Superdrug Glycolic Overnight Peel

I am one of the biggest fans you will possibly ever meet when it comes to Origins overnight mask, for me it has been an absolute godsend and it is one of those products which would quite probably get the holy grail status. But... then I was able to try the Superdrug Glycolic Overnight Peel**.

I haven't used that many products from their own Naturally Radiant range, though I know how popular the hot cloth cleanser became quite a hit with fellow bloggers, but I wasn't tempted to try it.

However, a quick blurb of a product can always change your mind and make you want to read it and that blurb for me was this:"This week sees the launch of the Glycolic Overnight Peel from Superdrug. When applied at night and washed off in the morning, the peel evens skintone and smoothes fine lines and wrinkles, leaving the skin brighter and more refined".

This Glycolic Overnight Peel, contains glycolic acid, vitamin C and fruit extracts such as Kiwi and Mulberry to boost and brighten your skin overnight. These ingredients work together to revive radiance, even out your skin tone and with the glycolic acid it also helps to smooth fine lines and wrinkles.

To use, simply apply a pea sized amount on your fingertips onto your face (avoiding the eyes) and then you leave it on overnight and wash it off the following morning.  Superdrug state that you should use an SPF the following morning after using this product and that is because of the Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) which can leave your skin more sensitive to sunshine, but if like me you wear SPF everyday (regardless of the weather) then you should be fine.

The gel is clear and see through and has a slight fruity scent to it but for me it is more floral and a further look at the ingredients tell me that there is also Lotus Flower extract also included.

So how well does it work?  I have used this gel for the last 4 weeks, not every night because I don't think my skin needs it, but at least twice a week.  Once applied on the skin, it does take a while to sink in and settle as it is quite watery, so it is best to apply at least 20-30 minutes before going to bed.  The following morning, you cannot feel this gel whatsoever and nor is your face rock hard as though you have applied a clay mask.  I always wash this off in the shower, which is the first thing I do once I have got out bed, with warm water and a muslin cloth. 

As soon as that it is done, the first time I used this product I was surprised to find my skin as soft as it was, you know when something is a lot less expensive than your current product and though you want it to be better, it rarely is, well bloggers I have to say, this one from Superdrug is as good as the Origins overnight mask.  My skin is soft, smooth, feels moisturised, my pores are unclogged which was not something I had been counting on, there is no sign of the slight dryness on my cheeks and I had a radiant glow.  I absolutely love it and I would now think twice about repurchasing from Origins.

This overnight mask from Superdrug has an RRP of £5.99 which makes it an absolute bargain and something I will definitely be repurchasing.

Have you tried this product from Superdrug?  

Do you use a similar product?

HealGel Intensive

If you are a regular reader of Beautyqueenuk then you will be aware that I am a bit of a big fan of the HealGel range and have reviewed both Heal Gel Eye and Heal Gel Face and honestly they are simply fabulous, so when asked if I would like to try a further product from the range I jumped at the chance and through my letterbox came HealGel Intensive.

I have said this before and will say it again, the packaging is always the first thing I love about this brand.  There is something about the design and the font which for me stands right out and catches my attention.  As with the other products, HealGel Intensive comes in a tube which is bright green in colour.

The aqueous gel can be used anywhere on your face and body to help soothe, repair & protect the skin.  It does have a lot of uses such as helping to fade any scarring left over from blemishes, helping to heal up skin problems like eczema and it is said to help with both sunburn and bruises. The part which excited me the most though was that you can even use it as a primer before applying your make-up, now how amazing is that?  It is like a multi-use balm with more uses than anything I have yet to like and guess what? It does exactly what it states it will do.

The clever people behind Heal gel describe this product as follows:

"HealGel is an aqueous gel, bringing together the best active ingredients to soothe, repair and protect your skin.

The advanced skin rescue formula was designed by a team of the world's leading plastic surgeons and a renowned dermatological biochemist.

It is cleverly designed; the nano-technological elements deliver predictably to the depth of the skin where they are needed most.

It is easy to use, being light, non-greasy and delicately fragranced. It provides a perfect primer for any make-up applied, and you only need to use it sparingly".

So there you have it. 

Once the gel is on your hand, it feels quite similar to Maybelline Baby Skin, but softer.  It is silicone based, but given my skin has no issue with that I was more than happy to use it. It is said that silicone is used because it helps to seal in the active ingredients of Arbica and Madecassoside given them more of a chance to penetrate deeper into the skin to where they are most needed.  Further ingredients include powerful peptides to increase collagen production, decrease fine lines, swelling and puffiness. In short it is said to be good for burns, redness, bruises, strains and stretchmarks, rosacea and wrinkles. 

As this isn't just for your face but for anywhere on your body, for me it has that little extra something.  Now I do suffer with rosacea occasionally, it flares up and then goes again plus I have a dry patch of skin on each cheek.  So I have been using this product as a primer before applying make-up and all you need is just a few pumps of the gel from the dispenser to apply to your skin.  For the first few weeks of using this, I applied it to my entire face and having done so, I was surprised at how soft and smooth my skin immediately became once it had absorbed.  Applying make-up over the top was also a breeze and it was so nice to not have foundation and CC creams sticking to those dry patches of skin on my cheeks - so already I am impressed!

Did my make-up last? Well yes it did and better than it had done with any other primer that I had tried, including Porefessional, which, in this weather is more than amazing!  I found that applying my make-up at 8am it was still in place at 7pm when I was getting home from work, the only thing I was touching up throughout the day was lipstick, but I would be doing that anyway, everything else remained in place.

The dry patches on my cheeks? Well after two weeks of using this gel they had totally gone, not a hint or trace of dry skin, instead my cheeks are as smooth as a babys bottom to coin a phrase.

The Roseacea?  Well it hasn't gone completely and it is quite hard to describe it, but if I was to say it looks as though someone has used a red crayon and then rubbed it out so it becomes a slightly less red, that is exactly what has happened, not so much the rosy red cheeks but just slightly pink, which for me is amazing and it does make me feel much less self-conscious.

Considering that I have been using HealGel Intensive for just 5 weeks it has been incredibly amazing and I am truly amazed at its results, yet again HealGel continues to be an impressive brand which lives up to each and everyone of its claims.

This sells for £37.50 and you can read more about it and the rest of the products within the range on the HealGel Website which you can find HERE

Have you tried any of the products from the HealGel range?  

Do you have a favourite?

Top 5 Summer Scents

This post is about my favourite scents for the summer, it appeared on the lovely Vicky of Lots of Love, Me blog as a guest post. I am a huge lover of perfume and my collection is slowly growing, there are one or two favourites that I could never be without - Bvlgari Pour Femme being one of them.  Every now and again though I like a change and often find my inspiration from some samples that I receive.  All of the perfumes which feature within this post have grown on me and have been purchased from samples.

So as you can see there us quite a few brands here and starting in the top left we have Bvlgari Rose which was released in 2006 and is a scent that I loved from a very first spritz. described as follows:

Rose Essentielle is the richest and most sophisticated fragrance in the Bvlgari pour Femme Collection. Since 2006, this scent has been the ultimate expression of luxury, it offers women who seek an extremely sensual floral signature the perfect evening complement.

The ingredients add a youthful and graceful touch to the original scent, reminiscent of a delicate Rose. The added fruity notes of Bergamot and Orange add a zesty sparkle to the richness of the precious Rose notes in the heart of the composition, making this fragrance refined, transparent and luminous.

The fact there are two rose scents make this perfume absolutely stunning and is something you should all try and sample if like me you love rose scented products.  It has a really good longevity about it once spritzed and is one of those fragrances which will last all day.

Next we have DKNY Be Delicious. This is the only perfume from the range that I currently own, I say currently because I am keen to add more of them to my collection. Again I loved this from the first spritz and is described as follows:

"A modern feast for the senses, this juicy fragrance combines the scent of apple with a sophisticated blend of exotic flowers and sensual woods"

It literally smells just like the description and is one of those scents that has a long lasting scent and I find that if I spray it on my way to work in a morning, I can still catch a sniff of it on my way home 8-9 hours later.

Givenchy Very Irresistible is next and I got a sample of this in a perfume sample subscription box and wore it everyday until the sample ran out and then bought a full sized version.  It is described as follows:

"Very Irresistable Givenchy eau de toilette was created, from a unique alliance of 5 roses, the queen of flowers, emblematic of Hubert de Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn. The 5 roses are sublimated by their association with star anise, giving a bright, radiant, energetic and mouth-watering twist to the fragrance. The end result is a unique sensation of sheer seduction and luminous attraction".

Again for me it is that rose scent which catches my love and attention, there is something about it which works well with my skin and makes it last for a long time once it has been spritzed.

Marc Jacobs Daisy Sunshine was gifted to me by my work colleagues and at first I wasn't too sure that I liked it.  I persevered with it and now I absolutely love it, more so than the original Daisy.  It is described as a:

"Radiant and sparkling, the fragrance captivates with a mood-brightening infusion of juicy red fruits. The heart blooms with notes of vivid spring blossoms and tender lychee, then dries down to a velvety base of blushing apricot skin and musky woods".

Once you spritz it, the first scent you get is one of fruit and as the scent settles it does become less vibrant and in your face and more subtle and that is when I love it the most. Again it lasts a good 5-6 hours before you would need to re-apply it.

The final perfume is Miss Dior Cherie, a classic and another scent which took a while to grow on me, but once it did I loved it.  Described as follows:

"Romantic by nature, Miss Dior Chérie inspires an intense and playful love, for which she is also searching. She personifies the spontaneous joie de vivre of today's young women, representing a particular type of freedom and seduction. The fragrance is characterised by an instant and captivating charm".

Again this fragrance combines the use of Turkish Rose and Bulgarian Rose to give it one of its main scents so it is not a surprise that I like it, but it also includes Patchouli and Neroli which make up the fruity scent.  This perfume is one which needs just a slight spritzing as it is quite a powerful scent and another one which can and will last all day long, it takes a good 2-3 hours when on my skin to fade slightly and again I can still smell it on my skin 8-9 hours later.

So those are my favourite scents for the summer.  Do you change your perfume during each season?  Do you have a signature scent for the summer and is there anything you would recommend I try?

Balance Me Body Wash + Bon Voyage Competition

Balance Me are British run family company who have frequented the skincare market for around 9 years. They are one of the brands I absolutely love the products of and are infact the brand who managed to convince me that as someone with combination skin which leans towards the oily side, I could use a facial oil and not end up with greasier looking skin.

Over the past year I have tried a lot of Balance Me products and am yet to find one I don't like. The photographs below just some of the products I have tried:

So yes as you can see, I am a bit of a fan!

The latest releases from Balance Me introduces reformulated sulphate free body washes - Rose Otto, Super Moisturising and Super Toning have also had their packaging remodelled so it is now much sleeker and more hi-tech looking to compliment the reformulation.

So what does all that mean?  Essentially as the brand as Sian Jones the Balance Me Director and Aromatherapist states "We have improved the formulation to increase out natural surfactant to make then even more luxurious on the skin with a thick consistency and more naturally foaming"  so they are now more skin friendly.  Many cosmetic companies use sulphates in their products to help them create a lather, but the effects can be harsh on the skin and cause irritations such as a dryness and can strip the skin of its natural oils.  As part of the Balance Me philosophy, they try to omit any ingredient that they believe has question marks surrounding its composition and prefer instead to formulate products using natural alternatives.

I was very kindly sent the Super Moisturising Body Wash** which is this amazing bright yellow coloured tube, it definitely catches your attention in the morning when your half asleep and in the shower!

The body wash is described as being:

Perfect for: Soothing, smoothing and protecting parched or sensitive skin.

Key benefits: We’ve used four natural active skin enhancers to guarantee long-lasting softness and suppleness. Softening benzoin, calming yarrow and patchouli, plus essential fatty acid and vitamin-rich shea butter work together to gently soften and protect skin.

This body wash is most definitely as it is described - super moisturising, it lathers exceptionally well onto my beloved natural sea sponge and as soon as it comes into contact with water it begins to lather.  The scent is also amazing, it wakes you up, alerts your senses and lingers on your skin all day with the patchouli being the dominant scent, it smells very luxurious.

‘Beauty Voyage’ Balance Me Competition

But bloggers how would you like the chance to win youself a Balance Me Product? Well the lovely people over at Balance Me are  inviting you to take snaps of your favourite Balance Me products and submit them with the #balancemehome or #balancemeaway hashtag! The competition is running over July & August and the best images picked each week to win Balance Me prizes.  You can find more information on Twitter and Facebook.

Have you tried anything from Balance Me?  
What is your favourite product?