La Melle and The New You

At the beginning of September, we received possibly the most exciting email we have received (to date) inviting us both to participate in testing products and treatments. While the idea of being pampered never will get old to either one us, the fact that the brand behind the said treatments was La Melle caused immense excitement at Spruce HQ – La Melle has steadily been making its way into quality salons across the country for the past few years and gaining a following through their innovative techniques and products.

It has taken us a while to put this post together – mainly due to current time constraints – but mostly, it has also allowed us to give the product a really good “go”.

Ilaria: La Melle has been a part of my beauty regime for a few years now, after being introduced to this South African brand by Skin Renewal. If you read my May Favourite Five post, you will remember reading how impressed I was with their Luminesce cleanse; the reason I started using this product was actually due to the fact that their ‘Nourish’ range was going through a complete revamp. Fast forward a few months and the re-launch of this line; we were spoilt with the ENTIRE range of Nourish products for us to test and review. Before I get onto my thoughts on the range, let me quickly chat about my take on our La Melle Lacti Peel at The New You.

Walking into this salon, or rather this ‘aesthetic clinic’, I felt immediately calm – The New You is hidden away in a small business park in Bedfordview, and has a very refreshing feel. It is clean, bright and professional; it gave me the sense that it had recently been opened, only to learn that it has actually been around for over 8 years! My therapist, Candice advised me that the owner takes great pride in her clinic and it definitely shows.

I feel like I’m on the amateur side when it comes to certain beauty treatments; having never been for any form of a peel, I was a little anxious. Candice completely eased any nerves I had by taking me through the whole process. The Lacti Peel can be described as a very mild peel, which is placed on the skin for 5-10 minutes. The benefits of a peel (which far outweigh that of a standard facial) are that the layer of dead skin cells on the skin get removed and “peeled” away. The removal of this layer allows the removal of any damaged skin, improves the general texture of the skin and ultimately allows the new layer of skin to grow properly.

Candice gently bordered the skin around my eyes with some Vaseline to protect it, and then brushed the peel formula onto my skin. I was warned of a mild stinging sensation, but all I felt was a very slight tingle which lasted for a few seconds. The peel was left on my skin for a few minutes, and once removed, I couldn’t believe the amount of glow and vibrance my skin had! #superimpressed

I will definitely be back for another peel – the way my skin felt after the treatment was incredible. My congestion bumps on my chin were visibly reduced, my skin had an all-round smoothness and although I can be sensitive to certain products, there was no sign of any aggravation.

Candice – our knowledgeable and professional therapist

To follow the peel, I have been testing the Nourish range for a few weeks. My thoughts so far are as follows:

Daily Cleanse – this product is amazing, and I will continue to incorporate this into my daily regime. It is mild, fresh and soap free. It doesn’t sting my eyes nor my skin, and leaves me feeling completely refreshed and clean (everything that a cleanser is supposed to do!). My only concern is that one cleanse does not adequately remove all the product and make up from my face, so I will continue to use my Avene Micellar Lotion first.

Revitalise Cream and Revitalise Lite – these are the moisturizers of the range. My first impressions were a little different than they were after using the creams for a few weeks. I was initially surprised by how much of the cream I felt I had to use; a little did not seem to go a long way. However the more I use the products, the less I actually have to use. I find that the Revitalise Cream is a little heavy for everyday use on my oily areas, so I have opted for the Lite and I am very impressed. My skin feels hydrated without having used a large amount of product. I predict that winter will be the perfect time to switch the two around.

Eye Cream – I’ve been having some problems with my eyes lately and the skin around them has taken a big knock so the eye cream has really come in handy for this. I love its smooth and non-sticky texture; it seems to gently absorb into my skin leaving it feeling nourished while definitely reducing my puffy bags. My lines are unfortunately still visible, but I think it’s fair to give the product a bit more time to work its magic.

Multi-Active Sun 30 – Sun creams are a tricky one for me – they can easily clog my pores and leave my skin feeling oilier than usual. So far, I am very impressed with this Multi Active sun cream as it feels light and mild on my skin and I haven’t had any adverse reactions to it. It’s an SPF 30 and contains all the antioxidants that the rest of range has.

Rescue Repair Gel – I haven’t yet used this product, but will be sure to update once I do.  I have a feeling it will come in handy over the December period when my skin will be exposed to the sun.

Sam: To say I am fanatical about my skin is probably an understatement, probably as a result of growing up with extremely sensitive skin – both to the environment and products. At the tender age of 10 my mother had upgraded my sun care range to Clarins (due to my extreme allergies), thus beginning a lifelong love affair with quality skin care products. So, you can then imagine my joy when La Melle offered to put us in touch with one of their approved salons for a treatment!

Besides receiving one of the best skin treatments of my life thus far (more on that later), I was absolutely delighted that La Melle arranged for us to go through to The New You in Bedfordview – mostly because of the wonderful Candice. Candice has excellent product knowledge – something I truly appreciate [I mean: when I walk into a salon and you are selling me a product I want to know everything about it – the number of “therapists” who don’t know the basics is shocking!] – and walked me through the entire process of the Lacti Peel during the treatment.

I had almost forgotten how effective these types of peels can be: in the year of my wedding I religiously had a similar type of peel done every month resulting in the most radiant, healthy skin one the day. The Lacti peel is a very gentle treatment – so I would recommend this as a starting point for anyone looking into doing such things – but highly effective. Once the peel (a light liquid texture) was removed, my skin instantly looked refreshed and less tired. The reason behind this is that the peel helps exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin cells in a way that is much kinder to the skin than granulated exfoliating mask.

Candice also took the time to write out a “prescription” for me after listening to my skin concerns (light pigmentation, pre-mature ageing) and recommended the La Melle Pigmentation Correct (starting at 15% Beta Hydroxy Acid Peels, working my way up to 30% levels over a series of six treatments) and micro-needling to address my ageing concerns. While I am so excited to start the pigmentation peels – in the hope of fading out my “sweet freckles” – I am not yet sold on the micro needling – more out of fear than anything else! 😉

To top off the experience, we both received a massive bag filled with La Melle’s re-vamped Nourish range! I happily accepted it all into my greedy mitts, heeding Candice’s advice to set aside my current skin care products in favour of the La Melle range to really test out the products. My thoughts? Overall, I am impressed (which is actually saying A LOT given my current skin condition). The product is formulated with Anti-Oxidants, in the form of Vitamin C and Vitamin A, and DNA repair enzymes meaning the product is packed with active ingredients and not just cosmetic ingredients. The product system is relatively simple: cleanser, moisturizer, sun cream and eye cream which makes the range a great base for an effective skin care solution. The moment I noticed the biggest difference, funnily enough, was when I stopped using the product for a few days; my skin looked somewhat dull and I noticed the re-appearance of my forehead lines! Back on the product – and put through its paces of long working hours and waaaaay too much salt, sugar and caffeine (skin killers) – I am incredibly surprised by how healthy my skin still looks!

Of the items we received in the range – see Ilaria’s full description above – the winners (to me) are the cleanser, eye cream and Revitalise Cream*: these have been a most welcome addition into my current routine. The question with ‘free’ products received is always whether I would spend my own hard-earned bucks on the product? The answer: yes.

*I have yet to try out the sun cream, but from all accounts this is also a winning product!

A big thank you to La Melle and to the wonderful and professional staff at The New You for treating us to an amazing treatment and for spoiling us with the gorgeous new Nourish Range. Our skin is smiling! 🙂