The Fight Against Blue Light with Uriage AGE Protect

Today's post is about something I have only become aware of a couple of months ago when I attended the launch of a new skin care range by Uriage - the blue light emanating from our smart devices and its effect on skin ageing. In fact, blue light can be dubbed as the 'disease' of the 21st century, and the most recent studies in skin care labs claim that its effects on skin ageing can be minimized with using the right, specialized skin care products. 

Uriage's newest range, AGE Protect, specifically targets the effects of blue light on our skin. Uriage have remained true to their core principles with this range, with their thermal water being the basis of all the products making up the AGE Protect range. The other active ingredients are retinol, low molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA), dragon's blood, vitamin C, vitamin E and of course the patented Blue Light Barrier (BLB). Thus the formula has both protective and corrective ingredients.

The BLB creates an exposome shield, thus creating a healthy skin environment. The shield is further enhanced by Filmexel which produces a second-skin effect to prevent adhesion of pollutants to the skin. As for retinol and hyaluronic acid, we all know that these two ingredients combat pigmentation, wrinkles and promote healthy-looking skin respectively. 

The AGE Protect range is very comprehensive and out of the 7 products available, I have 4, which are the ones most suited to my needs and skin type. Packaging is the same for all products so it might get a bit confusing if you're picking the products from the shelf as you have to read the label each time. Having said that, I love the metallic blue top part which slides left and right to open the dispenser. All 4 of the products I have, feature a practical pump dispenser which allows you control over how much product comes out and the sizes are travel-friendly! What's more? The pump is airless, thus preventing Vitamin C and Retinol from oxidising inside the container.

The products I have are the Multi-Action Fluid (€23 for 40ml), Multi-Action Intensive Serum (€25 for 30ml), Multi-Action Eye Contour (target specific areas - €20 for 15ml), and the Multi-Action Detox Night Cream (designed for night-time use - €23 for 40ml). The products are tailored for all ages and can also be used by men. However, they are not advised for pregnant women since they contain retinol.

As far as texture goes, they are all surprisingly very similar - light, white cream formulas which are easily absorbed with the exception of the Night Cream which is of course, richer, as expected. To be honest I was quite surprised with the serum texture as usually serums come with a dropper and are usually more liquid.

It was easy for me to incorporate Uriage AGE Protect in my skin care routine as the products pair well with my usual ones. My favourite products are the Multi-Action Fluid, Multi-Action Intensive Serum and Multi-Action Eye Contour for they cater for my skin care needs down to a t! 

Of course after just three months of use, I cannot comment on the long-term effect of the products in preventing pre-mature skin ageing due to blue light but so far I am happy that they seem to agree with my skin, in that they didn't break me out. The only downside is again the Detox Night Cream. I find it to be super rich for my skin type and I always wake up with oily skin and I feel like I need to wash my face right away for a fresh skin feeling. I have since swapped it with another product which also targets pre-mature ageing caused by blue light but I will delve into more detail in a separate post. 

What do you think of this new blue light phenomenon? Do you agree that we could age prematurely because of it?

Wedding Beauty Prep | Getting my skin in tip-top shape ahead of the big day!

Hey all :) I'm back today with a rather lengthy one. I am planning to start a wedding series here seeing that our wedding is now less than 6 months away and most of the things are now booked. Maybe something along the lines of a timeline of sorts, tips for future brides-to-be, where to shop, etc so do let me know in the comments if you're interested in such posts.

For the first post that has to do with our wedding, I decided to go with a rather concerning subject - our appearance on the day. I'm sure all of you make an effort to look your best every day but I think we can all agree that we want to look our absolute best on our wedding day. I'm not saying you should completely transform yourself for the wedding - otherwise, you'd be risking your partner not recognizing you but there are a few tweaks and lifestyle changes we can all employ to look our very best on the day, and why not, maybe even adopt this new routine?!

I will start with my favourite, skin care! So, I invite you to grab a mug of tea, sit comfortably and read through.

This is perhaps one of the most important things you should take care of all year round not just ahead of special occasions; but since the focus will be on you and your partner, it is worth investing in your skin, now more than ever. I have only added a few treatments to my existing skin care routine, and you can click on the product names for more in-depth reviews. Here I'll be sharing my new routine to maybe inspire you to do the same!

My morning routine is quite simple actually, I use La Roche Posay Micellar Water Gel to freshen up my skin for the day and then I follow with rose water, eye contour cream and moisturiser with SPF.

For night time, it's a bit more complicated. I have recently delved into double-cleansing - I basically use a makeup remover which is usually oil-based to dissolve all my makeup and dirt my skin would have picked up during the day. I use either the Nivea Double Effect Eye Makeup Remover or their new MicellAIR makeup remover. I am currently using up the Double Effect so I can fully switch to the MicellAIR which doesn't leave an oily residue on my skin and is just as effective at removing waterproof eye makeup and liquid lipsticks.

I then follow with Eau Thermale Avene Cleanance Cleanser* to make sure my skin is thoroughly clean and free from all traces of makeup. This also works to prevent breakouts. Once a week, I treat my skin to The Body Shop Vitamin C Liquid Peel which leaves my skin feeling bright and fresh. It's important to keep in mind not to use Vitamin C peels excessively though and only use at night time for your skin will be really sensitive to sunlight.

Twice a week, I use La Roche Posay Ultrafine Scrub which is perfect for my oily/sensitive skin. I have repurchased this countless times just because it is the best scrub I have ever used!

Of course, I try to compliment my basic skin care regime with more intensive and specific treatments as well such as the newly launched Hyalu B5 range* from La Roche Posay, The Body Shop Seaweed Oil Control Overnight Gel and Glamglow masks.

I have also been taking Imedeen Derma One Skin Care supplements which help increase collagen and moisture levels, helping my skin maintain a youthful look.

I am currently incorporating some new products from Uriage, namely their AGE Protect range* and Payot's Techni Liss*, both of which protect against the ageing aggressor of the 21st Century - blue light from our technological devices.

I need to test these products further to be able to provide an in-depth review, so keep your eyes peeled for that if you're interested!

Let me know what topic you'd like me to cover next in this series :) I hope you have found this post useful and do let me know your feedback regarding the products if you try any of them :)

Products marked with *are PR samples

Melita Beauty Night Out

Round about this time of year, Melita Health & Beauty organize a Beauty Night Out for us bloggers and every year, I look forward to attending and try not to miss it. Why? First off, it's a great event to meet other bloggers who I don't see at other events; secondly, it's a one-stop shop for all things health and beauty; and thirdly, the staff are super sweet and always so generous with us but I'll get to that in a second.

Having recently changed their logo, Melita Health & Beauty also chose to do things a little differently this time - we had the opportunity to win 3 prizes on the night, 2 of which came courtesy of Uriage and their new AGE Protect Anti-Aging range, the main event sponsor; while the final prize was €200 worth of Stefania d'Alessandro makeup in a beautiful Alaïa case. This all took place last Thursday night 

First let me show you a little bit of what's new and then I'll get into all the fun details!

Ok, so for the first prize of the night, my name was drawn! I won the AGE Protect Night Cream and AGE Protect Serum from Uriage, so now my AGE Protect regime is complete!

Those of us who made a purchase on the night were eligible to be in with a chance to win the big prize which was drawn just before we left. I bought the big sized Glov which is amazing for travelling as I don't need to pack a lot of makeup removers with me. Lo and behold, my name was drawn again! Needless to say, I was ecstatic at this! Here all the good things that were in the case and the very generous goodie bag handed to us at the end of the night!

The moment they announced my name for the big prize draw :)

I will be giving away some of the stuff in an upcoming giveaway soon so be sure to keep following me on Facebook and Instagram not to miss out on anything. I had a really fun night chatting away to fellow bloggers and makeup lovers and I love how our small community gets so well with each other and I love meeting the new ones too :) Oh and we got to do this over countless beautiful makeup and perfume displays and good food too! Thank you so much Melita Health & Beauty for having us, I'll surely enjoy the products!

Photos of us bloggers courtesy of Melita Health & Beauty