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Yon-Ka
Who and what is Yon-Ka?
A specialist in "phytoaromatic" skincare (or fragrant plant-based products in non-spa speak), Yon-Ka has exploring the therapeutic properties of plants since 1954, but is a relatively new addition to UK spas. Despite the Eastern-sounding name, Yon-Ka is a product house based in Paris, run by a French family company, Laboratoires Multaler, who have managed to retained an air of exclusivity despite expanding their venture internationally - you definitely won't see this range for sale on most beauty counters!
The philosophy is actually in the name: "Yon" is a river of purifying water, while "Ka" is the ancient Egyptian term for vital lifeforce. The essential oils - including rosemary, cypress, thyme, and lavender, which is in most of the products - give the brand its distinctive aromatic edge. This has made it an increasingly popular choice for spas and celebs alike, with Yon-Ka counting Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Tom Cruise and Hilary Swank as fans.
They say:
"So that your skin can benefit from all that the plant world has to offer, Yon-Ka uses not only the fragrant part of the plant, its revitalizing essential oil charged with solar energy, but all of the complementary ingredients contained in plant and marine extracts: Vitamins, trace elements, fruit acids, etc. This combination is the foundation of Yon-Ka Face, Body and Sun beauty products."
We say:
"The Yon-Ka range is vast. With a mighty 74 facial products currently listed on their website, it might be prudent to take Yon-Ka's advice to consult a skincare expert for a personalised treatment regime. It's hard to know your Crème 28 from your Gommage 305 without a little guidance.
Try before you buy. Yon-Ka's products have powerful love-it-or-hate-it scents. Sensitive Spy loved her lemon body balm but everyone was completely terrified by the cough-sweet scent of the Optimizer."
Yon-Ka Products - What have we tried?
Yon-Ka Lait Nettoyant 200ml, RRP £22
Salubrious Spy:
I tested the Lait Nettoyant cleansing milk which is a pale blue coloured lotion that comes in a pump dispenser. It's a pleasant enough lotion, with a subtle non-descript "beauty product" scent that does the job of cleansing perfectly adequately. The only really striking aspect to the lotion is its rather beautiful, if unnatural looking, colour - a kind of 1950s shade of aqua which matches perfectly with the decor in my bathroom. Alongside other brands that are available today, the Yon-Ka packaging seems rather out of date, but the absence of striking logos or imagery somehow gives the products a sense of credibility. I can imagine this product on the dressing table of a Parisian woman of a certain age.
Yon-Ka Phyto-Contour 15ml, RRP £28
Shy Spy:
I have to admit that I don't always bother with a separate eye cream, but the promise of a cream that goes to work on puffiness and dark circles has quite an appeal, so I gladly slathered this "Phyto-Contour" all over my eyelids twice a day for over a month to put it to the test. When I squeezed the white cream out of the tube, I was greeted by a fairly pungent aroma of rosemary, which, while a pleasant smell, made me think about a nice roast lamb.
The cream was not as thick as some eye creams I've tried, in fact, it was a similar consistency to a normal facial moisturiser, but wasn't runny, so was easy to apply. On application, the cream has a slight cooling effect, which did calm down puffiness on one particular occasion (I am referring to the frog-eye effect I sometimes acquire after one too many pinot grigios), and did feel quite nice. However, overall, I didn't notice any radical removal of dark circles or any other major effect. I wasn't terribly excited by this product, but if you like eye-creams and chicly packaged French products, this is for you.
Yon-Ka Le Baum Corps 90ml, RRP £42
Sensitive Spy:
This is an "anti-ageing phyto-repairing body balm", an intensely moisturising body treatment, containing Kokum, Dhupa, Cupuacu, Shea and Mango butters, Grape Seed, Marrow Seed and Avocado Oils plus vitamins A and C, Coenzyme Q10, and Ginkgo biloba. I found it a bit of a primadonna product. If it was a hot day, the balm was a semi-liquid oil which splurted everywhere unless I remembered to massage the tube before application. If it was a cold day, it thickened up and stubbornly refused to come out to play at all. However, on days of optimum temperature, the Baum is a joy to use. Rich and easily absorbed, it has a strong and cheerful citrus scent, like posh, lemon sweeties. It left the dry skin on my legs and arms beautifully moisturised but not oily.
Yon-Ka Optimizer 30ml, RRP £48
A deep brown, serious-looking serum in a pump dispenser, to be used after cleansing and toning to revitalise the skin and improve resiliency. Chock full of active ingredients - horsetail, wild rose, collagen and hyaluronic acid - the strong, unusual scent was a talking point to say the least. Salubrious Spy declared it "vile" before passing it on to Shy Spy, who suggested a more constructive: "It smells vegetational, like crushed plant stalks". And so the beauty baton was passed to Sensitive Spy.
Sensitive Spy:
Deeply moisturising and sticky, I only needed a few drops of this high-strength serum to moisturise the skin around my eyes. However, I really disliked the smell, it was like herbal cough drops. Not a product I would use on a regular basis, I'm afraid.
Yon-Ka Gommage 303 50ml, RRP £28
Shy Spy:
A clear gel mask for normal to oily skin, this "gommage" can be left on for 10 minutes, or overnight for a more noticeable effect. For something that is described as having a "peel" effect (which did scare me a little, worrying that my face might dissolve while I slept), it was actually very mild, with no noticeable tingling or hot/cold sensation. I applied a layer which I expected to sit on my skin like a peel-off mask, but it actually sank into my skin, so it was hardly noticeable, and only a little tacky in the areas where I had applied fairly thickly.
I left it on for 10 minutes the first time. After removing it, my skin felt soft and supple, but not dramatically different. I tried it for longer the second time, and again, my skin felt pleasantly smooth, but as the mask had a mild smell, and had a mild effect, it didn't necessarily have any "wow" factor.
Yon-Ka Elastine Nuit and Elastine Jour 50ml, RRP £38
Sensitive Spy:
These moisturisers claim to visibly reduce lines, nourish, and rejuvenate the skin. For those of you who never paid attention in French lessons at school, Elastine Jour is for daytime use and Elastine Nuit is for night.
Both were competent moisturisers, although slightly unremarkable - no radiant glow or improved skin texture noted, I'm sorry to say. However, they quickly absorbed into my skin, and they didn't irritate with daily use. They're good as a basic moisturiser when there's nothing particularly wrong with your skin but you could do with a little boost. Elastine Nuit has a very distinctive, old-fashioned scent which I love, it reminds me of something that my mum's glamorous friend used to have in her handbag, circa 1978. It takes me straight back to being eight years old and trying on her endless Avon and Revlon samples, trying to nab an illicit spritz of Charlie or Tweed. The moisturiser equivalent of Proust's madeleine.
Where can I find Yon-Ka products?
* Ickworth House Hotel, Bury St Edmunds
* Visit the Yon-Ka website for further details.
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