I can’t help getting excited about products from Institut Esthederm – absolutely everything I’ve tried has been brilliant. (Did you know that Bioderma is part of the same group?)

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being talked through Esthederm’s Molecular Care range – targeted skincare for specific conditions or ’emergencies’ that contains powerful active ingredients at highly effective concentrations. These products mean business – there’s a range for premature aging, one for pigmentation, acne prone, hyper-sensitive, severe dehydration, slackened skin..if you have a problem, Esthederm will have it covered.

I was most interested (as always!) in premature ageing – fine lines, loss of elasticity and firmness and coarse and uneven skin texture. Does this sound familiar? If so, read on!

The Intensif Vitamine A range is aimed at women ged 35 and over who are showing external signs of aging (described above) and it uses 0.5% Retinol in its pure form to accelerate cell renewal. Esthederm has developed an oil serum – the Serum Huileux -that keeps the Retinol stable and allows it to quickly penetrate the skin. It doesn’t leave the skin greasy and it also helps to nourish and comfort as the active ingredient gets to work. If you’re not familiar with Retinol and its effects, I’ll try to briefly explain: it gets rid of dead skin cells so that new ones can come to the surface. It accelerates the cell renewal process so that new cells are brought to the surface more quickly, and it stimulates collagen synthesis so that the skin looks plumper and younger. It is very widely thought to be the most powerful anti-ager in terms of visible results.

So a bit of a hero, then! You’ll see plenty of products on the market boasting Vitamin A content and some form of Retinol as an ingredient, but they all vary in strength and effectiveness. A standard face cream wouldn’t keep the Retinol stable and effective, so it’s not going to be anywhere near as powerful as something like the Esthederm Serum Huileux. The flip-side of using a powerful Retinol product is that you must be careful how you treat your skin; no harsh alcohol products, exfoliants or enzyme peels. No Clarisonic! A good SPF must be worn for any exposure to the sun. So wear a proper sun cream, don’t just rely on the SPF in your makeup!

There’s also a Concentrated Formula Cream that accompanies the serum – it’s much, much gentler than the serum and should be used to moisturise the skin after the serum has been used. The skin may suffer temporary sensitivity from the powerful Retinol action and in this case the serum can be mixed with the cream or the cream can be used alone whilst the skin gets accustomed to the Vitamin A serum.

Does this sound like something you’d like to try? I think that it sounds amazing, but as I don’t really suffer from premature aging (I just obsess about it for hours every day) it would be rather ridiculous for me to test it out! That’s why I have three sets of Intensif Vitamine A (each set contains a cream and a serum) to give away to three readers of A Model Recommends who are over the age of 35. I’m setting this age limit mainly because I want to stick to the targeted skin-type – I’m really very interested to hear your feedback on this one! This is for UK readers only (sorry international – one coming your way soon!) and entries must be from followers of this site. You can be an email follower or a follower via Google Friend Connect – just let me know which one in your entry!

So here’s how to enter:

1) Be a follower via email or GFC (both in the sidebar if you need to join-up!)

2) Be over 35. I can’t very well police this, but it would be nice if people were honest!

3) Tell me in your comment which way you follow and also a little bit about your signs of aging – just a sentence or two!

4) Remember to leave your email in the form where prompted so that you can be contacted

5) Be willing to give me a little bit of feedback once your products are used up – again, just a sentence or two!

That’s it – closing date is April 21st at noon.

Please follow any instructions very carefully – especially regarding exposure to light and what to do if you suffer from any sensitivity. If you want to read more about these products or to find prices, click HERE