Beauty: Delbôve skincare review

Time for another round in my eternal search for skincare that evens out my complexion. As you may know by now, my skin is pretty even and I hardly ever get blemishes worth mentioning. However, my skin has some discoloration issues: hormonal hyperpigmentation, and loads of redness in my cheeks. Yeay, rosacea! I go through periods of switching up my skincare and I always cross my fingers for finding that magical product that makes all my issues go away, but alas, I have to be satisfied with reducing my issues rather than eradicating them.

For the past two months, I've been using products by Delbôve, a Belgian skincare brand that relies on science as well as a sensuous feeling of pampering yourself. The science part is its emphasis on restoring the homeostasis of the epidermis (top layer of the skin), meaning Delbôve's products bring back your skin's natural balanced barrier that enables it to fend off infection and remain hydrated. The sensuous part is in the natural ingredients and their calming fragrance as well as in the massage that is a central part of the treatment, like giving yourself a facial.

I was invited to the new Delbôve store at the Antwerp's Korte Gasthuisstraat 41 (a beautiful store btw, totally in keeping with their own gorgeous, art-deco esque packaging), to get my skin analyzed and have a custom set of skincare products prepared for my needs. Apparently, my skin was sensitive (no surprises there) and quite parched, especially on the sides of my forehead. Maybe because that's my skin, maybe because I had just come back from two weeks in the sun (Japan), probably because I had been using the Auriga Flavo-C line that, while reducing my redness, left my skin feeling very dry.

The dermatologist ended up recommending I'd use their basic crème sorcière + eau sorcière as a cleanser as well as night cream, supplemented with the contour des yeux at night as an eye cream, the ultra sorcière crème as a day cream, and a weekly treatment using the masque plénitude. This would supposedly restore my skin's balance and replenish it with what had been lost in moisture and natural glow.

The first things you notice about Delbôve products:

1. the chic packaging that is equal parts art deco and old-timey apothecary (the dark bottles keep the active ingredients stable so that the formula doesn't become less effective by exposure to light!)
2. the scent, which is very pleasant and natural, apparently no added fragrances
3. the way the creams melt into your skin even though they seem incredibly rich and quite fatty. So that's where the sorcière (magic) part comes from!

The two basic products every customer starts with are the crème sorcière and the eau sorcière. Mix a scoop of the crème with one or two spritzes of the eau sorcière and you get a balmy emulsion that is great for removing your makeup at the end of the day. Just spread across your face, get some water on your fingertips and start massaging, as long as you want. I don't find it effective enough to get all my eye makeup off, but I do wear more than your average person. The mix sorcière gets all of my foundation off without a hitch, though, even my thickest products. And it leaves my skin soft and moisturized, great for dry skin like mine. 

I like to end with a final spritz of eau sorcière, and then I apply my day cream (in my case the ultra sorcière) or my night cream (a final layer of crème sorcière). I find all of these very pleasant to use, although I have to admit I don't always have the patience to do the two minute massage Delbôve recommends to get your skin circulation flowing.

As always, the proof is in the pudding. Let's look at the before and after shots.

After a month of use, the most important change I see (and feel) is that my skin has its healthy, youthful glow back. My skin was definitely parched in the before pics, and now it looks replenished. I also notice that my forehead is more even, less textured, fewer fine lines, younger. And it might be imagination but it also seems like my nasolabial fold (the nose-mouth line) is less pronounced in the after shot. I feel like my skin is more glowy and looks younger. I don't think the products have done much for my redness (except along my jawline) or hyperpigmentation, however, but the more I try the more I think that the only thing that will work for my rosacea is laser treatment.

All the prices and ingredients can be found on the Delbôve website. For the 100ml eau sorcière + 100ml crème sorcière basic package, you pay €42 + €68, so €110. Not cheap, but it does replace day cream, night cream and facial cleanser - I only use a waterproof eyemakeup remover apart from my Delbôve products. I've been using my products for two months now, and while my crème sorcière and ultra sorcière are getting closer to empty (there's about a quarter left of both), all my other products will probably last me another 6 months at least. So it's a bit of an initial investment, but it will tide you over for quite some time.

It's totally worth it to drop by their Antwerp or Brussels store to get your skin analyzed and get a feel for the products to see if this might be your thing. These products were given to me for reviewing purposes, but all opinions expressed are my own.