What to leave in 2017 or 'The New Rules'

Hello! And welcome to the end of what has been without doubt, the best year of my life professionally, and the absolute worst personally. I'm not exaggerating when I say this. 2017 has been the coriander of years. It sucked. Big time. We've been through the mill, around the block, dragged through the hedge, call it what you will, I'm just glad it's over. We all are. Finally. Alas 2018 is upon us. YAY!

I thought it would be as good a time as any to do a few updates, both on previous posts and topics covered, and obviously, some new ideas/theories/incoming brands. First up, the word 'rules'. The only real rule being there are no 'rules'. Find what works for you and go for it. Do what makes you and your skin happy.

Having said that, there are a few things that have somehow made their way into the mainstream that really need to get in the sea. No exceptions, do not pass go, do not collect your $200, just get in the sea. And they are..

Glitter in skincare. Do me a favour. You should now call your line 'jokey things to put on your face!' because there is certainly no 'care' involved anymore. See also: anything unicorn. ANYTHING unicorn. Get in the sea.
Peel-off black glue-like masks you buy from ads on Facebook. No. Stop. Immediately.
SPF50 Drops that claim to give you complete spf coverage, even when mixed with your moisturiser. Righty Ho. How do they do that then? What magical wizardry makes them stay in a pure undiluted form when mixed with another product? Get in the sea.
Animal by-products in the form of bee venoms, snail extracts etc.. I took a lot of flak from fans of Korean skincare when I had the audacity to suggest that perhaps the extraction processes for snail products weren't perhaps the most animal-friendly. (Despite me never mentioning Korea in the post) Well, here we are almost a year later and nothing has changed. Brands that promised proof they were 'snail-friendly' actually just sent faxes saying 'Hi! To confirm we collect the mucin from nets and/or water extraction and don't harm the snails.' and the general consensus remains that the snails have to be stressed to produce the goo that everyone wants so... And bee venom. We need to be doing everything we possibly can to protect and save bees. Not asking them to repeatedly sting a sheet of metal so that we can collect their good stuff for ourselves. We have plenty of excellent ingredients available to us that have nothing to do with animal extracts. And that goes for animal testing and China too. China and the other countries that require animal testing will have zero impetus to stop and move on to less abhorrent methods if huge brands such as NARS, Fresh, Caudalie, ByTerry, Aromatherapy Associates, Estee Lauder, Elemis et al take the money and run. Just wait it out. If everyone refuses to sell there they would have to change. As it stands, brands are selling to them, they're making money, and they have zero reason to stop. Animal testing can Get in the Sea.
Silly claims and extortionate pricing. Let 2018 be the year that those brands that produce 'statement skincare' i.e. products that cost £500 (or you know, £300) for a 30ml of something with a huge claim attached to it, but no actual clinical trials to back them up, are held to account by their would-be customers. Nothing costs that much in skincare. Nothing. At least tell people they're paying for the packaging and your mark-up and be honest about it. If you can afford it and enjoy it, great. But if you can't, you're not missing out on anything you can't get anywhere else for a fraction of the price.
Excessive layering of products. I'm the first to hold my hand up and say I will happily layer 2 maybe 3 thin serums on occasion, but I am tagged regularly on Instagram on posts with people/brands showing the application of 5+ serums on a regular basis. Remember you're talking about penetrating an area literally thinner than this -> -------- <- and only so much will go in. Save your money, use a couple, switch them up on occasion.
Having botox done by someone not qualified to even give you a peel. The first thing you should ask yourself when having anything done is 'What would happen if this goes wrong? Can this person treat me for any reaction/burning/bruising/misplacement/damage?' If the answer is not a definitive 'Yes', then don't have the treatment. Simple. 'Practitioners' popping up at botox parties and treating multiple people in a non-sterile environment while people are drinking need to Get In The Sea for 2018.
Super harsh facial scrubs that claim to close pores and brighten the skin 'without irritation'. Impossible. Dr Lancer (for example) did not save Victoria Beckham's PCOS acne scars and give Kim Kardashian porcelain skin using his scrubs. He did it by lasering the living bejesus out of them. Don't get me wrong, they look great, but it wasn't a scrub.
Dermatologists recommending La Roche Posay, Avene and Vichy (among others) repeatedly. French pharmacy brands set aside huge marketing budgets every year to target and court dermatologists and pharmacies and win over all their 'affordable' recommendations. It is literally the skincare equivalent of lobbyists in politics. A full budget dedicated solely to wooing dermatologists, all so that when a magazine asks a derm what affordable product they would recommend they hear the magical 'Oh I always recommend XXX in my practice, it's excellent and does exactly the same as professional brands!'. We all know its not true but that's how the cookie crumbles. Question everything.
Cheap dermarollers. Buy quality assured, and buy short needles to begin with. Change it regularly, keep it sterile. Don't buy them from Facebook ads.

Onto cheerier things! Brands finally hitting the UK this year include: Herbivore - SpaceNK exclusive Kate Somerville - Cult Beauty exclusive Drunk Elephant - SpaceNK exclusive About bloody time! No further update on Sephora. It would seem internal indecision has let them get another year behind them without launching in the extremely lucrative UK market. The problem? They want to give us the boring bog standard European version, we all want the US version, and the brands therein. We have enough french fragrance on the high street already thanks chaps. And finally, things that are coming up in January on here:

the launch of the newsletter
the changed-up 12 Days of Giveaways
the three videos left over from 2017 delayed due to my flu (I'm finishing this post from day 9 in bed and yes that included the Christmas period in its entirety, you see what I mean about this sucky year)