Dove Goes High End

I always find it remarkable how companies are always looking to expand no matter how established they are - and Unilever is no different. They've set off on a journey in to the premium market, starting off with two new branches of Dove - true tone and DermaSeries - and a premium shaving line to Men+Care range.

Men+Care
Very quickly, the addition to Men+Care are aimed to incorporate moisture and care into a man's shaving regime. So you've got the Exfoliating Pre-Shave Scrub (£18), Softening Pre-Shave Oil (£18), the Smoothing Shave Cream (£18), Total Comfort Shave Cream (£22 - this one is more hydrating than the Smoothing Shave Cream) and the Intense Post-Shave Repair Balm (£22). The fiance has been on to the Smoothing Shave Cream, and has so far given it the thumbs up.. more to come.

DermaSeries
This is a super simple range with two steps - cleanse and moisturise - and targets extreme dryness.

On the Cleanse side, you've got the Ultra Caring Gentle Cleansing Bar (£8), the Ultra Caring Gentle Body Cleanser (£16) and the Ultra Caring Gentle Cream Face Cleanser (£14). Having tried the latter two, I think these are products you can skip. I didn't find either of the products particularly nourishing or cleansing, for that matter, and there are better cream cleansers out there for the price!

As for Moisturise, these products fare better. The Intense Repairing Skin Relief Cream (£14) and the Intense Repairing Body Cream (£16) are both body lotions, and the Intense Repairing Rough Patch Treatment (£14) is more of a concentrated balm.

I've tried the Body Cream, and am impressed at the matte finish and the quick absorption on areas with normal skin like my legs and arms, but on thinner skinned areas like the inside of my arms, I found it a bit rich and tacky - so beware!

The Rough Patch Treatment really excited me because I've had crazy dry and chapped elbows for as long as I can remember, and am always testing products against it (silver lining and all that). I have to say that this works very well, and even after two days my elbows feel relatively soft. It's meant to cure minor things like that, but also work great to make conditions like eczema and psoriasis manageable. Apparently people compare the initial texture to Elizabeth Arden's 8 Hour Cream, but I prefer Dove's by miles. It absorbs easier, and doesn't have that shiny finish, nor the chemical smell. This is definitely the star of the range!

true tone
Pits. Not taboo, but not exactly a party topic either. Either way, here it is. I've always had darkness on my underarms and never really understood why, until a few months ago when I had them waxed at Wax In The City - I noticed that after not shaving for a week or so, the darkness had gone. This led me to the conclusion that it's probably some sort of irritation from shaving, and I started applying oils and moisturisers on my underarms. Voila - the dark marks were fading.

I suppose I'm not the only one to have had this experience because Dove's new creation is the first purpose-built night moisturiser for dark underarms. Their research showed that women with darker skin tend to experience this, and has ranked it as one of their biggest skin concerns - I'm definitely in that category! It can really make you conscious about raising your arms when wearing tank tops! Therefore, the Underarm Dark Mark Eraser (£20) is a cream to soothe and repair your skin, moisturise it and to lighten existing dark marks.

Now my question is how it compares to me using any moisturiser/oil as I did before. If you're like me and moisturising does the trick, the key ingredient to lighten marks isn't of much use! This product takes 7 consecutive nights of used to show results - so it's currently being tested by yours truly. Updates to come.

All of these products have launched exclusively at Selfridges, and will be stocked elsewhere (the true tone at Boots) in the near future.

Yu