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4 Minute Read
No matter how great our intentions (“this year I’ll have the shopping done by the end of November…..”) most of us helter-shelter into the Christmas season at breakneck speed wondering how on earth the year slipped by without us noticing. Even the best-laid plans can end in frantic selection-box buying on Christmas Eve and hiding under duvets shouting “no more baileys. I. Can’t. Take. It” before December is out.
In the face of the inevitable chaos, late nights, cortisol spikes and a diet of party finger-food, how can you come out with your skin (and sanity) intact?
There are of course some must-haves. Take ten minutes every day with no screens, no to-do list, and just be – don’t do. Increase your intake of free-radical fighting vitamins A, C and E, increase your fruit and vegetable intake, and never sacrifice sleep. Pimp your water with added electrolytes. Balance the wellbeing books and your body and skin will thank you.
So what else can you do to ensure your ‘Get up and Glow’ doesn’t get up and go?
Firstly, and we can’t stress this enough, NEVER, EVER (don’t say we didn’t warn you, in the words of Taylor Swift) go to bed without taking off your make-up, or even just the surface dirt that has accumulated. Sleeping with less than squeaky clean skin, or applying make-up on top it it, allows oil and bacteria to build up which leads to breakouts.
Our Luminous Glow cleanser is a genius transforming two-in-one formula that changes from a rich golden gel to a hydrating milk when water is added. The fatty-acids boost hydration levels and promote suppleness whilst fruit acids gently encourage cells to turnover, revealing the luminous glowing skin trying to breakthrough underneath.
No matter what you do afterwards, never skip this 30 second step. No matter how tempting.
(We’ll also let you into a secret – using our cleanser as a 10 minute mask pre-party will leave your skin with such a glow your guests may need sunglasses…)
Our hottest tip for December though has to be this – always wear protection. If you wouldn’t cycle without a helmet, or paddle without wellies, don’t put your skin through the seasonal onslaught unless it's fully equipped.
Our Morn to Eve concentrate is THE go-to to keep your skin happy, balanced, protected and nourished as you navigate your calendar. Containing a freshwater algae and Abysisinica oil derived blend of carotenoids along with our polyphenol rich raspberry leaf extract and glow-giving fruit puree, it acts as a ‘virtual shield’ for the skin when applied, to absorb visible light whilst also activating skin’s own defence against oxidative stress and adding in barrier repair.
Our advice? Don’t go out without it. Your skin deserves a helping hand whilst navigating the late nights, panic-buying, and inevitable influx of relatives.
And above all, don’t forget your party spirit.
5 Minute Read
Without even really noticing the year go by, all too soon Halloween and seasonal fireworks are behind us again.
Christmas looms large on the horizon, with this year throwing up the prospect of more parties, more socialising than we’ve enjoyed over the last couple of years and most of us cant wait to get back out there and dazzle. If you’re anything like us, those new year resolutions about self-care and getting the best skin of your life this year are still sitting, unpacked, like last year’s slippers and the board game nobody played.
So how can you ramp up your glow quickly?
The first step on the road to gorgeous dewy skin is cleansing – make it top of your resolutions, because without a balanced and squeaky clean slate to work with, no skincare can really deliver. We tend to think of cleanser as a basic step that delivers no more than getting the skin clean, but a great cleanser should also balance, hydrate and gently encourage cells to turnover, leading to fresher more radiant skin to work with.
Our Luminous Glow Cleanser, launching at the end of November, is the perfect first step to radiance. Packed with fruit acids to chase away surface dullness and dead skin cells, it’s also rich in antioxidant raspberry leaf to help repair damage from pollution and daily stress whilst shielding the skin barrier from disruption with blackcurrant seed oil and brightening carrot seed. The icing on the cake is a generous level of EZ Rubus ID® , our activated raspberry seed oil that improves bioavailability of both the finished product and our active ingredients whilst plumping and stimulating collagen production. You can even use this as an express glow mask – leave on for 10 minutes and wait for the compliments to pour in.
Adding in a serum, oil or concentrate before moisturising is the real key to glowing skin – this type of product is usually packed with a concentrated hit of actives that really deliver and as an add-on to your core routine, you can feel free to change it up, listening to what your skin really needs at the time. Feeling dry and papery? Look for a hydrating oil or hyaluronic acid product. Feeling drab and grey? Go for glow with acids and vitamin C.
Three Moons Brightening Concentrate is the glow-seekers dream. Lightweight , rapidly absorbed and perfect for layering over cleansers and essences but underneath hydrating products, its packed with our proprietary raspberry fruit infusion, high in AHAs to boost radiance without irritation. It also contains a stable vitamin-C complex and liposomal Microalgae to reduce uneven skin tones and right age spots. We love it so much we mix a few drops into our night cream whenever we’re feeling less than sparkling.
Often overlooked is hydration – dry and parched skin is the biggest barrier to radiance. To get the reflective glass glow we’re all craving, never forget to nourish. In the winter months, central heating and harsher weather means skin needs extra TLC sometimes and this is where oils really come into their own. Look for products rich in omega fatty acids to plump and bolster the skin barrier. We may be biased, but we’ve yet to find a product to rival our skin superhero, Full Bloom Plumping Concentrate. Use at night, patting into skin to boost its absorption, or mix a couple of drops into your make-up base for a lit-from-within gleam. It’s packed with our unique activated raspberry seed oil which is highly bioavailable to the skin, alongside chia, pomegranate and lupin seed oils for a full spectrum omega boost.
It’s easy to think we need to jump straight to make-up products such as highlighters and glosses when we want to boost our radiance, but skincare really is the best place to start –with the right products in place you’ll find the sought-after Kelsey Glow is easy to achieve!
2 Minute Read
After years of being shrouded in silence, conversation around menopause is finally opening up. Women, tired of feeling invisible, tucked away, ignored and treated like easily-breakable china in midlife, are challenging brands to create product offerings that speak to their life experiences. And considering the fact that around 900K women in the UK will quit the workforce due to the challenges of hormonal changes, this shift in attitude is long overdue.
The gauntlet has been thrown down, and a host of brands, from nutrition to skincare to clothing are entering the arena claiming to offer the perfect solution Perfect timing, as women with their new-found confidence demand products that make them look great on the outside too.
So actually happens to the skin during menopause?
Firstly, it’s a slower transition than has been previously recognised. Perimenopause can begin up to 10 years before menopause is medically confirmed. That’s 10 years (and more) of irregular, irritable skin that can’t work out whether to sag, break out or freak out – redness and irritation are common as hormonal changes and dehydration set in.
As oestrogen declines, so does collagen and the fibroblasts that stimulate elastin. Coupled with a slower cellular turnover, it’s a recipe for dull, depleted and dehydrated skin resulting in loss of radiance, slackness and fine lines. And slower turnover means less product absorbed where it needs to be.
So how can you tackle this?
- Tread lightly – your usual routine of retinol and harsh acids may no longer serve you, and could in fact push sensitised skin over the edge. Switch to a richer cleanser boosted with fatty acids, vegetable cleansing agents and gentle brighteners such as vitamin C and AHAs. Our soon-to-launch Luminous Glow Cleanser also doubles as an express brightening mask, gently removing all traces of make-up whilst promoting a vibrant complexion.
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Protect – the daily dose of UV, pollution, blue light and harsh foaming agents we are subject to means your skin needs antioxidants to shield against damage from free radicals. (Our Morn to Eve Concentrate is loaded with a potent virtual ‘shield” to support skin and neutralise environmental damage)
- Invigorate – As cellular turnover slows and circulation becomes more sluggish, our once taken for granted gleaming radiance can become a distant memory. Three Moons Brightening Concentrate is loaded with raspberry fruit pulp, rich in brightening vitamins, to gently boost turnover and reveal fresher, brighter skin whilst polyphenol rich raspberry leaf shields against damage.
- Support – Feed skin with nourishing fatty acids to protect the skin barrier whilst stimulating the production of collagen for a plumping volume boost. Full Bloom Plumping Concentrate features lupin seed oil and our raspberry seed oil which work together to help restore a more uniform tone and texture.
- Supercharge your skin – menopausal and perimenopausal skin needs more than it ever has. Our products all contain our proprietary active EZ Rubus ID®, an enzymatically activated raspberry seed oil that has been molecularly altered to be highly bioavailable and is able to amplify the results of each finished product by ensuring optimum penetration. This hero molecule helps minimise epidermal water loss and helps to lock in actives.
We can and should challenge outdated perceptions around what it means to be in midlife. Lets start with all getting what we deserve - unapologetically gorgeous glowing skin.
4 Minute Read
Autumn. The season that can fill you with the romanticised mood of crunching leaves, chunky knits and the comfort of delicious food and drink can also leave you battling an unsettled complexion, with skin feeling conflicted and unbalanced as it struggles to cope with the challenges of seasonal transition.
While we cling on to the last moments of sunshine, the fading evening light, the shadows lengthening, a chilly dew on the grass in the morning, we face a moment of reflection on what was a long hot summer and what that has meant for our skin health.
Like your wardrobe, a trans-seasonal switch up to refocus your skin health management with targeted solutions ensures that you navigate the fluctuations of the day to day, season to season, year to year, with minimal disruption and skin stress.
Seasonal Challenges:
Signs of Summer; We had a glorious heatwave, we basked in the warm glow of sunshine that stayed far longer than we have been used to; but as we see the reflection of a fading glow, skin tone appearing uneven and the signs of hyperpigmentation, it is clear that skin is showing the lacklustre aftermath from UV over-exposure.
Dehydration; From the ever more noticeable chill in the air, a slightly more biting wind and the reluctant firing up of the central heating, our skin can enter a state of unrest, becoming reactive to the fluctuations of temperature, putting pressure on the regulation of our barrier function and zapping skin of vital hydration. This can lead to skin feeling tight, fragile, uneven and prone to reactive flare-ups.
Dietary and lifestyle changes; Autumn brings the return of term time, shorter days and adjusting our diets to more comforting, warming foods, we stay in more and some of us are less active. This shift in structure, diet, hydration and physical activity can affect our sleep patterns. Sleep helps our bodies rejuvenate – stimulating collagen, suppressing cortisol the stress hormone. Without sufficient rest our bodies cannot restore vital resistance to biological, environmental and physical stress that triggers damage to skin health. As a result, our skin care experience a loss of the structural proteins and essential hydration, that keep skin plump, smooth and even resulting in formation of wrinkles and fine lines.
Seasonal Solutions:
Refine; During the warmer months, when humidity rises, skin produces more sebum. During the transition of seasons, the skin needs to re-balance to the new conditions and climate this may leave your complexion feeling dry, uneven, perhaps even patchy and flaky. Gently exfoliating the surface layers of the skin with a botanical AHA (Alpha Hydroxy Acid) helps lift away dead skin cells, surface impurities and decongest the pores to minimise the opportunity for break outs, leaving skin smooth, bright and primed for hydration.
Our revitalising Three Moons Brightening Concentrate is the perfect way to promote an even skin tone, fight hyperpigmentation and boost the natural radiance of the skin.
Packed with a stabilised form of Vitamin C along with Raspberry leaf extract and Raspberry fruit infusion, natural extracts upcycled from our harvesting methods which produce a naturally occurring AHA to help reveal fresh, smooth skin.
Restore; It is common for the skin barrier function to be impaired as we transition from season to season. The chilled air contrasting with warm indoor temperatures can destabilise the natural balance of the skin barrier function, creating an increase in TEWL (trans epidermal water loss). Lost natural moisture can cause skin to become dehydrated, feeling taut and fragile while allowing skin stressing free radicals to penetrate the skin and cause damage.
Prevention is better than cure, so all our concentrates have focus ingredients to help support barrier function to lock in essential moisture, promote efficient cellular renewal and protect from lifestyle and environmental stress.
Our fortifying Morn to Eve Global Protection Concentrate contains a protective, hydrating complex to help reinforce the natural barrier function of the skin, restore balance and neutralise the damaging effects of UV, blue light and lifestyle free radicals.
Revitalise; Overexposed skin that is feeling fragile, perhaps a little less plump and supple needs nourishment to lift, fortify and restore elasticity from within. Collagen is degraded by UV so support efficient revitalisation of our restorative Full Bloom Plumping Concentrate is a complex of botanical actives to help stimulate collagen synthesis which supports a more resilient skin structure, giving a more smooth, lifted complexion. Our proprietary EZ Rubus ID® helps deliver optimal hydration through elevating the delivery of a full spectrum of omega oils. Skin is bouncy, sculpted and revitalised.
Pssssst…insider secrets
A little extra excitement and support for your complexion as the seasons change. Kelsey is growing. We will bring comfort to your hard working complexion with a Midnight Reset…a blanket of calm, restorative skin plumping goodness to end your day, and Luminous Glow, to deeply cleanse and clarify, leaving the perfect canvas for our iconic concentrates.
The magic of Kelsey is in the effortless way a few additions to your daily routine transform the radiance of your complexion. Perhaps it is time to make room for a few more.
The Kelsey Difference
Often, seasonal skincare advice will suggest switching to more rich, cocooning textures in the cooler months and lighter in the warmer seasons. However, taking full advantage of modern innovations in the delivery of ingredients our proprietary technology EZ Rubus ID® an enzymatically activated raspberry seed oil, means that the intensity of ingredients can be transported more efficiently and without degradation deeper into the skin without being heavy in application.
We refer to our serums as concentrates because they are powerful, potent and targeted solutions. The light, soothing, luxurious and easily absorbed texture means they are the perfect addition to your skincare at a time when your skin is craving extra hydration and nourishment, without disrupting what your complexion is already happy with, just augment and optimise.
Choose smart, enduring solutions whatever the weather.
4 Minute Read
Like many of the best ideas, the Zero Waste Week campaign (5-9 September 2022) was formed in direct response to a personal crisis. It was in 2004 that a freak weather disaster created a lightbulb moment for founder Rachelle Strauss, the very real moment of impact that man-made climate change could truly affect the way the world was shaped into the future.
Following a period of self-development into a more sustainable way of living as a family, Zero Waste Week truly started in earnest in 2008 with the challenge campaign to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Modest beginnings have led to a global following as the reality of adopting a more responsible attitude towards our personal and business activities becomes ever more critical.
Responsible: The adage adopted by the Zero Waste movement is that there is no such place as “away”. This drives home the reality that when we “throw something away” it means, we are putting it somewhere else. There is no magic. We are all collectively responsible for what we consume.
While we can all feel the weight of our need to respond to what is happening in the world, while it is impossible to avoid the messages that we all need to do better and drive change forward, it is easy to feel a little overwhelmed by the scale of what is needed. How can one person’s habits make a significant difference?
Reality: “No-one can do everything, everyone can do something. Together we can do anything.”
In 1987, the United Nations Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Rethink: As individuals and businesses, we need to look at the impression of our daily lives to ensure it impacts less, where our choices are increasingly renewable and respectful.
The responsibility of business is to support consumers to make those future-thinking decisions, without compromise to performance, efficacy and personal gratification where possible.
Sustainability is a word that is bandied around relentlessly in consumer marketing and in the world of skincare. But what does it truly mean? So, what does this all have to do with skincare? How can our skin health and beauty choices make an impact?
Respect: At KELSEY our core brand philosophy is a truly authentic approach to sustainability and holistic natural development. As stewards of the land for generations; having a symbiotic relationship with the health of the earth and nurturing the optimum conditions for plentiful harvest, peak timing and prime quality for plant and farmer has placed us in a perfect position to understand the importance of the delicate balance in which we all co-exist.
Transferring our heritage and knowledge into our skincare, we maintain an all-encompassing approach to our product development, with respect to the origins of our core ingredients, the footprint and responsible creation of our products and packaging.
From the beginning, we chose to consider ingredients that were, where possible, biodegradable to minimise their impact on the environment – avoiding some of the manmade synthetics that can be more detrimental at the end of life of a product. Where possible, we have also sourced from the UK to minimise our footprint of production.
Revolutionise: True progress comes from changing thinking. For us, sustainability is and always has been, the starting point for creative development. We don’t need to retrofit to suit what may become a market trend; reducing waste is in our DNA as a brand – it is at the very core of our product uniqueness. How?
Repurpose: We use the whole raspberry plant. The seeds, pulp and leaves. This is the very definition of upcycling as we turn what would be waste from the harvest process into powerful, transformative natural actives by not only using them in their original form, but through the appliance of science, working with leading innovative chemists to encapsulate raw extracts to optimise bioavailability, efficacy and visible transformation.
- The leaves are rich in protective polyphenols to fortify the skin to shield against free radicals.
- The fruit pulp is packed with vitamin C and alpha hydroxy acids, helping to boost cell turnover, revealing bright and luminous skin.
- The seeds are full of omega essential fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins A and E. These stimulate collagen production, fight oxidation and damage, promote cell regeneration and boost vibrancy.
When you have an abundance of natural goodness like this, it is essential to incorporate the full botanical magic in each product. This means our harvest produces less waste and we optimise the potency of our formulations.
Respond: As consumers, we are searching for the best solutions to answer our conscious purchase intentions.
All our packaging is conscientiously developed to minimise waste and optimise responsible disposal and recyclability:
- Bottle: Our sprayed glass is fully recyclable.
- Pipette: We chose to use polypropylene (PP) which is recyclable.
- Pipette bulb: We opted for recyclable nitrile bulbs which are less polluting than more commonly used PVC.
- Carton: All our cardboard is fully FSC Certified, carbon balanced and sourced in the UK.
- Stickers: We have chosen fully compostable stickers which carry the OK Compost certification.
- Envelopes: Our envelopes are made from glassine paper which is 100% recyclable and biodegradable.
Reflective: We are on a journey with our sustainability, we are proud of all we have achieved without compromising performance and luxury, but we are committed to share our learnings with an honest approach. We continue to commit to revisiting our choices and making changes as learnings develop, technology improves and availability increases.
Responsible does not need to mean luxury, experience and results are compromised.
3 Minute Read
Your skin is a world of its own.
A finely tuned machine of protection, balance and repair. It often feels we are on a relentless quest for achieving the quintessential healthy glow, that illusive radiance and lit-from-within effortless luminosity.
But what is glow?
Radiant, “glowing” skin refers to a supple, hydrated, balanced, protected complexion with an even, clarified, refined tone and a smooth appearance.
THE ADVERSARIES OF GLOW
Modern life and the general day-to-day can unsettle, unbalance and stress skin barrier function leaving the complexion compromised. Overnight, skin begins to appear dull, lacklustre and feel uneven. Get to know your skin’s “normal” and create a positive relationship with your reflection, this will help identify what is dulling your sparkle. Here are some of the most common nemeses of radiance!
Dead skin cells
A build-up of surface debris occurs when our cellular turnover is compromised. This may be due to poor circulation, free radical impact, age or poor skincare choices. Dirt, debris, makeup, sweat, pollution etc, linger on the complexion, causing texture irregularity, dull tone and congestion.
Dehydration
When the skin barrier resilience is impaired it enables TEWL (trans epidermal water loss) to occur. This leads to vulnerability of vital cellular function, leading to hyperpigmentation, fine lines, shadowing around the eyes, loss of tone, suppleness and overall loss of skin radiance.
Lack of sleep
The longer days can play havoc with sleep routines, it is easy to stay up late and be woken early by the light creeping in. Poor sleep is the nemesis of glow, showing readily in the complexion with dark circles, puffiness and dull skin tone.
Lifestyle
Poor diet, alcohol and other lifestyle influences can lead to dullness, enlarged pores and the appearance of more pronounced expression lines.
UV exposure
Exposure to damaging UV rays affects the natural barrier function of the skin, once damaged this can allow more harmful free radicals to be triggered within the skin causing hyperpigmentation, inflammation and the breakdown of key structural proteins.
Elastin and Collagen breakdown
These support fibres within the body allow skin to “snap” or “bounce” back, when the protective barrier function and microbiome of the skin is compromised, this enables damaging oxidative stress to affect the resilience of these key proteins.
Skincare Routine
Over zealous exfoliation, poor hydration, over-stimulation and incorrectly matched products, can cause sluggishness or reactivity within the complexion, destabilising the status-quo.
Hormones
As the cycle of oestrogen continues monthly and throughout life, surging and dipping, so too does the impact of the rise and fall of oil production in response, which contributes to the appearance and uniformity of pores and can lead to congestion.
It can feel overwhelming. But, healthy skin habits needn’t be complex or require a complete overhaul of your regime. Our solution is simple. Augment your skincare regime with our glow-boosting, brightening serum to deliver enduring luminosity.
THREE MOONS
The ultimate brightening powerhouse concentrate. Deliciously silky with a supremely rich complex of actives; it glides over skin and kickstarts a fresh, glowing complexion. But what are the goodies inside? What is the secret to this powerhouse concentrate that transforms your skin to supple, luminous and healthy? Let’s break it down a bit.
Exfoliation: When skin feels uneven, there can be a temptation to “polish” the complexion to reveal lost radiance, but this can be counterintuitive as it can cause micro tears in the skin. This can compound issues by creating damage and triggering inflammation.
Enter our uniquely potent Raspberry fruit pulp infusion. Rich in AHAs yet gentle so as to not upset skin that is overexposed or fragile, smoothes the skin by dissolving surface debris such as sweat, make-up, sunscreen, to help decongest pores and clarify skin tone. AHAs provide a gentle, yet powerfully effective alternative to smooth the surface texture and reveal fresh skin cells, stimulating the renewal process.
Soothe: To counteract the damaging effects of lifestyle and environmental oxidative stress, the star of the show is polyphenol rich Raspberry Leaf extract. Polyphenols have been shown to be highly bioavailable so extremely effective at being absorbed and targeted in application, with minimal degradation of potency. Research into polyphenols has demonstrated that they are highly effective in anti-inflammatory responses and regulating skin cell behaviour that is disrupted through over-exposure. In neutralising inflammation, adverse skin health effects such as hyperpigmentation, fine lines and degradation of key skin proteins such as collagen and elastin, can be more controlled.
Protect: A powerful antioxidant and skin brightening expert, stable Vitamin C helps protect skin vitality through shielding the skin from damaging free radicals, particularly UV induced oxidative stress that can trigger hyperpigmentation uneven skin tone.
Brighten: Microalgae brighten, smooth and help minimise the appearance of hyperpigmentation, while Hyaluronic Acid and a blend of probiotics help fortify the natural protective barrier function.
For a skin quench when your complexion feels parched and dehydrated, or overexposed to intensity of UV; pop this rescue concentrate in the fridge to soothe redness and inflammation, the perfect Summer skin rescue.
This is a daily treatment to help maintain skin health, use after cleansing before moisturiser. But, as a extra weekly skin treat, to restore lost hydration and refine skin tone; apply under a sheet mask amplify your glow.
Whether the goal is complete skin confidence - make-up free or otherwise; skin health is the key.
KELSEY Concentrate Collection: Powered by nature, enhanced by science.
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