Fab Find of the Week: Aromatherapy Associates new skincare
‘Long-awaited’ doesn’t even begin to cover this. But Aromatherapy Associates have been hard at work on this skincare collection for some time – three years, they tell us – and it has now landed fully-formed with an 11-piece collection, comprehensively covering every skin need. We’ve been working our way through the collection, in order to shine a light on our favourites, which you can read about below.
First thing to point out: don’t expect it to be massively fragranced with essential oils – unlike the potent bath and body range, the scent of this is subtle and fresh, and (to our minds) would suit everyone’s taste. A little touch of fruitiness, a whisper of rose, but nothing that is going to tip you into ‘relax’ or ‘wake-up’ modes.
The textures are sublime: nourishing but not heavy, softening and gentle, designed to boost skin’s barrier rather than strip it away. (And that, as we’re sure you’re aware, is the current buzz in skincare.) It taps into an emerging field of science called ‘Psychodermatology’, which is exploring what we’ve always known instinctively: that mind and skin are completely linked.
If we HAD to pick, from the range – and with 11 products, guess we do – then we’d like to flag up…
• Nourishing Cleansing Balm. Let’s start with the duo of cleansers, since – well, that’s where we start in our nightly TLC ritual. This is a loose balm that’s sooooo easy to massage into skin (it feels slightly warming, but that may be an illusion), to leave it glowing. It’s slightly blue in colour, thanks to supernutrient blue tansy, with squalane and raspberry seed oil (and upcycled ingredient, in the case of the latter), to soften and hydrate.
• Oil to Foam Cleanser. With dry complexions, we’d normally run a mile from anything with the word ‘foam’ in the name, but this has the most luscious and velvety texture, when emulsified with water. It leaves skin feeling super-clean, but not in the least tight. We’d forgotten how good a foaming cleanser could feel, actually.
• Hydra Gel Plump Cream. Like it says: this daily moisturiser is hydrating and plumping – wonderfully so, leaving skin feeling pillowy, with a mega-dose of hyaluronic acid, and a plant stem cell technology-derived Alpine rose ingredient, to enhance the skin barrier. Very soothing to skin and soul, we’ve found.
• Pro-Barrier Boost Face Oil. ‘Pro-barrier’ – says it all. After years of being encouraged to strip away skin’s layers ‘to get your glow on’, skincare sanity is prevailing, with brands promoting the idea of maintaining skin health via keeping aggressors out, and thus preventing moisture from escaping. This is powered by vitamin C, as well as replenishing moringa oil and Centella Asiatica, renowned for its age-defying effect. Instantly silkifying and a joy to use, this.
Hydrating Gel Mask. The once-a-week-or-so big treat: a jelly-like and cooling mask which takes down redness and gives skin a massive, very welcome drink, powered by probiotics, niacinamide and vitamin B. Just lush, actually.
Worth the wait, we’d say. And you can track down our ‘fabbest five’ from this week’s ‘Fab Find of the Week’, below…
Nourishing Cleansing Balm/£48 for 100ml – buy here
Oil to Foam Cleanser/£50 for 140ml – buy here
Hydra Gel Plump Cream/£55 for 50ml – buy here
Pro-Barrier Boost Face Oil/£65 for 15ml – buy here
Hydrating Gel Mask £45 for 50ml buy here
