Beauty Insider: Omorovicza

When Space NK opened on Grafton Street, we gained access to a whole new assortment of high-end skincare. The only issue was investigating all of these lovely new brands. Space NK is a luxury store - the products are expensive, and that's why it's essential to research a major purchase before handing over your money.

Omorovicza is a Hungarian skincare brand that I'd read about online and been aware of for some time (it has the Caroline Hirons seal of approval), but hadn't taken the time to go and properly investigate the products. I set that to rights when I went to Space NK last week to meet the brand's founder, Margaret de Heinrich de Omorovicza, to find out more about the brand.

If you have time, you should head to the Omorovicza website to read the story of how the brand was founded - it's so elegant and has a real-life fairytale quality. Regardless of Margaret's fascinating background, the products are based on very extensive and sound research and they work beautifully.

Omorovicza isn't a natural brand. Though they don't include silicones or parabens (among other ingredients many consider unpalatable) in their products, they will happily include really potent and effective ingredients like Retinol. I like this - sometimes, when you need a targeted treatment product like a serum, you want hard working ingredients. Sometimes the best ones are all-natural, sometimes they aren't.

There are so many genuinely lovely products from this brand, but my utter favourite is the Thermal Cleansing Balm. It's incredibly rich in minerals, and is made - like all Omorovicza products - with the mineral-rich healing waters from Budapest's world famous thermal spas.

The cleanser looks very unusual - it's black. This is because it contains Hungarian Moor Mud which draws out nasties and helps with congestion. It's also rich in vitamin C, which is brilliant for pigmentation, and zinc, which is a tremendous anti-inflammatory. Lots of lovely oils cleanse thoroughly to leave skin feeling cleansed but not taut or dry.

Frankly, this is both too expensive and too nice to use very liberally, so keep it to your second cleanse. At €58, it is definitely a luxury buy, but if you have cranky, reactive skin or just want something beautiful to cleanse with, this is the cleansing balm for you. This cleanser will be especially effective on those days when your skin has flared up or is very dry; this is a treatment as well as a cleanser. And who knows, maybe it'll be making an appearance in next week's Beautie Awards.

Are you familiar with Omorovicza? Share your thoughts in the comments.