Mr MizzWorthy reviews... GloTherapeutics Skin Care.

I was given these products ages ago to test out, however as they are aimed at acne sufferers, I decided against using them on my skin - although I have had breakouts in the past, I wouldn't say I have acne, or acne prone skin... Mr MizzWorthy was very excited when he saw them though (well, he kind of looked at them quizzically and asked, "Whats so special about them? I don't mind giving them a go for you" - this is skincare excitement for Mr MizzWorthy...)

A little bit about Mr MizzWorthy - He's a swarthy mediteranean type, but he's also a bit sensitive, suffering the double edged sword of eczema as well as facial acne.

The GloClear line from GloTherapeutic is clearly aimed at the high end of the market... Available at Renew Medica Skincare Clinics, and Wigmore Pharmacy.

This is fine for people living in London, but limited access for the rest of us, means I wouldn't normally put this product on the blog... But Mr MizzWorthy really liked one of the products (to both of our surprise), so to celebrate this momentous occasion, I thought I'd do a quick review
It's not cheap either - The cleansers are both £27.85, and the pads are £31.51... I warned you this was aimed at the hight end of the market...

The packaging is quite nice - fairly clinical looking boxes, but the pump bottles themselves (made of plastic, so no dropsy bathroom mishaps can occur) are vaguely reminiscent of Neils Yard packaging in that they are blue, and... well, thats about it really! Oh, a good feature is that the pump is lockable and so easily transportable.

Mr Mizzworthy felt that the packaging was "excessive" - "You could probably knock a quid off production costs easily by getting rid of the boxes" - He's a silver tongued devil! Still, Men are from Mars and all that jazz... To be fair though he does kind of have a point. The bottles are quite small given the size of the boxes...


Mr MizzWorthy was most impressed with the GloClear Anti-Blemish Cleanser. Initially, he wasn't expecting much, even when he discovered that this contains 2.5% Benzoyl Peroxide "Panoxyl make one too!", however we were both pleased with the results of this - In the two years we've known eack other his skin has never looked so clear. Mr MizzWorthy says "This is the best one for people with ongoing acne and not just a few spots... I noticed that I wasn't waking up with morning pimples and I definitely noticed my skin got worse when I didn't use it" I noticed this too for the record! Success all round then - Mr MizzWorthy did not like the price however! Myself on the other hand - I've spent similar amounts on cleansers and so I guess it's an individual choice!

Sadly the swarthiness of his bistles meant he had limited success with the cleansing pads - His manly bristles just shredded them...

He also tried the Acne Cleanser, which contains Salicylic acid and Scrubbing beads. This treatment is more aimed at people with occasional blemishes and breakouts - its a treatment rather than a preventitive maintenence product. This does lather well, and the foam is heat activated, which is a bit different too... (I mean it's activated by your body temperature...)

While Mr MizzWorthy may baulk at the price of these products I know full well that some readers will spend this much on skincare, while others will also be horrified... The limited availability of the range is also a bit of an issue... The positive reaction (in relative terms) of Mr MizzWorthy meant that I wanted to tell you all about the range though... Mr MizzWorthy is not easily impressed by skincare, after all!

Have any of you tried any products from this range?

MizzWorthy xxx

Clarins SkinCare Review

As you know a few weeks back a few of us were invited to a fab event thrown by Clarins in Selfridges London, where amongst other things we were all given a skin analysis and sent some products to test out - you can read about the event here.

Clarins were very generous and gave us full sized products to try so we could really see how well the products work.

I personally found the skincare analysis with one of the consultants really helpful - I learned that your skin type can change with the seasons, age etc. I was told I have combination skin, which was dehydrated.

As you can see I was sent a range of products - cleanser, toner, moisturiser, night cream, eye cream and a face scrub, as well as cult beauty product Beauty Flash Balm.

The range as a whole worked well for me, and there were some definite stand out products I really liked...
Cleanser - Foaming Cleanser with Tamarind and Purifying Micro-Pearls (Combination or oily skin). This costs £15 for 125 mls. Despite using this twice a day, there is a LOT left in the tube - I'd expect a tube to last 4-6 months. Its a very fresh smelling creamy feeling cleanser which rinses easily and is not over drying on the skin. It also contains quite large "Micro-Pearls". These don't so much scrub the skin (they are too big for that), but more give it a gentle daily "polish", which feels really nice. This will not remove eye makeup - a separate remover would be needed for that, although it seemed to remove face makeup effectively. If you were wearing a particularly full cover/heavy foundation, you might need to remove with a stronger cleanser first.

Toner - Toning Lotion with Iris (Combination or oily skin). This is £15 for 200mls. Again clean smelling and it does a good job of freshening the skin. This does also appear to remove any grime left on the skin after cleansing, which is good - it preps the skin well for moisturiser and doesn't leave it feeling tight. I'd expect a bottle to last around 3-4 months with twice a day use. I personally like to tone, as I don't feel like my skin is properly "clean" if I don't... I know a lot of people skip this step though without any skin related disasters ensuing!

Face Scrub - Gentle Exfoliating Refiner This is an expensive product at £21.51 for 50mls, which is quite a smal tube, however you really do only need to use a small amount - I'd expect this tube to last me about 4 months with use once or twice per week. The grains in the scrub are very fine, so this really gets into the nooks and crannies and clears out the pores well - I'd liken this in texture to the Body Shop Vitamin C skin re-finisher, however the grains in this are even finer. It does seem to make a difference to the pores on my nose - they appear clearer for a couple of days after using the scrub. A great product, just a shame you don't get more for your money.

Moisturiser - Hydraquench Lotion with SPF15
This is made for normal to combination skin or for hot climates, and is £30 for 50mls. I was sent this as the Hydraquench range is meant to solve issues of dehydration in the skin - in other words, you only need to use this until the skin regains its hydration levels. 1 pump of this was plently for my whole face - you can tell when you don't need to use it as it starts to feel too heavy on the skin. This took a couple of weeks before I noticed it was starting to feel too much. I still use this if I do a face mask or scrub, just to top up the moisture levels in my skin. I'd say the Hydraquench range is well worth looking into if you have dry skin. The lotion itself smells fresh, with a bit of a marine scent, but it doesn't last for long on the skin. It comes in a pump and is therefore really hygienic to use and it travels well too

Night Cream - Multi-Active Night Lotion. The Multi-active range is aimed at those of us in our thirties who are seeking to hold at bay the first signs of aging for as long as possible (sob...). In the past whenever I've used a night cream, I've always found them really thick and heavy feeling - and while that is kind of the point because your skin does all its regenerating and restoring at night, I don't want to be applying something that feels like it leaves my skin all congested. This one feels very very light, more like a serum in texture and feel - it sinks straight into the skin and is quickly absorbed. It leaves no trace of any greasy feeling on my skin at all. My skin feels softer in the morning and I look like I have slept well, even if I haven't. I really really love this product - its pricey at £40 for 50mls, which I'd expect to last for 3-4 months. I personally think it's worth this price, and its made me want to look into other products from the range in the future. Definite stand out.

Eye Cream - "Special"Eye Contour Balm - softens fine lines for dry skin. Designed for the first signs of ageing - this claims to soften fine lines, and also contains reflective pigments to give skin a more even appearance. This is another stand out product for me - I have used Clarins eye creams before and had equal success with them while I was younger - I used the eye contour balm in my 20's and did notice it made a difference, and I can say the same for this one - it worked really well for me. It won't shift dark circles as it's not designed for that, but I've noticed an improvement in the fine lines around my eyes. The area looks more hydrated and fresher, which makes this a winner in my eyes - it costs £23.49 for 20mls. You need a tiny amount each time you use it and it sinks in easily without leaving a greasy feeling on the skin. Love this one.

Beauty Flash Balm - £25 for 50ml.
Can you believe this cult product has been around for 20 years! (God this post is making me feel old!) I used to swear by this in my late teens and early twenties for a post-hangover skin pick-me-up. Then I went to uni, and could no longer afford the £25 price tag (50mls). I suppose I also started to rely more on the power of a decent concealer and foundation for perking up the skin. My mum used to top me up every couple of years with a tube and me and my sister both continue to love it. A tube lasts about 5-6 months. This is not a product I use every single day, just when my skin needs a pick-me-up - probably once or twice a week.

It can be used a few different ways. I personally like to smooth on a very thin layer - ie not rubbed completely in, but rather left on the skin and left to settle in. It can also be used as an overnight treatment when applied a bit more thickly to the skin and slept in. Basically the product brightens and hydrates the skin, leaving it feeling soft and looking well rested. Perfect for a hangover.... so perfect in fact that it didn't take long for drugstores to produce a dupe - one of which can be found in the Superdrug Natural High Range.

The Clarins original has a soft, comforting yet still clean smell.

So there you go - well done if you have made it to the end of the post - hope this has been useful!
Any recommendations for products in the range are always welcome too!

MizzWorthy xxx

MizzWorthy let loose in London...AKA the Clarins Event.

Yesterday I was invited with Olivia and LipsAndLashes to an event in Selfridges in London by Clarins - ButtonSoph was also invited but her car broke down on the way! Lovely Olivia met me in the station and we navigated our way to Oxford Circus (all of two stops on the tube - we truly were explorers of the unknown lol!)...

When we arrived we were met by a couple of lovely PR peeps from Clarins, including Alexandrea who sent us the invites. We had a look at the new Autumn range called "Nude Inspirations", and a look around the new skin spa. At first I thought the idea of the skin spa in the middel of Selfridges seemed a little strange, but believe me, when the door is shut, that place is like a little have in the middle of London - blissful... I wanted every treatment in the book lol! They apparently have achair that scans your body and does a massage tailored to you while you have a facial - I want some of that!

We also each had a skin consultation and then went off for breakfast - We were told to expect a parcel by special delivery this morning, but I have to say I felt very sorry for the poor post lady who kindly lugged a huge pack of goodies up to the flat for me this morning;

I was totally bowled over when I opened it and saw all this!
So we recieved our skincare regimes (further posts and reviews to come about this as I am still testing another skincare regime at the moment!) - but yep, thats Beauty Flash Balm in there!
And on top of that we received absolutely loads of makeup!

I have to say, I wasn't expecting too much from these eye-shadow mono's as the last time I swatched them at a counter (a couple of years ago...), I thought they were poorly pigmented and the colour choices were a bit... safe? I have to say though, they have definately improved in terms of pigmentation and although the colours are still fairly safe, you could create a lot of different looks - nude, smoky and coloured. I'll be trying to create a few looks over the coming days and weeks to see how versatile these are! These retail at £12.73 each and also have a mirror in the lid which is always useful for us cosmopolitan girls on the go (well at least thats how I like to think of myself....)

They also sent this nude quad palette out - I can see this one being popular too! I'd personally use this with a fierce black winged liner and a bold red lip to get that classic pin up look, but I know a lot of people will be relieved to see such an easy to use combination of colours...This retails for £25.44.

We also recieved 6 shades of "Joli Rouge" Lipsticks. These are a lot better on than they look in the tubes - the one that looks brown (4th from the left) is actually a lovely sheer plummy pink. They have a lovely fruity scent (Blackcurrant with a touch of liquorice and vanilla apparently!) and are supposed to be extremely kind to the lips with skin loving goodies such as mango butter and vitamin e - stay tuned for a review!

We also recieved three tubes of their reformulated "Wonder Perfect" Mascara in three shades - Wonder Black, Wonder Brown and Wonder Blue - Coloured mascaras seem to be rocking right now! In fact though these are quite subtle - the blue is almost navy and not 80's at all - I tried it this morning in bed to see if it matched my PJs (as one does) and it makes the whites of the eyes look very clear... I still need to try the concealers too - they sent me three shades and I'm hoping one will be pale enough for me!

Finally we received a face an blush duo (retailing at £28) which is a lovely two tiered affair containing a face powder and illuminating powder on the top layer;

... and a peachy blush (this reminds me of NARS orgasm!) and a bronzer embellished with a golden powder section - very pretty! Can all obviously be used swished together or seperately...

The other great product in the collection they showed us was the eye brow pro palette - which I really liked the look of - it had three brow powders in good ashy colours (ie no red undertones - a giveaway in a bad brow powder!) - black, brown and blonde shades, a setting wax, highligher powder, mini tweezers, spoolie brush and sponge applicator - thats going to retail at £28, and I can see myself making a purchase...

My initial thoughts? I'm surprised by the improvements in quality in the Clarins makeup range, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of giving this neutral collection a MizzWorthy twist!

So, how did I spend the rest of the day? I met up for lunch with Alex from Illamasqua and had a good gossip about the next competition which we'll be launching soon! I was great to see her again for a catch up as I didn't get to speak to her at the Illamasqua masterclass - she was too busy being the model for Alex Box, so can't really blame her lol!

I also met a couple of lovely PR ladies - Jen from FuelPR and Lisa from Immediate PR, who have also furnished me with loads of other goodies to review including Sun Labs fake tan which smells of baby powder, (this is never a bad thing in my opinion), an anti acne range for Mr MizzWorthy to test, some new hair products and some BarryM - I am pleased to announce I finally have the lip paint in Peachy Pink - and I agree its a lovely colour - here is the obligatory lip close up!

I also made a trip to the Selfridges beauty hall (rude not to!) and picked up a couple of OPI shades - "I'm a Princess and You're Not" and "Done Out in Deco"... I also popped to MAC to get one of those Naked Honey Skin Salves and some clean up tips, and I was actually amazed by how bad the service was there - One girl behind the counter just ignored all the customers and the one who did eventually deign to serve me called me "babe" several times in a very patronising manner, and actually asked me "what colour" salve I wanted! Proof positive that they are bringing out too many collections - the poor dear clearly couldn't keep up. Poor service aside though, I am liking the salve...

I then had to hang about for my train so I painted my nails with OPI's "I'm a Princess and You're Not", which is a pretty colour but I fear it makes my hands look a bit dead... opinions please?

I have no idea what to play with first though, so please feel free to make requests etc!

MizzWorthy xxx

Vichy Products on test... The Results!

A while back I posted about a range of products I have been sent by Vichy to test. I was asked by the PR company before I recieved the products about my skintype/skin concerns and so I was sent the products in order to address the issues I had (Combo-dry skin, breakout on my chin!). I've been using these for around a month now (I think that you have to give any skincare regime a month before you can tell whether they are going to work for you or not!), and so the time has come to give some feedback on the products and say how well or otherwise they worked for me! You can check out my earlier post about the products here - http://mizzworthy.blogspot.com/2009/06/vichy-products-on-test.html

I have had a good scout around my local larger Boots stores and Vichy, La Roche-Posay and Avene's skincare ranges are all available there now. There is also a skincare consultation service available, which I have yet to test out as annoyingly everytime I pop in to try to have my skin analyzed, the staff tell me "the woman who does that is not here/is on her break/has gone home early" etc etc ad infinitum... I am determined to try this service though!

Anyway, the products in the Vichy range I was sent all retail from around £10-£20 in the UK, so this a high end drugstore range.

It's also important to mention at this point that my skin is combination-dry, and my concerns at the time I started to use the range were a delightful breakout on the chin area, which I wanted to treat without stripping the skin... So please bear this in mind when you are considering whether this range will work for you! I also want to point out that I didn't reduce my use of makeup in any way - I'm a junkie for that stuff lol!

First of all, you may remember this photo of my breakout from 1 month ago;

Here is the same chin now;

As you can see, a big improvement from the front - there are a few blemishes left at the sides of the jaw line as shown below... Some red marks still remain, but there are a lot less actual zits lol.

So, my thoughts on the products;

From the Normaderm range, I recieved the deep cleansing gel, purifying astringent toner, active anti-imperfection concentrate and Pro-Mat moisturiser. The Normaderm Range is aimed at blemish prone and dry or sensitive skintypes, and claims to hydrate while still tackling skin horrors.

First up the Deep Cleansing Gel, a green liquid which comes in a pump bottle. This costs approx £10 for 200mls. The cleanser claims to "Unblock pores, Cleanses and Unblocks Deep Down". It's a green liquid gel which foams with water (like most cleansers lol).

I personally liked this cleanser, I found that half a squirt produced a decent amount of foam which got rid of those pesky traces of mascara that other cleansers leave behind. It had a nice clean scent, not exactly medicated but somewhere along those lines, which is very mild and I found pleasant. Foaming cleansers often make my skin feel a little tight after use, and this was was definitely not as harsh in this respect as some others I have tried, and my face felt refreshed and clean but not dry after use. If like me, you find your skin is a little drier in the winter months then you may prefer a milder cleanser or even a cream type cleanser for the colder times of the year... In a month of use I'd say I've used about a quarter of the bottle, so I'd expect this to last about 4-5 months with twice daily use.

I added in the Purifying Astringent Toner myself ie I picked it up in my local large Boots branch. It cost £10 for 200mls. I actually only added this product in because I personally like to use toner and feel like it helps my moisturiser sink in better. I have used this for a couple of weeks now and so far I like it. I have actually noticed a marked improvement in the "breakout zone" since I added it, so I'm not sure if this is prepping the skin for the concentrate to work better? Or maybe it would have improved anyway at this point? I just have a bit of a thing for using matching products lol! I suppose ultimately though, using a toner or not is down to personal choice. One thing I would say though is that this would work better in a pump bottle as its a bit difficult to dispense this without getting dribbles down the side of the bottle...

I was also sent the Concentrated Blemish Perfector, which contains 4% salycilic acid. This product claims to calm burning and redness, and visibly clear the impefection in 24 hours...

Often spot treatments can be very drying and this means that finding a decent blemish treatment for sensitive and dry skin can be a bit of a mare. I'd say that this is definitely worth a try for those of us with dry or sensitive skin who are prone to the odd breakout.

This is a green cream, with a clean but again not overpowering scent. Obviously the green works to diminish the redness of blemishes/spots on a temporary basis. It took about 2 weeks to see a definite marked improvement in the "breakout zone" as although the treatment worked reasonable quickly on existing blemishes, I was finding that initially I still had blemishes coming through. Once this stopped happening I was happy with the results and found that the breakout started to clear up without my skin feeling like it was being stripped off layer by layer, as with other blemish treatments I've tried... This comes in a 15ml tube for £10, which some might feel is a little expensive.

This is probably not the treatment for people who want overnight miracle results, as it simply won't do this. It didn't produce miraculous results in 24 hrs, but I would add that prior to starting this regime, my chin was actually feeling quite sore due to the cystic feel of some of the zits, but I found that this made my skin feel a lot less tender and sore, which was great.

I was also sent the Pro Mat which promises "Non-stop Matte effect hydrating care", and claims to protect against shine. I was fairly sceptical about this product at first as I doubted that it would be hydrating enough for my skin, however I was pleasantly surprised by it!

Again, this is a pale green lotion which has a very very faint clean scent, which disappeared effortlessly into my skin. I used a large pea sized blob and found this adequate for my face. I think I've probably used about half the tube in a month, and again I think this retails for £10-15. I liked this as it hydrated my skin adequately without looking shiny. It did struggle to keep shine and oil at bay a little during the relly really humid days we had a couple of weeks ago, but I doubt anything could have handled that.

This also comes with an SPF of 15, and I personally need a higher SPF than this on my face in the summer, so I topped this with a facial spf of 50, but that is personal choice - I think this is a great moisturiser to try for combination or oily skin, but I am not sure how well it would work for dry to very dry skins...

For night time use, I recieved a couple of products from the Aqualia range, aimed at dehydrated skin. The range claims to provide 24 hr hydration.

First up, the Aqualia Themal 24hr Hydrating Concentrated Serum. I really really loved this product, it felt very refreshing on the skin, almost like a big glass of water... I noticed as well that this made my skin feel nice and soft and really well hydrated. I can't rave enough about this, and I would use this under any moisturiser to boost its performance and generally make the skin feel more comfortable. Love it! I believe this retails for £15 for 30mls in the uk. This comes in a glass pump bottle, which is quite heavy - not one to drop on your foot in the morning!

I also recieved Aqualia Light fortifying and soothing lotion, which I believe costs £10 for 40mls. I felt like this was a decent basic moisturiser, which is sometimes what you need when you are experiencing breakouts or other sensitivities. Definately hydrated the skin well, but contains nothing fancy, and some people might want more from a night product - this is also available a s a rich version too, for those with very dry skin.

Finally, I got to try the thermal purity Calming Cleansing Water. Again, I would have prefered this to be in a pump bottle as it was difficult to dispense without dribbling it down the bottle. The product itself however worked really well - similar effect to the Body Shop Camomile Eye makeup removing lotion, but for the whole face. Put simply it feels like rubbing a cotton wool pad soaked in water over the face. It removes all traces of makeup gently, and leaves no nasty film over the skin, feels very gentle, and doesn't dry the skin at all. I belive this is £10 for 200mls.

Of the products I recieved I would Definitely repurchase the serum, and the cleansing water. I wouls also repurchase the normaderm products if my skin broke out on a regular basis, and I'd definitely keep a tube of the anti blemish concentrate in for isolated breakouts in the future, although possibly not everyone would feel that the anti blemish concentrate would be worth £10 or work quickly enough, but its def worth a try if you don't wish to upset sensitive skin...

What do you think? Anyone tried any other Vichy products?

MizzWorthy x