Skincare // Alpha-H

There was so much hype surrounding Alpha-H that I knew i had to get my hands on something from the range. Without hesitation, I drove out to a local beauty store to check out what was on offer. It was the Liquid Gold that I was mostly interested in, as I'd heard it had changed lives, yes... lives people!

While I had already decided I was going to purchase the Liquid Gold, I also wanted to sample some of the other products available and see how they worked in unison. The smaller product sizes suited me so i opted for the the Liquid Gold discovery collection which included Alpha-H’s most iconic and bestselling products (Balancing Cleanser 30ml, Liquid Gold 50ml, Liquid Gold Rejuvenating Cream 30ml, Liquid Gold Perfecting Daywear 15ml and Liquid Gold Intensive Night Repair Serum 15ml).

I've now been using this set for over a month and I have to say I'm bitterly disappointed with these products. I feel they have done nothing to improved my skin texture, hydration or overall appearance. I really dislike the scent of these products too. At first the scent was kinda nice but after a while I felt like i had an exposed compost bin on my face. The products were tacky in texture and left a shine on my skin making the daycream almost impossible to wear. The only product I liked was the cleanser, which I've been using with my clarisonic. It does leave the skin fresh and clean so that gets a thumbs up.

As for the hero product, the Liquid Gold, I'm still undecided how I feel about it. Admittedly I'm not sure I feel like it's improved my skin. If anything i feel super guilty for not waring a moisturiser on the nights i wear just the Liquid Gold. I wish I could have liked these products as the brand sounds like a good one and has had great reviews. Perhaps there is something else by this brand that may suit me better, but sadly I don't think the Liquid Gold range was for me.

Please remember this is just my experience and yours may be different. My advice is to perhaps go and get some sample sachets if you can and see how it works for you.If you've had any experience with this brand I'd love to hear your thoughts.

{ images my own. All products purchased by myself }

Beauty // NARS blush

Words can't describe the love and adoration I have for Nars blushes. Generally, NARS blushes are highly pigmented and have a luxurious texture. They really give a lovely and healthy look to the complexion and with 27 shades there are multiple blushes to suit any skin tone. Recently I splurged on three new shades, each very different from the other. I love how these colours give me a natural looking flush and how they're easily build-able, but let me tell you... go easy on the application. As I mentioned earlier the formula of these blushes is highly pigmented and a little goes a long way.

I got the shades Douceur (soft pink-brown), sin (berry tone with gold shimmer) and the cult favourite orgasm (peachy pink with golden shimmer ).  Overall I'm super happy with these shades and as they are quite different I feel they cover all my possible make-up looks whether they be seasonal or whether I focus on one feature (the lips or eyes). They really are a versatile trio.

The packaging is chic (i'm a huge fan of the matte packaging) and they're very compact making them a cinch to pop it in your bag. I haven't been able to bring myself to throw out the packaging yet, crazy I know. Also, do any of you keep the little Nars plastic mirror protectors? Please let me know your favourite shade as I'm on the lookout for another shade to compliment my trio.

{ images: my own }

Beauty // November beauty favourites

 

Simple: Kind To Eyes Eye Make-Up Remover (125ml)

I stumbled upon this product when I forgot to buy my regular makeup remover while out shopping. It was the end of the day we’d left the shopping centre and stopped off at the supermarket when I remembered. I was desperate for something and was forced to get a supermarket product. My super awesome boyfriend , who knows a few things about chemical ingredients said this was the best of the supermarket finds. It’s a simple product... no offensive smell, doesn’t feel like it strips my skin and does the job of removing makeup. I’ve read that it contains Pro Vitamin B5 which is also called pantothenic acid, and is one of eight B vitamins. It’s supposed to promotes the health of the hair, eyes, liver and in this case skin. It doesn’t contain any oil, dyes, harsh irritants, or artificial scents.  

Nars Blush - orgasm

I’m not going to harp on too much about the product other than to say it’s a lovely blush. They don’t call this a a cult product for nothing you know. There are literally thousands of reviews on this particular shade so I don’t feel  I could add to any more to the overall glowing reviews. The colour is a lovely peachy shade (leans more towards a strawberry peach) with gold shimmer although I don’t think the shimmer shows too much on the skin. My tip however is to be light handed with your application as a little goes a long way. Love the packaging and overall will be looking at adding more shades to my small collection. If you have any colour suggestions I’d love to hear them.

Kheil’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser

Kheil’s Deep Pore Daily Cleanser is such a delight to use. The product is from the Rare earth range and uses  Amazonian White Clay which is supposed to reduce the appearance of pores.... hell yeah! Anything that claims to reduce pore signs gets my attention. What I love about this product is that it’s also a gentle exfoliant and leaves the skins feeling taught and squeaky clean. It’s Mildly foaming and has a light scent which is almost undetectable. While I haven't seen a huge improvemnt in pore size I think it's still a great cleanser. Sadly I’m near the end of my tube and although I’d repurchase, I have a few other cleansers I need to work through. This one is up there in my top 5. 

Dr Brandt Time Arrest Eye Serum (0.5 fl oz / 15 ml)

I was pretty dubious about this product at first. With all the promises that come with eye creams/serums you can’t honestly question my reservations. However, I was pleasantly surprised with this product. It’s a lovely serum - not too runny but not a cream either. The smell (although I can’t put my finger on it) is light and pleasant.  I’m about a month into using this product and I honestly feel it’s tightened the area around my eyes and smoothed out fine lines as well as improving the overall look and texture around my eyes. I definitely feel this has helped with hydration too. Like I mentioned I was dubious but this is a great product in my opinion, one I would repurchase again. The only gripe I have is the packaging. While it’s lovely, I can’t help but think it yanks up the price of an already expensive product.  

Soap and Glory - Heel Genius (125 ml)

I honestly can’t fault this product. While my feet weren’t too dry I was getting dry patches. Simply massage this baby onto clean dry feet, pop on some socks and get ready to snuggle while Heel genius works it’s wonders. Love that this product isn’t greasy and the smell, as with most Soap & Glory products is lovely. I wish they’d make a hand specific cream based on this formula. Love it! 

For more info or to purchase:
Simple Kind to eyes eye makeup remover
Nars Orgasm blush
Kheil’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser
Dr Brandt Time Arrest Eye Serum
Soap and Glory - Heel Genius

* This product was bought with my own money. I was not paid to review or endorse this product. The opinion/s expressed are my own and are an honest reflection of my experiences with the product.

Beauty // Christmas nails

I’m not a huge nail polish hoarder, in fact, I only own a handful and I’m not kidding when I say handful. It’s partly because I have week nails that tend to break easily but it’s also because I’m a little lazy when it comes to maintenance.

Normally I’ll wear a sheer nude, however this Christmas I’m making more of an effort and these 2 polishes (Fast Track and Happy Holidays (the latter is limited edition) from Kit cosmetics are my favourite festive colours. I like to layer the two together and if I have a shorter/damaged nail I’ll apply the clear gold glitter alone to the shorter nail/s and paint the better nails with the layered combo or just a single colour.. It’s kind of a fun look and works well I think.

I love the consistency of KIT polishes and the brush is broad and applies evenly. Both polishes work well with just a single coat but feel free to double up and/or apply a top coat. I skip this and just apply O.P.I’s drip dry which does the trick and means my nail polish looks glossier and last longer.

Shop the products:
Kit Cosmetics Fast Track nail colour
Kit Cosmetics Happy Holidays nail colour

* This product was bought with my own money. I was not paid to review or endorse this product. The opinion/s expressed are my own and are an honest reflection of my experiences with the product.

Beauty // New MAC pro palette refill pans

As you may remember from a previous post, I've become slighly obsessed with cosmetics of late so much so that I went out and bought a bunch of MAC pro palette refill pans. At $26 (AU) a pop they don't come cheap and my mind boggles as to why we pay double the price compared to what our friends are paying over in the states. I have a bunch of other colours sitting in my cart but I think I need to calm down and back off a little - my credit card and I are barely on speaking terms at the moment.

As you can see I've labelled the pans. The colours are all very lovely, with satin taupe and vanilla being my favourites as they're so versatile.

{ images are my own}