A'KIN BEAUTY | ROSE PRODUCTS REVIEW

Last month I was sent some products from a lovely company called A'kin (by Purist). As a company they take great care to ensure that all of their products are free of sulphate, parabens, toxins and harsh chemicals. They are also vegan, and don't test on animals, so are the perfect natural products.

I explained that I have normal to dry skin and that I would like to focus on brightening and colour correcting due to my large amount of freckles and previous sun exposure. They very kindly sent me 3 items from their rose based skincare range, I have heard before that rose is a key ingredient for skin brightening so I was really excited to try these. 

Firstly a small piece on the packaging, it's just lovely isn't it. I love the gorgeous little illustrations of the roses and avocados. 

The outer packaging is simple and uncomplicated just like the natural products within.

Pure Facial Creamy Cleanser and Toner 225ml for £19 or 2 for £27, can be purchased here 

This is a great multi use product to be used to remove make-up and impurities naturally. It is enriched with certified organic Avocado Oil, Shea Butter and Olive Squalane. 

The texture is quite thin, and the squeezy bottle design cuts down on mess, however it does mean that I tend to squeeze too much out and end up wasting a little of the product each time. 

Because this is a cleanser and toner in one it saves a little time and eliminates the need for an additional toning product which is a little more cost effective. 

When I have dark eye makeup on I found I do need to use an eye makeup remover before using this as it doesn't always take off all my eye makeup.

23ml for £18 or 5ml for £10, can be purchased here

The next step in this routine is Rosehip Oil, which I use in place of my usual facial serum. Enriched with pure active botanics like certified organic rosehip oil extracted from rosehip seeds, it has a high concentration of Vitamins A and E and Omegas 9, 3 and essential fatty acids. 

Although this is an oil, it doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy it just feels seriously hydrated and surprisingly leaves my skin looking instantly more radiant. 

50ml for £24, can be purchased here 

Finally I finish off with this highly moisturising cream, this is a very thick and quite heavy cream yet I managed to use it twice a day everyday for 3 weeks with no break outs. I have put this aside until the winter, purely because I prefer a lightweight moisturiser during the warmer months. 

However, this is going to be so perfect for winter to protect my skin against the elements and keep it in fab condition.  

So in summary I would say that these products are fabulously natural and each of them are  very hydrating from the cleansing and toning stage onto the moisturiser. 

They smell great, I for one love rose products but I do recognise that sometimes they can be very strongly scented. These just have a slight hint of rose to them so if you're someone who isn't into that particular scent I wouldn't let the fact that these are rose based put you off.

A'kin's fantastic product range doesn't stop here, there are products suited to all different skin types, for more please check out their website http://akinbeauty.co.uk/ as I really believe there is something their for everyone.

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*PR Sample

Nourish Skincare Review

Recently I was sent the below beauties to try. I absolutely love this company, I had previously tried some of their products and my opinion of those was that they smelled lovely and left my skin feeling great. The occasion where I tried them was at a beauty spa so I didn't get all the details of the products used unfortunately. This prompted me to contact the company who were really helpful and matched some great products for my skin type.

Balance Nutritious Peptide Serum £20 for 30ml -This is a truly delicious serum, it smells like a freshly bitten apple and it made my skin feel so awake and refreshed. It was lovely and hydrating without being heavy or greasy. It really was amazing how much hydration came from a product that also took seconds to dry and absorb into my skin. It has made a noticeable difference to my skin and has given it a really wonderful natural glow!

Argan Skin Renew £25 - This product doesn't have a great deal of scent and it looks like your standard cream, not too thick or thin. I applied this to my skin after using the peptide serum - it glided beautifully over my cheeks and the rest of my face, it was well absorbed and felt really light yet it really packed a punch in terms of hydration. My skin felt very cared for and this lasted for a good length of time.

Kale Enzymatic Exfoliating Cleanser £16.50 for 50ml - My guinea pigs love kale, come to think of it so do I, it tastes fantastic stir fried with sesame oil and is great in green smoothies but I had never considered applying this to my skin. This exfoliator is beautiful, so light and nourishing and with the small grains it gave a decent polish but importantly it didn't dry my skin out. The scent was beautiful, I expected it to simply smell of kale, however I sensed a hint of rose. 

Image from http://nourishskinrange.com/

Finally this product can be used as a scrub, exfoliator or face scrub making it very versatile and an all round favourite.

Nourish is a fantastic company that offer a wide range of natural, vegan and organic products. Please take a look at their website to purchase or for more information on their products and to http://nourishskinrange.com/

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OZ Naturals - Super Youth 2.5% Retinol Moisturiser REVIEW

I got to try this product as part of a campaign that Oz Naturals were running with Brand Backer.

This is a great deep moisturiser. It's quite heavy so I think it's possible designed for older skin (I'm 27), but as my skin is fairly dry this works well for me.

I do only use this at night as I feel something lighter is required in the day time, but I may use this in the daytime during the winter months to protect my skin against the wind and cold.

It smells pleasant and hasn't caused any adverse affects. It's fairly reasonably priced (£19.60 per 100g) and you only need a small amount because its really hydrating. I use a little and then a bit more if required because I don't want to overload my skin and cause any outbreak.

I would recommend this to people with older skin, or skin like mine that is quite dry or damaged from the sun.

Having now done some research I can tell you that Retinol is a form of vitamin A which can assist in making skin look and feel younger. It is also said to be effective at managing acne and eczema, as well as improving discolorations and some of the effects of sun damage.

I also found the below information and advice relating to retinol based products

Buy retinol products only if they are packaged in opaque containers which are meant to minimize or block air exposure and light (don't buy it in see through containers or jars) because all forms of vitamin A break down and deteriorate when repeatedly exposed to air or light.

Not all skin can tolerate retinol. It may cause irritation, such as redness and flaking (because of this it may be worth incorporating a retinol product slowly into your regime, i.e start off with using it every other day) - if irritation occurs, symptoms should subside within a few days as your skin adjusts to regular use. If the side affects get worse or do not subside after a few days you should discontinue using the product.

Exposure to sunlight can make retinol unstable, so it's best applied it at night. And if used during the day it's recommended that you use some sort of sunscreen to avoid exposing the retinol to the UV light.

These are all fairly interesting points and I would always recommend doing some research when using a new product, especially if it contains ingredients that you aren't familiar with.

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