"This moisturiser saved my irritated skin in lockdown"
While time has lost all meaning in lockdown, I can still clearly remember that first week, because I woke up to a face that had apparently taken on the stress of the entire nation.
Before I even looked in the mirror I could feel it, warm, irritable and tight, like a mild sunburn. Except I hadn't just spent a day on the beach with a trashy novel in one hand and a bag of Lays in the other.
When I touched my skin I could feel tiny bumps all over my forehead that had appeared overnight, as inconveniently as temporary traffic lights.
This isn't the first time my skin has freaked out. Two years ago I hot-footed it to Boots one lunchtime and asked the pharmacist for help after the same uncomfortable rash took over my face.
With a possible diagnosis of contact dermatitis ("a type of eczema triggered by contact with a particular substance" - according to the NHS), I left with a box of antihistamines and a genuine worry my skin would never be the same again.
Thankfully, my job means that I have access to an entire Wikipedia of beauty professionals and with their advice (stripping back my skincare routine to nothing but one gentle cleanser (Avène Extremely Gentle Cleansing Lotion) and one gentle moisturiser (Avène Skin Recovery Cream), a week later it was like nothing ever happened.
This time however, despite having more products in my flat than your local Boots, I didn't have any of my previous skin-saving stock left.
Now, I'm not saying she's got telepathic powers, but much like how Spiderman arrives when you need him the most, that same day I received a parcel from one of my all time favourite skincare brands: Kate Somerville.
The parcel contained her new range: DeliKate and if I wasn't already convinced of her superhero powers, I was after reading that it was "An SOS recovery system for stressed, sensitised skin".
There are three products in the DeliKate lineup: Soothing Cleanser, Recovery Serum and Recovery Cream, and while they have all contributed to getting my skin back from the brink, there is one product in particular that was my real hero.
Described as an "SOS calming cream", myself and the Recovery Cream quickly found ourselves in a committed relationship.
The balm whip consistency meant it cocooned and immediately soothed my sore, irritable face, like a balaclava of goodness. While the ceramide enriched formula reduced that horrible red bumpiness to nothing.
It's not surprising, seeing as Kate developed the range in her clinic for patients who either needed something super calming after a chemical peel treatment, or who needed help for their compromised skin barrier after going a little heavy on the active ingredients (retinol, vitamin C, acids etc) at home.
A post shared by Laura Capon (@laucapon) on Apr 24, 2020 at 1:56pm PDT
After one week of use my skin was completely back to normal, but I fell so hard and fast for that little pot that I kept using it until the bitter end.
Trust me when I say the bitter end, I mean the 'I've scraped every last drop' end.
While it's more pricey than my previous SOS skin kit, I can feel a noticeable difference, which is why I kept using it long after my face had recovered (I love how it makes my skin look under makeup).
This is definitely not a range just to save for emergencies.
While the Recovery Cream is available now on KateSomerville.co.uk, you have a little while longer to wait for the cleanser and serum which launch on 27th May.
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