Keeley from Elemis on QGossip

I was idly looking at a feature running on QGossip earlier where Keeley from Elemis is answering questions regarding skincare. I have an occasional issue with open looking pores so was interested to see what was recommended when I read a question about this. I read both part one and two of the Q&A and noticed that two different answers were given to similar questions:


Elemis expert Keeley answers your questions: Part 1

Q. I have lost some weight recently and have noticed more open pores on my face, particularly on the lower part from the cheeks down. Please can you recommend something to help what is already there, but to also combat any further deterioration?

A. The Visible Brilliance Serum is great. Use one or two pumps after cleansing and toning in the morning and evening, and then apply your moisturiser over the top. You could also introduce Tri Enzyme Wash after cleansing at night. Keep up the good work with the weight loss.


Elemis expert Keeley answers your questions: Part 2

Q. I’m in my forties and seem to be having a problem with open pores. Is there anything I can try to minimise this?

A. Always making sure you exfoliate then apply a facial mask will make a huge difference. I would recommend using Papaya Enzyme Peel twice a week followed by Pro Collagen Quartz Mask.


This led me to (again) question whether we all get sucked into buying too many products for every single 'concern' when, generally speaking, skin is skin and plenty of people seem to manage quite happily and look fine without spending a fortune on various lotions and potions - from QVC or otherwise.

This isn't a dig at Keeley btw, who seems quite knowledgeable to me, just a broad observation on the skincare/beauty industry and specifically QVC who seem to expect us to all use tens of products for one face (I guess it's not called an industry for nothing).

Plus I'm still a little confused as to what IS best for open pores? - A serum, an exfoliating wash, a peel treatment AND a mask!? How much would that little lot set you back?

Everyone on here seems quite savvy about this kind of thing so I wondered how many steps people have in their literal, actual, facial area routines and how many extra steps QVC has introduced?

I generally cleanse (foaming wash in the morning, C&P evening), moisturise, exfoliate a few times a week, mask when I remember, eye cream most days and sometimes a serum/oil at night. Does that make me an 'advanced' skincare user? I love that saying being used by presenters too, trying to shame 'basic' skincare users into spending more!

It's a toughie and an interesting debate right enough.

I definitely think there is an element of 'getting sucked in' to buying the latest skincare wonder product or miracle cream when essentially many of them are (but not always) the same. I've fallen for it and I know I'm not alone. I've had more education and help from the folks on this forum than anywhere else, and I no longer rely on QVC for skincare anymore nor do I rely on QVC for skincare advice.

If you have the money and want to spend it on expensive skincare - then all power to you, it's your money and you should spend it how you wish. I don't and can't. I spend £18.99 once every 10 months on a jar of A'kin Moisturiser. I buy 250ml bottles of Orange Flower Water from for about £4 my morning cleanse, and in an evening I use either Dove or L'occitane soap to take off my make up and follow it with more A'kin. That's it. I sometimes add in either Rosehip Oil or Cellular Radiance Serum. If I get a spot I put some Boots Witch Hazel on it. Or Tea Tree. Once a week I do an A'kin Facial Scrub and follow with a face mask I buy from Boots. To me that's not excessive - but if I had to change I would. At the moment I am trying a moisturiser from Lush because I ran out of my A'kin and this cream was £8 cheaper. At the moment I am liking it very much indeed - both for my bank account and also for my skin :nod:

I think there are so many conflicting signals and answers from QVC presenters and guests regarding skincare at times and each range is simply the lastest must have we all have to try! At the end of the day they just want to shift skincare units. We, as consumers, have to do a certain amount of trying stuff to find whether we like it or not, but at the end of the day we have to find what suits us and stick with it...

i think you can pretty much take it for granted that keeley will have you loading* product upon product upon product until you can hardly get out of the house for the weight of perfumed goo on your fizzog.

(*or should i say loadin' - given that its keeley we're talkin' about)

why anyone would slavishly take on board the advice of a brand representative such as keeley, fiona or andrew baguely defeats all logic.

cavey clearly has the right idea, she's found what works for her from a variety of brands. surely thats what being an "advanced" skincare user means? any dimbo can spend too much time and money.

as for me, because i know youre gagging to know how i look THIS good for a :bear: of my age:

St Ives facial scrub - every day (yes, and its the one with the big bits in it... Rarrr! :muscle
Roc multi correxion for eyes.
L'Occitane cade after shave balm - used as a all purpose facial moisturiser.
Dove soap.
and occasional shower treats such as LE for men, Molton Brown if i've been to the outlet etc.

My only concession to anti ageing is the eye cream, to which i'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt for the £20 is costs. after that its a matter of following rupaul's 3 rules of beauty:
moisturise
moisturise
moisturise

I do believe that, like many things in life, you get what you pay for. If you want your skin to wear well you should use the best quality products you can afford. Of coursen people buy expensive skincare products for all kinds of interesting reasons and pampering is certainly one of them. For some people, pampering is a bottle of wine and a packet of fags on a saturday night. For others it's an expensive meal in a restaurant or maybe designer shoes or handbags. I find my skincare routine on a morning and evening very enjoyable and relaxing and so I choose to spend more money on these products than I know I probably need do. But that's my one indulgence.

To answer the question though, I cleanse, tone, serum, moisturise, eye cream and lip balm on a morning, and cleanse, tone, night balm and eye cream on an evening (plus body cream a few times a week). Once a week I exfoliate head to toe and do a face mask and an eye mask.

:cashersonally i find that elemis is the worst skincare brand for anyone who has not got really dry skin. i have a combination skin and this range is so full of oil and perfume it gives me acne like nothing else.

you know you have good skin when it has clarity,refined pores and is hydrated and plump.

i use all alpha-h products. the face wash does not foam and is not scented but cleans all makeup thouroughly and leaves the skin with the correct ph so you do not need a toner.

once a week at night i use liquid gold and i always use the rejuvinating moisturiser which is the best i have ever used. it has 10% glycolic so brightens and exfoliates. none of the ingredients that elemis,decleor or gatinaue use are active or proven. and if you have open pores the elemis stuff will just expand them with oil making them worse.and if you are not good with essential olis and perfumes this will aggravate you skin.

alpha-h costs in kits about £25 for 3 months of skincare and will make a real difference to enlarged pores. with elemis the only thing that will be smaller is your bank balance.

I too have combi skin and struggle to get on with a lot of Elemis's facial products. However, the SOS Cream and Herbal Lavender Repair Mask are fab for clearing up breakouts and I do notice a smoothness when I use the tri-enzyme wash.

Elemis and Problematic Skin

I too have tried many skincare brands - both from QVC and elsewhere. Having problematic skin I have spent a fortune on Elemis because every time Keeley is on I believe the hype. I kept trying the cleansers and toners and found that the results were "surprising" in a very negative way. Gave me red, spottier than ever skin and the bath products gave me problems also. I love the milk bath as a body lotion but that is it from Elemis. The Pro-collegen marine cream seemed good at first but then I started to get really oily skin after a while.

I am now sticking to Liz Earle cleanse and polish and skin repair moisturiser with a bit of superskin oil - I am trying to keep things simple and stop overloading my skin.

I know I will be interested in the new Elemis cleanser but I must say "NOOOO"!

It is really nice to pamper ourselves but I am sure more damage than good can be done with loading on too many products. :doh:

Regarding pores, no product can open or close them.

They are there to regulate body temperature and to excrete sweat and oil. When pores become blocked with dirt and sebum causing blackheads the skin is unable to excrete more oil/sweat through the tubule that lie’s beneath the pore and this results in congestion causing pimples, spots, acne etc.
The tubule contains the hair follicle, sweat gland and sebaceous gland.
People with dry skin will find that their pores appear smaller as they have not had oil glands going into overdrive as a greasy/oily skin has causing them to stretch.

Keeley’s first answer : Visible Brilliance Serum - this is just going to bounce light off the skin so that the pores are not so obvious but will do absolutely nothing to help them.
Tri Enzyme wash is going to gently exfoliate to keep the pores clear as sebum and grime can clog and ‘stretch’ them’ if not kept clean to prevent spots etc.

Keeley’s second answer: use a peel and mask – this is going to do the same just using different products in the Elemis range.

I’m not knocking Keeley and as a therapist she could have just said exfoliate regularly, use a mask once or twice a week depending what skin type you have and keep the skin clean but as she is an Elemis rep and salon owner then she is going to recommend products in the Elemis range. The same applies to all the other skin care brands on QVC because as a spokesperson they can only recommend their brand.

Once pores are ‘open’ or ‘enlarged’ there’s not a lot you can do about them except try to minimise them temporarily whether that be with a treatment mask or make up base and/ or foundation. Depending how severe they are there is always of course laser treatments and microdermabrasion.

Regarding exfoliation it is whatever type suits your skin, can be an enzyme peel, facial scrub (big bits or small!) AHA's, Retinol based and glycolics will all work.

Keep skin care simple and don’t have too many layers of products that are going to potentially cause your skin to clog and breakout. Skin care is about keeping it clean, healthy and hydrated. :nod:

What a super post, MsTrouble. Thank you :nod: . I like reading your beauty/skincare advice cos it's so sound and reasoned rather than based on trying to flog the latest miracle cream.

Thanks everyone for all your great posts. I definitely agree with the common sense approach of keeping your skincare as pared down and simple as possible whilst still not feeling bad if you treat yourself to the occasional pot or tube of something extra nice – even if you know it’s probably not really going to do much.

MsTrouble your info on open pores is really interesting and useful, thank you! I use a clay type mask (LE Deep Cleansing) as and when I feel I need to and it does seem to make a temporary difference so I guess it’s just a case of keeping that up, perhaps on a more regular basis along with exfoliation.

I’m never too sure what to do about SPF either? Should this be a separate step or can it be in your moisturiser? This seems to be another area where QVC constantly contradict themselves. Alison raves about Ultrasun although I’ve read somewhere that it’s full of alcohol which is practically the devil’s ingredient according to almost all presenters and guests. Does the benefit of the SPF outweigh the detrimental/drying/ravaging impact of the alcohol in this instance? I use SBC Propolis gel and find that it works really well for me, even though it is loaded with alcohol. LE and others say that there’s little point having sunscreen in a moisturiser as you’d never use a sufficient amount and you’d need to reapply several times throughout the day to get enough protection. Is this still true even on a grey, rainy Monday like today though?

Then there’s UVA protection, which I rarely see stated on many skincare products; perhaps never on one presented on QVC. I still have quite oily skin and continue to search for the perfect moisturiser that has good quality, natural-ish ingredients, leaves a matt finish and has enough UVB/UVA protection for being out and about in general UK weather - whilst not turning me an unattractive shade of ghost-blue like an old LE sun product did.

SPF….now there’s another subject!!

Key bits of info:

UVA rays are absorbed deep into the dermis causing damage to cells, collagen and elastin, this shows in lines and wrinkles on the surface (epidermis). The strength of the rays are the same all year round in all weathers, even on a cloudy rainy day.
UVB rays are absorbed in the epidermis (upper layers of the skin) causing redness and burning.
Both play a part in the potential development of skin cancer.

Choosing the type of product depends on choice and lifestyle.
Do you spend a lot of time outdoors? Do you work indoors/office? Do you use tanning beds? Holidays? Etc, etc

Sunscreens are available in two forms – physical and chemical.
Physical sunscreens reflect the suns rays using a natural sunscreen such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxde. The rays are not absorbed into the skin. LE uses this type and many other brands.
Chemical sunscreens are literally chemical based and are absorbed by the skin so that when the suns rays hit the skin the chemicals absorb the harmful rays before it penetrates the skin (Ultrasun and many others).

Regarding alcohol, again depends on the type used as some do not cause irritation or dryness.

As for SPF in a moisturiser I personally think it is ok as working indoors with occasional popping outdoors is fine with that, it would not be recommended if you were gardening for a few hours or sunbathing. Always look for a cream that filters out both UVA and UVB, often referred to as ‘broad spectrum’ and you can’t go wrong.

There are some brands (not seen any on QVC) that do a facial moisturiser with sunscreen but can be found in their suncare range rather than the normal/anti ageing range so worth looking there. If you check out Organic skin care ranges you will find many non chemical sunscreens, brands like Lavera, John Masters and Green People.
If however you don’t want to use a suncream there are many make up brands now that include sun proctection such as Bare Minerals.

Look for make up that contains Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide which are natural, broad spectrum and reflect the sun’s rays. Another good one is MD Perricone’s No Foundation foundation which has these ingredients.

Hope this helps.

:sun: :sun: :sun:

A couple of great makeup products to minimise the look of pores if anyone's interested: Smashbox Photo Finish primer light (the oil free one) is really good. I'm using and loving Cargo's Activiating Primer at the moment (it's £20 in Boots but there are a few sellers on eBay and you can get it for about £7). It's oil and silicone free, feels lovely and cool on the skin and has definitely made my cheeks look less pore-y (!) and smoother.

Tx