BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation in Porcelain

A beautiful, beautifully packaged foundation. This comes in a frosted glass bottle and it really is rather ethereal with its swirls of iridescence. And it promises so very much.

Now I have been a regular repurchaser of BECCA products - I loved their Luminous Skin Colour, a feather light tint which was pared with a stick foundation for concealing, they also made a compact concealer with a split pan of heavier and lighter consistency concealers. What was so amazing was the span of skin shades, I think 33. Some shades were sub- divided into cool, warm and neutral, it was a delight......so what the hell has happened with this foundation and its total of 9 shades?

Now I know that formulations have moved on exponentially since I was first purchasing BECCA some 10 years ago (and the rest), and there is more of a forgiving, sort of wriggle room between shades but I am disappointed to say the least.

Another disappointment is the delivery system - a dropper which is millimetres narrower in diametre than the neck of the product meaning smearing and mess.

So I am disappointed on 2 fronts, shade range and delivery system. Going back to the shade range I have swatched it on my hand below 

BECCA Ultimate Coverage Complexion Creme in Porcelain on left and BECCA Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation in Porcelain on the right - there is to my eye about a 2 shades difference and an unwanted warmth to the Aqua Luminous.

So saying this is a really lovely foundation. I can apply 1 pump and it covers without caking and sets to negate the need for any setting powder. It lasts my usual 7 to 8 hours and does not deteriorate or break down or separate. It really does look like my own skin. I just cannot get used to the warmthness of the porcelain shade of this foundation.

I bought mine from Cult Beauty which is currently the only place in UK which carries the porcelain shade.

NIOD Superoxide Dismutase Saccharide Mist

I purchased this because it was new, no suprise there really, I like new things and am constantly searching for the one product or products for I would not want to restrict myself, which make my skin look amazing.

This is a rather unrealistic task for this product for it is to all intents and purposes a facial mist, a spray, something which one faffs about with. But you see for me this product is anything but, and I was well flabbergasted as to its immediate and lasting effect on my skin.

NIOD is a new brand just over a year old, and I have blogged about it before and there is lots of information on their own website, Caroline Hirons had a post with comment answered by the brand's inventor (for want of a better word) and Victoria Health has comprehensive information with each of the products that they sell. 

SDSM - as it intialises as, is marketed as a face and body treatment which hydrates the skin and protects against oxidation. In a nutshell, it isn't a toner, but it is to my mind, maybe a suped up toner with added benefits.

What I found on my skin post application was firstly that it does not feel like a toner on the skin. I sprayed it on, goodish spray but it does come out a bit spurty but then where is there a spray which does not spurt a bit? And for want of speed I rubbed it into my face - the texture is lovely, like a thinnish serum - it has substance.  My skin felt immediately plumped up, as if every cell had supped at a cool clear mountain stream. But what amazed me the most was how well every other product I applied, down to my base and concealer, went on so much more easily and lasted so much longer with far less breakup and cracking and general wear and tear.

The ingredients are listed below and there is information about how each one actively works to increase hydration and decrease the effects of oxidation and general inflammation on the skin on the NIOD website and the Victoria Health website.

It is £34 for 240mls and is likely to last a good time even with generous spraying. It has somewhat nudged me into trying the brand again, and at the moment all my other hydrating type sprays are taking a back seat.

Votary Super Seed Cleansing Oil

I have been using this for nearly a month. Put simply I love it. End of review. 

The thing is that I am a serial cleanser of my face, I delight in cleansing, it soothes and satisfies me. It reacquaints me with my face.

Thus I enjoy many different cleansers, balms, oils and creams. This is a lovely lovely cleansing oil.

I have used the first Votary Cleansing Oil - see my thoughts here it is also a lovely lovely cleansing oil, it is quite a light textured oil and does sink somewhat into my skin when I apply - not something that I mind, but something that I am aware of.

This is a thicker textured oil to my mind, it is denser, it sits in the palm of my hand. 

The premise of this oil is "Anti-irritation, anti-inflammation, deeply nourishing and anti-ageing". 

It contains 21 plant oils: Vitis Vinifera (Grapeseed) Oil Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil Curcubita Pepo (Pumpkin) Seed Oil Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil Limanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil Camellia Oleifera (Camellia) Seed Oil Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Oil Nigella Sativa (Black Seed) Oil Papaver Somniferum (Poppy) Seed Oil Linum Usitatissimum (Linseed) Oil Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil Vaccinium Corymbosum (Blueberry) Seed Oil Tocopherol Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil Brassica Oleracea Italica (Brocoli) Seed Oil Citrullus Lanatus (Melon) Seed Oil Prunus Cerasus (Cherry) Seed Oil Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Seed Oil Carum Petroselinum (Parsley) Seed Oil Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Herb Oil Calendula Officinalis (Calendula) Flower Extract Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil Limonene+ Linalool+ +Naturally occurs in Essential Oils  

It works in the same way as the original, wet hands lightly, apply 4-5 pumps of the oil (which sprays out very easily) massage in and remove with the cloth. For me, this cleansing oil is like Votary Cleaning Oil + it has that bit extra, extra richness, extra calmness, extra soothingness. It smells very faintly of lavender.

With my order came a 2mls sample of the accompanying Super Seed Facial Oil.

This is sublime, I want the full size. It lasted me a good 10 days and my skin felt cared for in a way that it hasn't been for a long time. This contains the same 21 oils but with no added lavender.

The Super Seed Cleansing Oil is £55 for 100mls and the Super Seed Facial Oil is £70 for 50mls. Is it too early for Christmas present lists?

Petit Pai - Apple & Mallow Hair and Body Wash and Face & Body Cream

I don't have any babies, mine are 23, 21 and 20 respectively. I don't know any babies. But I do know Pai skincare having used their products on and off since their inception and my skin is being a bit fussy at the moment so I thought that I would try their new "petit" range.

So £8 got me an albeit small samples of the hair and body wash and the face and body cream plus a Konjac bath sponge.

And these really are very lovely. They are unscented, or at least any scent is of their constituent parts, so a slightly natural oils scent with the Face and Body Cream, and nothing with the Hair and Body Wash.

The Hair and Body Wash is thin textured and does lather, but not excessively so I would say. I did not try it on my hair, but I did try it on my face as an am wash and it was great, my skin felt clean and calm and a little bit moisturised.

The Face and Body Cream is thick without wishing it was pot housed rather than tube housed, it is really soothing and comforting and I am very tempted to purchase the full size. 

All in all this is a good little kit to try the range - Pai does not charge for p&p unless one wants next day delivery and their attention to detail over ingredients and product information is exemplary.

More information on Pai website.

Omorovicza Blue Diamond Eye Cream

Okay I make no bones about this being an expensive product. It is £165 for 15mls. I haven't purchased it, I don't have that amount of spare cash, but I have secured 4mls worth of samples decanted into a little pot, see below.

And my little pot has lasted me the best part of six weeks, am and pm use.

The eye cream is designed to tackle dark circles, puffiness, wrinkles and upper eyelid sagging.

Now I don't have dark circles particularly, I can get a bit puffy first thing, and any eye wrinkles I have are not particularly bothersome. What I have is eyelid sagging. I have said before that I have awnings for eyelids - you know the pencil test for boobs? Well I could fit a pencil case under my eyelids, I can fold them over several times, and it is as it is, I can't afford surgery, so I make the best of it, ie no eyeshadow ever.

But but but, my month's use of this eye product has made a smidge, an imperceptible (except to me) shift in the space time continuum - I can see a tightening in my upper eyelid.

Now of course I should have taken before and after photos, but I didn't. I have secured another couple of sample sachets via a couple of orders from Omorovicza and I will start again but you know what? I am saving up because this product has worked for me and that is phenomenal.

The ingredients are: Aqua (Hungarian Thermal Water), Glycerin, Aqua (Water), Ethylhexyldodecanol, Squalane, Methylsilanol Mannuronate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Stearyl Heptanoate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Cetyl Phosphate, Arginine, Saccharomyces (Hungarian Thermal Water) Ferment Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Pullulan, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Prunus Domestica Seed Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, Methyl Glucoside Phosphate Proline Lysine Copper Complex, Tocopherol, Disodium EDTA, Tropaeolum Majus Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Parfum (Fragrance), Xanthan Gum, Copper Gluconate, Phospholipids, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Darutoside, Acetyl Pentapeptide, Diamond, Silica, Linalool, Limonene, Geraniol.

Aesop Parsley Seed Antioxidant Serum

Sometimes I just want to stop all the madness and step off the roundabout of new products and in particular potions which brighten and smooth and exfoliate and slough off, in short I want some rest and relaxation for my mind, my wallet, and my skin.

I have been using Aesop Parsley Seed Antioxidant Serum for about a month, with time off for using up a couple of trial vials of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, more of that at a later date, and it is like a refreshing shower of calmfulness for my thin old skin.

For suddenly my skin is feeling all of its fifty years, it is cranky and unpredictable, spots appear and do not go, and leave a red mark, blackheads continue relentlessly, open pores march unremittingly across my cheeks and the thread veins which I have resolutely been ignoring are breaking through even the most tenacious of concealers.

This really is a very calming and cooling serum, it feels instantly hydrating on my skin. The ingredients are somewhat benign for my skin as I have no reaction other than a relaxing sigh post application.

Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, PEG-60 Almond Glycerides Water (Aqua), Sorbitol, PEF-150 Distearate, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Polysorbate 20, Lavendula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Panthenol, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Vilis Vinfera (Grape) Seed Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Dehydroacetic Acid, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil, Carum Petroselinum (Parsley) Seed Oil, Linalool, d-Limonene.

And for £45 I get a whopping 100mls. The downside is that that bottle is somewhat narrow-necked and the dropper is difficult to replace back inside without escape of product down the outside - irksome in the extreme.

I bought mine from SpaceNK.

Lipstick Queen Eden

I love a good lipstick, and I love a good Lipstick Queen lipstick, and this new offering from Lipstick Queen is right up my street.

Eden is inspired by the garden of Eden. The Lipstick Queen website states;

 "Inspired by the mystical garden of the same name, Lipstick Queen brings you Eden, the most luscious and tempting lipstick on earth! The color is a vibrant and juicy, semi-sheer red that makes you look like you’ve taken a bite from the most beautiful apple in the world. This easy-to-wear shade flatters every complexion from fair to dark, bringing out a rosy blush in the cheek and a twinkle in the eye."

To my mind it is a sheer bright watermelon, it is very sheer on my lips although I have swished it very lightly for the photo, it does layer to the brighter hue as swatched above.

Lipstick Queen lipsticks are my favourite, hands down. No scent and no taste, I find that there is a great mix of wearable neutrals (Saint Pink for example), quirky but not gimmicky (Hello Sailor, Frog Prince) and plenty of reds (Saint Red, Sinner Red, Saint Eden)

Eden is £22