I've been using a Clinique facial moisturiser fairly religiously until I strayed a couple of weeks ago and decided to invest in a Dermalogica facial moisturiser... after all variety is the spice of life and all that! I'm a bit of a moisturising addict (along with pretty much every other beauty product out there to be fair) and can't abide having dry or flaky skin, as such as I moisturise rather religiously every morning and even at night too sometimes. I also find that without using a facial moisturiser my make up doesn't sit quite right on my face and so insist on using one. Therefore I feel this somehow justifies my ability to spend a whole week's worth of food shopping money on one single bottle of moisturiser... and a rather small bottle at that as well!

The Dermalogica brand is one that I've used a couple of times over the past few years and have always had fairly good results from using them as well. Dermalogica was set up in 1986 by a lady called Jane Wurwand based on the belief that skincare products should focus on skin health rather than beauty. She aimed to create a product line that was free of common irritants and ingredients that could often cause breakouts but merely focused on improving skin condition and health. It was one of the first brands to focus on skin as a health issue rather than a cosmetic issue and this meant it received great recognition. The brand also steers clear of animal testing and is now the number one choice of skin care professionals worldwide making it... well... famous really! They're a bit like Clinique in that they recommend you have a consultation with one of their professionals before using their products, that's because they make several versions of the same product so that they can give you one which suits your skin the best. They aim to "decode" the different "zones" on your face and therefore tailor their products to what will suit you best, it all sounds rather fancy but I always tend to buy mine online. They offer a full range of skincare products (for the face and the body) and a limited range of make up too.

The Dermalogica Pure Light SPF 30 is advertised as a medium weight daytime moisturiser which basically means it's not intense enough to use as a night moisturiser but on the plus side it also isn't intense enough to make your skin greasy. It offers to condition and brighten your skin while also protecting against pigment inducing UV light which can cause damage skin and cause premature ageing too. The cream contains peptides, vitamin C and botanical extracts which all help to treat and prevent any discolouration and keep skin firm while hyaluronic acid offers to hydrate your skin and help to minimise any fine lines as well. It contains no artificial colour or fragrance as is customary with this brand and therefore shouldn't cause any reactions at all.

The Dermalogica Pure Light SPF 30 comes in a small, off white, circular bottle which looks fairly clinical upon first glance. It's got a matching circular lid in the same colour which is easy to pull off to reveal the pump style dispenser. The bottle has Dermalogica's trademark grey writing on it which tells you the brand and product name as well as some other basic information. The dispenser pump is light grey in colour and can be turned clockwise and anti-clockwise in order to start and stop the flow. Overall the packaging is fairly sanitised looking but it is typical of Dermalogica, it looks clean and smart which I like and the brand stands out.

The moisturiser itself is off white in colour and has no fragrance attached to it, there is a slight scientific style smell to it which I couldn't really describe as off putting at all. It's quite a pleasant smell that reinforces the idea of Dermalogica only using pure products and not adding unnecessary ingredients to their products merely to fragrance them in any way. When you push the pump down the whole way a half pea sized amount is dispensed so I find I have to pump down twice to dispense enough to cover my face. The moisturiser itself is quite thick in terms of its consistency; it's not very runny at all and is more of a cream than a lotion really.

It's really easy to apply, as the majority of moisturisers are really, I simply massage it gently into my skin using my fingertips and I find that it's absorbed really quickly. It doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy at all but does leave it with a somewhat chalky feel to it and I'm sure it does make me look ever so slightly paler (even with fake tan on which is odd)! This is something that my friend also mentioned to me, it's almost as if it soaks in but leaves a very thin, chalky residue on the top of your skin - it's not really unpleasant but I don't really like the effect to be honest, nor do I like looking paler than I already am! Initially it leaves my skin feeling smooth and soft. However, in terms of its long term moisturising properties I have to be honest and say I'm not overly impressed really, although it leaves my skin feeling quite soft it does still feel a little bit dry (especially in the more dry areas of my face) and when I take it off my skin feels as dry as it did prior to application as if the moisturiser hasn't really made any difference.

I've been using the Dermalogica Pure Light SPF 30 for a couple of weeks now and can't say I'm overly fond of it - I have no doubts at all that it's protecting my skin from harmful UV rays which is a good thing but with regards to its moisturising abilities I'm really rather disappointed. The moisturising effects are really rather minimal, I suffer from dry skin sometimes and this really did nothing for it - it hardly made any impact on it at all... not good! I've found that I have to use a night cream every other night when using this to stop my skin from becoming too dry, which I normally only have to do in the very middle of the cold winter!

It's only available in a 50ml bottle which is priced at around the £40 mark but I managed to get mine for half price as my beauty salon were doing a special offer for loyal customers (considering I give them about a quarter of my wages each year I think I'm what you'd call loyal)! Now £40 seems rather a lot for such a small bottle and normally I'd never even consider spending this amount, my cut off point is usually around £20 for facial moisturising products. In retrospect I would never have invested £20 in this, let alone £40, as it was such a disappointment. Dermalogica isn't sold in stores such as Boots so you'll have to either purchase it online or from a beauty salon that stocks Dermalogica products if you really want to waste your money! In conclusion I would give it a tentative three stars for its UV protection abilities but it's actually only getting a one star from me overall due to its moisturising abilities and the chalky feel that it leaves on my face! Sadly Dermalogica just haven't hit the mark this time!

Thanks for reading.