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Thank you to A'kin and Beauty Heaven for the opportunity to trial the A'kin age defy line smoothing day cream with vitamin C. This day moisturiser comes in a glass jar which is not my preference for packaging. I use a small spatula from a previous product to scoop product out and ensure I am not getting it under my nails, this also gives me control over the amount i take out. The scent is that of baby powder. A light comforting scent. The consistency is very thick, interestingly thicker than the night cream. However, it spreads easily and absorbs very fast leaving my skin feeling nourished and hydrated. I didn't use any serums for the duration of this trial and found that it was sufficient for my skin during the day. I didn't need any top ups once absorbed. I was impressed with how well this moisturiser performed under all my foundations with no separation. I never noticed any piling which can occur for me with some products or if I have applied too much. I did notice that my lines became somewhat smoother, Especially nasal labial lines. I also noticed my skin seemed somewhat brighter. My age spots were not reduced as such but there was an element of skin appearing brighter/ smoother without blotchiness. I was using less foundation than normal. Overall the A'kin age defy day cream feels like a good old fashioned cream but with added benefits of clearer looking skin. A'kin is Australian made, natural and cruelty free which are added bonuses for me.

Thank you A'Kin and Beauty Heaven for the opportunity to trial the Firming night cream with Hyaluronic acid. This night cream comes housed in a glass jar which is not my preferred packaging. Luckily I have a little spatula from a previous moisturiser. Otherwise it's difficult to take out enough product without overdoing it and not getting any under my nails. I'm not overly concerned on the hygiene aspect as my hands are always clean when using moisturisers anyway. The A'kin age defy night moisturiser smells like baby powder. It is a soft scent that is also somewhat comforting. The consistency is reasonably thick but spreads easily. I found that my skin absorbed this product well and I didn't use any other serum for the duration of the trial, just to see if it would be sufficient hydration. For the most part it was sufficient but some nights I found myself going back to apply a little more on my cheeks. I can't say I noticed any firming effects from this night cream, however my skin felt good and on waking my face felt smooth and hydrated. Overall this is a decent night cream for the price point. Perhaps a bit more hydration wouldn't go astray, however this would be resolved with a serum which I generally would use anyway. A'kin is Australian made, natural and cruelty free, all these are big bonuses for me as well.

Thank you to A'kin and Beauty Heaven for this opportunity. The Age defy lifting eye cream with Hyaluronic Acid comes in a small tube with a thin nozzle making it easy to dispense a small amount of product at a time. I applied the eye cream to my under eye area and the brow line. The actual product is a creamy texture and feels like a lotion cross cream consistency. I don't detect any scent with this eye cream. I tend to be sensitive around the eye area and most eye products or moisturisers result in watery eyes which sting and I end up rubbing them. Obviously not good for the delicate eye area. I didn't experience any of this with the A'kin lifting eye cream. Within a week of using the eye cream i noticed my under eye area was more hydrated and plumped resulting in less settling of foundation. I also noticed that my eyelids seemed a little less crepe like. I didn't notice any lifting in the eye area but more of a plumping effect. Overall, this eye cream is a nice product. It's not a miracle in a tube but it did feel nice and smoothed the eye area out without irritation. I found i wasn't rubbing my eyes like normal. I particularly like that A'Kin is Australian made, natural and cruelty free.

Thank you Beauty heaven and Lancome for the opportunity to trial the Teint Idole Ultra Wear foundation. This foundation comes in a luxurious glass bottle with a pump which makes for easy dispensing. Impressively the pump works very well and dispenses consistent amounts, easily dispensing half pumps. The scent is quite strong but does't linger once applied. Impressively the SPF did not have an adverse reaction on my skin. I still used a separate sunscreen under the foundation considering we are in Summer in Australia. I have applied this foundation using a beauty blender which give a light, my skin but better coverage. Using a wet beauty blender also seems to turn this foundation into a more luminous but not really dewy finish rather than a matte finish. Using a brush gives a smooth matte finish and also makes it easier to build to a medium finish but This is no flat matte finish.. I loved that it gave dimensions to my face that I don't normally achieve with a matte finish. Applying with fingers which i don't normally do but did for experimental purposes seemed to not work as great. Within two hours of wear I found this application method ended up with the foundation somewhat setting into my pores and creases. I didn't need to wear setting powder with Teinte Idol Ultra wear. I also didn't need to wear under eye concealer and interestingly unlike so many other products it didn't settle into the creases / wrinkles under my eyes! So much better to have less products under the eyes. I loved the way this foundation wore off as well. After several 12 hour days by the end of the day there were no patches just an even wearing off, but still some coverage. Performed very well on hot/ muggy days without sliding off. Sets fast and very well. I have taken off one star due to not being able to achieve a full coverage. Infact i was able to only get barely a medium coverage. However, I did appreciate that even after using two full pumps my skin didn't feel dry, suffocated or cracked as tends to happen with long wear foundations. I would recommend Lancome Teint Idol Ultra wear to anyone looking for coverage to last the distance.

Thank you Beauty Heaven and La Roche-Posay for the opportunity to trial the Anthelios XL Ultra light SPF 50+ sunscreen My face in general does not tolerate chemical sunscreens, they not only break me out but make me want to scratch my face off So I was quite surprised that this didn't happen with Anthelios XL Ultra light even though it is a chemical sunscreen Once my moisturiser absorbed well I applied Anthelios and gave that another 5 minutes to absorb. I felt that no primer was required for most foundations after this process.
Anthelios does smell of alcohol or something like that to me, however, this does fade fast.
I love the very runny consistency as it is so much easier to apply and spread evenly. The small bottle is easy to shake and hold. I have not had a lot of extremely hot days to trial this sunscreen or had a chance to trial in the middle of the day outdoors, however I have not had any burns.
There was one day where I travelled to Brisbane and it was 35degrees and I was outdoors and in the car for the hottest part of the day. No burns!! Even though I applied Anthelios at 4am. So to me this was excellent! I was somewhat disappointed that after using Anthelios several days consecutively, I ended up with a few break outs. However, these did not last unlike other chemical sunscreens in the past Overall, Anthelios XL Ultra light spf50+ is a light, non suffocating, easy to use product that does what it says and not only protects against the sun but acts as a primer and is worth trying for those with skin that does not tolerate chemical sunscreens.

Thank you Skin Physics and Beautyheaven for the opportunity to trial the Advance Superlift Neck Lifting and firming cream. This thick cream comes in a large tub with a screw on lid. The scent is delicate but does not linger on skin. I need to use a small scoop to take product out as I am not a fan of dipping fingers into creams, apart from the hygiene reasons I feel it gets under my skin. Although I didn't notice a change in the bands around my neck nor any firming around the jawline the Skin Physics Advance Superlift neck cream is a beautiful and effective product. I did notice filling out of the more fine crepey lines on my neck. This product offers excellent hydration along with luxury for the neck and décolletage. I have really enjoyed paying extra attention to that area, in all fairness I have generally concentrated on my face and have mostly used any left over products to quickly wipe on my neck and décolletage area. I was also very impressed at how well the Neck lifting and firming cream helped with calming down any redness on my neck as a result of using actives, such as vitamin C. Other moisturisers I have used do not really help, so this was an unexpected result and bonus of the Skin physics Neck lifting cream. Lastly paying that extra attention to my neck and décolletage area directly as a result of using a cream specifically for the neck has been a soothing experience. It is something I will continue to do thanks to this trial.

I was excited to try the Skin Republic Collagen Hydrogel mask. Skin republic are a cruelty free brand, very reasonably priced for sheet masks and their customer service was great when I contacted them. Sheet masks are my favourite type of mask for their ease of use and no rinsing. The Collagen Hydrogel mask comes in two parts, one for the top of the face and nose, the other half for the bottom of the face, which is really very clever as it allows for a more comfortable individual fit. It also means the mask was able to settle better onto my face. Shame it didn't reach the neck, but this was solved by digging into the foil sachet and scooping left over serum onto my neck. The mask is made up of a rubber feeling material that is soaked in serum. At first the mask slipped off a few times, I was forced to lay down. Which is a good thing as masks are also a good time to relax. Once the mask settled and my face started to absorb the serum, it appeared to stick or suction to my face. The mask as most sheet masks is nice and cooling however this particular one felt more soothing to me due to material it was made out of. I couldn't really detect any particular scent, which is a good thing as the instructions say to leave it on for 30-40minutes. After removing my mask my skin remained very tacky for at least an hour. I still applied my moisturiser to lock in the hydration. I noticed about 2 hours later my cheeks were starting to feel a little tight so I popped a drop of oil only on my cheeks. When I woke up the next morning my skin did seem more plump and nice and smooth and remained more hydrated looking for the rest of the day.

The Dermal Therapy Hand balm is a white thick creamy balm. It has no real scent that I can detect. To be honest squeezing some of the Hand balm out I expected to be left with greasy hands. I was at work when i opened my Beautorium parcel so this was the first product I tried. I was very pleasantly surprised that the balm took only a minute or two to soak right in! Which was a good thing as the phone rang not much later and I wasn't stuck with greasy hands! I find the balm definitely does a fantastic job of soothing dry hands. I didn't notice any benefits to my cuticles though. So I still need to use a separate cuticle cream, however I do have very dry cuticles for some reason. I also felt that this balm created a bit of a barrier to protect my hands which is great in my line of work. This is a fantastic fuss free cream to have on hand for quick easy daily use between tasks.

The Eleven 3 minute repair treatment comes in a tube and is reasonably thick. I use this approximately every 2 weeks or around every 3rd/ 4th wash. Depending on how my hair is feeling. I am not overly keen on the lack of slip in this treatment which results in having to work harder to deknot my curls and as such feels as though I am damaging my hair further. I will continue to use this product because it surprisingly does help with strengthening the hair even though it doesn't feel like it at the time. However I won't repurchase. I was surprised to find the Eleven repair treatment has a gritty feel to it. Almost as though there is sand in it. First time I thought it was something on my hands or outside the tube that had come off. So next time i rinsed the tube before using and still the gritty feel remained. This does not remain on the hair once rinsed, it just feels odd whilst using. I have left the Eleven treatment repair in my hair for longer than 3 minutes and I don't find it makes a difference, so it is good to know that the product really does do what it's going to do in the 3 minutes. I think this would suit people who have less damaged and dry hair than I have much better.

The Eleven hydrate me conditioner does an ok job of hydrating, though I personally require something stronger in general. Having said that i do have very dry hair. I also have curly hair which requires a conditioner that provides a lot of slip in order to detangle my curls in the shower. I found that the Eleven Hydrate me conditioner really didn't provide sufficient slip for me. I liked the smell of marshmallows and the texture of this conditioner but unfortunately it wasn't quite enough for me. I did re home this to a friend and she quite liked it. I think this would suit those with less dry and damaged hair than I have.