I was killing time in my local beauty salon a few weeks back and I saw a range of products from a brand I was not familiar with, so I asked – the woman sitting behind the desk, ‘I’ve never heard of Vitage before can you tell me about this range?’ and her response was… ‘well, we used to stock Bare Mineral and now we stock Vitage!’
Not exactly the answer that I was looking for but nevermind. Vitage also do a mineral make up range but none of their complexion shades are suitable for black women (sigh) so I decided to focus on the skincare. Vitage is a cosmeceutical range which incorporates botanicals into the skincare range but with a real focus on anti oxidants and the science behind them. Vitage is also a British brand, with both the products and the packaging made in the UK.
I picked up the Daily Power Ritual – a starter kit which consists of the Revitallising Daily Cleanse with a daily cleansing cloth and the Skin Defence SPF 30 . Here are my thoughts.
Revitalising Daily Cleanse
This face wash is a creamy gel formulation, applied to a wet face, it does form a gentle lather but it is not super foamy. If I am washing my face at the sink, I use a flannel (rather then the muslin cloth that it is supplied with) but it rinses off easily in the shower.
The fragrance of this product will appeal to you if you like clean cotton type fragrances. It is gentle and slightly sweet, very unisex. I really like the packaging. The robust plastic bottle is recyclable, and the pump action is very smooth. The small size is very ergonomic and the white packaging with turquoise and silver accents is very chic. the writing on the bottles is tiny but luckily the writing on the box is larger.
Even with my large round face, I only need one pump of product. Sadly as the bottle is opaque you cannot see how much of the product you have use. I think that as I only have 28ml of product this is not an issue for me – I already have my next face cleanser in the bathroom (and it’s a doozy!) but if I had bought the full size 200ml, I would want some kind of indicator.
I use this in the morning, or sometimes in the evening after a balm cleanser if I am double cleansing but was not wearing make up. I have also used it after my Crème de la Mer cleansing oil on lighter make up days.
The coconut based cleanser has brazillian green tea extract which is a highly potent anti oxidant, bitter cherry, which is also an antioxidant but helps to reduce inflammation, as well as a tiny amount (penultimate ingredient) of hyaluronic acid. It is always great to see top quality actives which don’t irritate in a cleanser.
It does not leave the skin taut at all. It is a gentle cleanse but effective. Your face feels clean without being stripped and it does not cause my skin to act out. I think that this is a great option if your man steals shares your skincare. The pump action means it can be shared without hygine issues. The twenty eight millilitres (not sure why it is twenty eight and not thirty millilitres, but anyway…) is a great travel size, gym size or starter to see if you like it.
Skin Defence SPF 30
It is a light white cream which absorbs quickly into the skin. This is a great daily use SPF which protects against UVA and UVB and even better it does not leave a white cast on my brown skin so I can use it without putting make up over the top. For that reason alone, I love it. As I use P50 on a regular basis I am keen to provide my skin with extra protection.
Like the cleanser, this is another fresh fragrance, although slightly stronger. The reason that this is interesting is that it can be used as a moisturiser on its own, which might be an opton for olier skins, but it can be used as SPF,so on the hands, chest as well as face, any area that is going to be exposed. Because it drys matt it does provide a good base for make up. (liquid or cream more then powder)
The packaging is the same as for the Revitalising Daily Cleanse, the ingredients however are slightly different. It contains zinc oxide which is commonly found in sun protection, it shades the sodium hyaluronate, Brazilian Green Tea and Bitter Cherry from the cleanser but it also has aloe vera, kelp, (great). I really wish the ingredients were listed in English as well as their chemical name.
The Vitage range is in salons and can be found in selected online stores. If you are looking for a serious skincare regime that is gentle but effective on the skin, do some research on this range – you might find something that you like.