I was slightly amused/intrigued when the lovely people from Sjal inquired whether I would be interested in trying their opulent brand. It's billed as being charged with precious materials including, gold, silver, platinum, diamond and ruby, and I REALLY wanted to see what it would be like. The brand has many famous advocates of likes of Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Naomi Watts, Jessica Biel and Uma Thurman.
I genuinely wanted to not like it, mainly because it’s hardly a bargain buy, but unfortunately for me and many investment banker husbands, it’s lush!
I tried the Balans Deep Pore Cleanser which is a gel-like cleanser designed to reduce pores, increase oxygenation, soften and sooth. I found it hopeless at removing eye makeup but fantastic as a second deep cleanse after the first oil based cleanse to remove makeup. It leaves your skin feeling super clean but not at all stripped. I tried it on both damp and dry skin, and found it worked markedly better on dry skin. You don’t need a massive amount, perhaps a 20p worth and it smooths on easily allowing you to massage it in easily. I can’t say I am a fan of the packaging but I don’t really care much for packaging anyway. My favourite result from the cleanser is the immediate reduction in pore size, which as I get older is the bane of my life. If you are struggling with open enlarged pores this may well be worth a try.
I also tried the Mineral Kalla Energy Tonic which is very much in the vane of a Korean Essence. It hopes to lock in moisture alongside healing and protecting your skins barrier. It uses hyaluronic acid as the main moisture retention ingredient along with a plethora of “natural” extracts which, to be frank, I haven’t the slightest clue what they do. This left my skin feeling divinely refreshed and again no tightening due to the moisture imparting ingredients. I was pretty gutted when this finished mainly due to the price for replacement.
At £47 for 150ml of toner, I can’t say I will be rushing out to repurchase, but if I could buy it on offer or as a gift I would be very interested.
What are your feelings on top end skincare? Do you subscribe to the mantra that "you get what you pay for"?
Looks like a really nice brand! Personally, I would pay more for something that sits on your skin all day. So I don't think you need to shell out a lot for something like a cleanser, but if it's a serum or moisturiser then a higher end brand is worth considering. However, a lot of the time you're paying for marketing and advertising and not the actual product, which is why I tend to go for lesser known brands. Will definitely look out for Sjal, not heard of them before.
ReplyDelete