EMMA HILL

5 drops at night from this 30ml bottle of ANR should last three months

I was at dinner with a bunch of girlfriends last night and as ever, conversation got to beauty.   The way it went showed that when it comes to beauty products, we as women straddle two camps.

The first is the sceptic camp, that really we’re all just a little doubtful that the super effective designer brands are going to make a difference.  And really, our trusted Nivea or Olay does the job for us at a fraction of the cost of the latest hotly priced ticket.  The second is the camp of the reticent convert: damn it this thing works and now I’ve reached the end of the bottle, my credit card is burning.

As it happens, the two star products mentioned last that struck a chord sat in the latter camp. They were a night time facial oil by Kiehl’s and a serum known in the business as ANR: last night’s objects of desire for our shared alter ego as the reticent convert.   The first showed that a good facial oil is the new trusted friend of a late thirty, early forty something woman.  Said devotee commented that her skin always looked wonderful next morning, when she had used this the night before.  The second is Advanced Night Repair by Estée Lauder.   Its devotee has in the past bemoaned her sunbathing antics and finds that this improves her skin when she uses it, a wistful look in her eye – at £41 (Kiehl’s is £38) it’s an outlay to the reticent convert.

It might make her feel better when I tell her that a 30ml bottle gives around a three months supply (five drops max each night).  Cost per wear that’s around 45p a day, which is less than a Kit Kat.  I almost said litre of milk, but that might make the r.c. feel guiltier still – milk is a staple.  But there again shouldn’t great skin be, too?

Just by chance a special limited edition bottle like the one above arrived from the PR department this morning.  They sent it to mark 30 years since the company pioneered the idea that skin’s night time recovery process can be helped along with the right ingredients – especially skin that’s damaged (that’s pretty much all of those over 35).  I think it has my friend’s name on it.