Love Irish: Pixy Natural

I'm all about supporting Irish businesses, one such business I have developed a huge grá for is Pixy Natural

Pixy is a pure and natural beauty product range that features gorgeous bath and body products made with lots of lovely ingredients including Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Vitamin E oil and lots more. Pixy are creative in their products including a gorgeous Bath Oil 

I have quite a collection of Pixy including the above Bath Oil aswell as their Cleansing Mud, Bath Bombs and Cellulite Body Oil. Each time I get a Pixy lovely, I am really impressed with the scent and how well the products work. Another thing I  love is that their prices are pocket friendly and how they are always coming out with new lovelies to treat their customers with.

If you haven't checked Pixy out, I highly recommend that you do, they can be found at Pixy.ie along with Facebook and Twitter. Delivery within Ireland is free when you spend €10 and takes 3-5 working days.

xxx

Optibac Daily Immunity

Little bit of a different post today in my return to blogging. I recently returned to work by getting a job in a pharmacy. The one thing I love about it is that you get to find out loads of interesting things.

This is especially true when it comes to Probiotics. Word on the streets is that everyone should be taking a probiotic for their well being. You can get probiotics in yoghurt but the yoghurts can be full of sugar.

 

Probiotics work in your gut to help maintain immunity as up to two thirds of your immunity is managed in your gut. A healthy balance of friendly bacteria hinders bad bacteria and enables friendly bacteria to multiply and exclude the baddies.Jumping on the bandwagon,I decided to start taking Optibac Daily Immunity Probiotics to boost my immune system.

 

Daily Immunity is ideal for those of us with a hectic lifestyle. This probiotic also includes a range of antioxidants including Vitamin C,Green Tea extract and Grape Seed Extract.

You take one tablet a day with food. I try to take it with breakfast so it starts working first thing. In the few weeks I have been taking these my energy levels have shot up and when I had the vomitting bug, I definitely think these helped.

 

Daily Immunity retails at €13.85 and is available on Optibacs website aswell as in pharmacies and health food stores nationwide. They also have probiotics for travelling abroad, while on antibiotics, daily well being, regularity, bowel calm, for wind and even one for children (which I will be reviewing soon)

 

xxx Have you tried probiotics or would you give them a go? xxx 

Fighting the Dreaded Cellulite

Cellulite is extremely common and everyone who suffers from it hates it. I'm in the club, having a bit on the back of my legs and bum. In my mission to get fit and ready for my holidays in May, I've decided to tackle cellulite head on. I'm the type of person who needs to know everything about somethings I'm fighting head on so wanted to share with you some information on Cellulite and two products, I have been using that seem to be working a treat.

What is Cellulite?

Cellulite is fat accumulation that forms a bumpy appearance under the skin. The bumps are created when the fat collects and pushes against the connective tissue found directly under the skin. Cellulite is found most commonly in women, and is located in the thighs, buttocks and stomach. The amount of cellulite a person has depends on body fat percentage, thickness of skin, and age.

What can I do about it?

•  The best treatment for cellulite is diet and exercise to reduce the amount of body fat and increase muscle tone. Limit sugar and salt to assist with weight loss and water retention in the body. Drink at least 2 litres of water a day ( If you struggle with water like me, pop a multivitamin or vitamin c effervescent into a 2 litre bottle of water)Exercise wise walking is really good or you could take a trip down memory lane by breaking out a skipping rope.   
• You can disguise cellulite with the use of a false tan, my personal favs being Cocoa Brown and Decadence Tan , (the tan eliminator from Decadence Tan can help reduce cellulite too)Tanning in the sun or in a light bed will worsen cellulite as sun damages the elastin and collagen in the skin. 
• Body Brushing can break up the toxins. Brush each area of the body for 3-5 minutes.
• Cellulite looks worse when skin is dehydrated. Use a decent moistuirser like La Roche Posay ISO UREA or Neostrata Lotion Plus daily.

Treatments You  Can Buy

For the last few weeks, I have been trying a budget and high end cellulite treatment to see if they provided any improvement to my problem areas. Since there is two I used them for two weeks at a time

Budget - Pixy Cellulite Body Oil (€9.95)

Cellulite Body Oil is made from avocado oil which is good for troublesome skin conditions and sweet almond oil which soothes and reconditions the skin. Cypress essential oil is used to improve circulation, grapefruit essential oil to smooth cellulite and fennel essential oil is known to cleanse the body of toxins - an uplifting combination of scents as we help you in your battle to conquer the dreaded cellulite.

I really liked this oil, first off it smells gorgeous and because you only need a small amount, the bottle lasts for ages. Because it is an oil and takes a while to soak in, I used it in the evening time before I went to bed.After two weeks of using this, my skin definitely felt softer and more supple. Even more impressive is that cellulite was significantly reduced.In comparison to other high end cellulite treatments, this lovely holds its own. Well done Pixy!

High End - Clarins Body Lift Cellulite Control (€46 available on Clarins counters this month)

The new Body Lift Cellulite Control contains 8 plant extracts to aid skin’s hydration, tone & texture thus improving the over all appearance as well as working on problem areas. Clarins reccomend following their Body Contouring method, which involves applying the cream from your ankles up to you thigh and massaging it in a specific way. same goes for when applying it to your bum.

When trying out this cream, I would recommend allocating a bit of time as the massage can take a while to do. Again this lovely smells beautiful,no doubt thanks to the plant extracts. On instant application, my skin looked smoother and the tone majorly improved. The cream soaks in quickly so youre not left waiting to get dressed. After the two weeks on this, my cellulite improved even more so.

It's hard to say which I would recommend, as both did a good job at controlling my cellulite. I was impressed with how Pixy improved my skin and how Clarins improved my skin tone. I think anyone would be happy with either, but if it's down to budget, then Pixy is the one.

Salon Treatments

There are heaps of Salon treatments available for cellulite.  One I recently heard of is Vela Shape II, which is apparently a fav of celebs like Kim Kardashian. Velashape II is non surgical and uses a combination of radio frequency, infrared light and vacuum suction. It claims to address cellulite and firm your skin. This baby aint cheap with prices currently €499 (gulp!) for 5 sessions in Pink Beauty Emporium Dundrum

xxx What are your tips for fighting cellulite? xxx

Lancome Teint Visionnaire

Way back when I went to view Lancome's Spring/Summer collection I got first eyes on a revolutionary new product but was sworn to secrecy. you have no idea how hard keeping that secret was and today I am sitting down to tell you all about. The relief is incredible!

I'm talking about the new Lancome Teint Visionnaire, which launched at Lancome counters mid February.This foundation is a game changer as it pushes the concept of perfect skin to an all-new level: the alliance of a targeted high-coverage corrector enriched with vitamin CG and a perfecting foundation with 2% concentration of [LR 2412] rather than the 4% that is in the amazing Visionnaire. Essentially this isn't your average foundation because it contains skincare too.

First blush of the product you can see that the lid is a handy little compact high coverage concealer. This concealer is brilliant for dark spots, redness and any other imperfection. I found it does need to be warmed up a bit before applying with a concealer brush, but boy does it cover any areas I target it at. 

One first swatch of the foundation, you may (like me) think there is no way, I am going to get any decent coverage out of this. All I can say is don't be fooled by the lightweight formula, this foundation is easily medium coverage when applied and you can layer it for a more full coverage look. Even though the coverage is medium to high, you won't feel like you're wearing any makeup and the over all look is so natural. I found it does a brilliant job making my skin look only gorgeous.

The shade I was sent to try is 010 and a perfect match. I find that it lasts quite well, once I prime my skin with The Body Shop Vitamin C Skin reviver. I'm a huge fan of Lancome's Teint Idole Ultra, a find many foundations I have bought, just don't hold a candle to it. That is until now, I feel that Teint Visionnaire is fast becoming my new love affair, giving me a slightly lighter coverage then Teint Idole Ultra but still really good coverage and not as heavy on  my face

xxx Have you tried this lovely yet? xxx