Moisture Soothe – great for rosacea, red sore skin and very dry skin

Our lovely moisturiser cream which has been called KT Cream for the last five years (KT are the initials of the customer we developed it for) is now on general ‘release’ and has its very own name and proper label (oh, the heady heights!):  Sensiderma Moisture Soothe.

KT has very dry, super-sensitive skin and came to us some years ago as she was at the end of her tether. The cream she had been able to use had been discontinued (a familiar tale) and she was desperate. After lengthy trials, we finally found a formulation to work for her and she has been using it ever since with great success. About 18 months ago, we started trialling the product among our other customers as we realised its soothing and cooling properties made it idea for rosacea prone skin or skin prone to redness or flushing. It is also ideal for those skins which do not respond well to very creamy moisturisers or lotions. It has an almost gel-like look and feel, meaning it is very easily absorbed and does not just sit on the surface of the skin.

Queen Sensiderma Moisture Soothe, 50g £14.95

We are also in the process of trying out a new mascara formulation as, while our Queen Mascara proves successful for many customers, there are some who still find they react to it. As we know how heartbreaking it can be to not be able to wear any make-up at all, we are always really keen to help try and find a solution. So, watch this space….

We have just had some lovely feedback about our Sensiderma Rich Hand Cream. A customer bought some for the first time last week and writes via email:

“…the rich hand cream has already proven to be a top product. Usually even sensitive hand creams make my skin red and sore and with patches where the skin splits and bleeds it stings and itches (attractive right!) but on my first few trials of the Sensiderma Rich Hand Cream I feel nothing but moisturised skin which is fantastic. It was also a pleasure to open the little tub and have no instant perfumed pong attack my nostrils – it smells of nothing, which I think is great. I am looking forward to rescuing my hands this winter!”

It is a great product and non-greasy which is essential. There is nothing worse than slathering on hand cream only to find you can’t do anything without casting oily fingerprints everywhere!

Well, that’s enough trumpet-blowing for one day. Today’s product of choice seems to be Sensiderma Rich Cleanser with one customer remarking while placing her order: “I do try other things from time to time (you know what we women are like) but I always come back to Queen.”

The Queen Team

Queen cream voted ‘Best for Sensitive Skin’

It has been far too long since we last posted but, with our move out of the way and everything working smoothly (famous last words!) at our new factory and office, it is high time we got back on the blogging bandwagon.

We moved back in the summer to our new premises in Uckfield in East Sussex where we have a little bit more room to manufacture our products and some road frontage. While our previous location on a rural industrial estate was divine from an aesthetic point of view, it was a nightmare to get to last winter with the heavy snow which really did hamper operations. Also, it wasn’t great for local customers wishing to drop in and buy or try our range of skincare and make-up products for sensitive skin. Now, we are in much more accessible location with good customer parking and a communal foyer/reception area where we can display and sell the products.

Our new telephone number is 01825 768 845 and our address is: 60-64 Framfield Road, Uckfield, TN22 5AR. We share the building with a fabulous campervan rental company called CJs Campers (www.cjscampers.com). They not only rent out VW campervans for holidays and weekends but also make bespoke fittings for them and offer servicing too. Our favourite camper is currently Gilbert although Kevin is running a close second. If you are interested in renting a campervan and live in Sussex the south east or even London (they will pick you up from the station!), get in touch with clare@cjscampers.com.

Aside from the move, the big excitement has been our appearance in Good Housekeeping Magazine’s November issue (out now!) in which they did a review of 100 moisturisers. Their panel of testers voted Queen Sensiderma Renew & Refine cream best for sensitive skin with tester Karen saying: “Usually I have red patches around my nose and on my cheeks that I have to cover with foundation but since using this product I’ve been leaving home without foundation for the first time in years.”

Sensiderma Renew & Refine is our anti-wrinkle cream for sensitive skin and has become a real favourite among Queen customers since its launch 18 months ago. Read the review for yourself – the article has recommendations for all skin sorts and conditions so it is worth getting a copy of the issue. The Queen review is page 146!

 

    

With Theatrical Cleansing Cream and our Moisturiser proving to be flavour of the day today, it’s time for us to get the orders packed up and shipped out.

Oh, one more thing..Queen products are now available to buy via Amazon. All of our skincare features and our trial sizes too so it’s a great opportunity to stock up on sensitive skin creams and lotions while doing your other shopping too! Visit Amazon.co.uk.

Have a great weekend!

Spring care for sensitive skin

With the harsh winter weather (hopefully) now a distant memory, it's very definitely time to turn our attention towards preparing sensitive skin for summer, helping it to fully recover from the onslaught it has suffered from wind and cold, central heating and heavy, rough winter clothes and shoes.

We have just launched our Spring offers with Queen Seaside Cream taking pride of place. If ever there was a product which everyone should own a jar of, it's Seaside Cream. Its thick, emollient formulation is deeply moisturising but also soothes and protects.

Catherine, one of our lovely customers said last week: "I just keep finding uses for it. Whenever I think I need something for a particular skin problem or issue, I try Seaside Cream and it does the job. It really is marvellous."

As the name would suggest, Seaside Cream was developed for use on skin which had been exposed to sun and wind, soothing that horrid dry, tight feeling and any sunburn and enabling skin to repair. Use before exposure to the sun, underneath sun protection, and it prevents skin ever feeling tight and dry. But there are many more uses: it serves as an intensive hand or foot cream, an intensive moisturiser, an eye cream, a lip balm, it stops itching caused by bites, can prevent chafing and blisters if you are a runner or sportsperson and can even be mixed with your make-up to provide a lipgloss or gentle sheen to cheeks. At just £10 for 50ml or £15.40 for 100g, it is great value and a little goes a very long way.

Why not take a look at it by clicking Seaside Cream - fabulous sensitive skin cream with a multitude of uses.

We are pleased to report that we have had a really positive response to our 'new' moisturiser. We day 'new' because it has actually been in production for four years but has been made for an individual client and has, to date, only been sold to her. Having had customers say they have very dry sensitive skin but that rich creams just don't sink in, we started to think about trialling this new cream more widely. It is very silky, has a very light almost gel-like look and feel but is deeply moisturising. We started sending out trial sizes in February and the cream is now in general production with many customers adopting it as their main moisturiser. "I love the fact it goes in really easily and feels very soothing," says one customer.

One small problem is it hasn't yet got a name so is going by the sobriquet 'Special Formulation Moisturiser' which doesn't do it justice at all. We are on the case brainstorming possibilities and hope to give it something fitting very soon. If you would like a sample or fancy suggesting a name, do let us know at info@queen-cosmetics.com.

With our recent little bits of press coverage and the fact we do seem to be moving up the rankings in terms of search engines, our fame is spreading slowly.

One new customer called to order this morning, having tried some samples last week: "I am so impressed with the range. The redness I have been suffering seems to be much better and my skin is just so much more comfortable. Thank you!".

Another longstanding customer who has recently returned from overseas has stated she is going to write to all the beauty press to tell them about Queen and that she is going to convert all her friends here in the UK. Her favourite story is one about a visit to a La Prairie consultant in Copenhagen. "They were offering free skin analysis and I had some time to kill so thought, why not?!," she says. "The consultant said my skin was excellent and that it was obvious I used La Prairie products. I was aghast and told her that no, I certainly did not and that I used a range which was made in the UK called Queen Cosmetics. She looked very shocked."

Time to get the orders out.

The Queen Team

France taking the lead in making sense of cosmetics claims

It's been a busy and hectic start to the year at Queen Cosmetics especially given the snow which made actually getting to our rural HQ nearly impossible (thanks must go out to friends of Queen for the loan of a Jeep which saved the day and meant at least two of us could keep things moving!). The combination of more online orders because people were holed up at home and had time to surf and shop and the fact that the postal service was seriously disrupted meant some anxious days wondering if anything was getting through to our customers. Like the rest of the nation, we've seriously had enough of extreme winter weather!

The beginning of the year coincided with a nice write-up in Good Housekeeping Magazine's Beauty News pages where our Medicated Cleansing Lotion was tipped. "Gentle cleansers are best and one I always recommend to sensitive-skinned friends is Queen Medicated Cleansing Lotion from little-known brand Queen Cosmetics". See below for the full spiel.

Here at HQ, we are working on developing a number of new products, including a night cream for dry sensitive skin, and on a general launch of a cream which  we make for an individual client who has been using it for three years. We have trialled it over the last six months with other customers and it is proving excellent for those with very dry sensitive skin which doesn't respond well to rich, heavy creams. It's very light and easily absorbed but provides excellent moisturisation and protection. Do call us and ask about our Special Formulation Moisturiser on 01342 312 739 if you want to sample the cream.

Elsewhere in the cosmetics world, we were really interested to read in SPC Magazine (see it online at www.cosmeticsbusiness.com) about some new rules being brought in in France regarding the claims that cosmetics' manufacturers make for their products. The ARPP, a non-governmental body that enacts and enforces rule governing advertising professionals in France, has validated a set of rules which means that a product claiming to be natural will have to have no less than 95% natural or naturally derived ingredients and can only be called organic if 100% of ingredients are from organic farming.

Says SPC: "What's more it's going to put a stop to the infuriating free-from culture that has stigmatised so many cosmetic materials. Phrases like 'paraben-free' or 'without silicones' will be out and perhaps such ingredients may even be able to hold their heads up high again."

Whether or not other countries will follow suit is not yet known but let's hope so.

Late Winter offers will be launched soon so visit www.queen-cosmetics.com to keep up to date!

The Queen Team