[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] This brand is one of my most trusted – they don’t make a fuss, they just get on and make the best products they can and everything just does what it’s supposed to do. I feel very much over-informed about skin care at the moment. Even taking SPF out of the equation, the algorithms show me expert formulators proving how expert comments are wrong, followed by dermatologists explaining why and how the formulators are wrong. Ingredient lists that make sense to nobody outside a professional field, scientifically wordy explanations that just baffle the average consumer (it’s supposed to) and making everything far more complicated than it needs to be. Much as I love debate, if all skin care experts could just log out for a little while and give us a chance to breathe, that would be great. The two that I really do listen to are Charlotte Parler and Labmuffin.
So, back to Malin + Goetz and breathing normally. Bearing in mind that it’s a thoroughly unisex brand, the format of the Niacinamide Restorative Cream is to feel light but deliver heavy. It’s quite loose feeling, cooling on the skin because of water as the first ingredient and doesn’t really smell of anything much at all. Glycerine is the main humectant but you’ll find a solid hydrating crew in the form of olive oil, squalane and panthenol. Of course, the main character, niacinamide, is listed in the top 12.
In brief, niacinamide is a form of B3. It helps to strengthen the skin barrier, it improves hydration, regulates oil and can make some inroads into hyperpigmentation over the long term. It boosts ceramide production which in turn increases cell renewal and that is where I’ll leave the explanation. I haven’t used Malin + Goetz Niacinamide Restorative Cream long-term but I’ve given it enough goes to know that it works well under (my) make up, it makes your face feel soft and it will give you hydration for the whole day without you feeling slathered. It’s an ingredient list built for results (with 3rd party clinicals), both in the short term and in the longer term.
In other words, it’s not a product you need to over-think. It will do what’s needed for your skin with the minimum of fuss. The longer you use it, the better you will see results (the 8 week before and after pictures are impressive) and I can see this slipping into many bathrooms as a splosh and dash moisturiser that becomes as familiar on the shelf as your face does in the mirror. The only thing – and it’s not a little thing – is that it’s £84 HERE which is really at the top end of the spend for me. That said, it’s certainly going to last a while because you really don’t use much at all when you apply.
