News and Articles

Press Reviews

Mir is a sought-after collection of botanical skincare offering rival delights to the latest organic beauty trends.  Wonderfully cooling on the skin, these water-based goodies are a real treat.  The Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser has a gentle baby-soft fragrance and contains jojoba beads that purify and cleanse.  Soothing extracts of rosewater and chamomile refresh even the most delicate of skins. Cosmopolitan

Tried and tested facial cleansers: here's our pick of the best!  Mir Cleansing Gel for face and eyes: a nice, unfussy product with no perfumes or fancy packaging, thick creamy and easy to apply. It didn't aggravate sensitive areas or make my skin feel taut or dry.  Definitely one for those prone to flare-ups 9/10.  Natural Health

Mir Argan Beauty Oil - one of the 10 best beauty oils. Independent

Luxuriously simple sensitive skin care.  Beauty & the Dirt

For younger skin all over try Mir Argan Beauty Oil..high in vitamin E, skin-nourishing Omega 6 and anti-inflammatory plant sterols to calm redness.  Bella

Mir Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser - one of the 5 best cleansers and the best cleanser for sensitive skin. Natural Health & Beauty

Look Better By Morning - an article featuring Mir Argan Beauty Oil - appeared in Red Magazine

Mir in the News

Come September, the world's pre-eminent folk in anti-ageing will gather at the Royal Society of Medicine for the third International Anti-Ageing Conference. 

Britons' annual spend on anti-ageing products is approaching £1bn. But cosmetic scientist Gisèle Mir has put a spanner in the works by claiming that 'many anti-ageing creams accelerate ageing rather than prevent it.'

John Hinds
Observer July 23 2006

"Gisèle Mir, a cosmetic scientist and maker of holistic skin-care products, says: 'There is no miracle ingredient that will take years off your appearance. The only miracle is that the cosmetics industry has managed to persuade us otherwise for so long."

Scotsman Living October 27 2006

"According to Gisèle Mir, a cosmetic scientist and the founder of the Mir holistic skincare range "There is no miracle ingredient that will take years off your appearance. The only miracle is that the cosmetic industry has managed to persuade us otherwise or so long."

Mir is also of the opinion that these anti ageing products cause more harm than benefits and they actually be responsible for hastening the ageing process rather than restricting it!

It is upon the readers to decide whether or not to follow Mir's advice but one thing is for certain. A well balanced diet, healthy life style and avoiding the sun is equally important along with using anti ageing creams and lotions."

Genuine Answers "What are anti ageing products?"

The Truth About Anti-Ageing Products

Extract from "Age Concern" Women's Health Magazine, March 2003

Every year British women spend millions of pounds on anti-ageing creams, lotions and potions. Many experts believe we are wasting our money.

Which? Magazine decided to put (anti-ageing creams containing Vitamin A or C or AHAs) to the test. It selected 12 ordinary moisturisers and 12 anti-ageing creams and had four women test each product for four weeks, according to the manufacturer's instructions. None of the 96 women knew which product they were using.

At the end of the trial when asked to guess whether they'd been using a moisturiser or an anti-ageing cream, three-quarters of the women thought they'd been using the former. Most had not noticed any difference in the look or feel of their skin and of the 48 women who had been using an anti-ageing cream, only 10 reported any improvement.

Which? Concluded that "some of the claims made for the ingredients of anti-ageing creams can be substantiated but, in the low concentrations used in the creams, they are unlikely to do more than moisturise your skin."

More Harm than Good?

"There is no miracle ingredient that will take years off your appearance.  The only miracle is that the cosmetics industry has managed to persuade us otherwise for so long," says Gisèle Mir, a cosmetic scientist and founder of the holistic skincare range Mir.

"Let me put it this way.  Who will look younger in 10 years time: the person who continuously bombards their skin with anti-ageing products, stripping away the top layer and making the skin more vulnerable to sun damage, then slapping on high-SPF lotions with levels of chemicals to compensate, or the person who treats their skin with respect and has a holistic, intelligent and positive attitude towards natural skin health?"
Mir would go as far as to say anti-ageing cosmetics have the opposite effect on our skin.  "In my opinion you can harm your skin by using anti-ageing products," she says.  "I believe many of these products accelerate ageing rather than prevent it and I advise my customers to avoid them.”
"Retinoids irritate the skin, so there may be dry and flaky skin, and sometimes itching, soreness, redness and a tight feeling.  Some specialists think retinoids work simply because they irritate the skin, aggravating normal skin repair that will smooth wrinkles. “
"AHAs cause irritation, which may make the skin swell slightly, padding out fine lines.  AHAs also induce a peel, giving a smoother surface but making the skin susceptible to UV damage."

Extract from "Age Concern" Women's Health Magazine, March 2003

Anti-Wrinkle Ingredients that Work

British scientists this week say they have identified two anti-wrinkle ingredients that really do work.  Sadly though, you can't buy them - and another study indicates that even the costliest creams available over the counter have virtually no effect. Experts at the British Medical Journal who have reviewed the latest research say the evidence shows that two substances related to vitamin A can help to reduce fine wrinkles.

They report that in good-quality dermatological studies, tazarotine and tretinoin (both types of vitamin A called retinoids) effectively reduced wrinkles, especially those caused by sunburn. In beauty, there's no such thing as a free ride, though, and the two substances are currently available only on prescription as they have side-effects such as skin irritation, increased sensitivity to sunshine and possible harm in pregnancy. Many commercial creams contain a form of vitamin A, which is often called retinol, but it's not the same, the report cautions. 

Meanwhile, a study of costly creams by America's Consumer Union says that even the best reduce lines by an average of 10 per cent, barely visible to the naked eye. 

"Always a wrinkle"  Body & Soul
The Times 26 December 2006, John Naish

Mir News

Special offer on Mir Trial Packs

From August 10th for a limited period £4 off Trial Packs A and B. The moisturisers in these sets are a fifth of the size of a full bottle so these sets are now even better value than before.

Mir rebranding completed

In June 2008, six years after our original launch, Mir rebranding was completed with stunning new packaging and website designs featuring the yin yang symbol, representative of our focus on balancing the skin. Cleansing Gel, Skin Refresher and Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser, previously packaged in 160ml bottles are now available in long lasting 200ml sizes. See the Mir Product page for details, order a few bottles and then redecorate your bathroom to match. Didn't you know? Purple is the new black.

Customers in 28 countries!

UK, Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guam, Holland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Qatar*, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea*, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, USA. *Added in May 2008.

This is mainly through word of mouth, beauty board reviews etc, so a huge thank you to everyone who has reviewed or recommended us.  Mir is also beneficial to non-sensitive complexions, so keep shouting from those rooftops. It's quite a thrill to think of all those Mir bottles all over the globe.

Mir appears at Professional Beauty

We made our first appearance at the Excel trade exhibition in Feb/March 2008.  It was great fun and we talked to many salon owners about their requirements for a Mir salon range. Came across some very odd items including steam machines which supposedly hydrate the skin.  As our fellow dermatologist-exhibitor said "if that were the case, we'd all swell up to double the size each time we have a shower".  And of course there were the usual offenders, micro dermabrasion machines and other peeling monstrosities. The beauty industry never ceases to amaze and appal.

Skin Silk Lotion for face and eyes

The launch in February 2008 of our brand new moisturiser for normal to dry skin - which doubles up as an eye cream for all skin types  - was received with great enthusiasm (and relief by our dry-skin customers).  With the addition of this superlative lotion, the holistic and minimalist Mir range, originally formulated to fill a gap in the market for sensitive combination skins and those prone to blemishes and rosacea can now provide a skin care system that benefits all skin types. Skin Silk Lotion features organic Moroccan argan oil, marshmallow extract, Chinese white tea, Persian organic rosewater and rosehip oil together with a Soil Association approved preservative. It was tested on a panel of volunteers with sensitive, problematic skin and rosacea for 18 months prior to launch. How could anyone resist?

Skin Refresher reformulated

In October 2007 we took a brilliant thing and made it even better, we replaced the rosewater with organic Persian rosewater and we replaced the parabens with a Soil Association approved preservative.  When we first developed the Mir range we decided not to include a toner because we agree with you:   it's just another step in the skin care routine so why bother?  Instead of that, we invented a totally new concept: a liquid that could be used as a face and eye cleanser, on the neck and for freshening up "wherever, whatever and whenever" (as one of our celebrity customers - who used it as a "shower substitute" between film sequences - recently said).  Oh yes, almost forgot, you can also use it as a toner.

Superbly sugary body wash with marshmallow

Formulation work on this long-awaited product was completed in September 2007. Free from soap. sulphates, parabens, fragrance, essential oils and the other 200 substances on our banned list, see Gisele's Guide for elucidation, this product is also noticeably devoid of a sensible name.  Any ideas? It's got a rather lovely glucose-based cleansing agent, soothing marshmallow extract and it bubbles up a bit.   Gentle enough to be used on sensitive faces and much appreciated by babies too.