Fab Find of the Week: d'still skincare
No matter how often we bleat on to those of oily and troubled complexions that the answer may lie with applying the RIGHT oils, it’s very hard to get this message through. But it’s the honest truth.
Not long ago, being a champion of local businesses, Jo met with a start-up beauty brand founder, Ula Blocksage (below) to hear all about d’still.
A former photographer, Ula explained that d’still was partly born out of her own skincare journey, with years of acne and scarring. The range itself has taken literally years of painstaking research into nature’s most effective skin-saving ingredients, while Ula also learned about the realities of launching a skincare brand of her own.
And although the capsule luxury natural skincare collection can be used by any skintype, it has proven particularly effective, in Ula’s opinion (and her own experience), for those with troubled skins.
So: Jo tried the three products herself, hard-pressed to choose a favourite between Calming Cleansing Balm, Rejuvenating Botanical Serum and Brightening Radiance Mask. But then – and no greater sacrifice is there – she was curious to put to the test Ula’s comments about how helpful they are for acne. So she gifted them to a young family member who had badly broken out for the first time, at 19, resulting in a proper knock to the confidence.
‘USE THE OIL!’ Jo commanded. ‘DON’T ARGUE.’ (Even though it goes against everything that the oily/problem-skinned feel, about pouring oil on troubled skin.) The upshot…? Six weeks later, a video pinged from aforementioned young person, overjoyed about the improvement in her skin thanks to d’still, which was absolutely visible. (Jo then gifted her another set, before she headed off to volunteer overseas, to maintain the improvements.)
As Ula explains it: ‘d’still is my poem to Mother Nature, a thank you for allowing me to harness the real and powerful medicine the earth has to offer, to create a potent, natural skincare collection and to encourage a slower, more mindful approach to self-care/self-love. When we take the time to be present, to be still and breathe deeply, we encourage a reconnection to the earth and to our true selves. We come to better understand our bodily needs and are able to make more mindful decisions to help nurture and heal the body. Reconnection to the earth and to the self is central to the work I do. It offers relief and release from the internal stresses that are the cause for so many of our modern day ailments.’
The three products are as followed – and Jo, certainly, would be hard-pushed to identify a favourite…
Calming Cleansing Balm/£58 for 50ml – truly calming, a lovely blue balm cleanser (thanks to the blue tansy), also based around soothing bisabolol, white willow (a beta-hydroxy acid) and resinous copaiba, a potent anti-inflammatory. (Out of stock at time of press – 24/5/2021 – but see our advice below on the sample set.)
Rejuvenating Botanical Serum/£109 for 30ml – honestly one of the nicest facial oils Jo has ever tried (it nearly killed her to give this away!), with bakuchiol, acmella (‘Nature’s answer to Botox’), co-enzyme Q10 and sea buckthorn.
As a more occasional treat, there’s also Brightening Radiance Mask/£67 for 200ml, which exfoliates both physically and via pumpkin enzymes (which work to dissolve dead skin cells),
Cleverly, because this is definitely a luxury-priced natural skincare range, Ula has put together a d’still Deluxe Sample Set set so you can try before investing in the big sizes. Always helpful, when you can’t touch and smell a product (never mind try it on your skin), without taking that leap of faith and investing in the big size straight off.
d’still has already scooped a Beauty Shortlist 2021 Award, and we’re certainly hoping that Ula puts it forward for our Beauty Bible Awards 2022. Meanwhile, we wish Ula and d’still great success, on this skincare journey. Definitely a name to watch…
