Magic Beans

[olive]

Mix of fairly mild cleansers: Kiehl’s/ lixir electrogel/ Eve Lom.

DE hydra B and C firma followed by dermalogica calm water gel and sunscreen. I’ve reacted to Vitamin C products before so I might try it every couple of days and see how I go. I do need an oil but my skin doesn’t seem to like it.

[Ella]

That sucks. I don’t know if you’ve been using the Eve Lom for years or not, but it gives me dreadful spots.

[olive]

I’ve used the Eve Lom stuff on and off for ages without any problems.

I do have pixi collagen and retinol that I use at night so I might go back either the rose or jasmine oil for daytime.

[Hazey_Jane]

Oh I have that DE sunscreen too, and am not crazy keen on it, I prefer my mega cheap Neutrogena stuff. I thought it was verging on heretical to not be a fan of DE, the way that some people (eg H.irons) go on and on about them

[purple_dress]

Vitamin c products can cause purging, I think :(

[Ella]

I honestly don't think purging is a thing though*? I know the Korean skincare lot are all over it as a concept, but a lot of vitamin C serums have silicone in them (not the DE one though) and that gives a lot of people spots.

American sunscreens are just shit compared to ours because the FDA has been slow to approve the new photostable sunscreen ingredients over there, so all they have are sunscreens that become unstable in UV light (kind of a problem, no :))?) which some think can cause more harm than good. Hence putting a vitamin C serum underneath.

olive, are you doing C Firma first, then B Hydra, not the other way round?


* yes, I'm a qualified skincare chemist and just never mentioned it .

[Ella]

Ooh, actually, they let you return opened skincare in the States for a full refund, don't they ?

[emma_p]

I just stopped using DE c firma to see if that would improve my skin.

[Ella]

The Omorovicza vitamin C serum is really lovely, although I assume it costs even more than the DE one. I got a free travel-size one and it's very nice. Kind of a light gel-cream.

[olive]

I’d be interested to know how you get on, Emma.

I’ve read quite a lot of mixed stuff about purging being a thing.

Having a big, angry spot is so unusual for me as I’ve only ever had about 3 spots in my life* and this was by far the worst.

olive, are you doing C Firma first, then B Hydra, not the other way round?

I’m not as I’m sure I read to do it B first and then C! I’ll try it the other way and see if that helps.

Ulta and Sephora have a great selection of minis so I’ll keep an eye out for

* I do have plenty of other skin issues like lines and uneven pigmentation.

[emma_p]

I was doing C first then B.

I'll let you know, if it improves things, Olive.

[Ella]

emma, do you think the formulation of C Firma is different in the UK compared to in the US? I swear they’re different products (and I liked the US one more).

[emma_p]

You know, I was wondering that!

[Ella]

I think they’re different, but I can’t find anything online about it. The smell, the colour, the texture. They really should tell us if that is the case.

[absley]

These are my Korean purchases. The serums are mostly for D, to keep him off the pricier ones I have bought and want to try! I'm excited to try the sunscreens which both feel v light.

[Ella]

Pretty!

[absley]

I really tried to restrain myself and chose carefully - I've never seen so many makeup and skincare shops! And places for cosmetic surgery - apparently it's a huge trend.

Oh, and the mascara are all allegedly smudgeproof so :fc:. The Tony Moly ones seems okay so far but it's v natural looking. Jung Saem Mool is apparently a Bobbi Brown equivalent.

[Luna]

It all looks lovely. I especially like the eye shadow.

[Cosmopolitan]

How exciting! Loads of new things!

[absley]

The shadow is lovely, Lola - a very fine rose gold glitter (!) or, with a primer, it ends up more like a foil, with quite a solid shimmery colour. I was hoping I'd get chance to buy a second colour but only saw the one shop for her brand.

It was fascinating seeing how similar the makeup worn by the vast majority of the women was - when there's a trend, there's really a trend! I think 90% of the women wearing lipstick were wearing 1 of 2 shades (a soft peach or a brighter coral/peach, with that smudgey effect) and very similar eye makeup.

I've remembered I bought a peeling foot mask too. I was hoping to persuade D to use it but he refused. I've yet to see any impact but :fc: .