The must-have facial sunscreen

For the first post back after a sunny holiday, it seems appropriate to talk suncare.

I try to wear SPF every day - usually SPF30 - and for years I've used Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Sunscreen SPF30 (the best smelling SPF EVER) but it's currently out of stock. So whilst on holiday I tried out Thalgo's Age Defence Sun Cream SPF30 - a brand I'd been meaning to sample for some time.

And in the best possible way, I didn't notice it. No stinging sensation (I have very sensitive skin, so it ticks that box), no white sunscreen mask, and no greasiness - it's a mineral-oil-free formula that has been developed with a creamy consistency that absorbs splendidly. This has two advantages: 1) you don't look sweaty before you are, indeed, sweaty and 2) it stays put and actually does the job of protecting your skin (and is very easy to put make-up over).

In fact it's such a great product that while it's really warm I use it on its own on top of the Nature's Aid Vitamin E Oil http://luxebeautyedit.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/face-oils-on-trial-round-1.html. (And yes, I realise this contradicts what I said in my previous post about maintaining consistency by using the same moisturiser with the oil but I'm satisfied that the Vitamin E Oil is an effective and excellent product, more of which to come.)

Enjoy the sunshine!

May rose season: Magic masks

As it's the last day of May, this is a short post to bid farewell to the May roses, and squeeze in one last rosy product.

Sisley Paris is, I reckon, in my top five best beauty brands of all time. There are various reasons for this but one of the main ones is that this is a beauty brand that pumps serious investment into its research and development. It focuses as much on magical botanicals as it does on sciencey and techy advancements, and this makes for some seriously amazing products. This post is a brief fanfare to the face masks.

The Black Rose Cream Mask is - simply - awesome. Alongside the star ingredient, the mask contains the just-about-pronouncable Padina pavonica and Alkekengi calyx extracts. All we need to know is that these work in blissful harmony to plump, revitalise and hydrate the skin to the point where Sisley claims we will look more youthful in 15 minutes. Yes, that's one quarter of an hour. And can you believe it actually works? Mind you, it ought to for the price tag, which is the only downside at around £95.

Still, some of you might think this a worthwhile investment. And if so, using it after the super-cleansing Radiant Glow Express Mask, which deeply purifies the skin with red clay, only makes the results more unbelievable. Hopefully all the good work won't be undone by living on beans on toast for the rest of the month.

Summer's best bronzing powder

If you've read my previous post on oils, you won't be surprised to hear that I'm not a fan of face powders. I always default to highlights, shine and shimmer and avoid looking matte because I think it can be ageing. But in the summer I get too shiny, so I need something to take the edge off. Because of the season, I always opt for something with a bit of extra colour, but in all these years, I've never used the same product twice because EVERY SINGLE ONE has ultimately been too dry, cakey and sometimes orangey.

That all changed a couple of summers ago when I tried Chanel's (then new) Les Beiges bronzing powder. It is light as air. Both in terms of its whisper-like coverage, thanks to a super-fine-milled powder formulation, and in terms of its shades. It gives a sort of subtle, French Riviera type glow in varying depths - but it's very hard to tell you're wearing any product at all, let alone powder. The brush it comes with is ok for top ups, but I would suggest using a big kabuki style brush to apply it if you can - and really buff it into the skin for best coverage.

And as if the collection isn't lovely enough already, this summer Chanel has launched super cute Marinere editions of the Les Beiges compacts, with stripes of powder that combine for different shades. At the launch, Chanel had make-up artist Mary Greenwell (who counts Cate Blanchett among her most regular clients) on hand to talk us through the products. She explained that this year Les Beiges is available in a new, pinkier shade, which she recommends over yellowy tones as our skin gets older because pink tones are more youthful and flattering on the complexion.

Also worth trying out from this summer's Les Beiges collection are the new Healthy Glow Sheer Colour Sticks. The name says it all really - these are light, easy-to-apply, natural-looking summer blushes in gorgeous bronze, pink and coral shades. 

Face oils on trial - round 1

Over the last few years a new stage has cropped up in skincare regimes: the serum or oil that goes on after cleansing and before moisturising. I'm a fan of this extra stage. I have very dry skin, and have often found that a single moisturiser never quite cuts it. Serums are great but my preference has always been for oils - to me they feel like the most potently hydrating products that the beauty industry has ever come up with.

But I think for many people, the perception of oils is: Aren't they super greasy? And who even needs an extra step in their skincare routine? To them I say: Unlike moisturisers that often contain a lot of water, oils are much more concentrated in their consistency. So - if used correctly - whatever (undiluted) skin healing properties they contain are absorbed quickly and efficiently by the skin. My recommendation for using oils is to only ever put them on skin that is warm and still a little damp from cleansing. This maximises absorption, which prevents greasiness.

So over the next few months I am trailing four very different oils. I say months because to do this properly, I will use each one until it runs out to get the best possible idea of how effective it is. And for consistency's sake, I'll use the same moisturiser throughout. The oils will be:

1. Accessible, no nonesense Vitamin E Oil from Natures Aid £9
2. Mid range Dr Hauschka Clarifying Day Oil around £25
3. Mid-to-higher range Guerlain Abeille Royale Face Treatment Oil around £65
4. High-end Sisley Paris Black Rose Precious Face Oil around £140

I've started with Natures Aid Vitamin E Oil - a supplement product, which you can either swallow or apply directly to the skin. Natures Aid is a no nonsense health and wellbeing brand with almost 35 years in the industry (so I expected results when I first started using the oil). This product is pure high strength vitamin E, which is an antioxidant. This means it can help protect skin cells from oxidative stress resulting from free radicals found in our environment and even in our own bodies, which can age the skin. 

And so far, so good. It's doing an excellent job of making my skin more supple and I can ACTUALLY SEE a reduction in how pronounced my crows feet lines look. It doesn't smell of anything - as I said it's no frills - but I'd go as far as to say this is an essential that should be added to any beauty routine. Even just by mixing a little into your moisturiser - it's an excellent daily booster for skin hydration.

Check back in 3-4 weeks to see how it compares to Dr Hauschka...

Solutions for EXTREMELY tired/ puffy/ dark eyes

I have always had terrible bags under my eyes, which - surprise! - only get worse as the years go by. These are by far my personal worst offenders in terms of premature ageing.

So I try everything that comes my way promising to de bag/ de wrinkle/ undarken my eyes. EVERYTHING. Historically the best solutions I've found have also - unfortunately - been some of the most expensive. But in case you're interested they have included:

1. La Prairie Skin Caviar Eye Complex
2. Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye
3. Creme de la Mer The Eye Balm Intense

Now, however, I'm on a mission to trial some mid-range wallet-friendly products starting with Benefit's new Puff Off (£22.50), an eye cream with an integrated (somewhat gimmicky) iron-shaped applicator. And gimmicky though it is, the applicator is genius. Some years ago I tried a Creme de la Mer applicator - a silver ball on a plastic handle, with which you apply your eye cream. The Puff Off applicator reminds me of that, and the principle is the same: cooling metal against the delicate eye area will instantly calm skin and make pores retract, while the pressure will help drain any retained fluid (which causes puffiness). It works like a mini cooling compress.

The formula itself contains light-diffusing particles to help smooth away the appearance of any lines and lighten the eye area, and a blend of peptides, which will reduce the look of puffiness - especially when helped along with the applicator. 

So far I really love Puff Off. It feels great to put on - super cooling and calming. And after I use it I notice a real difference in how my eyes look. I'm not sure how much it's doing long term, but it's definitely a good option for instant results - the sort of thing to put on in the morning before make-up. At night I'm inclined to use a slightly more sciencey product that feels like it's performing small, cosmetic miracles under my skin while I sleep.

I'm planning to try something different every 4-6 weeks so watch this space for the next product from Kiehl's. 

May rose season: Two of the best new rose perfumes

If you loved Stella McCartney's very first fragrance, Stella (the distinctive rose-centric eau de parfum), then this post is for you for two reasons:

1) Stella is now 12 years old. A lot can happen in 12 years, including how our (particularly women's) skin smells due to hormonal changes. If our skin scent is a little different at 35 than it was at 23, so too will be the scent of our fragrance. So it's useful to try out new perfumes that might have a different alchemy with our skin, and for this reason I road-tested Aerin Rose de Grasse, which for me feels like a slightly more grown-up version of Stella.

Aerin Lauder - granddaughter of Estée - launched her own beauty and lifestyle lines back in 2012. At that time I interviewed her, and she was the epitome of her brand - all effortlessly chic New York polish but with a real, genuine warmth. During the interview she told me that she had always been a bit of a rose nut (not her actual words), and accordingly, the launch collection of her make-up line was all fragranced with rose (including a great lip balm btw).

Rose de Grasse is probably her biggest dedication to the flower yet. The perfume has centifolia (hundred-petal) roses from Grasse in Provence at its heart, alongside warm musk and soft violet wood. It's one of the loveliest rose fragrances I've worn since Stella launched back in 2003.

2) For the diehards, you have not been forsaken. This March McCartney launched a new eau de toilette version of her original Stella just for you. The difference to the original - apart from a lighter formulation, which is great for summer - is the inclusion of Bulgarian rose essence, which makes the overall fragrance a little fresher.

The world's best liquid eyeliner

MY MAKE-UP BAG: While I'm on the subject of Chantecaille cosmetics I want to mention the brand's Le Stylo liquid eyeliner. I'm not on commission (promise); it's simply that Chantecaille is an excellent brand. I'm sure this is at least partly due to the fact that it is a New York-based brand with French heritage. Ever see a Parisian with dodgy make-up? Or a Manhattanite with a hair out of place and minus manicure? Exactly. They are two of the most discerning beauty markets, so if products don't deliver, these women don't buy them.
 
Back to Le Stylo. I like a super-fine line very close to my lash line, which requires precision, so I'm fussy when it comes to eyeliner. I've tried loads over the years and this is far and away the best. It's fine but solid like a pen - not one of those floppy brush-like liners - which makes it easy to apply, and most importantly it does. not. budge. Also, the packaging has recently changed so that the pen is now very slim, which is a bonus for bulging make-up bags.

It's stocked in Space NK and Harrods and is around £28.

May rose season: Chantecaille Rose de Mai

The fact that I haven't written anything for this blog in eight months shouldn't really be something to draw attention to, but it's May, which means May rose harvest season, and leads on rather nicely from its sister jasmine harvest last September. So I've left the old post up, and am starting the blog in earnest this time.

Plus - as roses from Grasse are harvested and put into production for everything from fragrance to face cream - I can't think of a better way to officially kick off Luxe Beauty Edit than with a month dedicated to this incredible flower.

What you may or may not know is that rose has become as recognised for its skin-healing properties as it is for its scent. Over the last few years the rose has been gaining more and more traction as a new star skincare ingredient because of the high levels of vitamin C found in the flower, which makes it great for healing and anti-ageing formulations.

First up I'm trialling Chantecaille's Rose de Mai Face Oil, which launched in February this year. The formula claims to brighten, smooth and firm. As well as rose, it contains tree bark that helps prevent melanin-derived pigmentation (or, in English, brown patches), and kelp, which can help to inhibit proteins in the skin that accelerate ageing.

I've been using it for a fortnight now, at the beginning of which I was having a dreadful spotty/dry period with my skin. Whether it was product or hormone-related, since using the Rose de Mai Face Oil, my skin has improved. After I wash my face with luke warm water I apply a small amount while my skin is still damp to ensure the oil is absorbed properly and doesn't just sit on the skin. After a minute or so I add a moisturiser. I won't say which as I think it might have been the culprit behind the dryness! Suffice to say the oil is helping no end with re-plumping the dried out areas, and my skin does appear to be brighter and smoother. I can't honestly say I've noticed any improvement in terms of firmness, and I'm not wild about the smell but for the results I can live with it. 

Chanel's jasmine harvest in Grasse

Career highlight: A guided tour of Chanel's fields in perfume capital Grasse, Provence, during the September jasmine harvest. This jasmine is used for No.5 Parfum, and in May the same fields offer up the perfume's roses. The scent when we exited the car was overwhelming - the most incredible olfactory experience. Read the feature that followed for Harrods Magazine here: http://www.fleurfruzza.co.uk/Fields-of-Dreams

Welcome to Luxe Beauty Edit

Over the last decade I've written thousands of words on beauty for a number of magazine titles, the majority of which involved investigating and reviewing products that made big claims.

During this time, the question I have been most frequently asked is: "But what actually works?'

And it's a good question. So I've decided to put my experience to wider use by starting this blog, the purpose of which is to test out whether the newest and shiniest beauty products - often with ample funding and research behind them - are as effective as they claim to be.

As well as this I'll be looking into the provenance behind our fragrances, picking out make-up bag must-haves, and generally posting things that are - if not massively useful - at least rather beautiful.

Enjoy
Fleur x