BEE DIARY.

BEE DIARY.

I’ve been a long term fan of all things Guerlain for years now, I remember falling in love with the perfumes as a little girl in Paris – and I’ve always admired their commitment to sustainability over the years. Most recently, they asked me to trial their Abeille Royale range for 3 weeks to see the difference in my skin.

A little background on the range: Abeille Royale is French for Royal Bee, which means all the products from the Abeille Royale range have really great active ingredients with exceptional repairing properties derived from bee products – especially the honey from Ouessant Island in France. It’s on the coast of Brittany and a UNESCO nature reserve that has a black bee nature reserve – where the black bee is native on the island – which produces extremely pure honey thanks to the exceptional quality of the ecosystem, which is free from pollution or intensive farming. The honey is high in minerals and amino acids – which are elements that are active in the skin in the connective tissue of collagen and elastin. Honey is a well known natural antibacterial property that is also great for healing the skin. This means that using the products with these ingredients on your skin is going to be great at healing any redness, boost plumpness and smooth the skin. Another key ingredient from the bees is the exclusive Sologne Royal Jelly which deeply nourishes and tones the skin.

Sounds incredible, right?

A few favourites I had used from the range before were the Youth Watery Oil – a product I use a lot as I find it really nourishing on the skin and a great day time oil because – as the name suggests – it’s not a thick oil, almost more serum like – and the Double R Renew & Repair serum – which uses lactic, glycolic and citric acid with the healing powers of honey so you can renew the skin without irritation.

Week 1 

One thing you immediately notice about these products is how wonderful they feel on the skin and how great they smell. There is something about the natural smell of delicious honey that just makes me feel like it’s spring and makes me very happy. So on a superficial level, I already love these.

Even after just 2 days of using the Abeille Royale products as my routine, I can see the effects of constantly using soothing ingredients on the skin. I have sensitive combination skin which is prone to breakouts so I’m often a little flushed after doing my skincare but with these I don’t get that.

I’ve been using the Youth Watery Oil and Eye Cream after cleansing morning and night, then adding in the Double R Renew & Repair serum as my exfoliation in the evening, followed by either Day or Night Cream, and the Skin Defense SPF50 in the morning before makeup too.

Week 2

I’m travelling to Australia this week and the 24 hour flight is going to be quite the test for the products. I’m packing the Black Bee Honey Balm on the plane with me as it’s great for very dry skin and forming a barrier without being greasy – just what I need on the plane. I also love that you can apply it all over – to lips, elbows, hair… perfect when I have minimal space!

Towards the end of this week I can see the effect the Double R Renew & Repair serum is having on my breakouts – not only are they less frequent but some tough scars I had on my cheeks seem to be fading! I haven’t used an AHA every night for a while so I thought my skin might find it too much but since these are mixed in with the soothing bee product my sensitive skin is happy as can be. The Night Cream has been great for after the flight, too, I love that it isn’t super thick but still feels very nourishing on the skin.

Week 3

Back in London and using the new Honey Cataplasm Mask when I got off my flight was a real skin saviour. The mask itself has a great second-skin texture so it doesn’t fall off like other sheet masks I’ve tried and instead hugs the contours of the face. I love that this was inspired by the honey bandages used in medicine for healing wounds and scars – in just 15 minutes my skin after feels plump, hydrated and well – just happy.

It’s a sunny week to land back in London (so unusual, it’s like the weather gods knew) so I’m still using the new Skin Defense SPF50. It doesn’t feel like a sunscreen which I love, but instead like a luxurious cream. And luckily for me, alongside including UVA, UVB and infrared protection, it also protects against the blue light of the screens we stare at all day.

I did find that layering it on top of the Day Cream caused my skin to pill (those little balls of product) so I’m applying the Skin Defense SPF50 directly after the Youth Watery Oil, and it’s the perfect hydrated base for the new L’Essentiel natural glow foundation. For me this is the best foundation from Guerlain I’ve tried so far, probably because the previous ones were a little higher coverage and I was so impressed by how dewy and glowy this one went on and stayed throughout the day. It’s a very flawless finish without looking heavy – the perfect addition to my Abeille Royale routine to help even out any skin tone and imperfections.

Verdict: I’m so pleased I really gave all these products the time they deserved as they are incredibly effective and I’m definitely going to keep them on my shelfie for the foreseeable future! If you haven’t yet tried them, next time you go past a counter do go and try out the textures as you won’t be disappointed.

Or if you’re already sold, then click here to shop the range.

this post was created in collaboration with Guerlain