Smoke and Mirrors and making a cake!
A beautifully packaged product. A smooth opening top. A sleek bottle. A lovely gold cap. A large price tag. Endorsed by celebrities. A global marketing campaign.
These are some of the smoke and mirrors used by larger cosmetic companies to attract buyers in search of that holy grail of a youthful complexion to buy their products. But do they really make a difference? Well, the answer to this is …… it depends. If, for you, having that beautifully packaged and presented cream, lotion or serum on your dressing table means that you feel more engaged and likely to use the product, then YES, it does make a difference.
If you’re on a tighter budget or are not sure of what you might like, use, enjoy or have time for, then the answer is NO. Try less expensive products, try, experiment, feel, smell, see how your skin reacts. Are cheaper products as effective as the more expensive ones? Potentially yes and no is the short answer. All ingredients will have a positive effect on your skin, especially if you’ve not used products before. They will hydrate and therefore smooth and plump by default. But it’s like making a cake. Make a cake with 4 basic ingredients of egg, flour, sugar and butter and you will have a perfectly acceptable sponge cake. But add vanilla essence, or desiccated coconut, or chocolate or fruit and you will have a totally different (and arguably superior) cake, a richer cake. And that’s the same with skin care products. A cream can be a cream or an enriched cream. A serum can be a serum or an enriched serum. A cleanser can be a cleanser or an active cleanser.
The secret to the smoke and mirrors and baking your cake can be as simple as this ….try things out, see what feels good on your skin, go with what you like, have variety, have the beautifully packaged product or the ‘off-the-shelf’ one, or something prescribed or recommended for you by your skincare expert. Nothing is right or wrong. What is the main thing though, is to use something everyday. Something that your skin likes, that your purse likes and that you like. Remember, your skin is the largest organ of your body and needs love, care and attention in the same way as your heart, liver and kidneys do!