Products Revisited... PerriconeMD Skin Clear Hydrator

If I was doing a 2009 'Products of The Year' post, this would be top of my list, but I'm not. I do explain the history between Perricone MD & I in this post, but here's it in brief... 2008/2009 saw a lot of hormonal changes and resulted in a massive acne outbreak. Nothing could control it & I had a course of treatments at the Sk:n Clinic. One of the products I was given was the Skin Clear Hydrator & it made a massive improvement to my uncontrollable & oily skin.

When I posted about this in February, I was still using it daily and my skin was looking fab. By the time my wedding rolled around in August, however, my skin had changed, was much less oily and needed something a bit more moisturising. Since then, it's gone even further & now I'm slapping on Embryolisse every day!

I would still highly recommend this to anyone with very oily, spot prone or sore skin as it's so calming to use, but it's not the top of my list anymore but only because my skin has changed!

A xx

Perricone MD 'No Foundation Foundation'

"New generation of foundation that let's your skin's natural beauty, but not it's flaws, shine through".

It's a lightweight foundation which contains (natural) SPF30, delivering a soft, dewy radiant finish, whilst providing what I reckon is a light to medium coverage. The actual product is kind of almost gel like, definitely more of a tinted moisturiser consistency than the double-cream consistency of traditional foundation, but still manages to deliver a decent amount of coverage. .

I'm delighted with the presence of SPF30, courtesy of Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide. Alpha Lipoic Acid smoothes skin texture and deal with pesky fine lines; my skin did feel smoother - I particularly noticed it on the back of my hand after rubbing away the swatch!

Ok, so I've told you what it is and does, but what did I think? Well, it glides on beautifully and gave a brilliant even finish to my skin tone, covering all the minor blemishes and blotches, without it looking like I was wearing a full face of foundation. It did definitely give a dewy finish, which I was worried about due to my tendency for oily-ness around 4pm, but it seemed to stay under control. For me, I'm not sure the coverage would be enough for a night out, as I like a full coverage in candle-light, but for everyday wear this would be great. It wouldn't be Perricone without a funny smell, but this one is light, fresh and citrusy.

Unfortunately, it only comes in 1 'universal' shade, which is slightly disappointing and in the icy white winter sunshine, this is defintely 1 shade too dark for me. However it will be brilliant once I have a touch of summer sun on my face. I actually think it will be a great summer foundation since it's so light. It looks much darker on the hand swatch than it actually appears once properly applied onto the face and anyone who is darker than 'porcelain' would probably find the shade easy enough to work with.

Although I received this free of charge, it retails at £41 for a 30ml bottle. I only used a pea-sized amount, so can imagine it would last for at least a month, using it every day. You can check out http://www.perriconemd.co.uk/ for stockists.

Overall, a thumbs up from me!

Dr Perricone Skin Clear Hydrator

So, this is a bit of a weird one for me! I recently received some samples from a PR for Dr Perricone MD Skincare; a jar of 'Skin Clear Hydrator' and a bottle of 'No Foundation Foundation'. Now firstly, as a regular consumer of Skin Clear Hydrator I was absolutely delighted to receive a jar as it retails at about £45 a pop meaning I have just freed up some space on my credit card to spend at Coco Beau...

Now back to the weird bit - I thought I was the only person who used Dr Perricone!! I'm starting to think I'm maybe the only person in Aberdeen as the rest of the 'blogosphere' appears to be awash with good and bad reviews of various MD products! I'm gutted... I thought I'd discovered a beauty secret!

(This is my own, slightly dusty jar!)

Anyway! I would like to note that I really genuinely love my Skin Clear Hydrator. I've been using it everyday for about a year. It all started when I was having a course of chemical peel treatments for a rather raging bout of acne at the Sk:n Clinic. In between treatments, I had to use a course of various topical lotions and potions, one of them being the SCH. As someone with oily skin, the search for a moisturiser that doesn't overload and clog my pores seemed eternal, however I can honestly say it hasn't even occured to me look elsewhere since using the SCH.

I've found a jar will last about 4 - 5 months. The above pic is the last wee bit of the jar I bought in September or October, so it does last for ages.

This is what it says...

"The oil-free hydrator helps to reduce surface debris while relieving dryness and increasing the skin's natural moisture. It encourages regeneration and renewal of skin's appearance to deliver a smooth and healthy looking surface. Provides anti-ageing benefits"

To be totally honest, I couldn't really care if it helped little old ladies across the street - the important thing is it doesn't turn my face into an oil slick after application and the best thing is my spots have never returned. My face always has a lovely baby smooth feeling after use and it sinks in quickly so you don't need to wait 5, 10 or 15 minutes before applying your makeup. Obviously I can't completely attribute my clear skin to Dr Perricone; it is just a moisturiser and there are many other things I do that no doubt help. But for me, SCH certainly counts as one of my ultimate wonder products.

Now I know those of you who have read other reviews of Dr P's products will be sitting there thinking 'is she not going to mention the smell?'... Yes, it has a funny smell but I like it. I think it smells like coffee and once it's sunk in to my skin, the smell goes away.

I obviously can't say if you'll experience the same results as I have and when I started using it, I was guided by a dermatologist as to which products would be best suited to my skin. You might want to consider popping into your local Sk:n Clinic and asking for their help regarding which MD products to use or you can check out the website for more details. If you do decide to give it a go let me know how you get on!

Look out for a future post on the 'No Foundation Foundation'. This is a totally new product to me and I can't wait to give it a go...

A xx