Sound of Silver DNA - La Potion Infine

From time to time I get sent products from PRs in exchange for make up credits in magazines or because they like my blog. I tend to be picky on what I write about, as I don’t want my blog to sound like a press release platform – there are many blogs doing that already. So I’ll try plenty of products but some just don’t stand out for me, in a good or a bad way.

One of the products got sent was "La Potion Infinie" and I have to say that the packaging was just great – in a simple black pot (my favourite colour) with a specially designed card that portrays one of the twelve archetypes of the “la maison” which is Argentum Apothecary. I have to say that the name Argentum Apothecary confused me in the beginning as I thought it was a chemist that sold many different brands. Well it’s a brand, so it’s either confusing or I was being thick, but it’s all good now.

The brand has one product only, La Potion Infinie, that can be used by both men and women, all over the face, neck and around eyes. Certainly the packaging won’t be  out of place in a man’s bathroom.

But, as well thought out the packaging and the story behind the twelve archetypes can be, the product actually is amazing. Yes the ‘la maison’ thing is all gimmicky, each jar coming with a serial number… it reminds me a lot of Crème de La Mer marketing story. Yes maybe there are too many product launches these days so the new product has to stand out with something, but for me, this cream is stands out as it actually works.

I’ve been using it now for a couple of weeks and from the first application I felt like my skin was being tightened, but not in a bad and uncomfortable way. It just looked more toned, my pores looked finer and skin felt firmer and hydrated. I didn’t feel like I was smothered in silicones and useless fillers, the texture of the cream is somewhat liquid, and the feel on the skin is matte. 

What’s so special about it?

The two main actives are Silver hydrosol and DNA HP. Silver hydrosol is also called colloidal silver and it’s somewhat controversial. It’s widely used in dog owners’ community as a healing and antibacterial agent. But there are also some wild claims that promise that silver will cure  pretty much everything, including cancer.

How does colloidal silver work?

Silver is not produced by our bodies, we don’t really need it, we don’t get deficient of it either. But it’s toxic for bacteria and fungi and it’s a great antiseptic that comes from just one element (Ag) The effectiveness of silver compounds as an antiseptic is based on the ability of the biologically active silver ion (Ag+) to irreversibly damage key enzyme systems in the cell membranes of pathogens.

From all the elements that have that effect to bacteria, silver is one that is the least toxic to us. Silver is widely used in medicine for wound dressings and it can be used as a dietary supplement.  But efficacy of it as a ‘do it all cure’ has been proven as ineffective. However I have ordered some colloidal silver to try as a supplement – that shows a bit how impressed I was with “La Potion Infinie”.

The second active is DNA HP, which stands for hyper polymerised deoxyribonucleic acid. I don’t actually know what the extracted DNA is from, but the brand says the DNA is from a marine based ingredient that acts like an antioxidant that regenerates tissue and also delivers hydration to the skin. The DNA ingredient works by trapping the toxic radical called hydroxyl, which affects both collagen and elastin. And the way it delivers the hydration to the skin is different from other creams – something about the cream’s molecular weight that attracts water into the subcutaneous layers of the skin.

What else is in the “La Potion Infinie”. Lots of good stuff actually. One of them, caffeine, gives the skin that immediate lift, but the others are very nourishing such as argan oil, shea butter, sweet almond oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, aloe vera, tocopherol. Lovers of the “green” products will be pleased with the ingredients list as the cream has 99.5% ingredients from natural origins.

The one thing I don’t like about the “La Potion Infinie” is the price, sadly it retails at £147. It seems like these days high prices for skincare are a must, but I do like that the product actually looks and feels luxurious. And with the super stylish packaging it will definitely make a good present....

For me. Send it to me please. I will be forever grateful.

The ingredients, as picked up from the brand’s website: Colloidal Silver, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Vegetable Glycerides, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Glycerin, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aqua, Cetearyl Glucoside, Caffeine, Sodium DNA, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Parfum, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopherol, Sodium Benzoate, Citric Acid, Limonene, Linalool, Eugenol

The Ingredient Of The Week - MSM (Sulphur)

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I was told to try and make my articles shorter for those of short attention span and busy people who hate sitting and reading with a dictionary… so this is my short attempt to write about a really major mineral that is incredibly important!

MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) is a naturally occurring nutrient found in normal human diets. MSM is an organic form of sulphur and it forms compounds in body with potassium, selenium, sodium and magnesium. Sulphur compounds are found everywhere in the body where they play an important role in many organs and systems. Many amino acids that build proteins have sulphur in their compounds.

So how can sulphur in topical skincare help?

Well, we already established that sulphur compounds are everywhere, and our body uses MSM to build new cells.

Without proper levels of MSM present, our body is unable to create new healthy cells and this leads to loss of elasticity, wrinkles, dry skin, allergic reactions and scar tissues.  

With ageing the levels decrease… as with everything else by the looks of things.

So it’s only natural to use MSM in our skincare. It’s been proven to help in acne and rosacea, it makes the hair shiny and nails strong. We could also do with a supplement, especially some of us that don’t consume enough eggs, meat and poultry.

Now we come to Oskia skincare that makes MSM one of the key ingredients in their range. It’s quite rare that the entire cosmetics line focuses so much on MSM so of course I got interested.  Usually it will be added in some products, especially ones aimed at acne sufferers or oily hair.

I got across Oskia range when I was googling about sulphur and their website popped up, I got curious and asked to try some products.

As I don’t do reviews I won’t go on how my skin liked it, but as a range I like the no nonsense approach with clearly listed ingredients and no useless fillers or made up actives.

The packaging tells you exactly what the key players are in the product that you’re paying for, which to me goes hand in hand with my philosophy of educating people about the ingredients. Plus I can’t see any parabens in it, so perfect for paraben-phobic and I especially like it as no silicones!

I think the range is definitely worth trying. I could not find anything I would actually omit from my moisturiser if I were to make it (I tried Oskia moisturiser), plus the benefit of MSM, vitamin E and milk peptides make it really good in my eyes.

What do you think?

What are Parabens?

When writing about mineral make up the other day, I mentioned parabens. I know that most people have heard of them, but they don’t really know more than what we read in papers – “parabens are bad”, etc.

The thing is that every cream or foundation produced will need some sort of preservative, otherwise they will go off. Most cosmetic products (especially liquid based) have a shelf life of maybe three months, if refrigerated. In order to prolong the shelf life, cosmetic companies have to use preservatives. One of those is paraben and its varieties.

Parabens are esters of para-hydroxy benzoic acid. All of them are synthetically produced in the lab and they are quite cheap and effective, so they are added to products such as foundations, moisturisers, toothpaste, shampoo, self-tan, etc.

Some of them are present in nature, but for the sake of argument, we’ll look at them as man-made.

So why are parabens apparently bad for us?

I’ll start with allergic reactions. Although rare, they still happen to some people that they react to parabens.

Another, more controversial issue, is that parabens tend to slightly mimic estrogen in human body. Soy does that too, by the way.

Estrogen (oestrogen) is a female hormone that when produced in high concentrations can lead to breast cancer.

The fact is that the link between parabens and breast cancer was not proven. Mainly as the parabens are not staying in our bodies for long at all, they are very quickly metabolised and excreted. But the people will fear them anyway, so I’ll list them here in case you wish to avoid the products containing them.

Here they are: butylparaben, ethylparaben, heptylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben.

Less common parabens include isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, benzylparaben and their sodium salts.

 

So what are the alternatives to parabens?

I know that companies use phenoxyethanol, which on paper does not look that fabulous at all, but hey, it’s not paraben!

The “natural” alternatives are vitamin E, citric acid, grapefruit seed extract and rosemary oleoresin.

What do I think? Hmmm, I don't know what to say. I use products with parabens, I'm lucky that I'm not allergic to any of them, so if I happen to like the product and it contains parabens, I'll use it. 

I think that life is too short to worry constantly about what goes into or onto us. I just don't have the time to be obsessive about it really. And I think the stress is the biggest killer of them all.

Unless you get hit by a bus, then the bus is bigger, hands down!

What makes mineral make up different?

 

After doing some research, apparently not much. 

Both the "mainstream" or regular make up and mineral ranges contain pretty much the same ingredients like titanium oxide, mica, zinc oxide, iron oxides, silica, talc, etc.

But what differs mineral make up from regular one is the lack certain allergens, like parabens, chemical dyes and mineral oil. And those are the reasons which make the mineral make up good for oily and acne prone skin. And sensitive skins. 

Oh and by the way, when I say mineral make up I mean foundation. 

People tend to think that mineral make up is more “natural”? Unfortunately that’s not quite the truth and there's nothing wrong with that. No one actually went to the mine, got your zinc oxide and titanium oxide, milled them and made make up out of them. It just doesn’t work like that. Both of those ingredients are processed in the lab as nothing in nature is that clean that can be used in cosmetics, especially zinc oxide has to be synthesised in the lab.

I wrote about zinc oxide in my previous post and indeed, its calming properties make it suitable for sensitive skins. Together with titanium oxide it also provides some sun protection.

One ingredient you should definitely scan the label for is bismuth oxychloride. While it gives the luminosity to the make up, it's also been reported that women would have acne flare ups and irritation when using make up with this ingredient.  

I’m not denying that mineral make up can look great, in fact some of my favourite products are products from the mineral ranges. But, the whole thing lost a bit of sheen for me when the cosmetics companies decided to jump on the bandwagon and brought up eyeshadows, lipsticks, liquid foundations and other things.

The beauty and the attraction of mineral make up was that the ingredient list was short. But now, once you start making liquid foundations, it became as long as the conventional foundation. Why? 

 

Well microbes love breeding in the water and without a suitable  preservative the product will not keep. Apart from going “off” it can also infect the skin. So in order to prevent the product being spoiled they put back the same ingredients that they got rid of in the beginning…. Confused?

So when picking mineral product read the ingredients. The shorter the list, the better the product for you, especially if you have sensitive skin. Especially look out for added mineral oil and fragrance. 

If you want to buy liquid foundation, eyeshadows, lipstick etc from the mineral range, by all means go for it, but be realistic. Chances are that you’re buying the normal stuff that is no different from your mainstream make up.While there's nothing wrong with those products, as long as you know you are buying into the hype, all is well.

Sudocrem and Keratosis Pilaris

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I absolutely love Sudocrem.

Apparently it’s licensed as a medicine, which means it has proven efficacy in soothing and treating nappy rash.

But I don’t really care about nappy rash here. Why I’m actually interested in Sudocrem (the original) is its use in treating keratosis pilaris or those nasty little spots on top of the arms 

and on occasion, thighs and legs.

Keratosis pilaris is a completely harmless condition that occurs in loads of people. Some affected people have bumps which are red and inflamed and therefore, more noticeable (and can be confused with spots) and some have just raised, rough skin coloured bumps. Beauty pages in magazines will normally advise dry body brushing to get rid.

Why does it happen to us? 

Our body produces keratin, which is a protein that makes the outer layer of the skin (epidermis). Keratin is also the major player in making of the hair and nails.

But, for some reason, our body can sometimes produce excess of the stuff. The overproduction can be either genetic or hormonal – after all, it does occur mostly in women and adolescents.

So when our body produces excesses of keratin, what it does is wrap around hair follicles forming a “plug” – a bit like a blackhead. So that’s your keratosis pilaris. It’s not a serious “condition”, or not serious enough that you rush off to your doctor asking to be cured.

Enter Sudocrem.

I don’t even remember how I ended up using it on my arms – I was probably trying to soothe an irritation (I get allergic to things). But what I have noticed that the nasty bumps on the top of the arms disappeared! My skin just got very smooth instead. Eureka!

So what’s in Sudocrem that makes it amazing?

According to its website, the main actives are zinc oxide, benzyl benzoate and benzyl cinnamate.

Zinc oxide (in skincare) is widely used in deodorants, antibacterial creams and also sunscreen. It’s mainly an antiseptic.

It’s a white powder and that’s why some sunscreens can appear white on our skin. And it’s one of the ingredients in mineral make up.

Sudocrem claim that “zinc oxide reduces the loss of tissue fluid”, which translated into plain English would be that zinc oxide helps in creating a barrier, so the moisture does not evaporate from skin – slightly confusing as zinc oxide is not really an emollient? I’d be more likely to say that emollient in Sudocrem is lanolin, which is also listed as one of the ingredients.

Benzyl benzoate is used for treating parasitic conditions on skin such as scabies (lovely!). Present in “Balsam of Peru”.

Benzyl Cinnamate is mainly used in fragrances as it smells….of vanilla apparently.

This is another one of the ingredients found in “Balsam of Peru” – which comes from a resin of the bark of balsam tree. It is also an antiseptic and helps in minor wound healing.

Now this is where it gets a bit funky as Benzyl Cinnamate and also “Balsam of Peru” are listed as major allergens and should not be used in large quantities or prolonged time.

Maybe that’s why there’s a warning on Sudocrem that it should not come into contact with eyes and mucous membrane?

Anyway, I really don’t know how Sudocrem works on keratosis pilaris. I imagine that it is probably a combination of all ingredients that are mainly different antiseptics, who knows! Sudocrem don’t list keratosis as one of the conditions it treats.

Maybe one day a proper scientist will do a research on the topic and come up with a good answer.

So give Sudocrem a try. It’s not the prettiest of creams, actually it has quite a horrible consistency. Thick and white, best be used at bedtime and when alone. But it does work. Try it and let me know how you get on!

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Full list of ingredients available here http://www.sudocrem.co.uk/technical-product-information

 

Get your Sudocrem here 

Is Hyaluronic Acid The Secret to Moisturised Skin?

Hyaluronic Acid (Sodium Hyaluronate or I’ll be calling it HA from now on) is one of the proteins that is naturally present in human body and all living organisms for that matter.

In the deeper layer of skin (dermis) lies a network of elastic fibres, collagen and a clear fluid. That clear fluid is HA and its job is to hold a great amount of moisture and repair tissue. HA is also present in joint cartilage and eyes, but in skin it’s most abundant and that’s what I’ll focus on. This is a make up and skincare blog, after all :)

Unfortunately as we age, our body produces less and less HA and that leads to skin losing its plumpness, so we develop lines and wrinkles.

But there are a couple of things we can do.

I’ll come out with one obvious way of HA use in modern skin care.

The fillers.

Or what people used to call “collagen” fillers. I am calling use of fillers “skin care” as they are widely accepted these days and are being done on our lunch breaks…

Doctors, dermatologists are using animal HA and injecting it into the skin in the form of Restylane or Juvederm. Once injected, the HA adds volume to the skin and lines and wrinkles disappear. The effect is temporary. The problem of some celebrities, that they are not temporary enough (not naming names)! They still last for good six months or thereabouts.

Needle-phobes might choose the next option. Topical application. I mean slathering of cream on your face.

Just a bit more scientific blurb to explain what else happens in the skin…

So another by-product of HA is increase of retinoic acid, which leads to more hydration in the skin.

That can be achieved by either injections or use of Hyaluonic acid in face creams.

That effect of HA applied in creams is even more temporary, but I do believe that increased hydration is a good thing and my personal opinion that topical HA will be broken down in the skin (a process called hyaluronidase) and produce sugars that will stimulate our natural HA production.

So there you have it! HA is a very useful ingredient in creams.  Look out for it.

Rodial skincare has even got a whole Dragon’s Blood line of products  enriched with the ingredient and lots more of upmarket cosmetics companies use it in their formulas.

If you really want to experiment, you can buy a vial of HA online and add it to your favourite cream. It comes as a fine white powder, but it will thicken any cream and go lumpy if you don’t mix it in well, but the effects are there. 

Happy testing! 

 

One that I like to use is this one - CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum with Ceramides and you can get it here

Natural Vs Chemicals

I have this friend who bangs on about liking this skincare range just because it’s “natural”. Does my head in.

And it’s not just her, the whole beauty industry is on the bandwagon with "natural this" and "natural that" and just because of that it's good for us. 

I have a problem with that.

The general public are being deceived. They need to be educated and informed.

Now, I admit I’m not a scientist. If I were, I’d probably be trying to cure cancer and would definitely not be bothered by such trivial things as skincare, but I do have an interest and willingness to find out more about it.

So if I give you a chemical formula of C10H16O, would that ring a bell? No? Ok, I’ll spare you and just come out with it. It’s one of the most widely used essential oils. Lavender.

What I’m trying to say here is that everything is made out of chemicals. Some are man-made, while the others are freely occurring in the nature. But classing a skincare range as “natural” and better for you just because it contains a few plant extracts is wrong.

People tend to get a lot of allergic reactions to essential oils, and because they contain a mix of chemical components it's difficult to pinpoint what the allergen is. 

I used to do aromatherapy years ago and it was a no-no to use essential oils on pregnant women. Or at least, use with great caution. If it was so safe and wonderful, then why should it be a problem?

I don’t have anything against plant extracts either, after all, the whole pharmacology was based on deriving drugs from plants in order to cure common ills.

My opinion is that people should be informed enough to make their own decisions. Not all chemicals are bad for you and not everything natural is good for you (deadly nightshade is a plant from nature, just saying). I just wish the cosmetic companies would stop giving us the spin of how wonderful their range is just because it contains a couple of plant extracts.

And don’t even start me on the whole lanolin backlash...

The ingredient of the week - L-Ascorbic Acid

 

I often get asked about efficacy of certain skincare products, whether such and such cream is worth paying xyz amount money for and what really works for wrinkles etc….

There are so many good creams around that make a huge difference to skin, but there are even more of those that are useless water in oil/oil in water concoction that do no more than a regular £5 moisturiser would do. Add to that lots of fillers and you have an exotic sounding cream that does nothing for you. Read your ingredients people and learn what those ingredients mean for your skin!

Anyway, one “product” that I know that works to get rid of fine lines is vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid. On one hand, it works like a mild exfoliating agent and on the other, it helps the skin synthetize collagen, so in other words, it will repair any damage that you’ve inflicted on your skin by living your life and enjoying it.

But it’s not so easy in the world of vitamin C. Well, actually it’s not so easy if you’re a big cosmetic company wishing to make money out of it!

Vitamin C is water soluble, highly unstable ingredient to be suitably effective in creams. What that actually means is… don’t buy creams with vitamin C in it, the chances are by the time that cream reaches you, any L-ascorbic acid present will be totally useless. Skincare companies would also make sure the cream is coloured orange, so it looks “healthy”, but in real terms, if vitamin C goes orange it’s deemed oxidised, or in other words, dead. Parrot dead.

To make the most of the L-ascorbic acid’s goodness you should make your own toner and use it fresh. There are other methods of use that involve mixing with distilled water and lotion and keeping in the fridge, but I find mine the easiest.

Buy some vitamin C powder in your health food shop. Don’t be tempted to use some orange sugar flavoured tablets that are sold as a supplement, it’s not what you want on this occasion.  You take a quarter of teaspoon of vitamin C, mix it in a little bit of water and apply it on your face with a cotton wool. Leave it for a while, unless it really stings. If it stings, wash it off and build your tolerance bit by bit.

If you decide to leave it on your skin, wait ten or so minutes before applying your regular cream. And there you go, your own homemade anti-ageing ingredient that actually works. Enjoy!

Bridal make up Q & As

The season of weddings is almost upon us so I thought I'd post some questions that I've answered not so long ago. Some googling brides to be might find them useful. Enjoy :)

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What one piece of make up advice would you give to a bride preparing for her big day?

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     Book a professional make up artist in advance and do the make up trial. Even if you’re really good at doing your make up, the pro will be there on hand to help you with some new tricks of the trade and make the day less stressful for you. Make sure you test the make up in the natural light and on camera before you agree on the look.

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How should your wedding day make up differ from your day to day look?

     Your make up needs to look timeless, be suitable for the occasion, look good in real life and on camera and, of course, last all day. You need to look like you, just fresher and glowing. You probably won’t spend much time every morning doing your make up but on your wedding day it really pays to spend more time on make up so it withstands the assault of the relatives wishing you good luck! Good professional make up artist will layer the make up carefully so you won’t really need to do any retouching during the day.

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What one beauty product can a bride not do without and why?

      If you’re likely to get emotional on your wedding day then waterproof mascara is a must.

How can you adapt this seasons  makeup trends into your wedding day look?

         This is one of the occasions when trends should take a back seat. You really want to look timeless so when you look at the photos 20 years from now on, you don’t want to cringe. By all means take some inspiration from the current trends which are awash with pastels, but pick just one, like coral blush and leave the rest for some other time.

What is the most common makeup mistake brides tend to make on their wedding day?

          Too many mistakes to mention! Orange fake tan is really unnecessary, just pick a dress that flatters your complexion as it is. False drag queen lashes, yes I’ve seen them on brides…. If you want more lashes, individual lashes are the best way to go. Weird eyebrows. Too much make up applied badly,… of course this can be said for any make up occasion, not just a wedding.

What prep can you do in the lead up to the big day to make sure you’re looking your best (skincare, treatments) etc?

         You should start preparing your skin as early as possible, so get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water. Any new beauty treatments should be tried one month before rather than a day before the wedding – we all remember that scene from Sex and the City when Samantha had a acid peel too late – you don’t want the same thing to happen to you! If you decide to try acid peel, mesotherapy etc, you should do it at least one month before so the skin has enough time to recover. Otherwise, moisturise daily, use facial and body scrub twice of three times a week (depending on your skin type). One point to remember is your eyebrows – if they are overplucked then leave them to grow and have them done one day before the wedding.

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