Stop reading this right now if you think spending upwards of £50 for skincare is bonkers. Seriously, just stop. You’re not going to like this recommendation; Sunday Riley products ain’t cheap. But – and this is the crucial bit for me – they really impact the skin.
While I’ve dabbled with her products in the past, I recently introduced three to my routine concurrently and within two days of doing nothing differently bar introducing Sunday to my skin, my complexion was smoother, my redness reduced and everything just looked brighter and healthier – so much so that last week I felt confident enough to head out during the day wearing only a smattering of SC (that’s Laura Mercier’s Secret Camouflage for those of you who haven’t read my countless posts on the best concealer ever to have landed on my face).
To wit, the newbies are:
SUNDAY RILEY CERAMIC SLIP CLEANSER £35 here / While cleanser is not on the face terribly long, if you’re using a formula that isn’t too good, you’ll notice your skin is redder/blotchier/spottier pretty quickly. Instant marks of a bad ‘un? It’ll leave your skin ‘squeaky’, foam far too much or feel like an astringent on – cleanser needs to cleanse, not strip. This one isn’t suitable for removing heavy-duty make-up but makes for an excellent morning or second cleanse. Also, while I generally balk at anything promising smaller pores*, the ‘miniscule pores’ business on the label of this does seem to hold true: my skin is firmer and more uniform and my pores therefore appear practically non-existent, which is exactly how I like them, thank you very much.
SUNDAY RILEY GOOD GENES £85 here /
My weakness for serum and vehement belief that it’s THE ticket to better skin has served me well – I can now sniff out a bad one at fifty centimetres. This has made it much, much closer than that. Every. Single. Morning. Containing blue agave, prickly pear, lactic acid, liquorice and lots of other potent botanicals, the idea is to really give skin that’s starting to look tired a real kick up the behind; in one fell swoop, it’ll help diminish pigmentation, brighten, smooth and plump.
SUNDAY RILEY LUNA SLEEPING NIGHT OIL £85 here /
This one’s fairly new and is BLUE. Like ink. This phased me the first night I planted the pool in my palm on my face but, true to form, Sunday’s oils are infallible and no trace of the blue oil smeared on my silk pillow. So what can you expect from this? Well, it isn’t a straight moisturising oil (though it does moisturise and certainly *feels* moisturising when on – no blue may it smear but this is no dry oil). It contains a retinoid to effectively (but gently – Sunday’s blended this to perfection and the blue tansy that provides the aqua hue is anti-inflammatory and antihistaminic) help scarred, tired, bedraggled skin turn over. Pop it on post-cleanse and tone and seriously be amazed – I noticed my skin looked better after a single night and have since only used this.
*N.B. Pores cannot be opened and closed like windows. Nor can they be ‘tightened’. The appearance of pores can merely be minimised and any nasty content (blackhead plugs etc) dissolved/encouraged out.