Fresh brand overview

I discovered Fresh around this time last year and in that time I’ve accumulated a quite a few products that I want to share with you!

Let me give you a quick overview of Fresh – They are a luxury skincare brand that combines natural ingredients with modern science to produce beautiful skincare that give you a sensory experience. So far I have tried their Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner, Sugar Face Polish, Rose Mask, Vitamin Nectar Mask and the Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream.

Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner – £34

My pic was shared on the Fresh insta in 2018!

I had never really used a toner regularly in my routine before and I was talked into buying this after a facial I had at Fresh. It contains real rose petals and hyaluronic acid which is supposed to boost hydration and minimise pores. I can’t say that I notice any difference in the size of my pores when I use this, but it isn’t something I particularly struggle with. It does definitely deliver on the hydration front – this toner is alcohol free (which can often dry out the skin) and is packed full of rose bi-products (rose water, rose oil) which soothes and hydrates the skin. It never leaves my skin feeling stripped like others had in the past but it is an extra that I feel I can be without. I’m currently working on ‘panning’ this. I find the price point a liiiiittle bit hard to swallow… Because I don’t notice a massive difference (not sure how anyone could see an enormous difference with toner really) and because the price seems steep to me, I wouldn’t repurchase this.

Lotus Youth Preserve Face Cream – £42

After a few facials at Fresh, I wanted to keep my skin feeling this good and purchased this moisturiser at the same time as the rose toner. Let me just say that I have dry skin and this is a very thin moisturiser that doesn’t offer much for those of us that are a little drier… This cream smells very strongly of cucumber, which I personally hate. I’ve tried their Soy Cleanser before and couldn’t fall for it because of the scent. It is a very lightweight, thin cream that I thought would be perfect for summer (I purchased it in July 2018). I took this on holiday with me but felt like it just wasn’t delivering on the moisture front. Despite the heat, I was finding dry patches cropping up around my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of until I used a heavier cream. Since then, this has sat in my collection unused. It is not a bad moisturiser, it is just too thin for my skin type. I really want to pan this one too because I won’t miss it once it’s gone.

Vitamin Nectar Face Mask – £21 – £52

This is easily the best smelling Fresh product that I own. The Vitamin Nectar line smells absolutely UNREAL! It is a really fresh (lol) and citrus/orange scent that is a total, TOTAL win for me. This is a very gloopy mask that is supposed to brighten your skin, though I’ve never seen any visible improvements in brightness or clarity. This feels quite a lot like you’re spreading marmalade across your face (though it smells way better). This dries down pretty quickly and the chunks (which are apparently crushed oranges, lemons and clementines) stay as chunks on your face and look very attractive. I tend to leave this one on for longer than the recommended 10 minutes and find that my skin is really soft afterwards. This mask is supposed to offer a nice little exfoliation as well, and for my skin I’d say it offers more exfoliation than brightening. While I definitely want more of this scent in my life, I wouldn’t be too fussed in repurchasing. I just don’t find that vitamin C/brightening products do anything for me? Maybe it’s because I have the skin of an angel already…?

Sugar Face Polish – £21 -£52

This is easily my favourite product I own from Fresh. I had never had a physical exfoliator before and I was a little weary of exfoliating my skin because I thought it would end up damaging my skin instead my causing micro tears. This is definitely not the case with this. Because it uses brown sugar and strawberry seeds as the exfoliants (which are tiny), it is really gentle on the skin. Brown sugar is softer than regular sugars and is actually a natural humectant so it absorbs moisture – making it okay on even the most sensitive of skin (though you still might want to have a little test before you put it all over your face). When you apply this and start to buff it in, you can actually feel the sugar dissolving away into your skin – it’s amazing! I usually like to apply a few blobs on my cheeks, forehead and chin before spending a minute or two buffing it in. It’s actually really relaxing to just take a little time to massage this in to the skin and take a little time for yourself. As soon as the sugar begins to dissolve, you can feel how smooth your skin is underneath and for me there is something really satisfying about feeling the dead cells be buffed away. I much prefer this form of exfoliation over chemical exfoliation. The only down side to this product is the price. I got a mini of this as a free gift when I bought the moisturiser and the toner, but the full size is £52 which is steep. I think I’m going to try and find some cheaper alternatives and if they don’t live up to my expectations then I’ll bite the bullet.

Rose Face Mask – £21 – £52

This rose mask quite forgettable. The scent of rose is very strong with this, which isn’t a positive for me as rose often can smell a little dated. I never reach for this mask and can’t remember the last time I used it. As it’s packed with rose petals and rose water, this mask is supposed to hydrate, restore radiance and soothe the skin. I don’t suffer from any inflammation these days, but I didn’t notice any visible difference in my skin in terms of calmness or radiance.

Overall, Fresh as a brand is awesome for a sensory experience if you’re okay with fragrance. If you are sensitive to fragrance, this probably isn’t the brand for you. Most products are pretty heavily scented, especially with cucumber which I personally find unbearable. In terms of the efficacy of products, they’re a bit hit and miss for me. That is not to say that these products won’t be amazing for you but I think I’ll just stick to my Sugar Face Polish for the meantime.

Xo

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Marc Jacobs Enamored Lip Gloss Sticks Review

What on earth is a lip gloss stick? Is it a lip gloss? Is it a lipstick? How do you get a gloss in a solid form? Well, these might be some of the most beautiful lip products I’ve ever tried…

I recently went into Marc Jacobs Beauty and saw the Enamored Lip Gloss Sticks. After initially confusing them for the lip gloss and nearly breaking the tube, I swatched them and literally had them on my mind for the rest of the night (my anniversary lol) before going back the following morning to pick two up. Here are my thoughts…

When I first swatched these I was super confused: a) because I thought these were the lip glosses because the packaging is the same b) I didn’t understand how a lip gloss could be in a stick form. Regardless (because I am a makeup magpie), I ended up buying Mocha Choca-Lata and Uh-Huh Honey. Mocha Choca-Lata is more of a sheer pinkish nude and is probably my perfect nude shade in lip gloss stick form. Uh-Huh Honey is more of a brownish nude and looks quite 90’s.

 

After using them, I can understand why they’re called a lip gloss stick because you get the sheen of a gloss but with more pigmentation and less stickiness. These are pretty comparable to sheer lipsticks or tinted lip balms. They’re very similar in formula to sheer lipsticks that I own but offer more hydration to the lips while keeping a good pigment.

Top – Mocha Choca-Lata, Bottom – Uh-Huh Honey

Formula

The formula is really lovely – it’s easy to forget you have anything at all on your lips! It just feels like I have my favourite lip balm on. As someone who has to have my lips slathered in lip balm all the time, I really like this product. The coverage is fairly sheer, but you can definitely see the colour and build up the coverage with a few more swipes. I don’t think this would last too well while eating, but then what lipstick really does? That’s not a deal breaker for me. There is an ever so subtle peppermint smell, but if you aren’t sniffing the stick you won’t notice it, and there is certainly no tingling sensation like you might get from other products containing peppermint.

Packaging

As mentioned, I confused these for the lip glosses because the packaging is nearly identical, if not the exact same. I think that maybe the packaging could have been a little less, as the coloured part of the tube only serves as the lid and it’s massive. It is a bit of a waste of packaging to have such a large, pointless part of the component that could be made smaller and sleeker. It would also help to differentiate the two gloss products from one another. On the other hand, the packaging is extremely beautiful and screams luxury. They are probably some of the most beautifully packaged products I own.

How to wear it

These are definitely best paired with a more natural look as the glosses look like a wash of colour over the lips if applier lightly. However, that being said I have worn these with a heavier makeup look and it still looked amazing. I even tried lining my lips first and applying these over and had compliments about the colour. It is a very versatile product – much more than I had originally thought!

I know that I will get a lot more wear out of Mocha Choca-Lata because it is my go-to colour in any lip product, so I’d have to push myself a little to wear Uh-Huh Honey. I will definitely be continuing to use these lip products. These cost £22 each, which is certainly on the higher end of lip products, but you don’t need to use a lot for glossy pigment! They really are an all round success!

Have you tried these? What are your thoughts on a ‘lip gloss stick’?

Xo

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Beauty Pie – Can you really get high end products for low end prices?

I saw the brand Beauty Pie about a year ago and have been dying to try their products out ever since. They offer something different – they offer high end, luxury skincare and makeup for a fraction of the price. However, this begs the question, can you really get high end quality for high street prices?

If you’re unfamiliar with the brand Beauty Pie, they are a brand that sell luxury makeup and skincare at factory prices. They source their products from around 20 of the world’s leading labs that make the best formulas for make up and skincare. They currently source from factories in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Korea, Japan and the US. Each product has 2 prices – the regular price and the members/factory price. The members price cuts out the cost of retailer mark ups, ‘mumbo jumbo’, middle men and other retailers (all stated by Beauty Pie on their site). They are extremely transparent about how they calculate the costs for their members prices, so if you’re interested just check out their FAQs. They currently only ship to the UK and the US, so keep an eye out!

You have to buy a membership to get access to the lower prices, which costs £10. That gives you an ‘allowance’ of £100. Each month, you are allotted this allowance, and it is based on the original price of the product. This is kind of annoying because it limits you to maybe 2-4 products (depending on what you buy). When you first purchase your membership, they give you an extra £50 to spend, which is actually brill. The products I had my eye on were around £200 (original price) so I upgraded my membership to allow for £150 a month. But as I already had purchased the basic membership, my allowance for this month was £300. In order to upgrade, you have to buy the basic membership first and THEN purchase the add-on (which, again, is a little annoying)

The products I bought were:

• Jeju Overnight Moisture Superinfusion – £7.76
• Japanfusion™ Hydra Prep Lotion (Step 1) – £5.82
• Japanfusion™ Deep-treatment Serum (Step 2) – £7.88
• Japanfusion™ Supreme Cream (Step 3) – £10.08
• Wondergloss Lip Oil – £3.80

The prices above are written as the members/factory price, NOT as the regular price. Below I will include the regular price in brackets.

Jeju Overnight Moisture Superinfusion – (£70) £7.76

This is formulated with volcanic basaltic microsand to detoxify and balance oils; tomato plant stem cells for antioxidant protection; F-cell vita to hydrate skin and flower stem cell extract to help protect the skin barrier and reduce inflammation. This product was made in Korea. This is a lovely, thick moisturiser. It is a little like a balm in that you have to apply some pressure in order to scoop the product out. It is quite a thick moisturiser, but does not sit on top of the skin for a long time. I think this one actually sinks in quicker than the Japanfusion Supreme Cream. I usually apply this as the final step in my skincare routine at night as it’s the most dense product I use. This definitely feels like a luxury product to me – the packaging is really minimalist and the texture is one that you simply cannot find usually at a lower price (get ready for me to say this a lot).

Japanfusion™ Hydra Prep Lotion (Step 1) – (£25) £5.82

All of the Japanfusion products I purchased are made in Japan. I decided to get all of the moisturising/hydrating products in the Japanfusion range. There was a cleanser too, but I’m drowning in cleansers at the moment so I gave that one a miss. This product is formulated with a Nmfission moisture-lock complex to deliver moisture and firmness while re-energising the complexion and reducing lines; Jabara Extract which is an antioxidant ingredient from the Japanese Citrus fruit to reduce the appearance of pigmentation and fight free radicals and Delamyth DNA+ which soothes the skin and counteracts UV-related damage. This Hydra Prep Lotion is a little bit like a toner in that you apply it with a cotton wool pad after cleansing . This has a very light smell that’s really nice and feels lovely after cleansing. It doesn’t leave your skin feel tight at all. This lotion instantly firms, lifts, tones and moisturises; reduces the appearance of pigmented spots and contains ingredients soothe the skin and counteract free radical damage. I already use a few products to reduce pigmentation so it’s difficult to attribute any reduction solely to this. I do enjoy using it – but this is probably the most ‘normal’ product of the 5 that I bought. It is essentially a hydrating water that, while it is nice to use, does not ooze luxury to me. However, you are unlikely to find a product that performs to a similar degree for the price.

Japanfusion™ Deep-treatment Serum (Step 2) – (£75) £7.88

This serum is so lovely to use. It is a little bit runnier than my Kiehl’s Hydro-Plumping one but a little bit goes a really long way. It feels lovely and light on the skin, and sinks in super fast. It leaves my face feeling beautifully silky and smooth! All of the products in the Japanfusion range contain the same key ingredients (Nmfission moisture-lock complex; Jabara Extract and Delamyth DNA+) so they all offer the same benefits. I would say that this performs very similarly to my Kiehl’s one (which cost £41). The original price of this compared to the member price is absolutely crazy(!) – BUT I can completely understand why it would cost this much money. Would I have bought this product if it were £75? Absolutely not. But at the Beauty Pie price? 100%. They are making beauty more accessible to the average person who wants to enjoy great makeup and skincare without paying the hefty price. It demonstrates that this level of quality can be achieved with a small price tag… but also makes you question whether you are paying for the ingredients/product or just the name plastered on to the side of the packaging.

Japanfusion™ Supreme Cream (Step 3) –  (£100) £10.08

This cream is very light and goopy (in a good way). My first impression before using it was that it would be very thin, sink in very quickly but not leave my skin feeling quenched. This could not have been further from the reality! While it is a thinner, more gel like moisturiser, it applies really nicely on the face and you don’t need much at all. It’s thinner than the Jeju moisturiser, and when you scoop it up on your finger, it is quite goopy but doesn’t drip or run all over the place. It takes quite a while to fully sink into the skin and leaves you feeling really moisturised for hours after. This is probably my favourite product I’ve tried out of all of them. It is unlike any moisturiser that I have tried before and it is an absolute pleasure to apply. It really combines skincare with self care, as I really feel like I’m doing something good for myself when I use this.

Wondergloss Lip Oil – (£22) £3.80

I have never used a lip oil before but this is really lovely to use. It has a very slight colour to it and is a very natural coverage. It’s almost like a very thin gloss that gives a really nice glaze on the lip and isn’t sticky at all. It is great on top of lipstick as it doesn’t taint the colour at all. On days where I wear less make up, this would be great to just add a hint of colour and shine to the lips. Honestly, I had hoped for a little more colour, probably as I was expecting something a little bit more like a typical lip gloss. However I wasn’t disappointed with how this product performed. If I had paid the regular price for it of £22 then I would have been really unimpressed. But for £3.80, I have no complaints!

 

Texture of Jeju and Japanfusion moisturisers

 

 

I am very lucky in that my skin is now very stable, clear and well moisturised, so when I use new products I don’t often notice any negative effects. If I notice anything, it’s that my skin is even softer than usual. These products certainly suit my skin type, which is normal to dry, but I’m unsure how much use someone with oilier skin would get out of them. That being said, these products make me feel excited to use them. They’re so easy to integrate into your skincare routine as they definitely play well with others. I’ve had no pilling or negative results from using these in combination with my other serums and night time oils. You really get a sense that these are luxury products – not because we are told the so-called ‘regular’ price (which we are unable to confirm), but because they have a formula that exceeds all expectation. I’ve heard rumours that you can work out which luxury brands these have come from by Googling the ingredients used, but after trying it I can’t say that I’ve found the high end originals. Honestly, I’m perfectly happy not knowing. I’ve found some great products that I would recommend and a website that I think can be trusted to deliver real quality goods.

Let’s talk a little about the £££. When I was buying these products, it told me that I had saved £225 by becoming a member and purchasing them at the lower, factory price, which is absolutely RIDICULOUS. Honestly, I was a little suspicious when I first signed up for the membership as the constraints around how much you can spend a month seemed a bit odd to me (it’s obvious that they do it so you keep coming back, if you could get it all at once, they would potentially would only have one time customers). However, after speaking to their really helpful customer service team, I’m much more at ease. Their cancellation page on the website is a little confusing to get info from, but you are able to cancel your membership after 3 months without any charges. This is probably what I’ll end up doing, as I don’t have enough disposable income to be paying subscription to a service that I can’t afford to buy from every month.

In answer to my initial question of can you really get high end quality for high street prices – the answer is a definite YES!

Have you tried out Beauty Pie? What would you want to try out? Let me know!

Xo

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