Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Monday 19 May 2008

On the face


Deja pseu in the comments sums up to the letter my views on cheap face creams:

Every time I've tried the new Olay "wonder cream" du jour, it's sat on top of my skin like a sticky film.


I did not start using a moisturiser until I was in my early thirties for this very reason. Every cheap cream I tried made me want to wash my face as soon as I put it on. Then one day Shiseido launched in Canada, where I was living, with a machiney thing that took a picture of your skin and told you the rate at which you were ageing. Needless to say, I bought the entire range. It was apparent that one of the big differences between cheap and expensive creams was/is the formulation rather than the contents.

I have used a variety of brands since then, and every excursion into the budget ranges including Boots No 7 has produced exactly the same sensation of wanting to wash my face because they don't seem to be absorbed by my skin.

I no longer now buy anything without consulting first with Mary Greenwell, so a week or two ago I asked her to recommend a lighter weight summer night cream. She is a big fan of Chanel and she told me to try HydraMax+. I found the fluid formula to be perfect for summer, and that's what I'm now using. Do I believe that it will give me younger firmer skin? No. I just want it to do the business of supplying moisture.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you all the way on this one Linda. I can't stand that oily feeling, it all ends up on the pillow and in your hair! In my opinion that Olay cream may seem cheap, but I would rather spend five times the amount if I know I'm going to use every smear in the pot!

One tip I was told by a Guinot therapist once is to change your moisturizer every month as the skin takes a month to completely renew itself. So I have two ranges which I use alternately throughout the year starting each one on the 1st of each month. It really does work as my skin gets a boost from the change.

Susan B said...

I've been alternating between Clarins and Chanel cremes, both of which seem to be working well for me, although now during the day I'm using Anthelios Creme Fondant 40+ SPF in place of a moisturizer, over top of the Clarins serum.

One other thing I've found with the plus cher cremes is that because their formulation seems to be more concentrated, you can use smaller amounts. A jar of Clarins night creme will last me six months or more.

Miss Cavendish said...

Since I was eighteen, I've used Janet Sartin's line, which does not advocate a cream. But Sartin's regimen is just too fussy for me now, so I've been using La Mer lotion for the last few years. I do resent the expense, but every time I try something different, I'm not satisfied. I'm especially sensitive to the scent of the cream, and La Mer is perfectly neutral.

Anonymous said...

My dermatologist gave himself quite a laugh telling me this story: when a woman asks him what the best wrinkle cream is, he says, "sunscreen, starting 10 years ago."

But it's true, alas.