It’s no secret I love a face oil, I use them personally and at work and I’ve written about them on here. However it seems that there are SO many on the market these days. It can be hard to know what will work for you – different oils will work better on different skins so it is a case of trial and error a lot of the time. I’ve noticed that brands are definitely upping the ante with the oils, and are there are many ‘super’ oils coming onto the market. Kjaer Weis recently launched their Beautiful Oil with a £180 price tag! (anyone tried it yet??)
So why are oils so good for our skin and are they better than a regular moisturiser? Our skin simply can’t recognise a lot of synthetic ingredients that are in some skincare, so it doesn’t know what to do with it. Pure plant oils on the other hand, our skin can recognise and does know what to do with it. It can metabolise and utilise the components contained within the oils. Plant oils contain a whole host of goodness such as essential fatty acids, antioxidants and minerals that are food for our skin. The small molecular size also allows the oils to get right down into the skin where the nutrition is needed for things like cell regeneration.
It makes sense that oils are brilliant for dry or dehydrated skin, but they are also amazing for oily skins. Many people with oily skins have been conditioned into thinking that they must only use things that are oil-free. Mineral oil free yes – I whole heartedly agree with that – not much use for any skin (unless you’re swimming the channel then whack on that petroleum jelly to stop chaffing 😉 ) However stripping an oily skin of oil can actually end up with that skin producing even more oil, thus entering into a vicious circle of oiliness and dehydration. Using a plant based oil on the other end, can help to balance a skin’s oil production. Jojoba oil for example is so close to the make-up of our natural sebum, that if used the skin will feel comfortable and won’t need to over-produce oil.
So there is a reason why there are SO many face oils on the market! I am very partial to one at night (even if they do give me a greasy fringe in the morning), and I also use one before make-up but mixed into my moisturiser. Some work better for me than others for sure, one definite winner recently is from a brand called Vanderohe. It made a difference to my skin quite quickly; I have a weird dry patch on one of my temples that nothing can shift, but this went within a few days. There were times when my skin just should have looked bad – ie NO sleep and not great nutrition for various reasons, but it did still glow.
Whether you are consuming them, or putting them on your skin, organic, cold-pressed oils will be much better for you. So much more of their properties will still be there because of minimal processing and better farming, and therefore more benefits for your skin. Vanderohe’s Nourishing Face Serum is made from Soil Association certified organic and cold-pressed Apricot Kernal Oil, Grapeseed Oil and Rosehip Oil – all three are a dream for skin. These oils are then blended with eight organic, wild-crafted and steam distilled essential oils – Cedarwood, Rose Geranium, Lavender, Rose Otto, Frankincense, Roman Chamomile, Neroli and Myrhh. All of these are stand-alone amazing oils for the skin but being in a blend together makes them incredible. Another major point about these ingredients is where they are sourced from – all of them come from countries with optimal growing conditions for the oils, which makes perfect sense but isn’t always the norm. We all know a tomato grown in a English poly-tunnel does not taste the same as one grown on the Italian Riviera.. By using plants that have been grown in optimum conditions means that they will have the greatest potency and goodness within them. Roman Chamomile is sourced from UK soil which is great to know! 🙂
The blended serum is lovely to use, the smell is lovely and relaxing, perfect for an end of day cleansing ritual. I tend to be a bit generous with my application of things, but you actually only need a few drops for your face and neck. I used it at night on its own and then mixed in with a moisturiser in the morning. I think my bottle lasted a couple of months which isn’t bad. Price wise it isn’t the cheapest on the block – £88 for 30ml so yes a luxury. However I did see a difference using it and think I’m now seeing a difference not using it. I guess I didn’t use much else with it so it is a simplified routine – trying to justify a splurge here … 😉
The packaging is beautiful. The company offset their carbon footprint by planting trees and they donate 10% of profits to the Marine Savers Programme at Four Seasons Resort in the Maldives. So a company doing good for sure.
Has anyone else tried it?
