Pixy's Love Potions

I just came across these lovely hampers available from Pixy.ie to celebrate Valentines Day, and well, I just had to share them with you all - you never know you just may have some handsome suitor stalking your browsing history who just may take note and surprise you with a lil something! ;)

Pixy Skin So Soft - Softening Body Oil

Hi Guys! :)

There's a new contender in the Irish Beauty scene, a brand which I recently came across and instantly fell in love with their ethos and branding. They're called Pixy and they are a natural skincare company based in Ireland, well Cork, to be precise :)

Pixy first came to my attention on the Dragons Den, whilst they made a great pitch and even got offers from two Dragons (Norah Casey and Gavin Duffy) they left without any money - however since then, they have been growing from strength to strength and now have a beautiful, easy to navigate website and a good selection of products on offer.

"Pixy natural skincare product range is made in Ireland for you from pure natural ingredients. Pixy cosmetics is fun and very affordable with fizzing bath bombs, soaps and vibrant shower gels in our soaps, gels and spells and our lotions and potions create sheer indulgence leaving your skin glowing and renewed.

We use nature’s best in all our beauty products including moisturising unrefined shea butter and healing vitamin E oil to leave your skin soft and supple. We use essential oils, for their amazing fragrance some energise you, others bring you back in harmony to calm you and soothe away the stress. On top of all that we’ve made it affordable so everyone can join in!"

I've been trying out their Softening Body Oil for the past week now and I have to say I've been really impressed.

The presentation is fantastic - it comes in a delightfully petite glass bottle with a secure plastic stopper and metal catch. It looks like a real artisan and handcrafted product - very eye catching indeed! It comes in at 40ml and is well priced at just €7.99.

See how intricate and detailed the bottle is? There's even a small handle too! :)

Ingredients:

Softening Jojoba oil, evening primrose oil, apricot oil, borage seed oil, jasmine fragrance, magnolia fragrance, optiphen preservative (phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol).

Directions:

Warm one teaspoon of oil in your hands. Gently massage onto skin using soft circular movements. Should irritation occur stop use immediately.

Softening Body Oil penetrates your skin to nourish and protect it and fights against the loss of elasticity with jojoba, apricot and borage seed oils. Sensuous jasmine and magnolia fragrances complete the experience.

The oil smells wonderful - a lovely light, floral scent which isn't overpowering and is very delicate and sensuous.

The oil itself is very light and non-greasy. I hate heavy oils that leave a greasy film after application - who has time to wait around in the mornings before getting dressed to allow oil to fully absorb? This oil sinks into the skin to leave it feeling nourished and moisturised and doesn't feel greasy or sticky.

I've noticed a definite softening effect of my skin since I started using it. You only need a tiny amount - 5ml or thereabouts, so you should in theory, get around 8 uses out of each bottle.

I've also started using this as a cuticle oil and it's been working wonders keeping them from drying out and best of all, it doesn't leave a greasy residue on your hands afterwards either.

I've also found this oil to be great for use as a post-shaving treatment  - it leaves your legs feeling soft and silky smooth.

In addition to all of these beauty treats, I've also been hearing very interesting feedback that this Softening Body Oil is supposed to be very good for those with eczema - which is a skin condition that unfortunately can be very hard to treat and clear up in some cases.

I have a friend who suffers quite badly from eczema so I'll definitely be giving her a bottle of this to try out and see how she gets on. It's not billed as an oil to treat eczema but the feedback I've been getting sounds fantastic, so I can't wait to see how she gets on with it also.

You can get Pixy products from here: http://www.pixy.ie/

They currently offer free shipping in Ireland on all orders over €50, and if you sign up to their newsletter you can also get an additional 10% off your next order!

Alternatively, you can pick up Pixy products from stockists all over the country - see here for more details;

http://www.pixy.ie/pixy-stockist

I've been eyeing up all manner of potions and lotions on their site, everything sounds delicious, almost good enough to eat! This is definitely a brand to keep an eye out for - I would even go as far to say that they are Ireland's answer to Lush - high praise indeed!

Have you tried any Pixy products before? Got any favourites in particular?

Human+Kind - Skincare with a Conscience

Hi Guys!

I've been making a real effort with my skincare routine of late - I always start off with good intentions to double-cleanse daily with a facial oil and a cream cleanser, using a toner afterwards each time, exfoliate 3 times a week, use a serum underneath my moisturiser, use a day time moisturiser, a night time moisturiser, eye cream etc...

Alas, somewhere around the 10-14 day mark, I start to slip and get lazy. It can be too much to keep up at times - I mean, who really has the time to go searching for designated day and night moisturisers each and every day when you're in a rush first thing in the morning?

Cue my delight when I discovered  Human+Kind All In One Day and Night Cream which promises 24/7 hydration.

Human+Kind has created their range for women everywhere who are tired of wasting time and money on unnecessary products, Human+Kind is a new ethos in skincare for today’s time pressed woman – simple, superior natural and dependable beauty products that multi-task as much as they do. Fuelled by a mission to challenge the beauty Industry’s conditioning that we need product after product for different areas of our skin and different skin types, Human+Kind creates a pared down approach to skincare developing superior, natural formulations, capable of multi-tasking and benefiting skin types of all ages.

Human+Kind are a wholly Irish company and all of it's products were developed in Ireland and are made in Cork.

Not only that, but Human+Kind creates all natural and highly concentrated formulations combined with scientific advances to create superior formulations that are dependable and work. Armed with scientific evidence that a great number of skin care problems are caused by the products used to prevent them; chemically overloaded creams which cause allergic reactions, over-emollient moisturisers which can clog pores and anti-wrinkle creams that actually induce wrinkles because of skin irritation, Human+Kind formulations are all made using natural healing and restorative ingredients.

The range features just 4 products - no gimmicks offering a plethora of products aimed at different skin types here - just 4 quality formulas using only the best in natural ingredients to provide skincare solutions that really delivers.

The skincare range consists of:

All-in-one Anti-Ageing cream 50ml

All-in-one Body Oil 75ml

All-in-one Family Remedy cream 75ml

All-in-One Day+Night Cream 75ml

I've been trying out the All In One Day + Night Cream and I have to say, I love it!

As you can see the packaging is gorgeous - it's really eye-catching! The product comes in an attractive polygon shaped cardboard box featuring geometric designs and patterns.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tricaprylin, Centella Asiatica Extract, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Persea Gratissima (Avocado Oil), Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Sucrose Stearate, Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Extract, Althaea Officinalis Leaf/Root (Marshmallow) Extract, Rosa Rubiginosa (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Juniperus communis (Juniper Berry) Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Xanthan Gum, Linalool, Limonene.

The product comes a handy, squeezable tube coming in at 75mls.

All Human+Kind products are created exclusively using natural ingredients such as

Jojoba, Onopordum and ‘nature’s Botox’, Achmella, that decrease the likelihood

of experiencing allergic reactions, clogging pores and irritating the skin. Not only is

Human+Kind purely organic, but it’s a single-step skin treatment as well. 

The Day + Night Cream contains:

 Aloe Vera soothes, hydrates and nourishes
• Marshmallow - soothes and calms with active anti-inflammatory properties
• Rosehip Oil – a potent source of vitamin A, its regenerative action reduces wrinkles and signs of premature ageing 
• Centella - heals and treats scars and blemishes

"Light and non-greasy, this cream quite literally quenches thirsty skin, locking in vital moisture and skin nutrients, delivering long lasting complexion protection. Using only nature’s finest ingredients Human+Kind All in One Day and Night Cream has been formulated with a moisture-retaining blend of aloe vera, natural vitamin E and a slew of essential oils including centella, marshmallow, juniper berry and rosehip."

I'm really enjoying using the Day + Night Cream - first of all it's a time and money saver being able to use the one product both mornings and evenings. It's a lovely light and non-greasy formula which feels refreshing on the skin. I can suffer from sensitive skin at times and I'm pleased to say that I did not note any sensitivity or irritation at all whilst using this, in fact it feels lovely and soothing.

I also have dry skin which can result in dry and flaky patches at times - this cream does a great job at keeping my skin nourished, moisturised and hydrated 24/7 - just as the product claims!

I love the fact that this cream is free from parabens and any added chemical nasties. I fear I have put far too many synthetic chemicals on my skin in the past, so it's nice to be able to give it a break and revert to an all natural product to get my complexion back in shape and give it a "detox" of sorts. 

I've been so impressed by the Day + Night Cream that I'm now eager to try out the Body Oil and Family Remedy Cream as well!

The Day+Night cream costs just €23.95 - with FREE worldwide shipping!

You can buy Human+Kind skincare online here - http://www.humanandkind.com

List of stockists here: http://www.humanandkind.com/where-to-buy/

You can also pop over and say hello to them over on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/humanandkind

A little birdie tells me that there will be a fab competition running for the month of September to win a whole years worth of Human+Kind Skincare goodies! So keep your eyes peeled for that!