feeling organic & [ethically] chic

For a person as vain as I am, to say that I am obsessed with wasting my money on skincare products would utterly be an understatement. Back in my college heyday, I was forever testing and changing products, that was until I developed a rather horrible and unexpected skin reaction to Johnson&Johnson pH5.5 products (remember them?) which took my poor youthful skin approximately18 months to return to it's natural state. I then discovered Clinique and was happily contented for a significant while until just after my motherly hormones kicked in when I sadly discovered that my skin needed much more active ingredients for actively working, no-time-for-self mother than Clinique could offer. So I switched to Clarins which has great products on offer, does what it says and more. 

But my 3-year itch has returned. I am restless and dying to try some other skincare stuff out there. Apart from Creme de La Mer, obviously -- although money aside I'd love to try the whole range after my pleasant 6-months encounter with it's €170 per jar Eye Concentrate! My skin is ageing and I could feel it. I do have a rather well-behaved type skin: not too dry, not too oily, suffers from not-so-frequent breakouts, and certainly not the too-sensitive type. I was getting oh-so-confused with all the anti-ageing, anti-oxidant, brightening serums and concoctions. I feel like I need to just go back to what's basic:

• cleanse
• exfoliate
• tone
• moisturise

I got so caught up with all the technology that my skin is probably suffering from chemical congestion. It may not be such a bad idea to do skin detox -- although it should also mean free from make-up stuffs, I am not ready to go out bare-face *hehehe* not just yet -- so I decided to trawl through some of my go-to beauty blogs and searched for any honest-to-goodness skincare products. A few of my favourite hardcore beauty bloggers wrote good reviews on Trilogy products and I feel uber-compelled to check them out. I must say that it proved quite a feat to track down Trilogy in Dublin. The Health Store was where I destined to be.

A brief introduction on Trilogy's beautiful story and philosophy can be found here and although they are originally from the lovely and lush land of New Zealand, you dont have to fly all the way to NZ, instead try to get your hands on these organic products from here. I got mine from my local health shop where health-conscious people often flock together to find the latest Acai berry-containing products or the most effective herbal weight-loss supplement. The sales assistant was a friendly lass who told me that Trilogy is one of their most popular organic skincare products. Was I sold? Go figure.

After 2 visits to the store and spending definitely more than just 20 minutes deciding what I would bring home, I finally decided to pay for the following:

1. Trilogy Cream Cleanser (Face Care range)
2. Trilogy Hydrating Mist Toner (Face Care range)
3. Trilogy Certified Organic Rosehip Oil
4. Trilogy Energising Face Lotion (Face Care range)

First of all, I must confess that I never was am avid fan of cream cleansers. And believe me, I have tried quite a few. I am more of a foam or gel-type cleanser kinda girl. I prefer my skin to be squeaky clean. yes, squeaky would be key. So one might ask, why then did i proceed to purchase yet another cream cleanser? Well, I did some much-needed research and this particular one received rave reviews. I really took my time to decide and eventually went home with it. I must say that I am very happy with the product: so soft and gentle on my ageing skin, yet powerful enough to remove all the gory stuff I put on my face every morning. I love the clean, fresh smell and my skin felt pampered and nourished during and after using it. This particular cleanser is not simply creamy, it is also oily albeit in a good way.

The next step is, of course, toning. I haven't been using any toning lotion in a good while, since i finished the very last drop of my go-to Clarins Toning Lotion with Camomile a few months ago. I was looking forward to get a new toner and how exciting was it for me to learn that for any 2 purchases of Trilogy products, I get this full-size product for free? It smells rosy and lovely, gives my skin a cooling effect and can be used so many time during the day, under as well as over make-up for a dewy look. I love it so much that I bought 4 Trilogy products in total to get 2 free full-size bottles!

The Rosehip oil was THE reason why I wanted to try Trilogy. I have come across glowing reviews from beauty bloggers on this apparently brilliant product and my curious mind wonders if it is really any good, or is it just another one of of those cosmetics hyperbole. This oil is supposed to be great for reducing redness, improves the appearance of scars and is packed with anti-oxidant with anti-ageing properties. I have always loved face oil. I used at least a couple bottles of Clarins Blue Orchid Face Treatment Oil as part of my before-bed routine but decided to switch to Clarins Multi-Active Night Youth Recovery cream instead. I love the tinted apothecary bottle The Rosehip Oil came in (which is supposed to protect the content from reacting with sunlight -- not that I would deliberately leave them out in the sun or anything) and the pipette-drop is handy and practical. The rosy smell is not overwhelmingly fresh, 2-3 drops with a nice oily consistency really are more than enough for the whole face and neck. I have used this after my favourite Hydrating toning mist both in the morning  just before my face lotion, at at night as my night moisturiser. I am very happy with the experience so far and my skin feel fresh and dewy in the morning without feeling in any way too oily.

My initial plan was to get the Vital Moisturising Cream which comes in a jar or my personal preference -- the much more hygienic pump dispenser -- but it was not available. I deliberated and finally went with The Energising Face Lotion which is much more light in consistency. My skin tends to be more on the dry side especially coming to winter time, and so I was worried if this lotion was gonna be moisturising enough. In fact, it is and in the harsh winter weather I will combine this with The Rosehip Oil for better moisturising effect. So far, so good!

I have only been using these 4 products in less than a week and although it still too premature to say if it will definitely do what it says on the individual bottles, I do have great feelings about them. The products appear to suit me well, very gentle and soothing with a certain nourishing feel about it. The fact that they use natural and organic ingredients, as well having them tested on human volunteers instead of animals gives me great confidence in my decision to switch from my go-to Clarins and go all organic for my basic skincare regime. So, here's to going organic, ethical and gorgeous!

Feeling super-chic & gorgeous already,