Skin Sparkle Radiance Revealing Polish System, Virgin Vie

Ingredients

1)   Vitamin C Crystal Polish contains silica and sodium bicarbonate crystals to exfoliate the skin with Vitamin E, C & A to deliver anti-oxidant protection
2)  Energising Activating Serum contains lactic acid and salicylic acid to remove dead skin cells with citric acid boosted by galactoarabinan

Peels or Scrubs?

There are pros and cons for each of the above, but its generally good to help the skin along with cell renewal by exfoliating once a week.  There are several exfoliating scrubs on the market varying from rough to very gentle.  Skin Peels outside of a salon are a bit rarer, as they can be a bit aggressive and not suitable for all skins

How it Works

This is based on micro-dermabrasion technology which blasts crystals onto the skin surface to reveal new radiant skin underneath.  This is a home method whereby you massage in the crystals to exfoliate, calm the skin with anti-oxidants and further remove skin cells by gently peeling them off

Rating

Value for money – costs £15 for the duo pack, available from Vie at Home either on-line or from a Vie consultant

Effectiveness – very effective, it’s a very thorough exfoliator, which leaves skin visibly more radiant, I have used this on a few people, and there is a definite improvement
Pampering factor – there is a lovely natural citrus fragrance from the orange peel oil, I like the fact it doesn’t contain synthetic fragrances
Highly recommended

Witch Blemish Stick

There are many products out there for spots, and I’ve tried most of them, and have generally been disappointed.  I missed out on acne as a teenager and generally have always had a good complexion but every 3 months or so I develop a large, painful and highly visible spot which takes a few days to develop and by the 3^rd day I can contain myself no longer and I attempt to squeeze it out, usually infect it and get a similarly horrid looking spot the following day, its then a case of concealing and drying it out, till eventually I can pick off the dry skin, leaving behind a scar.  I have tried putting on tea tree oil and rapid action spot treatments but NOTHING makes it go away.

Ingredients

The entire Witch range is based around witch hazel, which has been used for centuries to cleanse, tone and sooth our skin.  The other ingredients give it a stick consistency and alcohol is the first ingredient.  The effectiveness of this stick is due to the alcohol and the witch hazel.

Natural anti-bacterial, peroxide or oil control?

Typical methods of clearing up spots are:

Anti-bacterial – killing the bacteria that causes acne ranging from aggressive ie benzoyl peroxide to natural ie tea tree oil, lavender and white tea
Keratolytic - Removing dead skin cells eg salicylic acid, AHA’s, Retinol
Regulate sebum (oil) production ie Zinc PCA
Anti-inflammatory – calming the skin down ie witch hazel, aloe vera
Repair – promote wound healing and cell re-growth – vitamin C & E

Rating

Value for money – excellent, costs £1.70 from most supermarkets, Boots & Superdrug etc
Effectiveness – this works for me as it has a very drying effect on the spot itself rather than the surrounding skin and it kills off the bacteria. 
Pampering factor – not too applicable for spot control!
Highly Recommended – and would be interested to hear other user’s experiences