French skincare is notoriously wonderful, so I was very excited to be invited to try some products by Darphin. However, my temperamental skin doesn't like change, and I was slighly worried that too many new ingredients and products might do more harm than good.
Luckily I wasn't going into this blind. As an aromatherapy-based brand, Darphin believe in touching, feeling and (of course) smelling the ingredients before buying. My skincare regime was custom-fit after a long consultation, and I was surprised at what I ended up taking home with me...
The Darphin skincare system is based around three products, a Serum, an Aromatic Care and a Cream that treat the specific problems or concerns you have. You then add cleansers, special treatment products, oils and toners where necessary.
The consultation revealed what I already knew. My skin is oily and spot-prone, red but not particularly sensitive. I needed a gentle cleanser, a light moisturiser and products that would treat the two issues - spots and redness - without being too harsh.
To cleanse, I was given the Purifying Foam Gel (£18). I like a wash-off cleanser, and this one is made for combination to oily skin like mine. This was a bit of a no-brainer.
Skipping toner (with a wash-off cleanser, it's not so vital) we moved straight to the Serum. As I'm pale and prone to redness, I was given the Redness Relief Serum (£45), which soothes and helps to reduce redness. This is used in the morning, before moisturising.
In the evening, in place of the Serum comes the Aromatic Care, a skin oil packed with a specific essential oil. This was where things got interesting. As Darphin believe in the benefits of aromatherapy, I was asked to smell all the oils without knowing what they were, the idea being that my body would pick the one it liked (and thus needed) the most. How much of that theory I believe I'm not sure, but I do believe aromatherapy is supposed to be enjoyable, and if you're going to be massaging an oil into your face every night, you should definitely pick the one you like the smell of!
So, it came as no surprise to me that the oil I picked was Jasmine (£60) (one of my favourite scents). It came as more of a surprise to my therapist, since the Darphin Jasmine oil is for lines and wrinkles, and I'm 25 and fairly unwrinkled. But apparently my nose doesn't lie, so that's the oil I took home, and it's the one I've enjoyed smelling on my skin each night as I drift off to sleep!
To moisturise I was given the Hydraskin Light (£37), a lightweight moisturiser that's suitable for oilier skins, and Arovita eye and lip contour gel (£35) for the more fragile areas of skin.
And finally, my treatment product was the Aromatic Purifying Balm (£38), a really concentrated waxy product packed with tea tree and lavender oils. To use it, you warm a tiny bit up in your hands, massage it over the face concentrating on the T-zone, and leave to work overnight as a treatment for spots or imperfections.
So what's the verdict?
Now I'm first to admit I'm not brilliant at keeping up with a full skincare regime. But I decided to give these products the test they deserved, using them religiously, and after a month I did see a noticeable difference in my skin. So did other people, and I got compliments on my skin when I was wearing no makeup.
But I soon got caught up trying other things, spending too many nights sleeping in my makeup and generally mistreating my skin, and - surprise surprise - back came the spots and the redness. That's when I decided it was time to revert back to good habits, which is why I'm writing this now, months and months after I first got hold of the range, because going back to it, I've again noticed my skin reacting positively again. Unfortunately, if you have troublesome skin like mine, the only way to get it under control is to be religious about your skincare regime. So long as you stick with it, you'll reap the rewards, and I found the Darphin products that were prescribed work really well on my skin.
My favourite products are the skin oil (because of the smell, if nothing else!) and the purifying balm. It feels odd at first using something so oily on already oily skin, but I actually find the balm works really well to clear up imperfection. The tea tree is antiseptic, the lavender soothing, and the oiliness stops the surrounding skin from going dry (and thus being twice as difficult to conceal). I tend to get big, angry red spots rather than small whiteheads, and this reduces the swelling and softens my skin into the bargain. The only problem is it's very strongly scented and leaves my skin looking greasy overnight, so not ideal if you plan to cosy up with your other half in bed!
Buy Darphin online at Look Fantastic, or visit Darphin.co.uk for more information and to fill out a questionnaire to find your recommended products.
