Environ C-Quence Eye Gel

Quite often I review either easily accessible 'drug store' brands or products that the pro's love - this post is going to be about one of the big guns of skincare. Environ is a serious brand with hardcore products and I have to say, although I've really been impressed by everything I've tried I really wouldn't advise using their products without consulting a skin specialist who really knows the brand.

I first became aware of the brand four years ago just before I got married. I was worried about the dry skin bumps on the tops of my arms being really obvious in my strapless wedding dress (it's incredibly annoying to be asked if you're cold all the time when in fact it's just a skin issue!). I was recommend Environ's Derma-Lac Lotion which really helped - you can read about it here. Since then I haven't really come across the brand at all until I saw some incredible before and after pictures showing the results using C-Quence Eye Gel and was so amazed I really wanted to get my mother to try it out.

I think my mother looks fantastic but she is always trying to find a non-surgical way to treat her hooded eyes and the skin around them. When I saw these pictures I just had to get hold of some of the C-Quence Eye Gel for her to try out. And then I had a baby and forgot all about it.

I have to say that so much time had passed since I had given her the eye gel, and she is never happy with any eye creams she tries, that I was expecting her to say that this hadn't made any difference either. I was wrong, she really likes it and has noticed a difference after just two weeks of use. She says... 'I have been using Environ morning and evening after cleansing, and I am very pleased with the results.  My baggy, puffy eyes seem to have tightened up a bit, and I think I look a bit more awake which is great when one is 61!  I shall continue to use it and am interested to know what other Environ products are available for poor old saggy faces.'

As I've mentioned before these are tough products so it really is advisable to get a consultation with someone who knows them before buying any and I think I'll definitely be taking my mother to Face It Clinic in Highgate, who have used Environ products for years, to see what other products will work with the C-Quence Gel to continue the de-puffing.

Face It Clinic, Highgate

One of the massive perks of writing this blog is that sometimes I get sent to meet people who not only love what they do but really know what they are talking about. Last Thursday was one of those days, and even though I was an incredibly rude 15 minutes late, thanks to a cancellation I was able to have a really interesting conversation with Donna at the Face It Clinic in Highgate and hear about an incredible, innovative new skincare range that she and her team have been trying out since 2010.

Being late always puts me on the back foot, I hate it, it's so rude but trying to get anywhere for 9.30am when you have a small baby, and when that place is the other side of town, well it's kind of impossible. I arrived slightly sweaty and shamed and I could tell Donna was at the beginning of a busy day and she did not necessarily think much of me waltzing in 15 minutes later than I was supposed to. So what started off as rather formal then descended into an amazing chat about skin, my skin, pregnancy and breast-feeding hormones, common misconceptions about skin and why she was so excited about Dermaviduals the not-so-new skincare range that she has been putting thorough it's paces for two years.

I was there to talk about Dermaviduals, and this was to be a review of it, but having discussed my situation, my skin type and what the product actually does, and having completely enthused me with her passion for what she does the review of Dermaviduals is going to have to be ongoing. I can however, highly recommend Face It Clinic for those North London dwellers and in fact anyway willing to make the journey to Highgate (it's rather lovely in itself so well worth a visit).

The clinic looks inviting although I always find these places rather intimidating - I'm not entirely sure why. It also only stocks serious products - nothing that's there as a crowd pleaser. The ranges there have been tried and tested, they work and they are top of the range. I've had quite a few face and body treatments over the years and never have I been in the hands of someone with such incredible knowledge of skin and it's needs. From now on I can't imagine entrusting myself to anywhere else for treatments - one week of using the Dermaviduals and my skin has improved. I am definitely going back.

So I will be reviewing the Dermaviduals range but it will be in stages as I try the products out and my skin gets back to normal and ready for the bespoke range.

Collection Cream Puff Lip Cream

I'd heard a lot about these before trying it out. Everyone said they were great, being Collection they were incredibly reasonably priced and available in a wearable range of colours but somehow I just never got round to trying it out. Until I was loitering near the make-up in Tesco's waiting to pick my glasses up (yes I wear Tesco glasses now... ) and tried out the Cream Puff in Fairy Cake and was completely in love.

The colour happened to be one I'd been looking for for a while - a bright pink that's wearable everyday, not too in-your-face - and I really needed something quick and easy to apply. The texture is fantastically smooth and it drys matte and almost powedery but doesn't dry the lips out, which is amazing considering how chapped your lips can become from supposedly moisturising lipsticks. It's only available in four shades but there is one to suit every skin tone and I'd rather a smaller range of colour for a product that is as spot on as this one.

Marks and Spencer Limited Collection Bronzer

Last week I wrote a review of Marks and Spencer's Limited Collection Tinted Moisturiser. I didn't like it very much which was a surprise because for the last 5 ish months I've been using, the Limited Collection Bronzer and loving it.

Writing the review of the tinted moisturier made me realise that I hadn't done a post on the bronzer yet and I feel bad that the first review for Limited Collection on this blog is for something I wasn't so keen on - although I do point out that I pretty much love everything else of their's that I've tried.

The bronzer, which comes in lovely, if slightly bulky, packaging is available in two shades - light and medium. I have the light and it is matte enough to be absolutely fantastic for really gentle, everyday contouring. If I want to get a extreme contoured look I use Hoola by Benefit which for a long time was one of the only matte bronzers on the market, or if I'm working on someone else I use Soleil Tan de Chanel but I try not to use that on myself and keep it fresh for my kit. But, especially since being pregnant, I like to do some really light shaping with my everyday make-up and the Limited Collection Bronzer is just perfect for that.

I'd like to point out that although the packaging is bulky it seems (so far) to be shatter proof, I've dropped this bronzer a hundred times and it's been absolutely fine - well worth the extra space it takes up in your make-up bag. It is also incredibly reasonably priced at £5 - I've had this for nearly 6 months, using it most days and it's only just starting to run out.

I was so impressed by the quality of this cheap bronzer and so unimpressed by the cheap tinted moisturiser that I have no choice but to try out any other products from Limited Collection that I like the look of and I recommend that you do to. Who knows, maybe I'll find a client with perfet flawless skin, who doesn't need any coverage at all and the tinted moisturiser will come into its own and I'll eat my words!

How to Dry your Hair with Pixiwoo - Friday Video

This video has revolutionised my hair

Marks and Spencer Limited Collection Tinted Moisturiser

I am usually impressed by Marks and Spencer's Limited Collection make-up range but the most recent product I've tried, the tinted moisturiser, has been a disappointment. It's not fair to say 'big' disappointment because at £5 it is incredibly reasonably priced for any make-up product, and in fact, at that price I don't know what I was expecting.
There is a choice of two colours, light and medium, I chose light always assuming I am going to be on the paler side of any foundation choice (you can see my skin colour in my videos). But the coverage from this tinted moisturiser is non-existent. Maybe I should have gone for a medium, or it could be that my skin is just too patchy and pigmented and well... old for this particular product but although it feels nice and moisturising on the skin it does nothing else really.

This could be a great product for really young skin and those who really don't need much coverage at all. I'd be incredibly interested to hear from anyone who has tried and loved this product - it has some great reviews on the Marks and Spencer's website so it could just be me. Let me know if you've tried it and what you think.