Origins: Perfect World Cleanser

Hello all!

Another skincare review for you today, I've been powering through my latest purchases and this beauty has been used for so long that I've actually almost finished it now, oops!

Origins have many ranges but Perfect World is one of their most popular.
We've previously used their moisturiser which were big fans of, particularly as its a great one for winter with its hydrating properties and also contains SPF 25 which as we all know is vital for anti-aging and skin protection.

Origins say:

This Origins perfect foaming face wash is formulated with nature's antioxidant White Tea. In a pre-emptive sweep, dirt-grabbing minerals combined with the gentle, skin-compatible cleansing action reach deep to help detoxify and free skin of harmful impurities. 

A Perfect World Antioxidant cleanser leaves the skin perfectly clean, smoothed and refreshed. 

Having used it for the past couple of months I can say that this smells beautiful, just like the moisturiser which I really enjoyed using. It is a calming smell and in the morning although I do like citrus and minty smells to wake me up this has been a lovely change.

This doesn't seem to foam quite as much as Checks and Balances, which I cannot help but compare it to as it was the first cleanser I used from Origins and therefore my first love.

This doesn't seem to be a problem however as my face did feel just as cleansed as with the other, but I did find myself using more of it to get the lather that I was used to.

I loved the way my skin didn't have any adverse reactions to this product whatsoever which is probably down the the palm, coconut and oat amino acid as they're 'skin compatible'.

I can't say that this has been anti-aging on me because I'm 25 and am yet to see measurable effects of a cleanser on my skin but I think the whole range combined will definitely help face the world and defy wrinkles for a while longer as it's very hydrating and fights the dreaded free radicals.

Packaging wise the only problem is remember to keep it upright so product will come out!

I've really enjoyed using this cleanser and think in future it would be great for when my skin gets more dehydrated, but currently I need Checks and Balances to combat my temperamental face with its dry and oily patches, which I picked up last week!

Which is your favourite cleanser? Do you have a favourite Origins product?

L xxx

Origins Starting Over Eye Cream

Another of my skincare beauties for you to read about today :)

As you know we are both fans of Origins as a brand and a trip to Cosmetics Company Outlet normally throws up another Origins purchase for me seeing as the products have a discount, it would be rude not to!

This time I picked up their Starting Over Eye Cream, which claims to be age-erasing and contains Mimosa.

The box blurb states it also has Fennel Seed to reduce appearance of crows feet and eye area, also smoothing out the crepiness on your eye lids and hydrating them all in one swoop!

This is what I like to read, multiple benefits in one tiny little pot!



The tiny pots for eye creams are great, I love how they are all of the same design and only the lower pot colour changes.
Owning this and GinZing and Eye Doctor the three of them look quite good together piled up! Though all have different functions so I don't feel too badly about it...

This pot houses a thick white cream that applies to your eye area and sinks in surprisingly easy considering its thickness.



I was surprised it was absorbed so well as it feels so dense when you touch it in comparison to other eye creams which are comparatively lighter in texture.
However this absorbed just as easily as lighter creams and I've had no reaction from my sensitive eyes.



I do always get a little annoyed at the pots for their functionality. Although they're quite cute they're not very practical and I end up digging my fingers in for product and getting it all inside my nails which are usually long.
This kind of freaks me out with the amount of contamination the moisturiser has when used twice a day for a long period of time, and the loss of product from constantly wasting it underneath my fingernails!

I should use a cotton bud to remove product from the pot but again this is wasteful so I won't do that and my hands are normally clean when I apply this anyway....it's just a little bug bear of mine at the moment!



You can see the cream above and below and how easily it sunk into my skin.
It feels very hydrating and for that reason I do believe it has helped with some fine lines that have started appearing around my eyes.

I don't have too many but I believe prevention is better than cure so will be applying this as much as possible to prevent any more from appearing!

Have you tried any eye creams from Origins? What's your favourite eye product?

L xxx

Review: Etat Pur Actives A20 and A01

A while ago I placed an order with Etat Pur and bought a few items including the micellar water which you can find here

I was super intrigued by the products on their website particularly the 'Actives' products and so I bought myself the A20 Zinc Gluconate which helps to restrict sebum secretion and to eliminate spots, and A01 Q10 which helps slow down appearance of first wrinkles.

First up is the A20, I was really excited to try this out as my skin is so oily and shiny that it needs to be kept at bay all day long which is seemingly impossible.

I was hoping this product would help me combat my shiny face syndrome and initially I think it did.

Firstly I LOVE the packaging and the dispenser design on this product, it is so easy to use and the bottles are really cute.

You can see in the photo below the tip of the bottle and underneath where the white plastic part of the bottle is there is a squishy area which you press to dispense a drop onto your hand.

This was genius and I love it.

You are told to dispense around 3-4 drops to cover your whole face which i would say is the correct amount for me.

At the beginning of using this product I do think it helped to combat my oiliness and I rarely had any spots.

I brought it with me to America to give it the full test and I'm afraid I thought it was absolutely awful.

As soon as I got here I broke out and no amount of this stuff would save me, as soon as I stopped using it my spots disappeared!

So I would have to say for me that I wouldn't buy it again as it doesn't seem to work for my skin which was disappointing, maybe another product will work better but I'm not willing to risk my skin breaking out as badly as it did. I haven't had that many spots since I was 15!

Next up was the A01 which is in the same design bottle with a different coloured label.

This product was different to the A20 which was clear and slightly green tinged, the A01 is a thicker yellowy cream that still dispenses easily out of the bottle but is noticeably thicker than the A20.

I was worried at first as I thought this wouldn't work with my skin due to its oiliness but actually the results were pretty good!

You can see the difference in colour and consistency from the A20 here.

The A01 however felt like a serum in the way that it easily absorbed into my skin without leaving it feeling greasy and I was able to apply my moisturiser almost straight away after application without any kind of peeling or greasiness.

As for the results I'm not sure that it has a quick effect on the wrinkles but it's designed to help fight first wrinkles so maybe that's why.

My skin does feel like it's smoother when I've used it and after longer term use I think it may have helped prevent any more wrinkle from appearing but this is always hard to tell.

Skin is so subjective that it's hard to review skincare products!

I think I would round up the review by saying that the A20 didn't work out for me and I have actually thrown it away as I kept thinking it would work and it broke me out again.

I'm sure this will work for some people but sadly not for my skin.

The A01 has had a positive effect in that I don't seem to have been given any more wrinkles by mother nature, but it will take a longer time to see how effective this is.

Again, I was surprised how well the A01 worked with my oily skin so I would definitely recommend that people with oily skin try this too!

With my order I also got these 2 freebie samples which are so cute!

I've brought them with me to America also so that I can use them on the plane, they're perfect size for that.

Have you ordered anything from Etat Pur? I love their website and how the products can be tailored to suit any skin problem, definitely easy to use too!

L xxx

COTW: Parabens

Hi all, hope you are enjoying our Chemical of the Week posts.

Any feedback you could give us on them would be very much appreciated, particularly if you could let us know if they're helpful and if you would look forward to reading more.

The previous two can be found here and here :)

Most people won't have heard of parabens, which when you consider that 90% of cosmetic products contain them is a little worrying!

What are they?

They come in many forms (ethylparaben, methylparaben and less commonly isobutylparaben and many more) and if you read the ingredients of whatever product you have at hand you will more than likely find that it contains at least one.