Firstly a disclosure: As as personal customer of QMS products for many years, I was gifted the new QMS EpiGen Daily-Detox Serum for me to try out. There was, however, no agreement or obligation for me to post about the brand or product.
Now a news update – we are considering a move to Santiago in Chile. While I’m keen to brush up on my Spanish and excited as I am about drinking fabulous red wine to the backdrop of snow capped mountains, I’ve been warned about one serious downside. Pollution.
No filter: pollution and expat city life
Apparently smog is a real problem in Santiago city. Expaters in other countries have shared with me how much it impacts on their quality of life and warned me against moving anywhere similar. In fact India, a country which I love, was ranked among the worst places to live as an expat mostly due to air pollution in its major cities.
We all know about the threat to our respiratory system, but as a beauty addict, its impact on skin scares me almost as much. I’ve written about pollution’s effect on the skin before and I truly believe that in ten years time we’re going to be using anti-pollution products like we do sunscreen today.
In advance of my move abroad I’ve been testing anti-pollution products and I’m currently trialing the new EpiGen Daily-Detox Serum by QMS.
The gentle beauty giant
If you’re not aware of QMS already, here are the basics you need to know: it was a doctor who founded the medicosmetics brand after working in trauma and cosmetic surgery. As an expert treating burns victims, Dr Schulte understood the importance of gentle but effective skincare based on scientific results, not pretty bottles. Unsurprisingly his brand, QMS, has become a worldwide bestseller among celebrities, beauty experts and skincare geeks like me.
A scientific approach for results
Dr Schulte recognised the effects of pollution and set out to create a more targeted solution. His new anti pollution serum employs the science of epigenetics, ‘a physiological reprogramming process that occurs in the cell without changing the DNA sequence’. In other words, it tricks your skin into healing itself from within.
Herein lies the difference – while other products use barriers to try to prevent particles from entering the skin, or boost the system with antioxidants alone, the QMS version is the only one I know of which works with your skin’s own natural system to repair, restore and protect deep down.
Dr Schulte explains: ‘Through studying the science of Epigenetics, I understood how this biological process could provide more targeted skin-improving benefits… Epigenetic science opens the door for a new era in skincare development’.
Not to get bogged down in the science of it all (I nearly failed chemistry at school), but let me explain a little more about how it actually works. Its key ingredient is based on royal actin, commonly known as royal jelly. This interacts with skin proteins to promote tissue regeneration, which in turn leaves a smoother, more even complexion. Other ingredients include matrikine complex which repairs damage, as well as Swiss stone pine extract which helps reduce redness and age spots.
My (unscientific) findings
I used the serum daily on my recent trips to Barcelona and London. There is a reason why London is known as the big smoke – its busiest high street was once recorded as the most polluted on earth. Whatever the statistics, whenever I leave my Yorkshire abode for a big city I always seem to return home with skin worse than when I set out.
This time, using the EpiGen Daily Detox Serum I definitely noticed a difference. My skin felt smoother, brighter and less congested than usual. It actually felt smoother than before I left home, suggesting it’s a great product with or without pollution. It’s also worth adding that as a sufferer of eczema and psoriasis, and with a tendency towards dehydrated and sensitive skin, the serum was wonderfully gentle and seemed to calm small patches of redness around my nose and chin.
As I’ve mentioned in my previous post, sleep, relaxation and a good diet are also vital for good skin, so don’t expect a crystal clear complexion if you’re partying all night and eating takeaway for breakfast. In my case, I know that help with my children really worked in Barcelona (I was tempted to abduct my mother-in-law’s housekeeper) and leaving my kids with my husband while I enjoyed London was better still. Nevertheless, I really do rate the product and while it’s perhaps not as essential if you’re based in the rolling hills of the country, it’s a must buy for city girls.
As for my potential move to South America, I learn more news: Chilean red wine is my Achilles heel but hooray, research from Harvard Medical School suggests that a glass or two can actually help protect cardio systems from the effects of smog. With my new anti-pollution serum, I’ve also got my skin covered. Chile is looking rather attractive…
QMS EpiGen Daily-Detox Serum. £167 for 30 ml
