DHC Revitalizing Moisture Strips: Eyes

Hi there sweeties. I hope you are having a fab sunny day even if you are just gazing at the sunshine through an office window. Today I have a review post for you.

DHC Revitalizing Moisture Strips: Eyes ~ £6.95 for 6 applications

These soft gel eye masks already have celebrity fans. Their purpose is to refresh, hydrate, brighten and firm the delicate under eye area while minimising puffiness and dark circles. Suitable for all skin types these are so easy to use. After cleansing and toning remove each strip from it's backing and place the moisture side against the skin of your under eye area, pressing gently to assure contact with the skin. These are rather wide, but they did sculpt around my eyes where needed. Do not place too high as you don't want any product making contact and possibly irritating your eyes. Leave on for 20-30 mins or even overnight when needed for maximum conditioning benefit. 

My thoughts:

I wore them for 30 mins. I don't really suffer with dark circles and I have been using another product recently which has reduced my puffy eyes so much. I did however feel that I reaped the benefits of feeling refreshed and looking more awake as they do brighten the skin. I think this is down to the deeply moisturising properties these strips have. You can feel the ingredients being soaked up into the under eye area. Very hydrating indeed. My skin felt firmer under the eyes too. Not taut like it had a pulling sensation just like the skin had smoothed out and flattened so for those with under eye puffing I would say give these a go for sure. To remove these did not tug on the skin at all which is perfect as the under eye area needs to be handled with care. Simply peel away and you are done. These are a lovely pampering treat that I will be sure to use again. I think the price is perfect too as with 6 applications in each pack that's a little over £1 with every use. 

Thanks so much to Freedom PR for sending these over to me for free to try.

Let me know your favourite DHC products as well as other moisture eye strips from other brands with reasons why in the comments below.

Love to you all

Vicky xx

DHC Olive Body Butter

Cult Japanese beauty brand DHC will be launching in the new year their Olive Body Butter. A luxurious, high performance moisturiser packed with softening botanicals including shea butter, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, squalane and argan oil.

The non-greasy formula absorbs quickly into the skin for immediate results. Smooth over the body daily after showering or whenever skin feels dry, paying particular attention to dry patches. 

My thoughts:

I love the textures of body butters, but I don't usually buy them anymore as I prefer to squeeze, pump or spray body creams, lotions and oils into my hands to apply. The texture of this body butter though is like no other I have tried. It feels more sturdy than others in the pot and definitely has an emollient feel. 

The butter is not at all greasy, yet it leaves a layer a bit like a dry oil in the skin. Like it's locking in the moisture. It sank into my skin very quickly and easily.

The packaging is beautiful and would look sweet on dressing tables of all ages. The scent is very floral just like the packaging suggests.

I do really like this product, but unfortunately I would not purchase it as this tub which has almost been used up has only lasted less than 2 weeks. I admit that I have used this once a day neck to toes to see if I noticed any changes in my skin. I am usually very lazy with body moisturising, but if I continued to use it like this it would be a very expensive product for me. I was quite liberal in my application though.

My skin did feel much softer and conditioned from using this body butter so for those with already dry skin or really feeling the impact on their winter skin this may be worth a try.

I am definitely a fan of DHC skincare and would love to try more of their products.

Thank you Freedom PR for sending me this free sample to test and review. 

RRP: £15.50 – available from 1 January 2014!

DHC products are available from www.dhcuk.co.uk

Selected DHC products are also available at BeautyMART and Selfridges London.

Find DHC on twitter @DHCUK_Skincare

Will you be treating yourself to this product in the new year? Let me know along with your favourite DHC products, including reasons in the comments below.

Love to you all

Dermalogica AGE Smart Skinperfect Primer SPF30 Review

Hiya gorgeous people. I have been out in the rain this morning as I had to pop to the high street. It really started to come down on my way home, but now thankfully it is gorgeous sunshine again like it never happened. Weird huh?

Anyway on to today's post. I have a product that was sent to me by Freedom PR for free to review.

 Dermalogica AGE Smart Skinperfect Primer SPF30 ~ £37.50 for 22ml

Some product information:

A multi-award winning three-in-one product which smoothes, protects and conditions skin, whilst correcting surface irregularities and creating a luminous finish. Created to improve the overall health of the skin, Skinperfect Primer SPF30, contains powerful peptides to stimulate collagen production and ingredients, such as white tea, known to fight the biochemical triggers which lead to skin ageing, including ROS, MMPs and AGEs.

Velvety silicones help even out skin texture, creating an instantly smooth surface, whilst hydrolysed pearl (pearl powder), a fine powder rich in amino acids, calcium, sugars and peptides stimulates cell renewal, fights glycation and helps to fight pigmentation by imbibing tyrosinase and enhancing skin luminosity. Natural earth minerals, combined with the pearl powder, provide a neutral tint, suitable for all skin tones, to enhance luminosity and radiance.

Invisible sun protection is provided by the inclusion of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide which give broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection without the intense chalky, whitening and drying effects so commonly associated with physical sunscreens.

For optimal coverage and treatment, smooth and blend Skinperfect Primer SPF30 over face and throat after applying moisturiser. It can be worn alone or underneath foundation or concealer to help smooth fine lines and deliver a lasting make-up finish.

Dermalogica products are not animal tested. 

My thoughts:

I applied this product after letting my moisturiser soak in and before applying my make-up. I have the odd blemish here and there as well as hyper pigmentation. On using this primer before make-up those skin issues are reduced so the skin looks more evenly toned. 

My skin does look so luminous with this primer. It gives a youthful, fresh, healthy, dewy glow which looks very natural.

This product is meant to fill in fine lines and although I don't really have a lot of that yet my pores appear to be reduced. My skin overall looks much smoother too. It really does have a velvety finish which you can feel on applying it to your face and neck.

I have tested this product without powder or a setting spray today to see how well it aids in making my make-up last. The glow of the primer does not fade throughout the day. My make-up appears more flawless and enhanced from the moment of application. It feels like the make-up has a base to hold on to. My concealer usually fades throughout the day, but this primer kept it going for longer.

There is a slight scent to this product, but I don't notice it once it is applied. I like the fact that there is a sun protection factor within the products formula too.

As you can see here that the product is a tan shade, but it really does merge into your own skin tone and just adds a glow. The texture is somewhere between a mousse and a cream. It's feels very light on the skin.

That tiny amount in the above photo spread across the entire top of my palm easily so you really don't need much product when using this. I left the edges of my hand free of product so that you can see the difference or check the before photo above. It has a glistening sheen, but it does not leave you with a glittery appearance. Just warm and awake skin. I would feel better wearing this than nothing at all if I was short on time.

I would certainly recommend this glow getting product if you have an uneven skin tone and/or are looking for that glow from within youthful appearance.

What are your favourite Dermalogica products and why? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all

DHC Q10 Base MakeUp Moisture Care Liquid Foundation (No 00 & No 01)

Hi everyone and happy Sunday! Have you been having a good weekend so far? I went to the opticians and saw Mum on Friday, blogged and did some chores on Saturday and tonight we are off out with my fella's family for dinner and drinks.

Today I want to review for you a foundation that was sent out to me for free by Freedom PR. It's the DHC Q10 Base MakeUp Moisture Care Liquid Foundation in shades No 00 & No 01. These are the two lightest shades.

Left: No 00 & Right: No 01

Both of these shades are called Natural Ocher. In fact all four shades are named this which I find rather strange. The other two shades are 02 and 03. 

Shade 00

Shade 01

So here is some information about this foundation:

This ultra-moisturising, age-fighting foundation is bursting with free-radical fighting super antioxidant coenzyme Q10. It not only provides full, even coverage for flawless-looking skin, its blend of collagen, elastin and oat kernel extract moisturise and plump to help minimise the appearance of fine lines. 

Application:

Dispense a small amount and spread evenly over face using fingertips or a make-up sponge.

I have tried both of these shades and neither of them look as dark as they do in these swatches. They are a little bit too orange toned for my skin, but to be honest when looking for lighter shades in a foundation is a struggle these actually don't look that far away from my natural skin tone. When there are only four shades in a range you are lucky if you get a perfect match.

At first I tried applying this with my stippling brush. I find most foundations work well with this, but this one did not. Although this foundation is liquid it seems to cling to my face in just one area when using my brush. I can not fault the foundation though as it does not advise to use a brush to apply.

Therefore I went on to using my fingers to apply this. It does work much better in this way. I think the warmth of my fingers helped to manoeuvre it around my face a lot easier. 

I did use powder to set this at first, but I found that dry patches were showing up a little as this foundation is quite matte when it sets so I stopped using the powder. My concealer clings to my skin a little more too when using this foundation so it makes that a bit harder to work with. 

I am able to go over with more than one layer, but I still find that my hyper pigmentation on my face shows through as it doesn't seem to cover as a full foundation like it looks on my hand. I would say it's light/medium at most. 

I used just one pump in each of these photos. I can cover my whole face and neck with just one pump as I always apply down to where my neckline finishes on my clothes.

There does not appear to be any scent to these foundations.

I do like the packaging. It's a feminine shade without being tacky. It doesn't look cheap at all. 

I found shades 00 and 01 to be very similar. 01 had very slightly more of a deeper tone, but to be honest on my skin there wasn't much difference. 

So here are the pro's & con's:

Pro's ~

Easy to apply (if applied fairly quickly)

A little goes a long way

No need for powder

Pretty good match for light skin 

Buildable

No Scent

Nice packaging

Con's ~

A little too orange in tone

Drying

Makes concealer harder to apply

Not great coverage

Too expensive with it's £25.00 price tag

Please bear in mind that these pro's and con's are based on how I found this product to work for my skin type.

So would I buy this in the future. I have to be honest and say no. It's too drying for me so even though it's meant to be great for the skin it's not great for mine. I want more coverage from a foundation and if I'm going to pay this much for it it has to work better for me. I am disappointed as I loved the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil that I tried in one of my GlossyBox's so hopefully I will try another of their products in the future and fall in love with that.

To view the details of this foundation for yourself check out this link.

How do you find this foundation works for you if you have tried it? Are there any other DHC products that you recommend trying? Let me know in the comments below.

Love to you all