skincare review

Pai Perfect Balance Discovery Collection

- Vicki 2 Comments

Pai Skincare Gift Set

Pai is a brand that I hear so many lovely things about but I have never tried any of their products so I was excited to receive one of their skincare collections to try out. I have the Perfect Balance Discovery Collection* which is a great set for oily skin, the set includes

  • Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser 30ml
  • Pai Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic 12ml
  • Pai Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream 10ml
  • Pai Organic Muslin Cloth.

Pai Perfect Balance Discovery Collection

The Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser is so gentle and very good at removing makeup, dirt and impurities without striping the skin and leaving it feeling tight. I use this all over my face and I even remove my eye makeup with it and it doesn’t sting my eyes. It contains omega 3 and vitamins A, B, C & E, so it will hydrate your skin leaving it feeling supple and clean. I have found it calms my skin and thats great during the Winter because i tend to get redness in my cheeks and this helps soothe and reduce that.

Next step is the Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic I love using a face mist I find them relaxing and a great way of keeping my skin hydrated not only as part of my skincare routine but also throughout the day. I spritz this on top of my makeup to rehydrate and give my skin that fresh glow. This is also really gentle and contains no alcohol, Pai does not use alcohol, even natural grain varieties, as it strips the face of natural oils, often leading to excess sebum production and breakouts.

Like all of Pai skincare this toner contains beautifully natural ingredients like

  • Rice Plant: Extracted from the fresh shoots of the rice plant, this ‘living water’ contains the skin-benefiting minerals calcium, sodium, magnesium, and potassium. Its active antioxidants cool and rebalance skin, making it ideal for combination skin types.
  • Rosemary: The strong anti-inflammatory powers of Caffeic Acid and Rosemarinic Acid in Rosemary soothe sensitive skin and help to strengthen the capillaries. Natural antioxidants purify and rebalance congested skin and the oily T-zone.

Pai Skincare Trio

And the last product in this set is the Pai Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream This has become my secret weapon in the fight against my oily t zone. Its lightweight but still very hydrating, it won’t leave your skin feeling greasy at all in fact it gives your skin a velvet matte finish. This also helps with calming the redness in my cheeks so its a great moisturiser for people with sensitive skin too. Its is formulated

  • Organic Geranium Oil which has a balancing and calming effect on the skin
  • Thistle Oil is bursting with Omega 6 which mattifies the skin and reduces the appearance of enlarged pores whilst
  • Borage Oil nurtures the skin with Essential Fatty Acids and evens out skin tone.

Again its gentle on the skin and bursting with lovely ingredients.

Pai Skincare Gift Set

I have really enjoyed this Pai skincare kit and think it would make the most thoughtful Christmas Gift for anyone with sensitive, oily or blemish prone skin. The products are all cruelty free and Pai are proud to carefully select ingredients with proven remedial and skin soothing properties and keep their products free from irritating chemicals and alcohol.

Pai have Collections for all skin concerns so pop over & take a look & also have a look at their Christmas gift ideas.

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream

- Vicki 5 Comments
Origins Make a DIfference Night Cream

Origins Make a DIfference Night Cream

Origins Make a Difference Overnight Cream

Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream*

This is Origins latest addition to their already popular Make a Difference Collection. It has been developed to enhance the skin’s overnight repair function using ‘location technology’ to relocate moisture from the skin’s deepest layers, restoring lost moisture during sleep. I love products that work their magic whilst I’m sleeping.

This cream has been my Winter Skin Saviour. It feels cooling and lightweight on the skin and is a cream that you can use daily if you want to. I like to switch up my skincare quite a lot so I tend to use this 3 nights a week and I have seen a difference in my skin over the past 2 months. By morning my skin is looking fresh and after using it for a couple of months my skin is visibly plumper, brighter and smoother. This is an ultra-rich cream but it’s not greasy which after a minute or so has left my skin smooth and soft to the touch & the cream has been completely absorbed. I’m pretty smitten with it.

It includes these three key ingredients,

Rose of Jericho – Which is a desert plant that opens when moisture is present and closes up as if dead during short or long dry spells. It’s also known as a Resurrection plant because even when it dries out and lost 98% of its water content, it comes to life again when rehydrated by just a drop of water.

Watermelon – another key ingredient, can boost Filaggrin production (a pivotal role in skin barrier function), and this is a protein that promotes healthy skin’s barrier function and helps retain water.

Lychee extract – is added to keep healthy moisture balance and improve long-term hydration

So the plant extract & natural ingredients in this cream are centred around hydrating the skin but also repairing its natural function to repair and lock in moisture. So its perfect for parched skin.

Now the scent, that might be the one thing that might get you. It’s very botanical & quite strong, I like to use the Mega Mushroom range from Origins which has a very distinctive scent so that doesn’t phase me. If you’re not overly keen on heavily scented products you might want to visit a counter first & have a test of this first. Scent aside, it is a cream that will not only lock in moisture but also quench your skin and if you have dehydrated skin it will help repair the natural moisture deficiency. This is helping me combat central heating & the cold windy weather we’ve been having. Its my overnight hero.

Let me know what your favourite range is from Origins & if you have tried this Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream. 

Origins Make a Difference Overnight Hydrating Repair Cream £34.50 for 50ml

Products that are marked with an * have either been sent to me for my consideration or I’ve received at events. I’m under no obligation to review them on my blog. However if I do, the reviews are 100% my own.

LP Skin Therapy

- Vicki 6 Comments

I think I’m very late to this party as I’d never heard of LP Skin Therapy before but after doing a little research I discovered that it is a very popular brand with an excellent skincare range. It was founded by Dr Linda Papadopoulos PhD a highly respected Psychologist with 14 years experience as a Research Scientist and as a practising Psychologist – she has done a lot of research on the links between mind and skin and the real effect our emotional state and life’s stresses have on our skin.

I have to say that this brand and their stance on mind and skin has really hit home to me. We’re aware that our diet affects our skin and health and the sun can often have a negative effect on how we age. But we sometimes overlook the emotional stress we’re under and the negative effects it can have. LP Skin Therapy headed up by Dr Linda Papasopoulos really looks into this emotional and psychological stress on your body its called Psycodermatology. ‘Psychodermatology takes a psychological approach to skin disorders, recognising the role emotional stress can play in triggering these conditions and tackling the distress they can cause.’

OK so on to the products I’ve been trying. I was sent 4 products. Uplifting Facial Water*, Refining Lip Exfoliator*, Untired Eye Cream* & Overnight Replenish Cream* – these are part of the 6 Piece LP Skin Therapy Anti-Ageing Discovery Collection. It’s a great way to try a few products from this brand without having to spend on Full Sized items and is a great introduction to LP Skin Therapy range. It would also make a fantastic Mother’s Day Gift.

LP Skin Therapy

I loved the Untired Eye Cream and have used it twice a day for almost 2 weeks. I’ve noticed my under eye area is looking so much brighter and my dark circles are getting less visible. This cream contains Alpha Glucose Hesperidin – this ingredient helps encourage circulation under the eye to diminish dark circles (its working).  My concealer applies so well over the top of this cream as it’s non-greasy and I find my concealer doesn’t slip off or break down. It seems to make a good base.

In the independent tests carried out on the Untired Eye Cream, 80% of volunteers had a positive reduction in Dark Circles and 90% said their under eye area appeared to be more hydrated. I have to agree with this 100%. When my sample runs out I will be buying the Full-Size one as its hands down the best eye cream I have tried.

LP Skin Therapy

The Uplifting Facial Water has been either in my handbag or on my desk since I received it. I’m a big fan of Facial Sprays and always use one. The LP Skin Therapy one smells of Orange Blossom it is very refreshing and uplifting. It contains Aloe Vera & Hibiscus Extract to help soothe and calm the skin, this is perfect for me as I suffer from a little rosacea, my skin can often need a spritz to calm it down and leave it feeling cool and refreshed. I like the handy 50ml size that you get in the Anti Aging Discovery Collection as it is a great size for travel. Are you a fan of facial mists/toners? This has been a welcomed addition to my skincare. It will be perfect for those warm summer days.

The Refining Lip Exfoliator is very hydrating for a lip scrub. I’ve only used the LUSH Bubblegum one and it’s very different. This one has jojoba oil in which really leaves your lips feeling smooth and very hydrated. It’s like a lip scrub and a lip balm in one. It is not abrasive nor does it strip your lips of moisture. It has so many lovely ingredients like ‘Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E, Sweet Almond Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Volulip. Calming complex of Passionflower, St Johns Wort, Valerian, Verbena & Wild Yam’. It’s a handy product to have in your collection.

This lip exfoliator also has an added benefit, as it helps reduce fine lines around your lip and improve lip definition. I can often neglect that area and its good that this is like 2 benefits in one kind of product.

LP Skin Therapy

The last product is the Overnight Replenish Cream which I was reluctant to use as I’m a Bridesmaid at my best friends wedding this weekend and was worried that any major change in my skincare might break me out. I didn’t want to be a spotty Bridesmaid. I’m pleased to report that my skin has responded well to this cream and I found it lightweight especially for a night cream and I used it on top of my Hydralurion and so far I am liking the combination. Again like the Facial Water, this Overnight Cream helps to sooth the skin and minimise the signs of aging – at 35 I’m starting to see these signs and trying to keep them at bay!

I’m really pleased with the results I’ve seen from the Uplifting Eye Cream and I’ve enjoyed the Facial Water and the Lip Exfoliator. The Overnight Cream hasn’t won me over yet but there is still time. I would recommend trying something from this range if you haven’t already. Oh, & I have to say that I love the purple packaging.

* I was kindly sent these to try & the review is 100% my own.