Showing posts with label Embryolisse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Embryolisse. Show all posts

Saturday, 2 May 2009

skincare that didn't work for me

I have been buying a hefty dose of skincare the last couple of months. Fact is, my skin was having one of the worst episodes I have seen since...ever. In my attempt to 'save' my face and make it look somewhat normal, I purchased a significant amount of skincare.

I have been mentioning some of those on my blog. I think it would be honest to mention the ones that did not work for me. Mind, I have a oversensitive skin and various problems which makes my judgement to be a bit stricter than the average reviewer on skincare would be. On the other hand, there are lots of people who have issues with sensitivity nowadays, and it is always helpful to see which products are best to be avoided (according to me).

As for now, my skin seems to be recovering a bit (which took at least 5 months!!). It is not normal yet, but I do not experience severe issues anymore, and some days I can even venture outside without makeup, and still look like a human being.

Let's continue to the creams and potions that did not work for me:



1. Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentrée: I blogged about this in the beginning of November 2008 (here). The fact that I start out to review this cream again, is that I suspect that this particular cream has caused a part of my skin-problems I have beens struggeling with!
That is a harsh claim, and I want to mention that other issues such as credit-crunch-stress, etc etc, could also have something to do with it. However, the bulk of my problems started in November when I abandoned my organic skincare for this product.
I found it a waste to throw this product away, so I started using it on my hands and body a couple of days before: it resulted in light itching feeling and even my boyfriend mentioned that my skin looked worse (I probably even reacted on this product when I applied it on my body).

2. Uriage Bariéderm Creme Isolatée Reparatrice: I bought this product on easypharmacie, a French website with all kinds of drugstore products. It is supposed to layer an isolating barrier on the skin so it can heal under the layer without having to deal with the aggressions from outside (environmental).
It was not a bad product, and smells really neutral. However, it was indeed a bit too isolating for my skin and I did not like the feeling of having a 'film' on my skin. For the rest wasn't it moisturizing either. It was not expensive, only 7.90 euro, so I did not loose to much cash on it.

3. Uriage Toléderm creme Hydra apaisante: The good thing about this product is the neutral scent, the moisturizing properties and the fact that it comes in a hygienic pump flacon. It failed to calm down my skin, unfortunately. I could revisit it when my skin is less sensitive, but it was not the desensitivizing cream it claimed to be.

4. Clarins Huile Santal (Santal Oil for dry skin): it was recommended by a lovely saleswoman (she really was! She knew lots about skin-issues and such) and it worked for a couple of days: diminishing my dry patches and moisturizing my skin. After 7 days I became sensitive for the Santal scent and found that the oil was building up on my skin, therefore my skin became oversensitive again. Clarins is pricy: I think I paid 38 euro for this oil.

5. Emu Oil: I only portrayed one brand of emu-oil on the picture, but I have tried several brands. It does not diminish any dry patches or desensitises my skin. Moreover, I do not like the chicken-fat-like scent of the pure version, and my skin did not like the versions with essential oils. I experienced build up after one use...

6. Lierac Hydra-Chrono Fluid Fraicheur (for normal and combination skin): I had read some awesome reviews on the jar version of this cream, so I wanted it in a hygienic pump version. I loved the gel-like consistency, and it had a wonderful floral scent. Unfortunately, that same lovely floral scent became too much for me during the day...it is one thing to wear a lovely perfume on the pulse-points, but it is another thing to sniff perfume on your upper lip all the time. Further more, I liked the moisturizing properties but I found it lacking in anti-aging properties, and the effect of the cream simply lasted a couple of hours, having to reapply it constantly (and smelling perfume all the time). I do not think this cream has lasting beneficial effects on the skin: it is only a temporalily fix-up.

7. Clarins Baume Jeunesse: A balm of youth, who would not want that? I was really curious for this cream after reading several raves in glossy magazines. The nice saleslady who sold me the Santal Oil completely overwhelmed me with samples, including this cream (she even asked me which samples I wanted to try). The consistency is lovely, but the scent....sorry again, I have a sensitive nose, which reflects in an even more sensitive skin-reaction.


8. Decléor Aromessence Essential Balm: Aww, I received a sample of the Rose d'Orient version and loved it. I only ordered another version, which was not effective at all. I became nauscious by the Ylang Ylang scent and experienced more splotches in the morning. Decléor balms retail between $55 and $67, depending on the place/site you buy them.

9. Steamcream: It looked so cute and I was so eager to try it (here). You guess it: the scent...ha ha. Lavendel was not agreeing with me. The cream itself was a bit too thick and did not penetrate my skin properly, resulting in a unhappy skin.

10. Lush Paradise Regained: I was hoping to regain the epidermal paradise, alas, it resulted in nada. The scent was agreeable (finally), but it felt too thick and it could not calm down my irritated skin.

11. Chanel Rectifiance Intense eye: I do not have to tell you that everything Chanel costs you an arm and a leg. The eye cream was so raved about on makeupalley (before I bought it, it seems that 2 other reviewers consider this cream craptastic as well)....It did not do anything for my eyes and felt heavy and plasticy on my lids...booohooo.


12. Osea Malibu Eyes and Lips: The promise according to Osea:

Rich in Vitamins A, D and E, 100% natural Eyes and Lips utilizes the properties of powerful antioxidants to restore damaged skin while fighting free radicals. DPHP, a vegetable-derived amino acid stimulates the contraction of collagen fibers and strengthens the dermal connective tissue of the skin. Proven to be more than 65% more effective than Vitamin C, DPHP is an ideal ingredient to tone and firm the delicate skin around the eyes - known to show first signs of damage and aging. Osea's patent-pending, unique triple emulsion system supports the skin with an advanced level of hydration.

My opinion: waxy, useless and non-effective (smells neutral and decent, though)
13. Uriage Cicactive Fluide Hydrocolloïde: Another Uriage product that did not work for me. It layers a film on the skin, almost plasticy! It might work as a buffer when you have a open wound, or such, but it did not function as a proper skincare product.
14. Dr Hauschka Rejuvenating Mask: Another product that cannot receive enough rave reviews (here). It caused an itchfest for me...my skin was really irritated, splotchy and unmanageable after using this....As for the scent: a big nay!
15. Banilla The Mineral Suprise Essential Serum: Aww, I wanted to like this serum but it did not do anything for my skin (neither bad nor good). It felt like a primer when I applied it (a silicony feel). Unfortunately, I ordered 2 of these by accident...What to do with it now?
That was a small update of the skincare products I have used in the last couple of months, and did not find to be effective. This is just my two cents and a personal opinion...it might work perfectly for you. I just wanted to update some opinions about things I bought before, so you can see what I found effective, or not.
Have a BRILLIANT WEEKEND!!

Saturday, 22 November 2008

more on embryolisse

I promised to write a small review on my personal experience with Embryolisse Lait creme concentré this week, so here it is.

This cream seems to be big news. I even found it being promoted in Jessica (a Chinese teen-magazine? correct me if I am wrong,



But, does it live up to its cult status...read on and find out...
I have been trying Embryolisse for a couple of weeks. First I mixed it with my other lotions and potions, but then I decided that I wanted to know what kind of job the product does on its own. So I used it as a day and night-cream, without the usual serums, skinoils, etc.
The first thing to notice when applying the cream is the scent. I am not too enthousiastic about the scent, even if it is light enough and dissapears after a couple of minutes. I love the fact when skin-products have a nice or neutral scent, so it a pleasant experience to apply. However, as I mentioned before, the scent dissapears in a minute or so.

The texture is a milky cream. Quite soft and smooth. When I apply this to my face, it gets absorbed partly, it leaves a bit of a moist cast that dissapears in half an our, or if I am impatient I powder it away. I think this is the shea butter that is one of the main ingredients of the cream....
Talking about ingredients, I scanned the ingredient list that was included with the cream. Mmm, you can see that I am not too mad about the parabens in the cream. I am not extremely afraid of parabens, nor do I feel completely safe using them. The vote is still undecided if parabens are harmful or not. However, I don't think that they are necessary in any product anymore, as there are so many alternatives on the market.
Did I like the cream. Well, yes...It is not a miracle cream: it did not blast away all my dry patches on my face, nor did my wrinkles dissapear instantly. But it was quite an effective cream considering that it was my only tool for the testing days. My dry patches did not agraviate even though the weather has become much colder lately (which causes my skin to play tricks on me, boohoo).
When I started to change my routine after the testing period, I found my skin to become a bit dryer...I cannot say if this is from the change of skincare (the period my skin has to re-adjust again), the even colder weather or otherwise. It is quite difficult to pinpoint the thing that makes your skin react.

Would I buy this again...mmm, not sure yet. I am still not sold on the scent and the parabens. On the other hand, the simplicity of this cream works...and sometimes all your skin need is lots of moisture.

However, I am more fond of my semi-organic/natural skincare, as I enjoy the scent and the ingredients are much better. I think that organic and natural skincare has evolved the last couple of years.

Pros:
  • cheap (if you know were to find it)

  • simple and effective (good for teens who do not need all the extra stuff yet)

  • good moisturizing proprieties

  • large amount

  • tube form (more hygienic than a jar)

  • cult status of the product (showing off to your friends, etc ;p)

  • suitable for dry, dehydrated, normal, combination/dry skin
Cons:
  • PARABENS

  • not easily available

  • not suitable for oily skin or oily t-zone

  • scent

  • lacks sunscreen

  • lacks newer generation anti-aging ingredients

Thursday, 20 November 2008

embryolisse: tutorial for buying at easypharmacie.com

A few weeks ago I posted something about Embryolisse Lait concentré cream...(click for the post). One of my commenters, Engmin, asked if I wanted to do a tutorial about how to order at the webshop I bought the Embryolisse from.

I bought the Embryolisse cult cream for 10 euros on easypharmacie.com. Shipping was a 13 euros flat rate, so you can pile op the products in your cart for the same 13 euro. That is a good price if you consider that other websites I have encountered had prices from $25 (beautyhabit.com) or about 20 euro on screenface.com.
The only downsite is that the site is in french, that explains the tutorial.
Click on the pictures (screenshots of websites below) for visual information.

1. I have linked the page that shows all Embryolisse products over here... so you can scroll down a bit, and you find the product that has become such a cult product. However, it is a French drugstore/pharmacie with some fantastic other products, so if you like you can find some other rare and wonderful cosmetic items. I have come across to brands such like Marvis toothpaste, Trind nailcare (love this brand), la roche posay or Kneipp body and bathing care...

So click on the picture below to see how to do a search... 2. So you have found the product you like. How to add it to your cart? Click on the green sentence of the product you want to have, so it will bring you to the product page itself. You can find some extra information on that page. Check the pictures below...
3. You will see this sign when you added the product in the cart. Click on 'OK' if you want to continue.
4. The next page is the cart. You can get there by clicking on the red block that says 'mon panier' (right site of the webpage). To continue shopping, click on the green button that says 'continuer vos achats'. When you want to go to the checkout, click on the green button with the words '
5. So you were able to thow in all the goodies in your cart and you want to check out. The next page will ask for the country you would like to ship your goodies to. French is not the easiest language, and some countries do not even sound remotely similar to the english words. I mean, the Netherlands means Pays Bas in french....
I will translate the most difficult country words from french into english, so you know what to choose
Allemagne - Germany
Autriche - Austria
Espagne - Spain
Japon - Japan
Pologne - Poland
Roumanie - Romania
Royaume Unie - United Kingdom
Suede - Sweden
USA - (ok, an easy one)


The red button is to go to checkout...I wanted to mention this again :D
6. The next page is for registrating yourself, or if you already done this in the past, log in and continue.


7. These two pages will guide you through the registration process...I have cut them in half, so it will be easier to read them.

8. This page is will let you review your data, so you can change anything. If anything is fine and dandy, continue by pressing confirmer and régler votre commande on the bottom of the page.



9. On this page you can choose the credit card you would like to pay with. They do not have a lot of options yet. Maybe they will change this in the future when they notice lots of internationals buying at their site :P

10. This page is for filling in your credit card details. They claim to be secure, and I think it is quite a secure page, as you can see on the picture below.


I filled in a ghost card with ghost details, so I do not have a complete checkout picture of the website. If you reached the last page and clicked on 'VALIDER', and your credit card has enough funds, you will receive your package within two week or so (not familiar with other countries yet, but please let me known if you have ordered and tell me how long it took).
I wil not do a review today, because I have already made a pretty long (and tedious?) post. I will do a small review this week.

Tuesday, 4 November 2008

Embryolisse, French cult-cream...

Sometimes the most unatainable items are the most tempting to have.

A real cult-product is supposed to be hard to obtain, should have an air of mystery, and should be used by models or other famous persons...which makes Embryolisse quite a niche brand: at least, when you do not live in France.

In American press they call it the “24 Hour Miracle Cream”, of course, for its wonderful moisturizing proprieties.



Embryolisse is a product that is sold in French Pharmacies. The cult product is the 'Lait Creme Concentré', which, according to the embryolisse website, "immediately provides skin with essential nourishing components to replenish its lipids and rapidly repair it. Its formula, which has been used for decades, remains extremely simple and effective: nourishing ingredients, which can be taken up by skin to restore its barrier function and smooth away imperfections caused by cutaneous dryness."

As I mentioned before, this product has a great press, both in magazines as on review sites such as Makeupalley. Americans always love products from France. I think it has something to do with the mystery of the 'old world' and the allure the French have on the Americans. I think that a lot of British people consider the French to be sophisticated as well.

Personally, as a cool and collected (ahum) girl from the Netherlands, I am not thát impressed by French allure. Ok, I love some designers and they have lovely cities, but I would not buy something because it is made in France.

However, they have some lovely pharmaceutical brands that are simple and effective, such as La Roche Posay, Roc, Avene and Vichy.

On a sensitive skin, such as mine, simplicity can sometimes be the best thing. I really like all the extras in facial products that claim to prevent wrinkling/erase sunspots/diminish scars, however, during the winter my skin can be too sensitive. The only thing that helps is plain moisture without much additives and scent.

Normally I would reach for my Atopalm . Ofcourse, my curious nature is always a bit experimental and looking for improvement...so I really wanted to try the highly-recommended Embryolisse line -->just to test if it is as good as they say it is...

So, I had to look on the net. First I found an article in the November (or October) issue of the British Glamour. Christina Aguillera is supposed to use this product.




Glamour tells me that it is available for 28 pounds (excluding shipping) on Screenface.com.






Ehm, not that cheap...38 euros for a moisturizer. So I checked out the web for some more info.
Hey, blogger Grayburn mentioned something about the product being sold for a mere 10 euros in the French pharmacies...mmmm.
So I went to google.fr (google France) and searched for embryolisse online. HURRAY, and so I found a French webshop that sells the product for 10 euros, AND ships to the Netherlands (plus the rest of Europe). Shipping is not so cheap, 12 euros, but it is still cheaper than the British site....and I can put as much stuff in the box for the same amount...
Ok the site....easyparapharmacie.com. It is written in French, so my highschool classes French were quite handy. Otherwise, there are translation sites in order to make sense of the ordering process. (or I could make a tutorial??)
I only ordered 2 products to test if they would really deliver...ha ha, I do not want to splash the first time I order at a new webstore. I alse ordered the Klorane Dry shampoo. I like dry shampoos for emergencies and for a bit of volumizing.
Yeehaa, they delivered the package within five days! The parcel is sturdy and the products inside were carefully wrapped in bubblewrap.



Here they are...my two new products: the cult-item Embryolisse Lait-creme concentré and a Klorane Dry shampoo with Oat Milk.

And I found out that Lou Douillon (previous article) borrows this product from her mother (Jane Birkin) as well (read over here in French)...Both ladies have wonderful skin, so it sounds like a good product.
Mmm, I will keep you updated.