Following on from my last post, this is the other Murad gift set I received for Christmas. The Murad Real Radiance Set contains two moisturisers, an eye cream and a peel mask. I’d been saving the Essential-C Day Moisture for my holiday as it’s just the right size for travelling as well as being the ideal moisturiser for hotter climates. The texture is light and absorbs easily, and it left my skin feeling radiant, hydrated and protected.
Murad claims that the Next Generation Vitamin C it contains “provides 50 times the collagen-building, skin-brightening and cell-protecting power of ordinary topical vitamin C”. It has a lovely fresh, zingy citrus fragrance that isn’t too overpowering. The best thing about it for me though is an SPF of 30 PA+++ which provides a high level of protection from ageing UVA rays.
The Essential-C Eye Cream has only an SPF of 15 PA++, which I find slightly disappointing given how fragile the skin around the eyes can become. Of course you don’t need me to tell you that we should all wear sunglasses when the sun is bright, but I do prefer an SPF of at least 25 for the eye area. That said, I did find the cream pleasant to use. It absorbed easily, kept the under eye skin moisturised, and being a dinky little tube it took up hardly any space in my bag. The caffeine and retinol aim to reduce puffiness and increase cell renewal while the shea butter hydrates and improves elasticity. The cream also contains light diffusers to minimise lines and dark circles.
The full-sized Intensive-C Radiance Peel is still about half full, and I’ve used it every week since January. You only need to apply a thin layer and should leave it on for up to ten minutes. You can feel it starting to work straight away as it causes a slight tingling sensation. Afterwards skin is left feeling clean and smooth without any tightness. The thing I really like about this treatment is it’s quick and easy to use – I get so impatient waiting for masks you have to leave on for 10-15 minutes. You could wash this off after five minutes and still feel and see the benefit.
The fourth product in the Murad Real Radiance Set is a small pot of Hydro Dynamic Ultimate Moisture which I’ve previously blogged about here and here. It’s a great moisturiser for both day and night time which hydrates and protects the skin. I found this a more suitable product for the Winter, both because of the lack of sunscreen and also because it protects skin from harsh cold winds. Of the four products in this set I would definitely repurchase the Essential-C Day Moisture (mainly for the Summer and beach holidays) and the Vit-C Radiance Peel for all year round use.
Essential-C Day Moisture, £57 for 50ml.
Essential-C Eye Cream, £57 for 15ml.
Intensive-C Radiance Peel, £49.50 for 50ml.
Hydro-Dynamic Ultimate Moisture, £64 for 50ml.