When Customer Service Is Done Right | Liz Earle

If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen that extremely flattering photo of myself looking slightly more rosy-hued than normal. What had happened to my skin was a result of a reaction to Liz Earle's Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, a product I had my using almost every day for about two months. Although my skin looks otherwise, it was not sore to the touch or tight in any way. There was just incredible heat radiating from my face and red blotchiness all over. To make things somewhat more of a challenge, I had to go out for dinner an hour after I took this photo, so needless to say some heavy coverage foundation was called in to service.

#nofilter

I tweeted the photo to Liz Earle and I didn't have to wait long for a response. The wonderfully professional Hannah requested me to direct message her to discuss the issue, which I did and I was so impressed with how the whole situation was dealt with. As the picture looks much more severe than what it felt like, Hannah was very keen to speak to me and understand how and why this could've happened, especially as I had been using this product almost every day. The next day I spoke to her on the phone and she asked me some questions about the product itself such as the batch number, where I bought it from and how long I have been using it. She then offered to give me a full refund on the product but I politely declined because I truly love the product and wanted to give it one more chance. Completely understanding, Hannah said I could give it another go and if it happened again or similar I would still be able to receive a full refund. The icing on the top of this cake was when Hannah took my details and said she would pop a little something in the post for me as a goodwill gesture for what had happened. How lovely?! Sure enough, a full size bottle of Rosemary & Rock Rose Hand Repair was delivered to my doorstep. It is a lovely product and I'm so grateful. During our conversation, I wanted to reassure her that I was not angry or deterred by the incident and I still want to explore the brand and try other products. More than anything, I was just confused by what had happened because I used the cleanser almost every day. Interestingly, I have continued to use the cleanser and I have had no problems at all.

So why am I writing this blog post? I've seen many YouTube videos or blog posts dedicated to slating a beauty brand for how they deal with a customer query. Now these complaints may be completely warranted as no person nor brand are perfect but as important I think it is to be honest when we have a bad experience, it is equally important to praise a brand and an individual when they provide outstanding customer service. So thank you to Hannah and to Liz Earle for showing how customer service should be done. 

Let me know if you've had great customer service from a beauty brand in the comments below; it's important to highlight great work too! If you are a lover of Liz Earle products, also leave a comment as I'd like to try more from the brand.

P x

Products mentioned:
Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - http://www.boots.com/en/Liz-Earle-Cleanse-Polish-Hot-Cloth-Cleanser-100ml-muslin-cloth-not-included_1546298/
Rosemary & Rock Rose Hand Repair - http://www.boots.com/en/Liz-Earle-Rosemary-Rock-Rose-Hand-Repair-_1776755/

Introducing Glycablend from Trilogy Skincare

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of attending an event hosted by the incredibly successful skincare brand, Trilogy. This was my first time ever attending a blogger event so naturally I was quite nervous about what to expect but I really needn't have been. I was warmly greeted by Juliette who introduced the brand and the products to me (I had heard of Trilogy but hadn't tried anything out) and made me feel very welcome. Shortly we were invited into a presentation about the brand's beginnings, ethos, learning about the products and the newly formulated Age-Proof range with Glycablend, which we all had a chance to test out for ourselves. If like me and you hadn't had a great idea about Trilogy or their products, let me fill in the blanks because I think you might just fall in love with them.

Trilogy are all about natural skincare that is simple, pure and vital. They endeavour to find and use the purest natural and botanical oils and extracts to create gorgeous blends that restore and maintain the natural vitality and radiance we all yearn for our skin, without you ending up with a medicine cabinet of lotions and potions for all different skin ailments. Now when it comes to skincare, the word 'natural' and 'organic' can be thrown around by many skincare brands that in actual fact are not that natural or organic at all. Trilogy is different. Not only are they the first carbon neutral brand but they are also the first New Zealand skincare brand to achieve the NATRUE Natural Cosmetics Certification, meaning all of the ingredients are natural and some are organic (which is clearly stated for the consumer) and the process to source and manufacture these ingredients into products is environmentally friendly. This certification can also tell you that Trilogy skincare has:

• No animal testing (nor do they endorse it either)
• No synthetic fragrances or colours
• No genetically modified ingredients
• No petroleum derived products
• No silicone oils and derivatives 
• No irradiation of end products and botanical ingredients

Pretty impressive right? Now you might be thinking "You know what, I think I do know of this brand after all", and you could well be right. Trilogy skincare is largely known for their oils and their cult product, Certified Organic Rose Hip Oil. This garnered popularity after Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge (yes, really) reportedly spoke out and said she and her mother Carole Middleton, loved the product and that she used it throughout both of her pregnancies due to it being without potentially harmful retinoids. 

Now onto the whole reason why I attended the event in the first place. Trilogy have improved the formula of their Age-Proof range with their new Glycablend formula comprising of chia seeds, blueberry, strawberry and pomegranate oils. One thing that stood out to me about this brand is that they were so intent on teaching me about their chosen ingredients and how powerful they are for our skin and I really felt that I left the event with a wealth of knowledge, which hopefully I can transcend to you. The reason behind the name Glycablend is because the range is an answer to glycation; a natural process which causes healthy collagen fibres in our skin to harden and lose their elasticity as we age. In my little goodie bag, I received Age-Proof CoQ10 Booster Oil (20ml) and the Age-Proof Line Smoothing Day Cream (50ml) which both contain the Glycablend formula, as does the entire range. Now I know that I may not be the ideal demographic for this range, however I was interested in this range because I do want to introduce an anti-ageing product into my routine to help prepare my skin combat the signs of ageing but to also allow my Mum to try it out as she is the ideal demographic. Trilogy's campaign with this range is to give women products with ingredients that they know works. I found this important because my Mum knows what is good for her skin as she ages and doesn't want to look 21 by next week, she wants to look her best version of herself right now.

CoQ10 Booster Oil

First impressions:
Texture was very typical of other oils I have used in the past so no surprises there. However, the scent is AMAZING. Smoothing into my skin in the evening made me feel like I was having the most wondrous facial massage in the swankiest of spas. It didn't absorb into my skin straight away which I liked; made me feel as if it was really going to work on my skin rather than being drunk up. I left it sitting on my skin for about 15 minutes before I locked it in with my usual moisturiser. Skin felt very fresh, clean, hydrated and ready for bed.

Final thoughts:
I really have enjoyed putting this product to the test over the last week since the event. I reserved it only for night time as I don't like to put oils on my skin in the morning. I must say I did notice a difference in my skin the next morning compared to a morning where I had admittedly forgotten to put it on (and generally been quite lazy with my skincare altogether) the night before. I used all of my regular products with the oil so I know it was definitely the oil that was making a difference and my skin felt balanced and looked very well rested. In the mornings, my chin and forehead can be quite oily and feel clogged up, this did not happen at all when I used the oil so it will definitely be staying in my night time routine. The CoQ10 Booster Oil is my favourite oil I have ever tried and I would highly recommend it if you want to give your skin a pampering treat in the evenings. My Mum said she really liked the product as well and I have a feeling this little bottle of goodness will be sneaking off into her room every now and again!

Line Smoothing Day Cream

First impressions:
I used this the next day after cleansing and it glided onto my skin like a dream. I prefer the scent of the oil but by no means is the scent of this day cream off-putting, it's just preference and something I could look past. The formula didn't make my skin feel clogged or heavy at all. I like to leave my moisturiser for a little while before I do my make-up, so it'll be interesting to see how my make-up applies over the top and how it affects the finish of it too.

Final thoughts:
Once I had worn this product a few times with my make-up layered over the top, I didn't see or notice any disruption between the two on my skin which is great. Make-up application was also not interrupted by the cream as the skin is perfectly moisturised. My foundation applied very seamlessly and didn't grab onto any dry patches which is an issue I do deal with, so its great that the cream helped with that issue. As much as I love this product, I think I will pass this into my Mum purely because I think it is better suited for her skin type and what she wants from her products. I don't have a great deal of lines on my skin yet to notice a huge difference but hopefully Mum will. I know I mentioned the smell in my first impressions but it actually grew on me the more I used it and now it doesn't bother me in the slightest. If you have mature skin and are around the same age as my Mum (she's in her 50's), I would recommend this day cream as it has great ingredients that are great for your skin and it doesn't disrupt any make-up- in fact, it makes a great base!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this review and a huge thank you to Trilogy for inviting me to their event, it was definitely a great first event for me and I'm excited to see what more wonderful products the brand has to offer in the future!

If you would like to find out more about the Age-Proof range with Glycablend, you can read about it here: http://www.trilogyproducts.com/products/range/age-proof

Trilogy Age-Proof along with their other ranges are available to buy from a wide range of stores and online retailers including John Lewis, Debenhams, Whole Foods, feelunique.com and lookfantastic.com

You can find your local stockists of Trilogy products here: http://www.trilogyproducts.com/contact-us/where-to-buy/

Have a great weekend, everyone!

P x

REVIEW: Botanics Mattifying Gel-Cream | FAIL PRODUCT

Bonjour my lovelies and welcome to another skincare review!

Many many moons ago, I wrote a blog about my then skincare routine. Now I don't expect you to trail through my blog to find that post so here is a quick profile of my skin...

• My problem area for rosacea/redness and spots is my chin. I occasionally get them on my forehead but not in as much of a crowd.
• My t-zone is very oily but my nose is often dry.
• When a spot is finished with disrupting my face, it leaves a rather lovely red mark behind. 

Now, I want to point your attention to the 2nd point I made. Oily AND dry patches on my skin. I really struggle with finding a moisturiser that doesn't break me out by contributing to the oils already in my skin but also that keeps my skin hydrated, especially the dryness around my nose.

I bought the Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Gel Cream a few weeks ago to test out. I'd heard great things about the brand and was tired of rich creams that constantly broke me out. I thought the gel formula would be a good alternative.

This unfortunately, is not the blog post where I tell you that I have found my holy grail, prayer answering magic in a bottle. Alas, my quest for an amazing moisturiser that ticks all the boxes with its bells and whistles jingling is still in full motion.

Sigh.

What I would like to inform you of is how much of a FAIL this product is. This gel cream seconds after application literally shed off of my skin like a nasty sunburn. It left a tingling sensation on my skin which I wasn't too keen on as I already get that from my tea tree toner. It doesn't moisturise at all. Yes, it mattifies the skin, but no greater than a good setting powder and/or blotting papers would!

I really tried to persevere with this product, wondering if it were just my skin being off for a couple of days. Needless to say, after about 2-3 weeks of use it was clear to me that this product just did nothing for my skin.

So ultimately I was left pretty disappointed with this product. It did cost me under £5 so I can't moan too much but I think even for that small price, its still such a disappointment. 

Would I recommend this product? Absolutely not.

Have you tried any other products from Botanic's? What did you think of them?

Thank you for reading!

My Daily Skincare Routine!

Hello again everyone :)

Growing up and going through the wonders of puberty, my skin went from baby soft and blemish free to horrendously oily and broken out. Thanks, hormones! My skin since then has always been a problem for me and I've tried many a treatment to give it a helping hand and make it look as flawless as it once did look. My journey to perfect-again skin has and still is a work in progress but I have definitely gained a new knowledge about skin care and what works best with my skin. So, with that knowledge, I have been able to put together a routine made up of products that my skin likes and do a good job at controlling oil build-up and minimising break-outs. Hurrah!

Now let's start from the beginning, waaaay back when. At around 13-14 years of age, my skin became SUPER oily and I was breaking out all over the shop. I was very concerned that I was going to experience the same level of acne that my older brother had when he was my age. Thankfully, mine was not as severe but it still made me self-conscious and unhappy. So, with very little knowledge about skincare, I went out and bought a few products that were very harsh on my skin. Whilst they dried up my spots, they also dried out the rest of my skin that wasn't affected. I thought having oily skin was bad, but having extremely dry skin that was difficult to hydrate again was horrible!

I then decided to go a little easier on my skin and work with less abrasive products. As I was still a teenager, I didn't want to spend a load of money on products that I didn't have much knowledge about. Plus the fact that I wanted to spend my money on clothes, shoes, handbags etc etc. I guess I had other priorities at that age.

Fast forward to now. I'm 20 years old and I still have problem skin. However, I have discovered an array of products that have been a blessing to me and my skin.

I've now done away with facial wipes as I have learnt that they don't actually help remove all of the make-up from our skin. Thinking about it, a percentage of my break outs are due to make-up residue clogging my pores! So, I have been trying out Micellar waters. My last post you will have seen that I reviewed the B. Pure Micellar Solution. I do like this product but it did sting my eyes a little. I saw MissGlamorazzi (over on YouTube) rave about the L'Oréal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution. I've been using it for about 5 days now and I really like it, it's very gentle around the eyes which is great and it's really good at removing make-up. I've also changed to using the cotton pads from the baby section in Boots. They're the same price I think as the normal ones but twice the size!

Once I've used the micellar water, I move on to a scrub. I use the Simple Oil-Balancing Scrub to remove any dead skin that could clog up my pores and generally freshen my skin up. It's a creamy consistency and gentle enough to use everyday. When I need something a bit more abrasive, I will use the Lemon and Aspirin DIY mask I blogged about a few weeks ago. This is more 'gritty' and I'll do this as an end of week or Sunday treatment just to really clean my skin.

So now I'm all scrubbed and feeling fresh, I will move on to moisturiser. I have used a range of moisturisers that have all claimed to be oil-free but these have been from budget brands and I can assure you, they are NOT oil-free. I broke out with them like no one's business! I decided to spend a little more money on a higher end brand. I fell in love with the La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo earlier this year thanks to the matte finish it gave my skin and the way it controlled excess sebum (that really is a horrible word). I revisited the stand in Boot's and decided to go for the Effaclar Mat Sebo-Regulating Moisturizer, which if memory serves me correctly, is priced at £13.50. Not breaking the bank I know, but it's still more than my teenage self would be prepared to pay! I've got to say, I do adore this moisturiser! It's specially formulated for oily-skin and just does an absolutely great job! I will definitely re-purchase this when it run's out!

There you have it! I'm still wanting to try out different products for my skin. I do want to venture into the conspicuous world of eye creams as I am quite honestly terrified of wrinkles and not looking as youthful (ha, says the 20 year old).. but you know what I mean!! Do you have any recommendations for me?

I would also like to try some of the Michael Todd skincare products as I've heard a lot about them and they look really effective! Plus I love anything organic! If you have tried them and have oily skin like me, what were your favourite products?

Thank you for reading and I will see you soon on here or on my YouTube channel!

Paris x

REVIEW: B. Pure Micellar Water

Hello everyone :)

I've been trying to branch away from using face wipes to remove my make-up simply because they do a good job on the surface, I still go to bed with make-up on which the wipe hasn't removed.

I've always known about Bioderma and the wonders it does for beauty bloggers and vloggers alike but it is not readily available in the UK... yet. So I saw this little bottle by the brand B. Pure in Superdrug and I thought I'd give it a whirl!

It does a good job of removing all traces of make-up from my face that a face wipe could not. It also has an added bonus of cleansing the skin as well. I use cotton pads with this product and with my eye make-up, I will leave the pads on my eyes to dissolve my mascara and eyeliner rather than rubbing at the sensitive skin around my eyes. One word of warning and whilst it may seem obvious, make sure your eyes are completely shut when applying to your eyes as it will sting slightly when in contact with eyes.

The product feels very clean and fresh on the skin which is great for when you've been wearing make-up all day and you just want to have that fresh feeling again.

Overall, this is a lovely little product and I would recommend this if you too are new to beauty waters and don't want to splash out on a high-end product that may not work for you.

You can buy the B. Pure Micellar Water at Superdrug for £3.49 (Bargain!)

Thank you for reading this post and let me know if you have tried this and what you thought of it! :)

Paris x

July Favourites! New YouTube Video!

Helloooo :D

So with August upon us, it's time for my July Favourites! I just uploaded the video to my beauty channel where I chat about my favourite make-up, skincare, fashion and music picks from July.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8WB8U3ApbY

I hope you enjoy it and like the video, subscribe to see more of my ramblings :)

Paris x

DIY Skincare #1: Aspirin and Lemon Juice Mask/Exfoliator!

Hello again! Apologies for my absence, life has happened and I've been super busy! Little update for you: I'm back at home with family, seeing lots of my closest friends, working to save a bit of extra money for my flat and generally having a nice, chilled out summer!

Whilst I was away from my blog, I was brainstorming some new posts. With the hotter weather in the UK (I almost can't believe it either), my skin has been SUPER oily and make-up (when I bother to put it on) just slides right off within a couple of hours. So I decided to try something different and spend a little less money on store products that promise to fix my problem skin and fade my acne scars. I've always been really interested in natural home remedies for treating skin problems. Also, as I am eating healthier I am seeing some benefits but surely any natural exterior remedies must be a further benefit, right?

Over the next 4 weeks, I will be trying out 4 different face masks/exfoliators all concocted from various ingredients typically found in our kitchen cupboards. Little detail here: I have very oily skin, large pores and acne scarring etc. These remedies are specifically for oily skin and would not be suitable for dry skins and maybe even combination skins. However, some oily skins out there may not see the same results as I do as we all have different skins that respond in very different ways. Just thought I'd slip that in just so you are aware.

Okay so first up is the Aspirin and Lemon Juice mask. Now, I've also labelled it as a exfoliator because of the texture and personal opinion. Some of you will think of it as a mask, some will not.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

• 3-6 aspirin tablets (these can be bought very cheaply in any supermarket or drugstore)
• 1-2 tbsps of lemon juice

Note: 3 aspirin will require 1 tbsp of lemon juice and 6 aspirin will require 2 tbsp.

I was recommended to use aspirin by my brother who also suffered from a more severe case of acne when he was a teenager. We all know aspirin is predominantly used as an anti-inflammatory when taken orally but it does actually have benefits for the skin too! Due to these anti-inflammatory properties, it can help with aiding discolouration from acne and redness. It also contains salicyclic acid which is a proven ingredient to reduce the occurrence of acne. Having said all this, if you are allergic to aspirin, do NOT put it on your skin. It will sink into your pores and possibly cause an allergic reaction. Always check with your doctor before using it.

Lemon juice is also very good for the skin. If you mix it with warm water and drink it, it will detoxify your body of all those nasty toxins that are often come through the skin in the form of spots and pimples. It contains vitamin C which helps to build up your skins levels of collagen which prevents aging. If you are losing weight or trying to (as I am), lemon is great for keeping your metabolism high which means you'll digest your food quicker. There is honestly so much you can do with a lemon! I never thought I'd be saying that... What I'm trying to say is that it is damn good stuff and has amazing benefits for your skin inside and out! Hurrah!

Now that I've rambled on about how great aspirin and lemon juice is for your skin, you want to see some cold hard evidence and real opinions, right? Well here you go... (Note: all these photos were taken with my iPhone as I do not have access to my friends shiny and lovely Canon camera for the rest of the summer)

So here is my skin before I applied the mask:

You cannot tell a great deal from this picture except that my skin looks a little shiny and there is quite a bit of redness from spots and scarring.

And here is me with the mask on:

And here is me after I'd rinsed it off:

Here are a few pictures of the process so you can get an idea of what it's like:

So, what do I think of the results?

1. My skin feels a lot softer afterwards due to the aspirin building up with the lemon to get rid of the dead skin cells.
2. The consistency was very rough so probably not suitable for very sensitive skin.
3. The mask sticks to the skin very well so no worry of it slipping and sliding off the face.
4. Must be careful not to get fall out into your eyes when applying to the forehead.
5. 6 aspirin and 2 tbsp of lemon juice is more than enough for 1 person. I'd say 3 aspirin with 1 tbsp is enough.
6. I could feel my skin tighten but not too heavily that it was uncomfortable; more like it was doing it's job.
7. More of an exfoliant that you would use once a week rather than a soothing and relaxing mask.
8. Matte finish which is a massive plus for me!
9. Doesn't leave the skin tight- just very fresh and rejuvenated!

Overall, I really like this face mask/exfoliant and I really like the results it gave! I would highly recommend this to anyone who has very oily skin like mine and is fed up of spending loads of money on store products that don't do that great of a job. In the grand scheme of things, I'd rather spend under a £1 on this than maybe 10x the price on a product that might not even work!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and I will be back next week with another D.I.Y. skincare remedy for you all!

Let me know if you have tried this face mask and what you thought of it!

Have a wonderful week!

Paris x