Self defence

There is something reassuringly bracing about Neutrogena.  It is those faintly Nordic looking colours that look icy, clinical and dependable.  And so they proved.  I tried the facial scrub, which I am not crazy about as once again the exfoliating bits were too big and just rolled over the face rather than refining the pores.  Jane, my case study, has extremely dry skin.  "When I apply moisturiser in the morning and then go out in the cold, I generally have dry flaky patches on my cheeks twenty minutes later," she says.  "I tried the Neutrogena Multi-Defence moisturiser and was sceptical as it didn't absorb for ages.  I am more used to using lotions or oils on my face as it's so dry.  A whole morning marching about in the cold went by and I didn't feel dry once so I was pleasantly surprised.  I think I am just so used to thick lotions that anything else feels weird."


She then spied the Betty Hula anti-ageing oil on my desk, (a "luxurious anti-ageing oil combining Grapeseed Oil, Apricot Kernel, Avocado Oil, Hemp Oil, Vitamin E, Rose Absolute and Jojoba Oil, (50ml £15.99 RRP)) and asked to try it.  "Now this is more what I would usually use," she said happily, smearing it on, "and it smells lovely.  Oh dear - I forgot I had the Neutrogena still on, but my skin feels so nice now....."

She took both away with her, and is currently applying the Betty Hula to absorb and the Neutrogena as a "shield", as she puts it.  And no more dry patches.  So as cocktailing with hair products, according to celebrity hairdresser Errol Douglas, is the way forward, Jane may well have invented a new trend in skincare.  Neutrohula, anyone?