Loving A New Marine-based Cream.

I do believe I've found a new moisturizer that will be spending some time on my "semi-permanent" list.  Given the fact that those of us with CFIDS/ME/CFS and fibromyalgia have such sensitive skin, I'm always excited when I find a new skincare product that actually works the way it's supposed to.  And for some reason, it's moisturizers that I have the most problems with, just as I'm hitting an age where I really do need good moisturizing products for skin that's becoming very dehydrated.  The new product I'm excited about is "Pro-Collagen Marine Cream" by Britain's luxury brand Elemis and I've fallen in love with the cream for several reasons:

• It's a marine-based formulation, like my beloved LaMer.  In this case, the marine algae is Padina Pavonica.  Everything I read about various types of marine additions to skincare products convinces me that it's a really good way to go.  My son is into aquaculture and over the years we've talked about the many pluses regarding algae and other oceanic "goodies" and I'm always amazed at what promise that field holds for skincare in the future.
• Though on the pricey side, it takes very little to spread completely over the face, neck and chest areas and it sinks right into the skin, not feeling at all greasy.
• The feel of the cream is light, almost as if it's been whipped and I love the texture for the summer, especially with the very hot weather we've been having.  Because I was sweating so much by the time I was finished with my bath, (ugh! do we all need to take baths after baths and where does it end?) I put on a very thin layer on my face, sort of the absolute minimum to trap the moisture in the skin, while waiting for my body to "stabilize."  After I had rested, drank several large glasses of very cold water to push my blood pressure up to a non-fainting level and stabilized my body temperature, I added another layer of the cream to my now non-sweating face.  A few hours later my face feels lovely and soft.  Each time I've used this cream, the end result has been surprisingly and consistently excellent.
• It's an anti-aging cream. Need I say more? Well, in case I do, I've realized that my face is suddenly getting a bit saggy, so I'm going to start concentrating on that aspect of my skincare. I still have a few months before I hit a very depressing birthday and I'm hoping to be in as good shape as possible for that day, in order to soften the blow of the number! (Which means I need to stop my vacation eating and get back to where I was before the trip to KL!)
• Back to the anti-aging aspect of this cream: Elemis claims increase cell renewal (good!), to reduce fine lines and wrinkle depth by 78% as well as increasing hydration and moisture levels by 45%. Personally, I never trust these sorts of numbers because I'm one of those skeptics who believes that statistics can be manipulated to anything the doer wants to "prove."  Having said that, however, I think we all have a radar of some sort that gives us an idea of whether or not something may work, one of the reasons for the effectiveness of samples!  I like the feel and have a good sense about it.  I especially like the fact that the cream has good healthy ingredients and looks "clean," and though not claiming to be "organic," it's still not chockful of preservatives and chemicals.

So, my face has not broken out, my skin has not grown any nasty surprises nor formed any ugly craters and the feel is lovely.  I think I've found a winner for the rest of the summer, and hopefully, adding a lot of moisture and elasticity to my suddenly-aging skin!