Pai Echium Eye Cream

Eye creams to me are not the most exciting element of my skincare ritual, but it's one step I would not skip. Since turning 30 last year, I find I need a little bit more hydration from my skincare, and my current eye cream of choice is Pai's Echium Eye Cream.

This is a lovely light cream texture, that absorbs well without greasiness and gives an immediate hydrating feel to the skin. I find this very handy post makeup removal and/or cleansing as my eye area can get a bit dry and this cream sorts this right out, no doubt due to the gentle yet effective ingredients such as Echium Seed Extract which is rich in Omegas 3 & 6 that attribute to the nourishing and soothing effect. Fine lines are also given a helping hand with Gamma Linolenic Acid and Steridonic Acid.

I tend to stick to the same eye cream for both morning and evening and this works well during the day under my makeup, and is nourishing and replenishing for night use.

I think Pai do creams really well - I am a sucker for lush textures and after their Chamomile & Rosehip Calming Day Cream, the Echium Eye Cream is my next favourite Pai product, it is a lovely all-rounder.

Ingredients: aqua, argania spinosa kernel oil* (argan oil), prunus armeniaca kernel oil* (apricot kernel oil), carthamus tinctorius seed oil* (thistle oil), cetearyl alcohol (coconut derived emulsifier), glycerin* (vegetable glycerine), butyrospermum parkii butter* (shea butter), echium plantagineum seed oil (echium extract), rosa canina seed extract* (rosehip seed oil), cetearyl glucoside (corn-derived emulsifier), pelargonium graveolens oil* (geranium oil), citrus sinensis peel oil* (orange oil), jasminum officinale flower extract* (jasmine oil), helianthus annuus seed oil* (sunflower oil ), mixed tocopherols (natural vitamin e), sodium levulinate (corn extract), sodium anisate (basil extract), sodium lauroyl lactylate (from coconut oil), glyceryl stearate citrate (from sustainable palm oil), lactic acid (from sugar beet)

Naturally occurring in essential oils: citronellol*, d-limonene*, geraniol*, linalool*

*Certified Organic by the Soil Association (Organically produced 74% of product).

Just a note that I have the previous packaging as the new one has 15ml instead of 10ml.

www.paiskincare.com

Pai Lotus & Orange Blossom BioAffinity Toner

I've slowly been working my way through the Pai range and finally got round to using their toner mists. Pai have two types - the Rice Plant & Rosemary (for combination/sensitive) and the Lotus & Orange Blossom (for dry/sensitive).

My favourite of the two is the Lotus & Orange Blossom, as for me the Rice Plant & Rosemary, while lovely, I couldn't tell if it had done anything and it doesn't smell as beautiful as the LOB.

I do have acne-prone skin that is a bit combination and a bit dehydrated, but I often tend to ignore labels that say it's for such and such skintype, and go more with the texture and feel on the skin. So with this one I was sold on the orange blossom scent!

Even though this is pricey at £30 for 50ml, I find that it is quite a hydrating formula and makes the skin feel calm, nourished and soft so even if I don't slap on a moisturiser immediately afterwards - (like on a weekend if I'm home all day) my skin still feels comfortable. Also I don't know if it's my imagination, but it seems to give a tiny hydrated radiance/glow to the skin (which may be from the orange blossom as it's supposed to stimulate circulation and give a brightening effect).

Oh and another thing - the mist action is beautifully fine and even - no horrible squirt as I hate it when brands plonk a lovely product into horrible packaging!

Ingredients:

nelumbo nucifera (lotus) root water**, aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange blossom) flower water*, glycerin*, populous tremuloides bark extract, leuconostoc root extract

Recent Skincare Empties

Currently I've been more focused at getting my skin in order so while I've not completely done a no-buy on makeup, I've have cut down considerably. I think I'm getting through quite a few bits of skincare so here are some of my recent empties:

No7 Beautiful Skin Eye Make-Up Remover
This is something I usually only get with the Boots £5 off vouchers, but I don't know if it's just me but this doesn't seem as good as I once remembered. Sure, it removes makeup well enough (an oil is still my preferred choice), but I find the bi-phase formula separates a bit too quickly, especially as you get halfway through the bottle and you get left with uneven amounts. I do prefer the newly revamped packaging as it's no longer a pump and just a screw-lid so if you need to dip in cotton-buds it's easier than before.

Pai Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser
This is a lovely thick and creamy cleanser that is dense enough to massage over the skin for a few minutes before washing away with a flannel/cloth. If feels very gentle on the skin and leaves it soft, clean and comfortable. It has a pleasant light floral scent that is lovely to wake-up to in the morning. 
I do have acne-prone skin so I usually look for a little more in helping to control this issue so while this is a very good cleanser, I don't think I would repurchase.

Pai Geranium & Thistle Combination Skin Cream
I don't think I've ever used a moisturiser up as quickly as this one as it's been so lovely to use. It has a wonderful creamy, nourishing feel to it yet it is not in any way heavy or greasy and leaves the skin feeling naturally matte and surprisingly helps to control oil and I don't find myself getting as shiny. Some moisturisers for combination skin feel very light or have more gel type textures where as this feels like a proper cream which I prefer. This is definitely up there as one of my favourites.

Ren Max Moisture Concentrate
I was recommended this ages ago while having a facial to help address dehydration so when I had a discount code from Beauty Expert, I thought I'd give it a whirl. The texture of this is a light lotion/serum feel that sinks into the skin quickly without any residue or tackiness and then I use my regular moisturiser on top. While it seems to suit my skin fine, I was rather underwhelmed as I haven't noticed a great deal from using this. I am a fan of Ren and I absolutely adore many of their other products but sadly this is not one of them.

Naturally, I have got a few new skincare items to use (the current Boots 3 for 2 coming in very handy:) so will report on those in due course.

Pai Skincare Offer - Free toner with cleanser purchase

Just thought I'd pop this quick post up as I received a Pai Skincare newsletter today to inform of a fabulous offer on their website running for 5 days (or while stocks last) on their cleanser.

With a purchase of the Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser you get a free BioAffinity Tonic worth £30 (the cleanser is £25, so a great bargain!)

I haven't yet tried their tonics, so I hastily put in an order and picked the Rice Plant & Rosemary one, I've heard good things about this, so looking forward to trying it out.


I am in no way affiliated with Pai, I just like their stuff.

Pai Organic Facial at Content Beauty Review

The Pai Organic facials recently launched at Content Beauty and a couple of weeks ago I booked in for the Detox and Decongest facial which is ideal for hyper-sensitivity, eczema, psoriasis, congested or acne skin.  I have liked the Pai products I have tried so far so was looking forward to seeing how I got on with this facial.

I have had a treatment at Content before and like their cosy, warm rooms with ambient lighting so in terms of environment, I felt relaxed. Also they do play some music but it's faint so blends into the background and is not trying too hard to make you feel relaxed which I appreciate.

Onto the facial and it starts off with a thorough cleanse, then followed by exfoliation. Pai haven't yet released an exfoliator (as far as I'm aware) so I was excited to get a taste of these new products used in the treatment, I'm hoping they will become available to purchase.

The skin was then massaged with what I think was with the Rosehip BioRegenerate Oil. Then a manuka honey mask was applied which was interesting as the natural sticky quality of the mask allowed the skin to be stimulated when the hands are pressed over the face in quite swift movements - this is supposed to help stimulate the collagen in the skin and also I think the natural suction helps to draw out impurities as well as the manuka honey being antibacterial. This is something I am definitely trying out at home!

There are extractions which I found ok and not too uncomfortable although I only had a few so that part didn't last very long. Now after this even though I didn't fall alseep, I kind of zoned out and paid a little less attention to the different steps but just let the lovely therapist do her thing. Another mask was applied and while that was left on the skin, my hands were massaged as well as the shoulders and neck area.

The treatment is finished off with the Echium Rejuvenating Eye Cream, and for my combination skin, the Geranium and Thistle moisturiser.

Afterwards my skin felt very clean, soft and well hydrated but it wasn't until the next day that I noticed that I did have more clarity in my face, my skin looked a little more even and felt really deeply cleansed and decongested - no cloggy feeling pores and it felt that way for several days after.

I've had very few truly natural facial treatments, sometimes not believing them to be as effective as their chemical counterparts (which is odd for me as I adore natural skincare), but the Pai Organic facial I rate highly and I would definitely go back.

The Pai facials are £35 for 30mins / £65 for 60mins at Content Beauty, London but I took advantage of an October offer on the Content website to save £20 (off the 60mins facial) when you quote 'Pai offer' at booking.