Thursday 20 September 2012

One apple a day...



They say your first defence against anti-ageing is moisturising. I can definitely tell that I have aged a lot in the past 10 years (snif) so, moisturising has therefore become one of my big skincare priorities. Whilst my daily routine has improved dramatically (I now use a toner and a serum in addition to my spf15 minimum day moisturiser) the same can't be said about my night time routine. I have been cleansing my face at sober night but I have not been consistent with my night time moisturiser. I start with the best of intentions, buy a pot, the pot gathers dust and then I throw it away because it's been opened for too long. It's a real shame as they say that it's at night time that your skin regenerates itself and makes the most of the nutrients you feed it with. A skin care specialist will phrase it better than I can but you know what I mean.

  
My problem also, is that, in the past, I've been choosing night time moisturisers which are too rich for my skin, say a moisturiser for skin for age 55+ when I am no nowhere near this decade yet. The cream feels it takes forever to sink in, making the whole process even more tedious.
 
What if I could find a product which would make the whole night time moisturising ritual a whole lot easier and most importantly, convenient enough for me to stick to? I think I've found it and I could kick myself for not having made the jump any sooner. It's not a moisturiser, mind you, it's a face serum, it's very affordable, it's made by Superdrug and even my tiny little local shop stocks it.

 
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I purchased my first 'Optimum Swiss Apple Skin Renewal Serum' at half price (£7ish instead of RRP £14.49) and this is what they say about it:
A skin renewing serum with PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica which uses extracts from the Swiss Uttwiler Spatlauber Apples to promote a fresher and more hydrated complexion. Helps to minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Swiss Apple Overnight Serum works while you sleep, leaving it feeling intensely moisturised and refreshed in the morning. Significant results can be expected in just 4 weeks.

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The first night I applied the Swiss Apple serum, I immediately fell in love. One pump delivered the perfect quantity of a very light and super quick absorbing gel. Seconds after, my skin feels velvety smooth, almost like I've applied a primer on, but much lighter feeling and with a very fresh scent. The smooth feeling lasted until the morning. Even before waiting 4 weeks to see if it delivered its promises, it was love at first pump and before I knew it, I finished my first bottle and was waiting for the product to be on half price offer again. It did and I bought 2 more in one go, even if my bank overdraft didn't lend itself for at the time.


What does a serum do again, is it better than a moisturiser?
"Serums are able to penetrate deeper into the layers of the skin quickly and effectively because it is made of really small molecules, while cream molecules stay in the first layer only. The serums ability to go deeper into the skin and its high level of active ingredients (ten times more effective then cream alone!) means it can help battle many common beauty complaints". (source)
  

The Swiss apple serum didn't reduce my beauty complaint (to make me 10 years younger) nor it claimed to do that. I can't tell you either if it reduced my fine lines as I haven't been looking at my skin so close. What I did notice is that it made my skin a whole lot smoother and brighter. Most of all, it made me adopt a face routine which I finally stuck for weeks on end, and it made me feel a whole better for caring more for my skin.


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Do you need to use a moisturiser afterwards?
I don't really know to be honest. The bottle doesn't say I should and I have been enjoying its benefits worn alone.


You will have guessed it, I absolutely love this product but if I had one constructive criticism to make, I would have liked to receive more information with it, perhaps a little paper inside telling me about the differences between a moisturiser and a serum, the minimum amount of time I need to use a serum to be effective, if I can use the product all year round or I need to take a break etc..


My researches on internet (please don't take my word for gospel, I am only someone who experiments with beauty products, not a skincare specialist) led me to believe that the use of serum should be minimum 4 weeks and I should take a break from time to time so I have been doing little intensive sessions of using just this product at night for roughly over a month and having a break afterwards. I must say it feels ever so weird (heavy mainly) to use a normal night moisturiser after being used to a course of 'one apple a day'.


On the greater scheme of things, I can't believe how a skin renewal serum introduced me to a regular night skincare routine and made me stick to it. It now doesn't feel right when I am not using a moisturiser / serum at night time. Talk about a renewal, hey?


The serum is usually sold at £14.99 but my instincts tell it won't be too long before another half price offer comes along, as I believe the whole Optimum range is one of Superdrug most popular lines.

   
Following the success of the serum, Superdrug decided to extend the line. Sadly the serum bottle has undergone a revamp and is losing its ever so sleek glass container (snif) but I am very excited they brought out some additional products. Next, I am trying out the day moisturiser (reviewed by Debbie here). If it smells and feels as good as the serum, then my mornings are in for a treat. No idea when the new products will be out and how the new products will cost but my instincts tell me that there will be some kind of introductory offer. I’ll stamp my feet down if there isn’t!


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Are you happy with your night time skincare routine?

5 comments:

Wendy said...

I have a decleor night cream that i love but its just so expensive i only end up using it if i have a special occasion coming up - i didnt know moisturisers could go off! Even if i dont moisturise my face, i always do my cuticles!

Lori said...

I keep meaning to pick up the apple one but I'm in the middle of a clicks research trial for skincare and I *think* its the grape version of this that I'm using (you don't get to know) I'm using the serum, day cream, eye cream and night cream and they are really good, apart from the smell of the night cream its a bit play-doh ish.

I know what you mean about seeing the signs of aging, I am getting annoyed about it haha xx

Ashleigh said...

You can continuously use your serums as long as they're not laden with retinol or hydroquinone (a skin bleaching agent). For serums with those ingredients it's 3 months on/3 months off.

As far as using a moisturiser with a serum...the serum penetrates deeper into your skin just as you said so it's going to pull whatever you put on top of it deeper as well. So you want to use one if you feel you want more benefits from it :)

I learned a lot from my skincare training ;)

LillianZahra said...

I'd never used a serum until I tried the Caudalie one in GlossyBox. I've since purchased the full size but very tempted to try this once I've finised my Caudalie or when it's next on offer! x

Strawberry Blonde Beauty said...

I've always meant to try this... it sounds amazing! I remember when it launched 'they' said it contained the same 'stuff' as a £300-ish apple based potion favoured by slebs!

x

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