By Luke
It is with some irony that I write this
with one mother of a hangover. Despite the warnings, I am partial to
a glass or five of wine, and hang the consequences. So, imagine my
delight when I read the press information for the new skincare range
from super affordable (and rather excellent) skincare brand Caudalie
on how damaging the effects of everyday living - and that includes
alcohol consumption – are to ones face. It is especially ironic
as Caudalie have based pretty much their entire ethos on the benefits
of the antioxidant polyphenol from the grape seed. Clearly our
priorities with regards to the use of the grape are at some odds
here.
Notwithstanding that (and my imminent
vow to never drink again) I am pleased to tell you about the new
skincare line Caudalie have added to their ranks, Polyphenol C15. As mentioned
earlier, Caudalie use Polyphenol in a stabilized form derived from
grape seed. Polyphenol, as you may well be wondering about it, is one of the
most powerful antioxidant ingredients from the plant world.
Allegedly about 70% of ageing is the result of free radical action on
the skin, a result of all sorts of things like a hectic lifestyle,
alcohol, smoking and sunshine, polyphenol can a pretty useful tool in
the arsenal against ageing. Up to now they have used the antioxidant
ingredient on its own, but have just developed a vitamin C complex
that is stable enough to mix with hyaluronic acid.
Vitamin C is typically a fragile
ingredient, and is notoriously difficult to get it to remain active
in a pot of cream. Often vitamin c products are presented in a
slightly unusual way, with a separate powder, or capsule of the
ingredient. Because, once exposed to the environment, once it is out
there it breaks down very quickly, and becomes ineffective. The
benefits of vitamin c on the skin are numerous, and these include a
brightening quality, and an ability to fight oxidisation, which is a
main culprit in the skin ageing process. So trying to keep the
little sucker alive long enough to be effective in a face cream has
always been a bit of a challenge. Caudalie are now claiming to have
cracked that.
There are three products in the range:
Anti Wrinkle Defence Serum, Day Fluid, and an Eye Cream. I have been
using these for a good few weeks now, and am happy to say they are
all really good, and actually seem to have made a visible difference
to my skin.
I love the serum in particular, as it’s
just heavy enough to nourish my dry skin. It smells great as well,
as you’d expect from most Caudalie products, but this time it is
not the traditional Fleur du Vin scent, but it has more of a
cucumber-y sort of minty smell. It does a good job of providing a
certain amount of ‘plumping’, but mainly it seemed to add a
clarity to my skin that wasn’t there before. Redness has died
down, and my skin looks a little more even. Perhaps it was
counteracting the effects of alcohol, I don’t know. What’s more,
it is a very acceptable £35.
The Anti Wrinkle Protect Fluid is also
an excellent moisturiser, for £29. I have said many times before,
that I am extremely fussy when it comes to moisturiser as I have very
dry skin, and I was sceptical about a fluid texture. Normally,
anything on the ‘oil free’ end of the market is not nearly
nourishing enough for me, but this was actually pleasantly surprising
in its moisturisation qualities. Perhaps it was with the benefit of
the serum underneath that made it this way, but nonetheless, it did
seem to do the job, and with a broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) SPF of 20
to stave off any potential environmental damage (as well as the
aforementioned Vitamin c and Polyphenol) it was a real pleasure to
use.
Finally, the Anti Wrinkle Eye & Lip
Cream, which is £26. I am not a fan of eye cream per se, as to be
perfectly honest (and borderline boastful), I don’t have dark
circles, even with a hangover – sorry about that! – and wrinkles
around my eyes are not really a concern of mine. As such, I tend not
to use one, unless I am suffering from dry eye in which case I will
grab whatever is nearest to try and rectify this.
Despite that, this was a nice eye
cream. It is not earthshakingly amazing, but then eye creams rarely
are in my opinion. It was light, and disappeared easily, has no
fragrance and it didn’t sting my eyes, so it was a thumbs up from
me. The added bonus of being to use it around the lip area as well,
an often neglected area of visible ageing, was a coup. It also
contains the latest wonder ingredient Matrixyl 3000 which apparently
boosts collagen synthesis. I couldn’t really see any difference in
my eyes to be honest, but then as I said, what’s to notice.
Definitely worth investing in if you like the rest of the range.
Overall, I am mightily impressed by this,
not least from the price perspective. So if you are on the lookout
for an accessible anti ageing range, you’d have look quite hard to
find one as good as this in my opinion.
Caudalie C15 is available from
www.caudalie.co.uk
and they also have a gorgeous brand new boutique on Monmouth Street
in Covent Garden.
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