The last few weeks of pregnancy have not been kind to me, not in terms of peace and restfulness, anyway. Firstly, my nesting instinct kicked in, but instead of me polishing and sorting out drawers I’ve been on a crazy work frenzy, sending emails at midnight and editing video footage in the small hours of the morning. Secondly, I’ve been landed with quite a nasty case of insomnia, which started off because I needed to go to the loo approximately eighty-five times a night but has gradually developed into full-blown sleeplessness, where I’m awake from about 3 until 6am. It’s a horror, let me tell you!
Now I don’t know whether the two afflictions are feeding one another – it’s a chicken and egg situation. Maybe my work frenzy is causing the insomnia, or maybe I’m working through the night because sleep eludes me; either way, I’m suffering. So when Darphin offered me the opportunity to test their new All-Day Eye Refresh Gel-Cream before anyone else, I jumped (figuratively speaking, obviously) at the chance. They had me at the word “refresh”.
Darphin’s All-Day Eye Refresh Gel-Cream is part of the excellent Hydraskin range – a very lightweight, hydration-boosting collection of products that are great for all skin types, but especially for those who worry about using rich and greasy creams. If you’re oily or blemish-prone yet find your skin feeling tight and dry, then Hydraskin is excellent at getting the moisture back in without leaving any residue or feeling heavy – I love the Intensive Moisturising Serum for a thirst-quenching treat before face cream or BB cream or whatever you are layering on.
I digress: it’s the new Eye Refresh we’re talking about, here. In true Hydraskin style, this is a gorgeous hit of moisture for the eye area that really cools the skin – thanks to the “Frozen Water Algae” in the formula, and not one of those metal roller-ball or flat-plate applicators, which annoy me no end. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the cooling sensation from the metal is nice, but I always end up sliding it over my orbital bone too hard and I find that the product takes longer to absorb. I get bored, the eye cream gets bored, it’s no good for anyone.
Where was I? Cooling sensation. Much needed after a night on the laptop, looking at fantasy houses on Rightmove (surprisingly affordable, if anyone’s trying to decide between a one-bed flat in East London and a twenty-six bedroom castle in Scotland) and typing up beauty notes. And – I can imagine – I’ll be needing the cooling sensation even more from next week, when I’ll be up with New Baby!
There’s a good and noticeable hydration hit with the new All-Day Eye Refresh – apparently the Frozen Water Algae doesn’t just cool the skin, it helps to improve hydration, whilst Butterfly Lavender (best ingredient name ever) helps to slow down water evaporation. The benefits? A more refreshed-looking eye area, considerably de-puffed (though see below) and a decrease in dark circles over time.
On the de-puffing thing: you can help yourself massively in this department with a bit of gentle massage and manipulation. I’ve always been one for tap-tapping around the orbital bone, to get the fluids moving away and generally wake up the eye area, but I have some specific moves for you, straight from the Darphin experts. There are four simple moves you can learn to help maximise the effects of your Gel-Cream:
Decongest: gliding your fingers back and forth at the inner corner of the eye – sort of a backwards “c” shape.
Destress and lift (I love this one!): applying gentle pressure underneath the start of the eyebrow, and then sort of “lifting” across the arch and towards the temple.
Relax: massaging in a figure of eight at the outer corner of the eye.
Drain: smoothing gently underneath the eye, from inner to outer corner.
This is such a relaxing little routine and if you spend loads of time working at your laptop or staring at your iPhone screen it’s a great way of giving your eyes a break. It’s also a nice routine to follow as you apply your eye cream in the morning – makeup sits so much better on de-puffed faces and the eye area is especially hard to “fix” with concealer and so on if the skin looks tired and congested.
So, eye cream (or eye gel-cream) success! I think that the All-Day Eye Refresh Gel-Cream is a lovely addition to the Hydraskin range – comfortable, lightweight moisturisation that feels fresh and reviving. It doesn’t officially launch until next month, but Darphin wanted readers of A Model Recommends to hear about it first, so if you want to give it a try then it’s £30 on special preview at Darphin UK here.
What’s more, the lovely team at Darphin have a great reader offer for you – an exclusive cosmetics bag from Parisian print ateliers Antoinette Poisson and 15ml tube of the bestselling Hydraskin Light All-Day Skin-Hydrating Cream Gel, FREE with any purchase.
You can claim your lovely little cosmetics bag and Hydraskin sample by using the code DarphinAMR, expires 02/03/17. You can use the code with any purchase on Darphin.co.uk – cleansers, gorgeous oils, whatever floats your skincare boat (inspo below, should you need it!) – but I can highly recommend investing in some Hydraskin if your skin is parched and needs a bit of extra watering.
Right, I’m off to finish my final bit of work and then perhaps take some time out to, y’know, have this baby that’s been cooking away – thanks to Darphin for a) saving my eye area – the massage moves are genius – and b) another great reader offer. If you missed my post in the Autumn about my secret Paris tour with the brand, you can click here to read it.
*this post has been sponsored by Darphin.
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