Jet set beauty | Clarisonic Opal and Rodin Olio Lusso lip balm

Whisking yourself away on a last-minute weekend trip somewhere tropical? I know, me neither. But for those of you who are (or still received a bonus), there are a few new jet set products out there that'll give you more room in that carry-on for the cruise collections.

The latest (not yet released) is the Clarisonic Opal, a miniature, flattened version of the Clarisonic that uses the same sonic technology but this time coupled with serum already loaded into the plastic pellet. The brush is smaller as it's meant to be used around the eyes. In the video, they demonstrate the way the sonic movements are better at pushing the product (in the case of Clarisonic Opal, already loaded into the device) into the cap of a mushroom than your fingers are at patting it on. I'm not entirely sure that our skin works in the same way as a mushroom so a bit baffled by that but any advances made in the field of exfoliation have my fullest attention. Price TBA.

The second bit of jet set beauty news is the launch of Rodin Olio Lusso lip balm, which hit shelves at the end of last year. Lost in the flurry of festive madness, it's now surfacing a bit in the press and is stocked at such fine stores at Beauty Cube in Spain and Barney's in New York. The famous floral scent from the elixir now comes in the form of an all-natural, sheer, blush-coloured balm. Ingredients include jasmine, orange flower oil, shea butter, beeswax, and castor seed oil all within a very cool lucite square compact (of the Belmacz packaging family. Love it). In London, Rodin Olio Lusso lip balm is stocked at Notting Hill's Beautyworkswest.com for £18 ($28).

Alternatives for the skinted among us:

Instead of Clarisonic Opal try, well, your hands. They're not moving at a sonic speed, but simple massage (done correctly can help). Emma Hardie and Sarah Chapman both champion a sort of dry traction massage that seems to work wonders in the short run (same sort of thing that's promised with the Opal).

Instead of Rodin Olio Lusso lip balm try Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm. It melts right onto your lips, stays put for ages and truly does moisturise them (it's brought my lips back from the brink of completely chapping many times). I find things like Vaseline just exacerbate or mask the problem. This afforable product (half the price) works. Available at Spacenk.com and many chemists for £9.00 (in all the chemists in France).

Dermelect Oxygen Facial Commission

Over the past few months three skincare ranges have launched that have dubiously similar packaging and back stories. Olay ProX, L'Oreal Advanced RevitaLift and Dermelect Cosmeceuticals all have the same red/clear plastic packaging. Olay and Dermelect Cosmeceuticals in particular share the same angle (combining science and beauty... Olay has a panel of scientists and skin experts and Dermelect says their brand is 'formulated jointly by medical professionals & licensed estheticians'.

Either one of these three ranges ended up being the 'inspiration' behind the other two or market research showed that liberal use of the colour red and the word 'science' on their anti-ageing products really reeled in the middle-aged, female customer base. 

Description

Brand comparisons aside, let's focus on Dermelect, as I recently trialled their Detoxifying Oxygen (O₂) Facial Commission. It might just be my mind (in the gutter), but does anyone else find this name to sound a bit dirty (completely irrational, I know)? Also, the abuse of the word 'commission' confuses me. (Really doesn't make sense here. The site says that one of the beauty benefits of this product is that it is 'commissioned to cleanse, re-energize, de-stress and hydrate skin'. I didn't realise products could be authorised or charged with something as they don't possess, well, life and a will and all that... and the word 'furnish'. I don't want to furnish my face with anything. I understand that alliteration is snappy but just because it rhymes and shows up on Thesaurus.com doesn't mean it makes sense. Anyway, I digress.)

However strange the name and however many liberties taken with the English language, this product is Dermelect's Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask. It doubles as a cleanser as well as a foaming mask, which is nifty as Bliss's product has not been marketed in such a way. The formula feels a bit thicker but otherwise has the same tingly effect on the skin. I couldn't find the full ingredient list on the website (under the ingredients tab, the only things listed are  Sodium PCA, BV-OSC, Pro-Vitamin B₅, Soy Protein, Licorice Extract and Rice Bran Extract). Skinstore.com lists all of the ingredients: Aqua, Methyl Perfluorobutyl Ether, Glucose, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Dimethicone PEG-7 Phosphate, Sodium PCA, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Sodium Cocamidopropyl, PG-Dimonium Chloride Phosphate, Acrylates Copolymer, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Mica, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Tocopherol, Red 40 (CI 16035), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Glycyrrhiza glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Parfum, Carbomer, Papain and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate.

The Good

It's cheaper than Bliss Triple Oxygen and has many of the same ingredients (both good and bad). It has that great tingly, foaming effect and doubles as a cleanser so it's great for travel too as it'll save space as a 2-in-1 product.

The Bad

It features some ingredients (as does the Bliss mask) which dry out skin, like Sodium Laureth Sulfate.

The Price

$48.00 for 3.30z.

Dermelect Detoxifying Oxygen (O₂) Facial Commission

Rodial Glamotox™

Rodial's known for their somewhat clinical approach to non-surgical beauty. Tummy tuck and the lot promise results without the need to go under the knife. That said, most of their products focus on the body.

Not any more. This fall, they're launching the lastest in facial skincare with Glamotox™, a 'glamorous alternative to botox'. This non-invasive alternative to surgery has SPF18 and micro-injected hyaluronic acid (the ingredient du jour, it's amazing for moisturising), pomegranate ellagic tannins (Rodial's hero ingredient), myrrh extract, peptides and vitamin c. Think of it as preventative and restorative moisturising.

It's £98 for a 50ml bottle. It is supposed to be available for sale in December.

PS: Look out for the a-list cleanser coming soon.