product review
Review: Lodesse creams for dry skin
( 4.5/5 )
Lodesse is a dry skin specialist that makes the most heavenly creams.
I was recently given several dry skin creams to try from Lodesse, a new French skincare company that specialises in dry and sensitive skin. It was founded by a woman named Carole Fichter, who - unusually for France - has no academic training in cosmetology, but was a dry skin sufferer looking for a solution to her problems. She devised the range after working with dermatologists, nutritionists and biochemists over a number of years.
My skin has become much drier with age and now absolutely drinks in moisturiser - to the extent that at home I don't wear foundation, so that I can add moisturiser throughout the day, so I was looking forward to trying the products.
The the products I tested - in thumbnail-size samples - were the Crème Seconde Peau no 1, and balms Baume Seconde Peau no 2 and no 3. All three are water-free formulations (ie: based on waxes and oils) based on alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin E, myrtle polyphenols, co-enzyme Q10, olive-oil-derived squalane, wheat ceramides and phytosterols. They all cost 85 euros for a 40ml pot, which seems steep but you really need a very tiny amount at a time.
Crème Seconde Peau 1, for normal to dry skin, also contains cupuaçu butter, sesame oil and buriti oil. Baume Seconde Peau 2, for dry skin, also contains shea and cupuaçu butters, oils of muscat rose, argan, nigella and jojoba, and carnauba wax, and Baume Seconde Peau 3, for dry to very dry skin, contains the same ingredients as Baume 2, but in a different formulation.
Of the three, no 1 is the most pleasant to use, with a whipped-cream texture that sinks beautifully into the skin. I found this a great cream for use during the day. The other two are heavier - in particular, no 2 is very waxy and has to be left to melt a little on warm fingertips before use - and are better applied at night.
After only a few days of using these creams I could feel a distinct difference in my skin, with far less tightness and irritation, and it felt smooth, plump and nurtured. I would definitely consider buying Nos 1 and 2 for day and night use.
Other products in the range are:
* Démaquillante soin velouté (makeup remover - 200ml, 26 euros), with coconut and sesame oils and vitamin E;
* Lotion tonifiante (toning lotion - 200ml, 21 euros), with laurel hydrolat, ginger extract, gingko extract and ginseng extract;
* Lotion apaisante (soothing lotion - 200ml, 21 euros) with marine serum, verbena, cornflower, mallow and elderflower.
At the moment, the products are available only from the Vitalibio website and a handful of retail outlets, but you can find out full information about the range at http://www.lodesse.com/.



I set out this morning to review the Lands' End Mary Jane Trekker, but since I see it's no longer available, I'll turn instead to one of the other items I've been living in lately (the shoes are great, by the way - a neat, practical alternative to Crocs, with a memory foam footbed and a useful velcro strap to hold them on your feet).
The cotton tablecloth is not a proper tablecloth woven to shape but is merely a length of fabric cut off a roll, with a hem at each end and the selvedges visible. I don't therefore use it as a tablecloth, but as a throw for the mattress on my sofa, where I can tuck under the raw edges. The cotton duck fabric, however, is robust enough and wears well, so both this and the apron, which uses the same fabric, are OK and I am using them.





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