Old age encroaching, time to use proper anti-ageing skincare, here’s an expensive moisturiser… Ever feel like you’ve heard it all before?  It’s always hard to reconcile the emotional arguments with the scant scientific evidence that they you know, actually do anything.  

Which is why I’ve never really tried.  I’ve gone much more on how it makes me feel, whether I see a difference in my skin, whether if I gave up this cream or that conditioner tomorrow and used something else in its place the world would fall apart.  (Although even this latter test is somewhat redundant bearing in mind the world does seem to be falling apart at the moment). 

And let me tell you, these elusive creams are few and far between.  There are creams that I like a little bit, or that I enjoy using for a couple of days. There are creams that I want to believe in (I remember the Strivectin one for dark under eye shadows did nothing at all, when everyone else seemed to rave about it) and creams that I hope will do nothing because I hate the packaging or I don’t like what they stand for.  (And yes, a cream can “stand” for something, it can be the stuff of myths (Creme de la Mer), it can be elitist, (any cream with caviar, gold or diamonds in it);  it can be fashionable or a true classic, (Nivea)

But here’s one that I’ve used to the very bottom of the pot: Kate Somerville’s Deep Tissue Night Repair, from the LA facialist of the same name. To put this in perspective, using something to the very bitter end happens to me possibly once every three years, if that, because yes, I get sent moisturisers, eyeshadows, blushers, curling tongs, you name it, to try on a regular basis, so I do tend to be fickle and if I don’t see a huge difference on my face, that moisturiser gets used for my elbows, or is given to a friend. It either earns its place in my cramped bathroom cupboard or it’s out on the streets. 

So what do I like about it?  It feels nourishing on the skin - her “routine” involves exfoliation at least twice a week, and her cleanser can feel a  little soapy; this cream seems to bring it all back to normal, then puffs it up and leaves it looking dewy and fresh.  It is meant to be applied over her serums, Quench or Total Vitamin. Quench makes my skin feel a little slippery, it’s highly moisturising but contains silicone.  Total Vitamin tightens my face instantly.  Applying Deep Tissue Repair on top finishes it all off, makes me look as if I’ve just been for a facial (but without the red bits). At first, the unctuous cream feels as if it will never sink in.  It’s thick and creamy.  But very quickly it’s sunk in to my skin, as if I’ve had ten hours sleep.  I’ve also noticed that if I have been generally over doing it on the exfoliation and have a tiny red blotch where a capillary has broken, Deep Tissue Repair seems to sort it out. 

(Apologies for the picture.  I was hoping the silvery effect on Kate’s pot would be picked up by my silvery cherry-tree blossom wallpaper, but sadly not with my photographic skills.)

I do think that using it in conjunction with her other products definitely helped - I wouldn’t normally say that about a cream, because I tend to mix and match, but this time I used it with the exfoliant, and the serums and the combined effect was excellent. 

Let me know how you get on with Kate’s cream… I absolutely love it and am giving it 5 out of 5.  From Space NK, £145.  (NB: Products are available on-line or in-store at the end of January - there was a shipping/production delay in getting them from the US, but I’ve noticed a fair amount of press for Kate already, so it might be an idea to get on the waiting list!) http://www.spacenk.co.uk/home.do?paidsearch&gclid=CPqfm92ZiZgCFQsh3godjQW4DA