Radiance

Samaya Skincare Review

- Vicki 1 Comment
Samaya Skincare Review

Samaya Skincare Review

Samaya Skincare*

This is a ‘all natural’ brand based on ancient Ayurvedic principles (one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems) which focuses on maintaining balance through the health and wellness of your mind, body and soul.

SAMAYA is the perfect antidote to a stressful, busy and hectic lifestyle as it allows you to incorporate balance and wellness into your daily skincare routine. By answering a few short questions about your lifestyle and skin concerns SAMAYA will match you to your ideal dosha and the skincare range that will work best for your skin. For each dosha type the range includes three luxurious products, a rich Hydrating Cleanser, a powerful Anti-Ageing Cream and an indulgent Anti-Ageing Treatment Oil, all of which contribute to healthier, younger looking skin.

  • Vata –  Dry skin
  • Pitta – Sensitive skin
  • Kapha – Oily skin

My dosha was identified as Pitta which tend to be:-

Well-proportioned and compact build, with a focused mind and a love of order. Confident and passionate, enjoying challenges. Prone to anger and impatience when out of balance. Benefits from gentle skincare as skin can be sensitive and irritable, susceptible to wrinkles, sunburn and inflammation.

Which I have to say is a damn good match for me & my skin concerns.

Samaya Skincare Product Range

I’ve been testing out the Anti Ageing Cream from the Pitta range* (£89) and it has been such a lovely addition to my skincare regime. This moisturiser is absolutely jam-packed with fantastic skin loving ingredients which leave my skin feeling soft, soothed and radiant. It does have a very strong botanical scent which I found to be quite relaxing but just to be aware it is pretty intense.

This cream has such a lightweight consistency, it felt instantly hydrating and throughout the day my skin continued to feel really soft. To me this product does feel more like a serum than a moisturiser because it is so fluid and almost disappears on the skin. So you don’t get that greasy, slippery feeling that a heavy moisturiser can often leave behind.

The list of Ayurvedic botanicals and clinically proven anti-ageing ingredients included in this product is so extensive. It is easy to see why my skin felt and looked amazing whilst I was using it,

  • Jasmine Flower Extract – Beautiful aroma with proven mood-boosting effect; improves energy; reduces anxiety and stress; helps to balance moisture levels and increase skin’s elasticity while soothing mind and body; antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties help protect skin.
  • Neem Oil – Promotes skin healing; helps reduce itching and roughness; purifies skin; neutralises damaging free radicals to help skin achieve a radiant glow.
  • Lotus Seed Extract – Sacred anti-inflammatory ingredient; contains zinc and anti-ageing enzymes which can repair damaged or sensitive skin while soothing and calming the mind; beneficial for blemish-prone skin.
  • Sodium Hyaluronate – Salt form of hyaluronic acid, this naturally derived anti-ageing ingredient has intense hydrating qualities (can hold more water than any other natural substance – up to 1,000 times its weight in water) which help boost skin’s elasticity, contributing to smoother skin with decreased wrinkles and a fuller appearance.
  • Gotu Kola Oil – Anti-inflammatory and anti-ageing herb; helps fight chronic skin conditions by repairing damage done to the skin; stimulates collagen production in the skin.
  • Saffron Extract – Valued for its skin toning abilities; can impart a natural radiance as it helps to reduce pigmentation; has mood-enhancing properties; is considered to be an aphrodisiac and is often used as a tonic to improve general health.
  • Shatavari Extract – It has long been used as a tonic for female health concerns and as a means of reducing stress and tension. Shatavari also has nutritive and rejuvenative properties for skin, contributing towards a renewed, youthful appearance.

  • Ribose – Naturally occurring corn-derived pentose sugar; promotes skin cell metabolism; helps alleviate wrinkles and fine lines; helps keep skin toned, firmer and more radiant.

I really like that the Pitta skincare focuses on healing, repairing and soothing which is so up my street and exactly what my skin needs. Over the past 7 weeks not only have I seen my uneven skin tone improve but my skin looks and feels radiant, smooth and dare I say it well-balanced. So this Anti Ageing Cream gets a thumbs up from me – I just wish the price tag wasn’t so steep.

Samaya Pitta Cream

SAMAYA are a premium skincare brand and they use key, concentrated ingredients to ensure it delivers results. I’m not 100% convinced by the dosha side of things although I think that is more because I don’t fully understand it all, but In terms of quality and results, the skincare is fantastic and well worth looking into.

Click here to find out your Dosha

All SAMAYA’s products are free from, parabens, sulphates, phthalates, petrochemicals, mineral oils, silicones, synthetic fragrances and colours.

*This post contains PR Samples

skinChemists Bee Venom Facial Serum

- Vicki 2 Comments
Skin Chemists Bee Venom Serum

Skin Chemists Bee Venom Serum

skinChemists Bee Venom Facial Serum*

I’ve been using this serum for a couple of weeks and I have to say It is easy to see why the Bee Venom range is skinChemists best selling collection, not to mention the Duchess of Cornwall’s skincare product of choice. With over 50 years experience skinChemists offer quality skincare that delivers results.

Bee Venom has become a very popular ingredient in skincare over the past few years and it works by:-

Fooling the skin into thinking it has been stung, the Bee Venom causes the body to increase the level of blood circulation to the application area, encouraging heightened production of collagen and elastin. This increased production restores a plumper and firmer skin structure, slowing down skin sagging and dramatically reducing the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.

The main ingredients in Bee Venom Serum are:

  • Bee Venom which aims to plump and firm the skin while stimulating collagen production
  • A blend of Amino Acids aim to balance the skin, whilst improving skin clarity and encouraging an even skin tone for a brighter complexion.
  • Hyaluronic Acid aims to maintain moisture within the skin

It has a lightweight gel consistency which after you massage it in to the skin feels like it almost evaporates. There is no sticky, greasy residue left behind and It leaves the skin feeling very soft, hydrated and visibly smooth. It feels great layered under your other skincare and gives you a nice base for makeup. I also like that it has a subtle sweet scent.

This is a perfect addition to your skincare routine for Spring as it plumps your skin and leaves it with a fresh, healthy glow. Coming from a very wet, dry Winter this is exactly what my skin needed.

** During the month of March if you use my code LETSTALKBLOG this Bee Venom Facial Serum will be reduced from £135.00 to £19.99 which is an incredible saving **

*PR Sample

Favourite Liquid Illuminating Products

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Favourite Liquid Highlighter Products

Clarins Instant Light Radiance Boosting Complexion Base

This is a great product for giving my skin a little extra radiance (always needed in the Winter), I have the shade champaign which is a pretty apricot shade. This is a great colour for warming up my complexion and is great at combating redness and uneven skin tone. This has a light creamy texture and it sits well under my makeup, I think it makes a great primer.

Revlon Photoready Skinlights Face Illuminator

I like to use this as a highlighter & I put it on my cheekbones & down my nose. I have the shade pink light and its a pretty iridescent pink. The formula of these is quite watery but its so easy to blend and the colour also reminds me of Benefit High Beam, I use this instead of a powder highlighter & its so pretty at reflecting the light and adding a little glow to my skin.

GOSH Primer Plus Illuminating

This is the newest addition to the selection and Its such a great budget friendly makeup primer and illuminator in one. If you have dull or sallow skin then this kind of product is a great way of adding brightness to your complexion without looking glittery. Pearl pigments and the right mix of colour pigments deliver the supple dewy base that keeps skin looking fresh all day. Its has pretty peachy tint and it looks lovely mixed with foundation or worn under for a radiant finish.

Five Highlighting Beauty Favourites

B. Prepared Illuminating Makeup Primer

This is such a lightweight non greasy primer, it leaves the skin feeling silky smooth and doesn’t add any slip or shine to the skin but instead it adds a beautiful luminous glow to the skin without any shimmer or glitter. It is a really nice smooth base for my foundation to sit on top of & it helps my makeup last all day whilst adding a healthy glow to my skin. It also has Hyaluronic acid and vitamin E which are great at hydrating skin and helping reduce the signs of fatigue.

Estee Lauder Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator

This is one of my favourites out of the line up – I tend to add a couple of drops to my foundation for a more radiant healthy finish. This does have a yellow tone with a gold iridescence, it doesn’t have glitter in but it does have a slight shimmer to it and it looks very subtle and pretty once under or added to your foundation. Its also good at helping cover redness and give the complexion a more even finish. This is an oil free serum and it just looks so pretty when the light hits your skin. I think this has been discontinued which always seems to be the case with products I fall in love with.

Liquid Highlighter Swatches

B. Prepared / Estee Lauder / GOSH / Revlon / Clarins

What are your favourite liquid highlighters?

GOSH SS16 Makeup Releases

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GOSH 2016 Makeup Releases

GOSH have some really exciting releases for Spring / Summer 2016 and I have been testing a few of them out. I was most excited to try the Lip Oils & Lumi Drops but I have to say all these products are great quality and are worth trying out.

To Be Cool in Copenhagen* is a 9 shade all matte eyeshadow palette, these are beautiful cool toned neutral colours which are easy to wear. You can create so many eye looks & of course the classic smokey eye, I like that you get a good mix of shades from light creams to mid tone browns right down to lovely greys. This is quite a versatile palette and I think the fact all the shadows are matte is going to be such a selling point. Good quality affordable matte shadows are hard to find but GOSH have answered my prayers. The palette is compact and the mirror inside is a good size. This is one to add to your wish list for sure.

GOSH Matte Eyeshadow Palette

GOSH Lip Oils

The Lip Oils* feel and look very glossy on the lips, quite a slippy texture which I have to say felt nice and comfortable. They have some great ingredients including Sea Buckthorn, Macadamia Oil, Moringa Oil and Argan Oil. They do give a very slight tint of colour but nothing to write home about. These oils will nourish, soothe and add hydration to your lips and I think they do just that. I’ve loved using these and think they might be a good dupe for the Clarins ones. I have the shades Raspberry and Sea Buckthorn.

GOSH New Makeup Releases 2016

I’m a big fan of cream eyeshadow & even more so when it comes in a crayon so I knew I was going to get a lot of use from Forever Matte Eyeshadow Stick*. I have the shade Twisted Brown which is a gorgeous deep nude brown shade and again this is has a matte finish. This has a lovely creamy formula which makes it easy to apply and blend out then it stays in place all day. Its pigmented and such a wearable shade.

The Velvet Touch Lipstick* in the shade Nougat also has a matte finish (I think GOSH have a theme going here) this lipstick is a really pretty nude, its not going to make your lips look dead but instead gives your lips a little warmth. This is a subtle brown on me and feels comfortable and creamy, It lasts quite a while before needing to be topped up. Its an easy subtle nude to wear & I think it will look flattering on a lot of people.

GOSH Makeup Swatches

Rebel Eyes Mascara* has a plastic wand which is curved to help get right to the base of the lashes and coat every lash. The wand is a good size and it was great at brushing the mascara on without clumping. The formula contains Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil which protects your lashes so your lashes are getting some TLC whilst looking fab! I love that its jet black and makes my lashes look long, and thick. GOSH say this mascara contains a special polymer that gives lengthening and curling features. So if you like your lashes to stay curled and look fluttery all day then you need to try this one out.

GOSH Rebel Eyes Mascara

Lumi Drops* are available in 3 shades and I have Peach which is a beautiful glowing pink peach with a gold iridescence. These can be worn alone to give a pretty highlighter effect or mixed with foundation to add a luminous glow to your skin. There is no glitter in this the formula just pretty light reflecting pearl pigments with a hint of  shimmer so you won’t look like a disco ball. These are a great product to have & you need to use so little to achieve the desired effect. I think this is a great release for Summer and will look really pretty with a tan.GOSH Makeup Products

Primer Plus Illuminating Skin Perfector* so this is a primer and a skin illuminator in one, thats my kind of product. A product that will keep your makeup in place, looking flawless whilst adding a luminous glow to your skin, its perfect! You can use this on its own for a radiant look or use under your foundation for a gorgeous flawless glow. It is infused with beneficial skin ingredients. ProRenew Complex stimulates skin’s self-renewal helping the skins own glow to come through. Silsoft E- Pearl provides a moist feel, line blurring and creates an illusion of perfection. This isn’t a greasy slippy primer instead it feels like a moisturiser and it almost sinks in to the skin leaving it feeling smooth and soft, It has a peachy tint to it and I love how radiant my skin looks when I use it.

I think GOSH have some really exciting products in their SS16 range and I have been most impressed with the Lumi Drops, Forever Eyeshadow Crayon and the Lip Oils, Although all of the products I have tried have been great quality and really good value for money. Let me know if you update your makeup bag for Spring with any of these new releases!

GOSH SS16 releases are available in exclusively in Superdrug from February 2016

*PR Samples