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Although we are far more educated about ingredients than ever before, choosing skin care is sometimes a bit of a minefield. On the whole, complexion products are too expensive for us to be relaxed about trial and error. According to the leading market research brand, Mintel, British women spent approximately £1.18 billion on facial skin care in 2018. That’s a whole lot of money and I can’t even imagine how many gallons of cream that could be.

I look at beauty web-sites every single day – and they’re fine if you know exactly what you’re looking for. But if you don’t, those multiple jars, pots and bottles soon start to swim in front of your eyes and before you know it, you’ve given up because it’s just too confusing. That’s exactly where new beauty site, Skincity, comes in and it’s tailor-made to stop that bewildered click away by removing the stress.

Launched in Sweden in 2011 and now newly launched in the UK, Skincity is more skin clinic than on-line shop as it’s staffed by certified skin therapists and make up artists – in fact, it’s Scandinavia’s leading online skin clinic. The first thing you do is fill in a detailed questionnaire (don’t worry – it takes about five minutes but worth thinking through before you answer) about what qualities you look for in skin care and what your skin concerns are. Based on the results of that, a therapist will select the best products for you.

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The skin test is really useful – when it asks for your skin type, for example, it properly explains what that could mean. So, for ‘Combination’, the guide is ‘Oilier skin in the T-Zone, i.e. forehead, nose, chin. Blackheads and enlarged pores can occur in these areas in combination with dry or normal cheeks’. So you know straight away which is you. The test will also ask you what issues you are having – you can flag up blackheads, whiteheads, surface dryness, inflamed spots… every issue is there for you to raise. It also looks at skin goals – what you want your skin care to achieve for you. This set of questions uses a slider bar to gauge your level – for example, you might be more interested in skin firmness than eradicating fine lines but you also might want both. I went straight to the end of the slider for skin brightness, marking it as Very Important. Without taking you through every single question, I made it clear that I have fairly normal skin and would like it to be bright and glowy as well as firm and clear.

After a (reassuring) while (so I didn’t feel everyone gets a computer-generated list that’s exactly the same) I received a polite email and a list of six products from a brand called Epionce. Each product recommendation comes with a note of why it’s included. I opted not to take the eye cream, since I hadn’t requested that to be part of the regime, and felt impressed that it wasn’t an excessive list. The recommendation was for a cleanser, serum, moisturiser, SPF and a mask – a good edit of a brand I don’t know very well that immediately made me want to try it all.

When my package arrived – beautifully wrapped – it contained, as well as the skin care products – a little UK launch celebration doll that is a Japanese good luck charm that bring good wishes. I am so far impressed with the Epionce selection and in particular the Ultra Shield Lotion SPF that actually tells you on the packaging how long you are water resistance protected for (90 mins). I’ve never seen that before and imagine it’s a good running or outdoor exercise partner when sweat or rain could be an issue.

The last thing to say about Skincity – and you’ll notice as you browse the site – is that the Skincity team represents a cross-section of age and skin types – truly an every woman site, feels comfortable to use and easy to navigate, so if you feel baffled by beauty or simply want an easier option for buying skin care, you’re in good hands HERE. You can use Britbeauty15 to get 15% off your first order. I think it’s a great addition to our roster of UK beauty sites – there isn’t anyone else doing things exactly this way so it’s easily filling a gap in the way we buy our beauty products.