Mortar + Milk Skincare Secrets

Hey guys!

One of my favourite people I met during press day with Jecca was Madeleine who I immediately loved and we began to communicate more on Instagram. She has an amazing background with beauty and her websites really insightful so check it out. She obviously has fabulous skin and I was fascinated with what she used and so, she told me about the wonderful Mortar and Milk on twitter and I began to get my investigator hat out.

Mortar and Milk is a dermatological treatment hub that sells an assortment of goodies, from raw bio supplements that are more effective than a conventional vitamin tablet, to skincare that’s specific to the treatments used. I then did my research and discovered a little bit of background about the founder Pamela, and her philosophy on how to treat the skin was quite intriguing to me and I began to wonder about booking in a feature. I have done a lot with PR companies through my previous work in beauty and to my relief, I had worked with a few of the ladies who actually deal with this clinic so we set up an appointment for me to visit and got it booked in!

I trecked to London in the rain and had a bit of an arduous journey getting from Victoria to the treatment. I should have easily have taken the district line west and down but on this specific day, there was not only a closed station but a bus replacement - a nightmare. So I was stalled, late and very disappointed as I am notorious for being late and I definitely need to cut that shit out lol. But alas, they were very generous with their time and I was excited to be partnered with a skincare expert called Jess.

We went through a process of consultation where I discussed my skin, this was a very thought out set of questions that got to the bottom of where I’ve been with my skin, what I want to achieve and what I currently use. I explained that as a child I had acne, I took isotretinoin and the remaining issues were physical to the hair on my face. I described that the texture of my skin was something I work on, that I use retinol and I had a background in cosmetic development so I understood the differences in delivery systems and what products are more sensory than impactful. We talked about how most products that are on the market are temporary fixers and not powerfully changing the skin, and how I keep hydrated and covered all bases. I was very impressed and I also noted that Jess herself was not in makeup and her skin looked amazing, so it was all around a great experience.

We went into the machine they have which involved an image device that basically flashes different lights whilst taking the photos, this gave insight into hydration levels in blue, if you’re dehydrated it would appear yellow which to my relief was not something I saw. We saw pigmentation and skin texture, it gave you a deeper look into your skin problems. I spoke about how the main areas of concern for me were throughout my nose, my cheeks and forehead where I thought my texture was just not as airbrushed as I’d like, I also talked about how foundation grabbed to my upper lip more so than anywhere else on my face and that I have a very horrible reaction to serums that work in an overnight AHA type format. Aka glycolic/lactic peels that you wear at night, that claim to smooth your skin out but for me, my face get’s hard, under the surface pimples every time. It never happens with BHA’s but products like Sunday Riley Good Skin Day is horrendous on me and I’m so jealous of people who get on with it. There are also products like the one from Tropic which again, works fantastically on my mum and on me I’m left with a reaction to it.

Jess explained about the brands Clinsept - an anti-microbial spray that has a slightly medicinal/bleachy smell to it. It kills bacteria and just refreshes the skin without stripping, Also Exuviance which is a brand that uses Poly Hydroxy Acids, very clever acids that are the next level in skincare. She also explained that a lot of products or oils, sit on the skin pulling water to themselves, or out of the skin in bad cases. You also have a lot of sensory products out there that feel smooth to the touch because they are molecularly formed in rings of silicone, so when you touch them they break down into the chain shapes and it makes you feel like your touching something soft, as opposed to something breaking down. It’s a tricky thing in a lot of body moisturisers and also hand creams. Hydration based products have a lot of hyaluronic acids in, something that’s been cross branded from everyone’s awareness of fillers. They’re too chunky to permeate the skin and should be ignored, they pull water to themselves as humectants and don’t work. Any product you can buy over the counter that is a skincare cosmetic would be listed as a pharmaceutical if it was potent enough to do real change. The exceptions are treatments like acids or derma rollers that physically breakdown the tissue to reheal smoother.

We went through the treatment with a mask, an acidic peel, a foaming reoxygenating mask and a lovely layer of moisturization. It was a tremendously lovely experience and I was thoroughly relaxed after my wild trip to get there. Any type of massage to the face that doesn’t pull unnecessarily will help, blood is drawn to the area and it does a lot of good from the inside out. The products that stood out to me was the cleanser by Exuviance, I loved it and the smell was delicious. It reminded me of the sensitive moisturizer by Lush. I have gifted toning pads in that range with the PHA’s on so they really help to recondition after cleansing. I received Clinisept, spray after cleansing day or night and also someday and night moisturizers. I wasn’t a huge fan of the moisturizers and I’ve mixed them with my retinol by the Ordinary, I have medical skincare that combines benzoyl peroxide with retinol called Epiduo which is the only thing that will prevent my beard from erupting into boils after shaving. I also switch retinol to Vichy and sometimes Zenmed which do a more potent job in warmer months. I use Kheils creams in the day time, I really love the MDNA roller to apply with and it has carbon tips to really permeate the muscles and relax your face. I love oils that are sensory and aromatic to calm and water, water, water.

Overall I loved the treatment and advice I was given, they customized the treatment to what you need on that day and I definitely think that if you needed to have a wedding skincare or an event, they are the experts that will get you there. I was very happy they commented on the condition of my skin as I treat myself maybe too much like a guinea pig, but the products that were introduced have become staples in my day to day and I am very grateful.

Definitely a highly recommended trip + thank you to Jess for getting my skin in order!