I actually got back from Germany a couple of weeks ago now but I never got round to writing about the rest of the things that I picked up while I was over there, so I thought that today I’d finally post a quick entry showing the skin care products that I picked up.
Again I bought all of these from DM and they’re marketed as being “Natural” toiletries – I’m not sure of the exact definition but here’s a rough translation of the blurb from the back of one of the face washes I bought:
Certified Natural Cosmetic
Free from synthetic fragrance, colour and preservatives.
Raw materials obtained from controlled biological sources.
No mineral oil based ingredients.
Dermatologically tested.
Some of these products are also suitable for vegans which is indicated by an easily recognisable vegan symbol on the back.
So onto some snaps. First up I bought a clarifying face wash by the brand AOK which is produced by Schwarzkopf & Henkel:
I like transparent packaging as you can see exactly how much product you have left. I was drawn to this product because the tag line is “pure skin from age 20” and I liked the idea of a clarifying wash that was designed for adults rather than teenagers, as teenage products are generally too harsh for my skin. This wash has a smooth, gel like creamy consistency that doesn’t foam too much and as such feels very soothing on the skin and has subtle peachy smell. So far I really like this product. I paid 4.45 euros for 150ml.
I also bought a face wash and moisturiser from the DM own-brand Alverde which contains both toiletries and cosmetics. I bought two products from their Aqua range for normal/combination skin.
The face wash says “seaweed” and the mattifying day moisturiser says “pearl”. This range is slightly cheaper than AOK and I paid 1.95 euros for the 100ml face wash and 3.25 euros for the 50ml moisturiser. The face wash, which is vegan friendly, also has a cooling gel consistency which doesn’t foam too much, but I don’t feel that it cleans quite as well as the AOK wash. It’s still nice and refreshing though, so I like to use it in the morning when I need to be woken up and don’t have any make-up on my skin that needs to be removed anyway.
As you can see from the pic the moisturiser claims to be have 3-in-1 action, namely: mattifying, moisturising and improving the general appearance of the skin. The consistency is actually quite thick and creamy which I found interesting as most moisturisers for oily skin that I’ve used in the past have been quite fluid. I have found that I do have to apply it quite carefully and be sure to work it all into the skin otherwise it can leave white streaks as it’s actually so thick – but on the plus side, the consistency means that a little goes a long way. The blurb on the back claims that a special combination of mineral pigments acts to mattify and harmonise the complexion. The smell is quite mineral-like – like various clay-containing spa products. Although it uses the word “pearl” in its name the finish is not shiny at all. I actually quite like this product too.
I think both of these brands are definitely worth a look depending of course on your skin type and budget. Unfortunately the blurb is only written on the products in German though, so you may have to get your phrase book out if you would like to try some of these products out when you are in Germany.
Interestingly you can buy many high end “natural” products in the pharmacists in Germany such as the brand Weleda, which I have only seen sold in health food and organic shops in the UK – perhaps a sign that the Germans take their organic & natural beauty products more seriously than us Brits? It’s almost as if we are “relegating” these products from our pharmacy shelves to organic stores because we don’t believe that they actually work. Well, I have to admit that I’m becoming more and more of a fan the more products I try and I’ll definitely be incorporating more “natural” products into my skin care range as my old products run out and I have to stock up on new ones.
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