Product of the Week - M&S DD Cream

What a week!  I’ve just come back from a week-long break to the UK seeing friends and family but throughout, I’ve suffered from an upset tummy (which I still have and am off to the docs this afternoon) so I am exhausted and in all honesty, feel like I need another holiday.  Anyhoo, that is way more information that you need to know so let’s talk about the products I took away with me. 

If I don’t have travel sizes/samples in my cabinet then I decant what I already have but luckily I had some samples of stuff I haven’t tried before.

As I am a big fan of L’Occitane’s Colour Protect hair care, I couldn’t wait to try their Repair shampoo and conditioner.  Repair contains angelica, lavender, geranium, patchouli, ylang-ylang and wheat proteins to strengthen, regenerate, smooth and soften.  My hair was very shiny after use.  However, I prefer their Radiance Colour Care purely based on scent; Repair smelt a little medicinal for me (Shampoo €27 and Conditioner 32.50, both 500ml).       

Although I did take a toner with me, I didn’t use it due to pure laziness (it was L’Occitane’s Precious toner if you’re wondering) and I applied Origins Plantscription’s Anti-Ageing Serum instead (€64 for 30ml and €82 for 50ml).  I really liked this serum – it claims that you will see a difference within two weeks and targets fine lines and plumps the skin for that youthful look.  I could definitely see a difference with regards to the plumping – my skin did looked healthy and supple (despite me feeling crappy due to my upset bowels).  I then topped the serum off with the complementing Plantscription Powerful Lifting Cream (€69 for 50ml) which visibly helps to pick up the skin’s sagging contours.  I didn’t notice a face-lift but it looked healthy and felt comfortable.  

Ah, now I really enjoyed using Chanel’s Ultra Correction Line Repair (Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream) as I loved the texture of it and liked the tiny tube it came in.  Although I wish I’d regularly checked my eye area to see if this little beauty was doing its job but I forgot to look.  Maybe my fine lines had disappeared while using it hence the not noticing part?  I like to think that they had as Chanel have created an active ingredient that boosts tensin production (tensin being a dermal protein in the skin which preserves the shape and vitality of the cells).  This product helps with wrinkles, fine lines, puffiness and the lighting-up of dark circles and it claims to firm up the upper eyelids – my eyelids are becoming hooded as I am ageing so I will continue to use up this sample tube and let you know in due course (€64 for 15ml) if I see a noticeable difference.

Seeing as we were going out for a lovely meal on the evening of my Mum’s birthday, I decided to exfoliate my face so out came Shiseido’s Pore Purifying Warming Scrub (especially for oily skin).  I was very surprised to learn that you apply this scrub onto dry, cleansed skin.  Normally I would wet my face beforehand in order to get some ‘slip’ so you’re not pulling your skin about but I did what it said.  I expected to feel a tingling heat sensation with this, hence the name but my skin got warm due to the scrubbing rather than the product heating up (if that makes sense).  I felt this clear gel with exfoliating micro beads to be too much – without the water on the face first, it wasn’t comfortable at all.  Obviously my skin felt soft and smooth afterwards and it did what it said on the tin; it cleaned my skin and pores no end.  Probably a little bit too much.  Anyway, this product is now discontinued but you can probably still get samples of it on the counters if any of you have very oily skin and like a weekly scrub.  It was very effective.

I didn’t take a primer with me as I thought I would take M&S Autograph’s DD (Daily Defence) Cream SPF30 in Light/Medium (£12.50 for 30ml) and either mix it with my foundation or use it on its own (seeing as my moisturiser and foundation didn’t have SPF).  The product comes out as a white cream and then colour pigments burst and release the colour when applied to the skin.  According to the box, it said it was a foundation but I feel that it is more of a tinted moisturiser or primer than a foundation.  It’s something that I would take on a summer holiday for evening as the cream adapts to your natural skin tone so when you do go a few shades darker, you could still use this.  Plus it has the all-important SPF.  To be honest, I don’t normally wear make-up on summer holidays much to the horror of my sister.  Laziness kicks in and I like my skin to breath on vacation.  Plus, my freckles become more prominent in the sun and I feel a bit silly and too made up with make-up on.

So my product of the week goes to the M&S DD Cream due to its high sun protection.  It was so hot and sunny on my last day in the UK, that while sitting out in the garden, I actually burnt in the sun.  I had applied factor 50 on my arms, neck and décolleté but had missed a bit where my watch sits – my skin is still glowing red but it’s no longer sore.  So thank goodness that there was SPF 30 in the DD cream and else my face would’ve been red raw.