Product(s) you may not have started or finished this past month but has been giving you noticeable results (good or bad).

I like the Pixi Reinol Tonic too Tantric

its great isnt it sillyP

I forgot to add I quite often just use Bioderma in the PM when I'm tired to cleanse with water and flannel followed by the other steps.