Let's chat about skincare today shall we? I feel like it's been ages since I last wrote a beauty/skincare blog post. Today I want to give you a little run through of Pestle & Mortar, an Irish skincare brand that I first heard about back in 2016. I've done a similar blog post to this about the brand The Ordinary (which you can read here), so do let me know if you like this overview of brands and my opinions on their products!
Anyway, back to Pestle & Mortar. The brand was started by Sonia Deasy, a mother of five who wanted a simple but effective skincare routine. When beginning the brand, she, along with her sister who has a degree in biochemistry, followed Sonia's less is more approach to beauty and I think that idea definitely paid off. Pestle & Mortar is a straight to the point, no nonsense skincare brand that doesn't make you feel lie you need google every single ingredient in their products.
Pure Hyaluronic Serum
The first product I ever tried from Pestle & Mortar was their Pure Hyaluronic Serum, which is designed to target fine lines, dullness and dehydration. I've actually managed to misplace the bottle, which is why it isn't in these photos, but it's a product I'd definitely recommend everyone to try, no matter what age or skin concerns you may have. If you want to get super science-y hyaluronic acid is a carbohydrate occurring naturally throughout the human body that has the ability to attract and hold a lot of moisture so the idea is that by giving your skin a helping hand with some extra hyaluronic acid, your skin can hold more moisture and fight any dehydration. Pestle & Mortar's Pure Hyaluronic Serum in particular has a low molecular weight so your skin can absorb it easier too and it will penetrate deeper into the skin.
Balance Spritz
The Balance Spritz is Pestle & Mortar's latest product and one that I've been loving this summer as it's so refreshing! Skin pollution is something I've been hearing a lot about lately and lots of brands have been coming out with anti-pollutions sprays and serums, which makes sense because there is lots of nastiness floating around in the atmosphere that can be harmful to our skin. The Balance Spritz from Pestle & Mortar contains deep sea Irish magnesium, amino acids and herbal extracts to make sure your skin is protected and hydrated and it even helps to balance sebum productions which is great if like me you've got oily skin!
Recover Eye Cream
I always thought that eye creams were just for ageing skin and that at 22 I didn't need to bother with them until I learnt that a good eye cream can actually reduce the appearance of dark circles! No matter how many hours of sleep I get at night I always have that constant shadow under my eyes and I've found that the Recover Eye Cream really does help to reduce how dark and noticeable they are. This eye cream contains an active ingredient called Palmitoyl tripeptide-5 which stimulates collagen production making this eye cream great for anti-ageing purposes too!
Superstar Retinoid Night Oil
One of my top two favourite products from Pestle & Mortar has to be their Superstar Retinoid Night Oil. I've only been using this bad boy in my skincare routine for about a month now but it's made such a visible difference in my skin already. Retinoid or retinol are basically fancy names for Vitamin A, and are an absolute god send for skin for many reasons. Vitamin A can unclog pores and reduce pore size, tighten up the skin, improve uneven skin tone AND help to get rid of any texture so your skin is super smooth. Basically it's a miracle worker and the Superstar Retinoid Night Oil contains two types of retinol and is blended with cold pressed grape seed oil (another amazing ingredient for your skin) so really I wish I could just bathe in this oil.
Renew Cleansing Gel
After I had tried Pestle & Mortar's hyaluronic acid, the next product I tried was their Erase & Renew Double Cleansing System which contained a cleansing balm (which I'll talk more about below) and this Renew Cleansing Gel. The idea behind the double cleansing system is that you'd melt off your make-up with the cleansing balm and then use the cleansing gel to leave your skin really clean and fresh. I also love using the Renew Cleansing Gel in the morning too as it's not heavy on my skin and just leaves it feeling squeaky clean and ready to go. The gel contains papaya and mango fruit enzymes which improve your skin’s texture and tone and will also tighten pores!
Erase Cleansing Balm
You know how I said the Superstar Retinoid Night Oil was one of my top two favourite products from Pestle & Mortar? Well this Erase Cleansing Balm is the other! Usually a cleanser is just for taking off your make-up and if it does that well then you're happy out, but the Erase Cleansing Balm takes off your make-up (and does an amazing job at it too) but it also leaves your skin feeling incredible. It's actually hard to describe just how good this cleanser is, but it leaves my skin feeling so bright and clear, almost as if I've put on a brightening mask of some sort. Of course it's absolutely packed with so many good ingredients for your skin so I really shouldn't be so surprised at the visible difference it gives. Unfortunately since it's so bloody good and everyone seems to love it as much as I do, this cleansing balm is sold out at the moment but if there's one product you try from this blog post, this has to be it!
So there we have it, my little round-up of one of Ireland's top skincare brands that has been featured in the likes of Vogue, Cosmopolitan and Vanity Fair and has won countless awards. The title of this post which I must admit is rather clickbait-y (I apologise) is "Is This Irish Skincare Brand The Real Deal?" and to answer my own question, yes, I think Pestle & Mortar is absolutely the real deal and definitely deserves all of the hype and attention they've been getting over the past few years!
P.S, here's a little treat for anyone who made it to the end of the post! This blog post isn't sponsored by Pestle & Mortar at all, and they didn't even know I was writing it until I sent them a preview of it earlier today but they have very kindly given me a discount code for you to use! If you'd like to try any of their products you can use the code 'emer10' to get 10% off which is better than a poke in the eye isn't it?!
Have you tried any of Pestle & Mortar's products? Which one is your favourite? Also, if there are any other skincare brands you'd love to see a run through similar to this one of, please do let me know and as always, thanks so much for reading!