Pixi Beauty On-The-Glow Moisturiser Review

*This post contains PR samples and affiliate links.

Are you ready for the next instalment of my Pixi Beauty reviews? This time it's the On-The-Glow moisturiser. This was another product that I wanted after seeing @bambidoesbeauty use it, so I was super pleased to receive it as part of a PR package from Pixi.

On-The-Glow is a solid moisturiser and multi-use, which makes it perfect for travel. It can be used on your face, lips, body and hair! It contains a whole host of fabulous ingredients:

• Vitamin D2 which is a powerful antioxidant,
• Glycolic acid to gently exfoliate and reveal new skin,
• Ginseng to balance and revitalise,
• Aloe Vera to soothe,
• Retinyl Palmitate which is a gentle form of retinol,
• Witch Hazel which is a natural astringent, 
• Ascorbic acid to brighten skin,
• Caffeine to perk skin up.
  

The product itself is in a twist up baton, like a stick deodorant. It's designed to be applied directly to skin, then lightly patted / rubbed in. It's really smooth to apply, there's not tugging or dragging of your skin. It almost melts with the warmth of your skin. I was worried that it might feel heavy or greasy but it doesn't. It's light and gives skin the most gorgeous glossy glow. If you like a dewy finish - this is for you! This could definitely also be used as a non-shimmery highlighter. It definitely gives skin some moisture and plumpness but it's not massively hydrating. As I'm oily skinned, it's enough for me but I wouldn't think it would be very suitable for dry skinned types, unless you're willing to re-apply it as needed. For me, this is an AM moisturiser only because of the glowy finish. I prefer something a bit richer for PM. 

So if you're looking for the perfect, dewy moisturiser or something to take travelling - this could be for you!

On-The-Glow Moisturiser costs £18 and is available from the following linked retailers - Boots, Look Fantastic UK and USA. 

Medik8 Peels at Beauty At The Gate

I was lucky enough to have been invited recently to a local beauty salon, Beauty At The Gate, for a Medik8 facial. Beauty At The Gate is a multi-award winning beauty salon in Holton-Le-Clay (a small village right next to my home town of Grimsby). They won UK Salon of the Year in 2016. They offer a large array of beauty treatments - from waxing to 3D lipo! They were the first in the area to offer LVL lashes, Lycon Waxing and Medik8, to name but a few. They pride themselves on offering the latest beauty treatments in a luxurious, comfortable setting.

Upon arrival I was welcomed by Samantha, the owner, who discussed with me in depth my skin type, current skincare routine and what my skincare concerns were. After this, she recommended that I have a course of 4 Medik8 Light Peel's, at 2 week intervals as an intensive treatment to tackle my acne and acne pigmentation. The Light Peel is a starter peel, that's perfect for acne prone skin and those with light wrinkles. It contains the following acids - 7% Lactic, 8% Mandelic, 2% Salicylic, 0.4% Lactobionic (I had to look this one up as I'd not heard of it before. It's derived from sugar) and has a pH of 2.8. It's designed to reduce excess sebum, fade light scarring and help reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Perfect for me!

Each peel starts with a thorough double cleanse, then an alcohol treatment to prepare the skin for the acid. Then the acid is applied. For the first peel it was left on for 3 minutes, then neutralised. This is to ensure you're not overdoing it, especially for those who are new to acids. The subsequent peels times are increased up to a maximum of 10 minutes depending on how long you feel comfortable for / how well your skin reacts. As I'm a seasoned acid user, I was fine having it on for 10 minutes from peel 2 onwards. If you've not had a peel before, be prepared - they do sting a bit! It's not unbearable, it's very tingly more than anything. All of this is extremely closely monitored by the beauty therapist, who checks often what your discomfort level is on a scale of 1-10. If you get to 7, they will remove the acid by spraying on a neutralising liquid. This increases the tingling initially, before calming it. This is why they stop at 7, not 10! Cooling, damp flannels are then applied to your face and order is restored. I found that after the 5 minute mark, I didn't feel any tingling anyway, so it wasn't bad at all.

Beauty At The Gate add an extra treat onto this peel and that's to have 10 minutes with a Light Fusion LED mask on. Light Fusion uses state of the art red LED's and is worn in conjunction with a special Hydrogel sheet mask. LED's help promote collagen and elastin production and the sheet mask gives you plenty of hydration, making it a perfect combination for after a peel. Once this has finished, the beauty therapist applies a hydrating serum (Medik8 B5) and a moisturising, occlusive cream to lock everything in (and SPF if it's still daylight). And that's it!

So are you ready to see some before and afters? Excuse the extreme close-ups but it's better to see the results. Left side is before, right is after.

As you can see it's really helped fade my acne pigmentation around my chin, mouth and jaw-line. Annoyingly I've gained some fresh pigmentation from new spots but that's to be expected! My acne is certainly more under control now and I believe the peels have played a big part in that. I'm super pleased with the results and plan to have regular peels to continue the good work. I'll have to have a bit of a break before my next one though, as I need my annual microblading top up for my brows. I will hopefully be moving up to the next strength of peel when I do have it, which will give even better effects.

Huge thank you to Sam and the girls at Beauty at the Gate for the fantastic facials and pampering. I've loved every minute of it and the results speak for themselves! You've definitely gained a regular customer. If you're in the Grimsby area - make sure you check them out!

(Facials kindly gifted by Beauty at the Gate in return for an honest review - all thoughts and opinions are my own.)

Clinique Moisture Surge Eye Review

*This post contains affiliate links. 

I'm a huge fan of Clinique's Moisture Surge gel cream so I was super excited when I saw that they were expanding the range. I picked up the Sheertint Hydrator (review HERE) and the Moisture Surge Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Concentrate - what a mouthful!

So what does it do? It's a light gel that's designed to hydrate your eye area for a whole 96 hours! It's promises to tighten and brighten along with the hydration. It does this using Auto-Replenishing Lipid-Sphere Technology (which means it helps re-build skins lipid barrier so it retains moisture better). It can be used morning and night and can be worn under makeup. It can also be used as a 3 minute flash eye mask.

Ingredients wise it contains:

• Hydrating hero's like glycerine, urea, sodium hyaluronate and algae extracts. 
• Caffeine and green tea extract to brighten and protect from free radicals. 
• Peptides to firm and tighten skin.
• Niacinamide (my favourite!) to strengthen skin.
• Aloe, cucumber and chlorella extracts to soothe.

So how does it perform? To start with - the packaging is great. It's an airtight pump and it's easy to control how much you dispense. Clinique recommend you use a pea sized amount. I find this to be far to much - that would cover most of my face! I use 1/2 a pump so about the size of a grain of rice. That's plenty to cover around my eyes and even a bit for around my mouth! That's a top tip from me by the way - always use any extra eye cream around your mouth - it's great to help keep those wrinkles at bay and helps hydrate your lips too. 

The serum itself is a gel consistency. It's not runny until your begin to apply it. It seems to melt with skins heat and turns watery, instantly flooding skin with cooling hydration. The serum absorbs quickly and easily - so there's no unnecessary rubbing or tugging of the delicate eye area. It's very slightly sticky after but not enough to annoy me (and I'm fussy with things like that). The serum has little coloured balls in it which burst when squashed - I'm not really sure what purpose they serve to be honest. It creates a great base for makeup. I've found it keeps my under eye area hydrated throughout the day and keeps it plumped enough that I don't look tired. I've not seen any brightening effects yet but it's still early days. I'd expect them to be a more long term effect.

All in all, I'm enjoying using this eye serum and can definitely recommend it if you're looking for a hydrating eye product.

Clinique Moisture Surge Eye 96-Hour Hydro-Filler Concentrate costs £27.50 and is available from numerous retailers including those linked here - Boots, Look Fantastic UK and USA.

Marks & Spencer Summer Beauty Box 2019

*This post contains PR products.

Marks & Spencer are releasing a summer beauty box again this year and I was lucky enough to be sent one. It's a fantastic collection of 10 products carefully chosen to make sure you're sorted for all things beauty this summer. So what's in it?

Ultrasun's Face SPF 30 - First up is the most important beauty essential, not just in summer, but everyday. I'm of course talking about SPF! Ultrasun are famed for their amazing SPF's so I can't wait to try this one out. As it's specifically designed for your face, you know it's not going to be greasy and it's SPF 30 so you've got a good level of protection. This 25ml tube is perfect to pop in your handbag so there's no excuse for not re-applying!

Rodial's Vit-C Energising Sheet Mask - This bio-cellulose mask contains hyaluronic acid, amino acids, Vitamin C and B3 which all work together to brighten and hydrate your skin. We all need a bit of that, right?

REN Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Anti-Fatigue Body Wash (100ml) - I've tried the body scrub and cream from this range and love the fresh energising scent. Magnesium is great for aching muscles too.

Emma Hardie Moisture Boost Vitamin C Cream (15ml) - I've been dying to try this brand for ages and love a Vitamin C cream so am looking forward to trying this! This cream promises to boost collagen production and contains red algae to reverse sun damage, leaving skin looking brighter and younger.

Formula Skin Solutions Nourishing Mask (15ml) - I've already tried this gorgeous coconut mask. It's so rich and nourishing, it's basically a hug for your face.

Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels (1 pair) - I've tried these before too and love them! These patches use a high-tech delivery system to get ingredients such as hydrolyzed elastin, Co-enzyme Q10 and Skyn's Biospheric Complex (which is Icelandic glacial water, arctic berries and oxygen) deep into your skin, to cool and depuff the eye area leaving it firmer and toned. 

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Dry Shampoo (92ml) - Another cult product that I've been wanting to try! This promises to absorb grease, sweat and odour from hair. I love a good dry shampoo as it's such a big job washing my hair as it's so thick!

This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle (30ml) - This serum is designed to help treat and repair your legs with Vitamin C and E, whilst subtly covering any imperfections or bruises with a light bronze tint. My legs are always covered in bruises as I'm super clumsy so this will be perfect for me!

Shay & Blue English Cherry Blossom Perfume (10ml) - This is basically summer in a bottle! It's a gorgeous light floral fragrance with notes of black cherries, cherry wood and bergamot. It smells heavenly!

Last but not least we have Rosie for Autograph Radiance Highlighter (15ml) - Now I can glow like a supermodel! Ha - I wish! This liquid / cream highlighter is designed to give a stunning lit from within glow. It's a flattering pale pink shade which I would have picked myself anyway!

And that's it - what a brilliant collection of products, worth over £115 in total! M&S have outdone themselves.

The Summer Beauty Box is available from 18/06/19 exclusively from M&S (in stores and online HERE). It's a bargain price of £15 when you spend £40 or more on clothing, beauty or homeware.

By Terry Brightening CC Serum Powder Review

*This post contains affiliate links.

You all know how much I adore By Terry's Brightening CC Serums (if you don't, read my review HERE). They're a magical primer / skincare hybrid that gives skin the most amazing glow! I've got 3 different shades and love them all!

So I was super excited when I saw they were expanding the range with 4 Brightening CC Serums Powders. Now I have to admit I went "Eh?!" when I first heard about them. How can a serum be a powder? Then I saw a picture of them and decided I didn't care how, they were too pretty not to have! I mean look at it...

The powders are available in the same 4 shades as the serums - Immaculate Light (white), Rose Elixir (pale pink -left), Apricot Glow (peach - middle) and Sunny Flash (bronze - right). I went with Immaculate Light as I have the other shades as serums.

The powders are designed to blur imperfections whilst giving a lit from within radiance to skin. They also smooth texture and help correct any redness or dullness. They contain rosehip oil which hydrates and rejuvenates skin. The powders are multi-use too - they can be used alone or with foundation. They can also be used as a highlighter.

The packaging is a sleek and weighty, it feels and looks so luxe. The rose pattern in the powder is so pretty - almost too pretty to spoil! It has the same gorgeous rose scent as the original serums. This scent won't be to everyone's taste. Personally I love it!

Now onto how it performs. I first tried it as a finishing powder, thinking it might be similar to Hourglass's Ambient Lighting Powders. This was a huge mistake as it left me looking like a disco ball! Luckily I only applied it to my forehead and managed to buff it off. I wasn't expecting it to be glittery but it is. It's not even a shimmer, it's actual glitter as you can see in the swatch below. It is a fine glitter though.

The next time I used it under my foundation, as I would with the liquid version. This helped to brighten my skin tone nicely. However as I wear a light to medium coverage base, the glitter shone through slightly which I wasn't keen on. 

I've since been using it as a highlighter. It looks gorgeous used this way. The powder is really buttery and smooth so blends really well. It doesn't accentuate skin texture either which is good. 

I have to admit I'm a little disappointed with this product. I had high hopes for it thinking it would be multi-use but in reality I can't use it in all the ways I wanted to. So I've ended up with a rather expensive highlighter! It is lovely as a highlighter though so I'll still enjoy using it. I think it all depends on how glowy you like your makeup. If you love a full glam glow this product would be perfect for you but if you prefer a more subtle everyday glow, I'd recommend the original liquid CC serum instead. 

By Terry Brightening CC Serum Powders cost £52 are available from a number of retailers including those linked here - Space NK, Cult Beauty, Look Fantastic UK and USA.

Clinique Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25 Review

*This post contains affiliate links.

I couldn't resist a recent Clinique offer at Boots and ended up treating myself to the new Moisture Surge Eye and the Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25. I love the original Moisture Surge gel cream so figured I'd probably love these too!

The Sheertint Hydrator comes in 5 shades that are described as "Universal". It uses Mimetic-Shade Technology, which means each shade will cover a range of skin tones. I picked shade Very Light (surprise, surprise) and have found it to be a brilliant match.

The Sheertint Hydrator is designed to even and perfect your complexion whilst plumping and hydrating. It promises to keep skin hydrated for 12 hours thanks to hyaluronic acid and aloe water. It claims to be humidity and sweat proof. It also has the added benefit of SPF (albeit only SPF 25) and antioxidants to help protect skin whilst keeping it look fresh and dewy. It's oil free too.

The product itself is a light cream consistency that absorbs easily into skin. I've been applying it with a blending sponge. It provides light coverage but it's definitely buildable. It does however do a good job of evening out my skin tone. What surprised me about this was that it dries down, which I love! I love a dewy finish but struggle with anything that doesn't dry down. I always end up setting it with powder. With this you don't really need to. It still has a natural finish though, it's not matte at all. It's the best of both worlds! It wears well too. I'm oily skinned and found it still looked fresh at the end of the day. I still need to blot oil but it doesn't break up or disappear.

For me, it's a perfect summer base and I'll definitely be wearing it lots this year.

Clinique Moisture Surge Sheertint Hydrator SPF 25 costs £30 for 40ml and is available from numerous retailers including these linked here - Boots, Look Fantastic UK and USA. 

Pixi Beauty pHenomenal Gel Review

*This post contain affiliate links and PR samples.

I'm slowly getting round to reviewing the new Pixi Beauty products as I use them. This time it's the pHenomenal Gel. This product really stood out to me out of all of Pixi's newest releases so I was really pleased when it was included in a PR package I was sent. 

So what does it do? It's a light gel that's designed to balance skins pH level whilst hydrating and soothing. The pH balance of your skin is crucial to keeping it healthy. Skin should naturally be acidic, with between 4.2 and 5.5 being considered optimal. If your skins pH is in the healthy range it locks in hydration more effectively. You're also less likely to get spots, dermatitis and sensitivity. It also heals better too. 

Ingredients wise, it contains:

• Glycerin - which is a brilliant humectant, meaning it locks moisture in.
• Ascorbic acid - aka Vitamin C, which is a brightening anti-oxidant.
• Aloe Vera - this is great to soothe skin.
• Cucumber - to hydrate and soothe.
• Retinyl Palmitate - a gentle form of Retinol, which will act as an exfoliant.
• Witch Hazel - a natural astringent.
• Ginseng extract - which is packed with antioxidants.

Consistency wise it's a silky, gel that melts into skin. It's to be used after cleansing and toning. It recommends using a coin sized amount but I found a pea sized amount to be enough. It really plumps and hydrates skin making it a perfect product to use in a morning, which is how I've mainly been using it. It's especially good to soothe and hydrate skin the morning after using Retinol. 

Yet again another wonderful product from Pixi Beauty! 

Pixi Beauty pHenomenal Gel costs £24 for 50ml and is available from a number of retailers including those linked here - Boots, Look Fantastic UK and USA.