SkinOwl Neck+ Super Smoothing & Contouring Neck Concentrate - Does It Work?

Its not very often you come across a product which really surprises you and surpasses all your expectations and this one seems to have done just that! I have to admit something here, I have always concentrated my skincare purchases mainly focusing on my face never really giving enough attention to my neck. Usually I'll just slather on the same serums and moisturisers on my neck which I use on my face, I figured if they are good enough for my face they ought to be good enough for my neck too..right? I was so wrong. Even though I used all these serums and moisturisers on my neck I never really saw any visible difference apart from the hydration factor.

After my trip to India in the Feb this year my skin around my neck was looking even more dull and I saw more pigmentation. Now I don't really have too many visible wrinkles but definitely I started seeing more rough skin and fine lines appear. While searching for a product for my neck concerns I remembered Nicki Evans from @nici_evans on Instagram had mentioned about SkinOwl Neck+ gel and how much she really enjoyed it. To be honest just by looking at the ingredient list I really wasn't impressed as they were quite simple ingredients which were present in many other products which I had used earlier and I wasn't even sure if this would really help with any of my concerns but the reviews were pretty good and the size was quite decent so I decided to take the plunge and am so happy that I did!

Before I share my thoughts let's take a look at the description and ingredient list.

SkinOwl Neck+ - A symphony of healing herbs, restorative plant and flower compounds, and Ocean Mineral Complex in a super concentrated, bio-available delivery system. Our first ever super-smoothing & contouring neck concentrate made with superstar age-defying ingredients to create a smooth, youthful, and contoured neck and décolleté. Skin looks smooth, supple, and quenched, with dark spots & crease marks visibly reduced. Tight, toned, and radiant skin will be the evidence of this product's efficacy.

Ingredients - Aqua (Deionized Water), Hamamelis Virginiana Water (Witch Hazel), Dimethyl Sulfone (MSM), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Organic Aloe), Sea Water Extract (Ocean Mineral Concentrate), Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Organic Jojoba Oil), Achillea Millefolium Extract (Yarrow), Chondrus Crispus Extract (Irish Moss), Curcuma Longa Rhizome Extract (Organic Turmeric), Spirulina Maxima Extract, Hydroxyethyl Ethylcellulose, Carrageenan, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Ethylhexylglycerin

My Thoughts -

So I bought this in the first week of April this year and ever since I have been using it pretty much everyday in the night time. SkinOwl Neck+ is designed to be used on Face, Neck and Décolleté but honestly I not used it on my face yet although I am tempted to give it a try! May be I will and also update this review accordingly. Neck+ comes in a glass bottle with a pump which I love! I find one pump to be more than enough for entire neck and décolleté area. The texture is similar to aloe vera gel and spreads easily onto the skin. Its light yet hydrating enough. It does not leave any kind of residue behind infact it does have a slight cooling sensation onto the skin. Now for the million dollar question..does it work? Yes it does! First couple of weeks I didn't really notice a big difference but one day during our weekly skype chats with my in laws my mil pointed out suddenly that I seem to have lost weight and she specifically pointed out to my neck saying that it looked a lot less chubby..lol! I was really surprised! Who doesn't like to hear those golden words right? Even though at 2-3 weeks the difference wasn't huge but still there was a difference! My skin on the neck and chest looked more toned and definitely the pigmentation around the lower creases of the neck looked lighter! I was ecstatic! 

With continued usage of Neck+ once daily in the night time the texture of my skin has improved a lot. It looks a lot firmer, toned up in texture and pigmentation has reduced a lot. Fine lines have visibly reduced and the skin just looks and feels more contoured! In fact I used to have double chin, I still do to some extent but the skin right below my chin has also firmed up a lot, of course I also have been exercising and have lost over 15+ pounds in last 6 months but sometimes weight loss can make your skin loose its elasticity but since I was using Neck+ regularly I didn't feel any of those negative side effects. Another really important aspect is that the results seem to last for a long time, for eg many a times once you stop using a product your skin might return to its previous state but with Neck+ I have found the results to be almost permanent. I have been using Neck+ since April now and I have used only half of my bottle so one bottle with one pump usage daily will still last you a very long time. I find the price pretty reasonable for the quality and quantity of the product I am getting. SkinOwl Neck+ retails for 68$ for 118ml or 4oz and that is a lot of product. You can get your hands on Neck+ from Pharmaca, CultBeauty, etc (Affiliate Links). I picked up mine from Pharmaca during one of their 20% off sale....such a steal! I do believe Pharmaca is having a 25% off sale with code "HELLOFALL" at the time I am publishing this post so if you are interested this would be the best time to try this beauty out! Also both Pharmaca and CultBeauty ship internationally!

Even though the ingredients seem not so extensive but the synergy in which they work together really makes a huge difference and SkinOwl Neck+ proves that! If you are in your twenties I don't really think you need this but if you are in your thirties with concerns similar to mine I would highly recommend to check this out! Its definitely worth a shot. I hope the review was helpful, if you have any questions please leave them down below and Ill make sure to get back to you asap.

Until next time take care and stay beautiful

Parita.

*I bought this product myself and all views expressed in this review are my own.

You Skincare Essential Hydration Serum Review & Why You NEED IT In Your Life!

Before I go gaga over this amazing You Skincare Essential Hydration Serum...let me first give you a little background story. In the first week of Aug this year my skin went completely bonkers! I got a severe reaction to a custom serum which was made specifically for my skin, I believe it was due to a very high concentration of essential oils. Initially I was really surprised as my skin is not really sensitive and does handle essential oils pretty well but I think since the concentration in the sample was a bit too much, it was very harsh on my skin. My skin barrier got pretty much destroyed, there were tiny little bumps all over my face especially on forehead, cheeks, chin, jawline and on smile lines! I never get such tiny bumps ever! They were not your regular pimples/acne but just small tiny under the skin bumps. My forehead especially is a bit sensitive and gets easily irritated than rest of my face. Of course I immediately stopped using that serum and one would think that after few days or even weeks the skin would get back to normal..right? Wrong! Once the skin barrier is compromised it takes a hell lot of time for the inflammation to go down and for the skin to repair itself. Nothing was working for my skin! Even the most tried and tested products were not showing any results and I truly was getting frustrated and anxious! 

Fast forward to last week of Aug, it was over three weeks my skin was still inflamed and irritated. I suddenly remembered Amy who is the genius formulator and mastermind behind You Skincare, she had sent me her new products to try out and it included Essential Hydration Serum. I decided to give it a try and it worked like magic! Before I jump ahead lets first take a look at the ingredient list of this serum.

You Skincare Essential Hydration Serum

Description:- Hydration is essential for optimal skin health. Our Essential Hydration Serum is an intense, hydrating treatment that soothes dehydrated skin. It combines hyaluronic acid, provitamin B5, peptides, and many extracts such as mushroom, prickly pear, Amla, and cucumber to help replenish your skin with the lost nutrients it needs to become and stay healthy. Hyaluronic acid and sodium lactate are the top two moisturizing ingredients which are included in our advanced formula. They will bind moisture to the skin to give you long-lasting hydration all day. Essential Hydration Serum can be used alone or combined with other serums or moisturizers. YOU Skincare’s Essential Hydration Serum doesn’t contain any fragrances or essential oils.

Best Suited For:- All skin types, especially acneic, dehydrated, and barrier-compromised skin. Also helps skin suffering from the overuse of acids and tretinoin. --- (Looks like it was custom made for my skin condition!!!)

Ingredients:- Aqua/Water, Aloe Barbadensis Juice, Lactobacillus/Ganoderma Lucidum (Reishi Mushroom) Extract /Lentinus Edodes (Shitake Mushroom) Extract Ferment Filtrate, DimethylSulfone (DMSO), Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Panthenol, Opuntia Tuna (Prickly Pear) Flower/Stem Extract, Phyllanthus Emblica (Alma) Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Levulinate, Glycerin, Sodium Lactate, Allantoin, Sodium Anisate, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Butylene Glycol.

My Thoughts:-

This serum truly saved my skin! Like any serum it takes few weeks to show results, nothing really works overnight unless you are going for a surgical procedure! The serum as you can tell comes in a standard glass bottle with a pump and a cap. The texture of the serum probably surprised me the most as its extremely liquidy! Usually other hydrating serum that I have used in the past had a bit thick gel type texture but the Essential Hydration Serum is exactly opposite! But in all honesty this is the BEST hydrating/soothing/calming serum I have ever used! Period! No Doubt! 

This serum is so much more than just a hydrating serum! It not only hydrates but soothes and calms down inflammation like nothing other. My skin even though was compromised it wasn't dry probably because I live in FL where most of the year the temperature are in the 90s! I use this right after my treatment/acid toner stage and before my moisturizer. Since my skin was so much inflamed I chose not to incorporate any other actives apart from my Epionce Lytic Plus Tx lotion which I would use once daily. Within a week my skin started to heal, the bumps were going down and the texture was becoming normal. My old acne scars which had resurfaced due to the extreme inflammation and dehydration started to soften again. Unfortunately we were hit by a major hurricane Irma last week back and we had to evacuate our home! We temporarily moved to Atlanta and I only took this serum, Skinceuticals Triple Lipid Restore moisturizer and Epionce Lytic Plus Gel cleanser along with a couple of other mists. Yup that's it!

The weather in Atlanta was extremely dry and once we reached there my skin started to dry out and peel especially on the forehead and around the smile lines. Again this serum helped so much with dryness, redness and peeling, I would literally apple this serum 2- 3 times in a day and by the time we returned home after a week my skin was back to its original state to about 90%. I still have couple of tiny bumps on my forehead but thats it! My cheeks, chin, jawline etc areas are completely clear of those pesky little bumps! I did use a heavy moisturizer like the Triple lipid restore during the night time when in Atlanta to elevate the repairing of my skin's natural barrier.

This serum is so much more than your basic hydrating serum! The name really doesn't do justice to this fantastic formulation. If you have any kind of inflammation going on say due to over exfoliation, bad reaction to a product, rosacea, acne, redness, broken skin barrier, dry skin, dehydrated skin..anything at all this serum is a must try! Majority of the "hydrating serums" on the market mainly contain some form of hyaluronic acid but if you look at the ingredient list for this serum, its far superior to any other hydrating serums on the market! Not only does it contain hyaluronic acid but it also contains peptides, mushroom extract which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties and also contains Vit D and antioxidants. The serum also has Panthenol which soothes irritated skin along with Cucumber extract, Amla extract , Prickly Pear extracts, glycerin and a bunch of other beneficial ingredients. 

I have used this serum so much you can see how beat up the label has become! This has become my HG serum for when my skin is acting up and just need that beneficial blanket of ingredients to keep it healthy and supple! I have always been a huge fan of Amy's formulations but truly with this serum she has knocked it out of the park! I haven't tried the hydrating serums from Skinceuticals, IsClinical etc but by just looking at the formulation and ingredient list the You Skincare Essential Hydration Serum is the best bet especially for the price! It retails for 56$ for 30ml and you can find it online at YouSkincare.us. I suggest to sign up for her newsletter as you can get 10% off on your first order and she also does sales now and then for the subscribers so you don't want to miss that!

I hope this review was helpful, if you have any questions please leave them down below in the description box and Ill be more than happy to answer them for you.

Until next time take care and stay beautiful!

Parita.

Leanne Grace Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum Review And A Possible Dupe For Sunday Riley!

If you have been following me on Instagram you'd probably seen this product mentioned a lot of times. Its no secret that I adore face oils! My skin loves them too and one of the first face oil I ever tried apart from the Clarin's Lotus Face Oil was this Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum by Leanne Grace! I picked up mine first time way back in Sept 2015! At that time it was being sold under the brand name The Blissful Body over on Etsy! Back in the day I remember this line being mentioned on Jaclyn Hill's YouTube channel and I thought let me check out! I didn't buy this because of JH, those who know me, know that I never buy anything because of YouTube influencers, obviously they do have an impact but I prefer to do thorough research before investing especially when it comes to skincare! But once I looked at the ingredient list I was sold! The ingredient list reminded me a lot of the Sunday Riley Juno oil but with 1/3 of the price! Now to be fair its not an exact dupe of the SR nor do I believe that was the intention behind creating this oil but overall the ingredient list is very impressive and loaded with healthy omega oils!

Lets talk little bit about the brand Leanne Grace! The mastermind behind this line is gorgeous Cassie Platt, she does have background in massage therapy and hence knows her oils! The brand was initially called The Blissful Body on Etsy but recently she changed the brand name to Leanne Grace after her two beautiful girls! How amazing is that? To read more about her and her line check this link out. Apart from this face oil she also has some of the most amazing body butters I have ever tried as well as a face/body scrub! Reviews of the body products will soon follow! She just came out with new skincare products called Boosters which are suppose to be used in conjunction with the Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum. The boosters come in three categories Brightening, Hydrating and Anti-Aging! I personally have not tried any of them but definitely am excited to give try the brightening one as it contains oil soluble Vit C!

Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum

• Ingredients: Sunflower seed oil*, Rice bran oil*, Macadamia nut oil*, Jojoba oil*, Camellia oil*, Red raspberry seed oil*, Pomegranate seed oil*, Argan oil*, Carrot seed oil*, Maracuja oil*, Cranberry seed oil*, Sea buckthorn oil*, Blackberry seed oil*, Rosehip oil*, Lavender essential oil, Rosemary extract, Vitamin E

• *Organic ingredients

Lets talk about what exactly does this oil do? I mainly use oils/balms to nourish, moisturise and balance my skin. The texture of this oil is very light weight and absorbs immediately into the skin. With all oils you only need 2-3 drops for your entire face and this holds true for this oil as well. It does smell lightly like lavender as Cassie does mention on her website that since she uses organic cold pressed oils, some of them do have odour and to offset that she uses therapeutic grade lavender essential oil. The fragrance is not strong at all and does not linger behind either so if you have sensitive nose you need not worry.

What I love about the formulation is the inclusion of antioxidant rich oils and absence of essential oils apart from Lavender! A lot of oils on the market contain bunch of essential oils, now I personally don't have much issues with formulations that contain the right amount of EO's but often the EO's used are pretty strong and that can really irritate the skin! Hence I recommend this oil for sensitive skin types. I also love the inclusion of Linoleic Acid rich oils, if you didn't know oily/acne prone skin usually have higher % of oleic acid in their natural sebum and lower % of linoleic acid, hence using oils with higher % of Linoleic Acid will balance the skin's sebum production therefore balancing out the skin. If you are interested to learn more about why Linoleic Acid is so important, Lab Muffin has a detailed post on the same, read here. Similarly if you have extremely dry and mature skin you would want to use blend of oils which are rich in oleic acid.

I typically will use oils/balms mostly during the night time as I want that extra nourishment since I tend to use retinols and other AHA/BHA based products mostly during the night time. There are exceptions to this rule but more on that later! The morning after I use this oil I find my skin well balanced! I often suffer from dry dehydrated skin around my jawline and nose area whereas normal-oily (depending upon the season) on the rest of my face and this oil helps with balancing out the excess sebum production and also help with dry patches. However I highly recommend using a good moisturising hyaluronic acid based serum underneath for dehydrated skin issues! The face looks well rested, moisturised and plump. It looks like its been on a healthy diet! With prolong use the skin feels and looks better, if you have texture due to clogged pores it will help with that as well, although I highly recommend using a BHA based product to tackle the clogged pores issue but this oil will also help by balancing out your skin. 

I know a lot of people tend to think oils will aggravate acne situation but I myself am prone to congestion and hormonal acne and this oil has never caused any irritation to my skin nor has it aggravated the acne any further. In fact since it does not contain any essential oils and the blend is rich in antioxidants and linoleic acid based oils, it will help to balance the excess oil production and therefore reduction in acne and/or clogged pores. Also since it has a lot of antioxidants rich oils it will help protecting from damage caused by the free radicals but to get proper protection its important we always wear sunscreen!

The best part Cassie offers a travel size of this Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum 1/2oz for 20$. If you are interested in trying this oil I highly recommend to invest in the trial size first and 1/2oz is a good size and will last easily for 3-4 weeks even with regular night time use! Plus its at a great price point as well! Taking about great price point the full size of this Miracle Beauty Oil & Serum retails for 52$ for 50ml! Yes! Its not the usual 30ml or 1oz but you are getting almost the double size of any standard oil/serum in the market! How's that for the price vs quantity value? 

I hope this review was helpful, if you have any questions please do feel free to leave them in the comments section below and I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Until then take care and stay beautiful!

Parita.

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @beautybyparita