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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Review : Skin Wisdom Instant Beauty Balm

For as long as I can remember, magazines and celebrities have been raving about Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. It's a cult product that is supposed to add a bit of oomph to tired looking skin. I say 'supposed to' because I've never actually tried it. I can't quite bring myself to part with the moolah and my skin is far too temperamental to be undergoing a £20ish experiment. About 2 months ago my skin was going through a really bad phase and I was in desperate need of a product like the Clarins one to perk up my grey, dull and lacklustre skin. No matter how much sleep I got I just looked really knackered. I was determined to find an inexpensive sister of the Clarins cream, so when I sumbled across this little bottle by Skin Wisdom, I snapped it up.


Skin Wisdom is a range developed especially for Tesco by top skin expert and facialist, Bharti Vyas, and as far as I could tell, everything in the range was less than £10. Bargainlicious!

What do Skin Wisdom say?
Acerola Cherry and Vitamin C helps promote radiance, whilst Papaya moisturises. Provides up to 24 hours moisturisation.

What do I say?
First off, I love the packaging. It looks clean and isn't overloaded with logos or information, and it has a pump applicator. I love pump applicators! It also smells amazing. The cream that is, not the packaging! It smells fruity - berry-ish not citrus-ish - and it's quite refreshing in the mornings. Now, the cream itself is more of a lotion consistency - quite thin but very light and smooth, so it is easy to rub in. It's not in the slightest bit greasy so it absorbs quickly, which is perfect for when you're pushed for time, that is when you've hit the snooze button a few too many times! You only need to use a little bit - I'd say half a pump is plenty to do my whole face, with a generous layer underneath my eyes. The cream is orange in colour which I wasn't expecting, but I find it leaves a really pretty sheen, thus making my skin look more alive and healthy. Perfect!

As I've already explained, it definitely has instant benefits, but I also found it had long-term benefits. After a week or so of using this everyday, my skin felt smoother, looked more illuminated and my dark circles were a LOT less exaggerated, and after about 2 months use my skin looks fresh, soft, more even, and my dark circles aren't anywhere near as prominant as they were. I'd go as far as to say they are looking brighter. Not vibrant but brighter in the light-reflecting sense. I'm happy enough to wear a foundation with minimal coverage and don't need as much concealer either, which is a stange concept for me. I haven't suffered with dry patches for a while either, which I'm assuming is also down to this product.

Once the cream has been absorbed it leaves a beautiful, silky-finish, so this makes an excellent primer. It is for that reason that I use it post-moisturiser and pre-makeup. I'm not sure how it performs in making my foundation last longer as I'm not a big advocate of foundation primers, but it definitely makes foundation application smoother and leaves a lovely, silky, almost airbrushed finish.

I think you can tell I absolutely LOVE this product, and have used it every single day since I bought my first bottle 2 months ago - which, by the way, is nowhere near empty yet. I have my back-up waiting though, as I dread to think how awful my skin looked before I used this!


In the picture above, I rubbed a little bit onto the back of my hand then applied a fresh blob, so I hope you can see how dewy it looks!

Price?
I can't remember the exact price, but I believe it costs around £6. I know I bought my last bottle about two weeks ago for £4ish but it was on offer then, so keep your eyes peeled as Tesco often has skincare offers.

Would I repurchase?
Yep, I already have. I think it's fantastic value for money and leaves me looking like I've had my full, 8 hours sleep. My skin has been feeling softer too, which is always a bonus! You'd think I have shares in Tesco with all the raving I do, haha!


Have you tried this beauty balm? What do you think?

xoxo

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