I don't need a rainbow family... I have skincare

Hear me out before you think I've gone off the deep end from working in windowless solitude 15 floors above humanity. I'm no madder than before, just agonising over posts lately. There's a backlog, you see, and the more projects I pick up (I can't feed myself on mascara and pixels and, if you didn't know, few beauty blogs are yet awash with advertising $£$£), the less precious minutes there are dedicated to das blog, esp. as it battles with husband, exercise (not a natural part of life in the Land of Lincoln, requiring a gym. French women would get fat here), the siren call of the wine cellar... Many things.

Anyway, I got to thinking lately that, really, there isn't any good reason I must segment my thoughts on the skincare gracing my bathroom, because I don't in practice either. I have a very hard time understanding (other than for revenue purposes) why brands swear you shouldn't stray and use -- gasp! -- products from different ranges all that the same time. There should be little harm if used interchangeably or, even, at once... my theory goes that they should, really, enhance each other (the unspoken exception is for 'sloughing' or acidic solutions... probably don't mix those together).

Never have I found this all-embracing attitude towards skincare more effective than with moisturisers. There's no reason (especially if a beauty editor with a bounty of beauty at your fingertips) not to customise your products and embrace the chaos of the extended skincare family. For the last month I've been concocting a powerhouse winter moisturiser in my bathroom-cum-lab every day because my skin is DRY (I mean, can't wear foundation because it sits atop my molting skin dry, more desicated than a mummy dry). At first, I tried using the three moisturisers separately, searching for anything to make the taut gossamer sheen, that telltale sign of supreme dryness, disappear. Alone, each performed okay but, alas, the complexion became ashy and red before too long, no matter how closely I sat next to the humidifier.

Starting in October, I had already also switched to cleansing solely with balms (a hybrid, this time of REN-The Organic Pharmacy-Emma Hardie) at night, using just a splash of warm water in the morning and applying said powerhouse moisturiser (detailed below) the rest of the time... and things seem to be going well for now (we'll get to the, I believe, unrelated outbreak of winter adult acne and bacne later). What's in the mix? Read on to find out...

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MV Skincare comes to the UK this month

My favourite London beauty boutique Content Beauty/Wellbeing is about to become the first stockist of Australian range MV Skincare. Beauty experts like Bethan Cole and Nichola Joss endorse the brand and I'm keen to try it once I'm back to the real world as it's apparently great for sensitive skin. I have skin that gets inflamed and red at the mere thought of the elements or lesser products.

Founder Sharon McGlinchey has been creating beauty products for 13 years. The MV range features products like pure Jojoba Oil and Rose Facial Mist... the Gentle Cream Cleanser seems to have expert approval. Full ingredient lists are missing, which is a pet peeve. But there is an abbreviated list of what is and is not used in the FAQs so that's where you should start if you want to read up on the contents. The site is pretty information-rich otherwise and I'm wondering if Content will pick up MV Skincare treatments too.

It seems that Australia is exporting its beautywares more and more to the UK and beyond. Furthermore, it seems to be seriously nudging its way into the natural/organic beauty market. Kuush, Invisible Zinc, Grow and now MV Skincare. Well done down under.