The Wardrobe Clinic: February 2016

Rosacea & The types

07:30:00

La Roche Posay Rosalic UV Riche

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Finding a daily moisturiser is a bit of task if you ask me. I had a holy grail in Dr Nick Lowe's Supercharged Day Cream, SPF 15, but sadly that was discontinued, since then I've been bouncing from day cream to day cream .

I got this from Feel Unique, at the start of winter, as I'd read it was good for those with persistent redness (not necessarily Rosacea) So I thought I would give it a go.

So two months, in here is my review.

For this winter, I opted for the La Roche Posay Rosalic UV Riche, It also comes in Light, if your skin isn't to dry, you can find it here, on Feel Unique. The Rosalic UV Riche is designed for dry to very dry skin prone to sensitivity. I wanted a richer daily moisturiser for the colder months, to protect against the cold winds and colder climate, as well as protecting from the heating in doors. I always look for UVA and UVB protection in my daily moisturiser, even in winter.

As we're not to used to the UVB rays in the UK, we're only accustomed to putting on SPF during the summer months and generally forget that we also need to apply during the winter.

UVA rays, are the ones that age you, so it's all well and good protecting against the UVB, to prevent skin damage, but add a dose of UVA protection into a moisturiser and you've got yourself a keeper.

The added green tint masks redness, and the non-comedogenic formulation means that you're not over clogging pores,

At first look, the green tint to the moisturiser is promising, to counter redness green is perfect opposite to mask it, at first touch it is creamy and turns almost oil like on the skin when being blended in and soaks into the skin nicely. Initially I did find this a bit heavy and found when being rubbed it turned into an oil like texture, but absorbed quickly.

The green tint to the cream doesn't linger, but subtly masks the redness, whilst keeping the skin hydrated.

I found this to have long lasting moisture, and was perfect at keeping my skin hydrated past 3pm and avoiding that dry worn out look after sitting in front of the air conditioning all day.

With an SPF 15 it's perfect for the winter months, more scientifically, "A patented Mexoryl XL filter system provides the SPF 15 and UVA protection."

From a personal perspective, it doesn't smell, it keeps me hydrated all day and keeps my make up in check, works well with both a mattifying primer and a hydrating primer, even without a primer, I found that my make up stayed on pretty well with very few top ups. I generally have to top up around my nose throughout the day either way.

As a moisturiser goes, for the price (£16.50), I found it on the small size, 50ml, and I'm not a fan of the packaging, however it does the job and La Roche Posay is a brand I have found I can always rely on. The Rosalic range is a staple part of my skincare regime, and is a go to when my Rosacea is particularly horrendous.

You can find, the Rosalic UV Riche here.

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b blogger

Laqa & Co Cheek Lip - Cray Cray

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Stila convertible color dual lip & cheek cream

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Just one more blush product?

I love Blusher. Which, considering the Rosacea is a tad ironic no? It is true, I have my own, constant, persistent redness, which when only slightly pink, I could pass off as a natural English Rose glow if i covered the glowing red nose in the middle of my cheeks. But I don't, instead I spend a good 5 minutes covering and concealing and then adding a nice tap of blusher just to the apples of my cheeks.

My favourite at the moment is a cream blush, which I actually never thought I would get into, considering my favourite blusher is a powder.

I've also not found a brush to apply this stuff with yet and I dislike using my fingers A LOT when it comes to applying my make up.

Stila lip & cheek cream is a great multitasking product, if like me, you'd rather not carry around a load of products every day this is ideal.

I picked it up in colour Gerbera, which is peachy pink with slight orange undertones, meaning if i was slightly tanned, or was just looking to add a bit of blush to a bronzed look, this is perfect.

I find it's easy to build, and completely pliable. I was warming it up between my fingers and patting it into my skin. I found that by starting with a small amount I could layer the product, without looking to caked in make up.

It's a beautiful soft texture, isn't sticky, and doesn't leave your hands feeling caked either, Stila do recommend using a brush to apply, however, creams, brushes and me just aren't a good mix.

The colour is beautiful and the handy mirror means if you're in need of a lip or cheek top out throughout the day, it's easily done. I will say as well, that the actual compact is pretty weightless.I can see this being a staple on a night out when I'm only bringing a few make up bits to touch up my look as the night goes on.

I found the colour a great day-lip colour as well, just for a fresh faced look, when I wanted a lip colour, but nothing to intense, The dual-use product is available on the Stila website, for £16 and can be found here in a variety of colours, for every skin tone.

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

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Rosacea & Treatments

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Sometimes, we need a little help with Rosacea.

Sometimes, a healthy, steady diet and good skincare just isn't enough.

I have, so far, tried, Tetracycline, Doxycycline, Rozex, Zineryt, Metronidazole and Intense pulsed light (IPL) treatments.

Whilst I am HUGE advocate of great skincare, they sometimes don't have enough strength to get to the root of the problem. Skincare can help manage day to day, it can help to mask Rosacea and nourish the skin, but when a flare up happens medication is sometimes the only way to go.

Here is what I've used so far, and my experience with it.

Doxycycline

Doxy, is a tablet form of medication, (which generally contains lactose, so look out for that on the label!) I don't take Doxy everyday, as I don't like taking tablets everyday but for when my skincare routine just isn't enough and I need good skin fast, doxy is the one I turn too.

Whilst on doxy it is important to remember your SPF, as it makes the skin sensitive to sunlight, I generally only take this in the winter as I improve over the summer months anyway, but for those who live in hotter climates, SPF is ridiculously important. Rosacea is know being understood as an autoimmune condition, the way Doxy works is by inhibiting protein synthesis, and ultimately bacterial growth.

Doxy is used for a wide range of things, from STIs to Malaria, and is part of the Tetracycline family and is best taken on an empty stomach. For me, this is the quickest option, I have a normal skin type (aside from the Rosacea) it's not oily, or dry, it just is and I can usually see a dramatic improvement within 3 weeks, and 5-6 weeks later I'm pretty much back to lightly pink, rather than postbox red.

Tetracycline,

I was only on this for a month a while back, and found that whilst it was effective, I got better results with Doxy.

Rozex,

I was put on Rozex as one of the first topical treatments, and I liked it. I found it soothed the skin during flare ups but it wasn't successful for me, at making the redness go away. Minimising redness for me, is a priority.

Zineryt,

Another topical solution which I did get along with. Whilst i wasn't overly fond of the strong medicated scent, I was fond of the way it cleared up the red bumps. Containing Erythromycin, Zineryt is a two part product, with a powder and a liquid which are mixed together, a new applicator top is applied to the bottle (a bit like a bingo dabber) which is used to apply the product evenly to the affected areas. When applying Zineryt you have to be careful as it is strong to only apply to areas of concern or the skin may become irritated.

Metronidazole

By far, the most effective topical for me. I prefer this during the evening, as during the day I do feel that my make-up doesn't sit right on top of it.

squeezing our enough to cover the areas of concern and massaging in, the cooling gel calms flare ups, especially if you experience heat and tingling with your flare ups and leaves skin less red. It is unknown how Metronidazole helps Rosacea, but it it is thought that it assists with calming the inflammatory aspect of the condition, so combining a topical and an oral treatment seems to me the best way forward.

IPL.

Intense Pulsed Light, or IPL has been around for a while, and is frequently used for Hair removal, skin rejuvenation and prominent veins, such as varicose veins.

I had a course of treatments in 2013, a few months after my diagnosis, when I found that oral and topical solutions worked but as soon as I came off, I was right back to the beginning, and IPL was an option for longer term benefits.

IPL works by treating the blood vessels, and is effective at reducing the redness and the flushing aspect of Rosacea.

For me, I found IPL the most beneficial, whilst I didn't see an instant benefit, results are seen 4 weeks after the first treatment and only keeps getting better and the results of a full course can last up to 1 year, sometimes longer, the fairer your skin is the better candidate you are for IPL, which in my case was ideal because I one shade up from Caspar the friendly ghost. Once a course is completed, it's wise to return for yearly, or twice yearly touch ups. The overall texture of my skin improved, the colour was more even and a lot less red. Redness was reduced by over 50% in 4 treatments, and the added bonus of the skin rejuvenation too, meaning my skin was positively radiant by the end. The worse your Rosacea is, the more treatments you may need.

IPL is unfortunately on the expensive side of treatments, but I would recommend going for a consultation just to see if it is right for you.

What works for you? Have you tried any of the above?

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For NHS help with Rosacea, visit, http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Rosacea/Pages/Introduction.aspx also take a look athttp://www.rosacea.org/index.php the National Rosacea Society.

If you think you may be suffering with Rosacea, please see a doctor, or a dermatologist.

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Liz Earle - Botanical Shine

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Okay, I confess that I never used to take proper care of my hair. I was a bleaching addict and would do anything to achieve bright, bleach blonde locks and disguising roots as quickly as possible.

That was then.

Now, I am much more committed to achieving thick, luscious locks, after the incident where my fringe literally fell out, and over the past year I have invested more in my hair that I have in say, my teeth (sorry dentist). Opting for more natural haircare options where I can and dosing up on recovery products, as patience isn't exactly my forte, I want long luscious locks yesterday.

In my quest for healthy hair I stumbled upon Liz Earle, Botanical Shine, what first attracted me to the product, was the fact is said it was "nourishing", and my hair is definitely in need of some nourishment.

Whilst yellow in the bottle, it actually pumps out clear, which I found interesting, as through usage the bottle is also clear and doesn't appear to have a yellow tinge. The front claims to protect against heat damage and leave hair with a natural luminous shine.

Containing Coconut oil and Vitamin E this was always going to be a winner in the nourishing awards, they're both ingredients in which their nourishing and hydrating qualities are well documented.

The reality, I'm not entirely convinced about protecting against heat damage, as I'm not sure how measurable that claim is, but it did make my hair feel amazing and it looks incredibly shiny when I use it, I applied one pump to the lengths and ends when the hair was towel dried, and then half a pump - to one pump - when the hair was styled to the ends for a month.

I noticed at first, the ends seemed to be a little heavy for my fine hair, weighing it down and seeming a little limp, so I adjusted the amount and only applied when it was dry as a ending styling product and love the way my hair feels.

When applying to curls it was great at adding that shine when the curls moved, instead of just applying a thick layer of hair spray.

Ultimately, it's been a great at helping me restore my ends, as I have frequently whilst I still have a long way to go, this is a great product for anyone wanting to add a light oil into their haircare routine. It also smells lovely, which lasts on the hair as well, not over powering so it wont over power perfume, but I think it's nice to have that occasional smell of something nice as your hair swishes about.

At £17.50 this wasn't my most frugal purchase, but I do like it. You can find it here, online with Liz Earle, or just pop into Boots, Liz Earle products are now conveniently stocked there too!

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Bblogger. The Wardrobe Clinic

Ole Henriksen - Pure Truth Melting Cleanser

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During Cleanser Roulette I found this little gem.

I am a big fan of multiple cleanses, I always take my make up off before I cleanse, or I feel like I'm just smushing runny make up around my face.

The Ole Henriksen pure truth melting cleanser, is an excellent little addition to my cleanser wardrobe.

The soft texture of the geleé means it glides over the face to melt away the day.

The geleé is perfect for the winter, designed to wipe away the day without wiping away our skins natural oils, it helps keep skin hydrated and nourished.

I have mostly used this in the evening, as I feel this is when my skin needs the most nourishment. After a day of battling the cold winds and central heating in the office, and if I'm honest, I'm not great at staying hydrated sometimes, this is a real skin treat.

I start by applying a few blobs around my face (both cheeks, nose, chin and forehead), as it's being massaged into the skin, Pure Truth turns into a smooth oil, once it is all massaged in, rinse with warm water and it turns into a milk like texture as it melts away taking all the daily impurities with it.

Rosacea side note, this hasn't flared me up. I do believe that the non-flare is due to the Rose Hip oil, which I have found to help me in the past.

Containing other Wintry goodness such a Vitamin C, known to stimulate collagen production and containing cherry oils too. Aside from Rose Hip helping the Rosacea, being a natural source of not one, but 3 essential omega oils (3,6&9) it repairs the skin, keeping the skin nourished, which is essential all year round if you ask me, but especially relevant in winter.

Another Rosacea side note, the Cherry Oil can help with reducing the appearance of redness and supporting the skin in remaining hydrated.

I love using this, and find its perfect at restoring moisture in the skin lost throughout the day, I did find that it look a few days for me to get used to the texture, as im used to either a moose like texture, or a cream cleanser.

Based on my experience with this product, I would recommend this for a Rosacea sufferer, who has naturally dry skin and for those with normal / combination skin.

You can purchase Ole Henriksen from Feel Unique, here RRP £24.00.

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