WHEN I recovered from dengue fever last month, it struck me what the nine-day fever had done to my skin — it dried it so badly that the huge amounts of water I gulped while being sick still left my lips parched and my skin coarse.

Raw Argan nuts.

The day after I was discharged from the hospital, I started using lotions and creams, with unsatisfactory results.

I was cream-hopping until I realised that just before I was down with fever, Kiehl’s sent me its new Superbly Restorative Preparations.

So I fished them out from the brown paper bag. There are three products in the line: the body lotion, dry oil and skin salve. The last is my favourite.

My hands were flaking around this time, and of all the lotions that I have used, the salve moisturises my skin for the longest period and accelerates the flaking process. My skin was restored to its original state. I used it at night before I went to bed and the next morning, my hands didn’t feel so coarse.
What’s clever about this product is that there are more than 10 uses for it.

It replenishes parched, rough patches and dry skin cracks. You can use it as a lip balm, to smooth split ends and fly-away hair, for cuticles, knees, elbows and hand, to tame and condition eyebrows, soothes chapped noses due to cold, relieves sensitive skin from sun and protects skin chafing during sports.

Made with Moroccan Argan Oil, the multi-purpose skin preparation also contains essential oils of orange, patchouli, eucalyptus and cedarwood. The formula helps restore and maintain hydration, elasticity and smoothness of skin and hair.

For normal skin looking for something less oily, the body lotion does the trick, moisturising the body nicely after shower without leaving any trace of grease.

Made of argan oil and argan leaf extract, it is naturally scented with essential oils of orange and eucalyptus to give it a pleasant scent.

But I prefer the dry oil as a post-shower body treatment as it is easily absorbed and gives the skin much more moisture than the lotion.

Preservative-free, the oil has a tinge of citrus.

You can use it at night on your face (just a few drops) before you retire to restore moisture because no matter how oily your skin is, it’s often dry underneath.

Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Body Lotion (RM110) and Dry Oil (RM96) are available at Kiehl’s outlet in Pavilion. The Skin Salve (RM80) will hit the shelves in August.