Take time to stop the passage of time

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype surrounding this or that latest new super-duper anti-ageing cream or eye serum or wrinkle filler but the best products are those that have endured for years (such as Queen's range of products for sensitive skin and problem skin!).

It’s a fact that most new products are launched to bring people into a brand in the hope they will then start using the tried and tested favourites or ‘hero’ products. Think of any big cosmetics department brand and it’s the hero products that will take up the most shelf space and the latest wonder-cream – advertised with free gifts, banners and general fanfare - will soon be phased out and replaced by the next miracle cream containing the newest buzz-word ingredient or essence.

The reason is that most of these new products do not live up to the hype. The cosmetics industry is notorious for its over-the-top claims and promises and yes, we all love the glamour and promise these products offer so we do buy them. However, we know those products we can trust and which suit us and most of us will either buy those as well or revert to them once the jar of the glamorous new product has finished.

Cold cream is one of those classic products that has a loyal band of followers and Queen’s Sensiderma Cold Cream is no different. We have just put it under the Sensiderma banner as it is an ideal product for very dry and/or mature skin. As with all our products, it is formulated exclusively for very sensitive skin. According to Wikipedia, the invention of cold cream is credited to a physician in Second century Greece, Galen.

Wikipedia says: Galen the celebrated physician of Pergamus, in Asia, but who distinguished himself at Athens, Alexandria, and Rome... was the inventor of that particular unguent, a mixture of grease and water, which is now distinguished as cold cream in perfumery, and as Ceratum Galeni in pharmacy.

Wikipedia quotes an 1814 poem credited to "Dr. Russell" which gives the following account of the benefits attributed to cold cream in that day:

WHEN a pot of cold cream to Eliza you send,
You with words to this purpose your present commend;
Whoe'er with this cream shall her countenance smear,
All redness and roughness will strait disappear,
And the skin to a wonder be charmingly clear;
If pimples arise, this will take them away;
If the small-pox should mark you, those marks will decay;
If wrinkled through age, or dawbing the face is,
'Twill be smooth in a trice, as the best Venice glass is;
All this and much more, could I spare time to write it,
(Or my pen go as fast, as your lips would endite it)
You affirm of your cream: and I would not abuse it,
But pray tell me one thing--Do you yourself use it?

Queen’s Sensiderma Cold Cream (http://www.queen-cosmetics.com/sensiderma-range-23-c.asp), like all of our range, is formulated especially for sensitive skins and allergy-prone and problem skin so has none of the rose petals that the older version were said to have. One Queen customer tells me that it is due to her Sensiderma Cold Cream that, even at age 81, she receives glowing comments about her smooth, youthful complexion. Her secret, she reveals, is always to pat the cream into her skin. ‘Never pull or drag, only pat’, she says. She removes the cream with a similar patting motion, gently lifting the day’s grime and/or make-up. Her mother told her this when she was a girl and she has always adhered to it.

This must take forever. But that got me thinking that perhaps taking time is the answer. Instead of quick fixes such as anti-ageing serums or plumping creams, we should just spend more time looking after our skin and ensure we always treat it with reverence and respect. That, and keeping out of the sun, sound like a recipe for eternal youth.

Well, enough pontificating about cold cream. This week’s John Bell & Croyden trip was uneventful, the biting cold keeping many customers at home or in their offices. I met lots of nice women though - including ladies from Brazil, Italy and Japan, all of whom spoke impeccable English – and the showbiz spot of the day was Claire Sweeney. She was sporting blonde hair so I wasn’t sure it was her but the rest of the personality-spotting team confirmed it!

Have a good weekend.