Another month has passed us by and we'll soon be heading into Winter before we know it! Which is perhaps why so many of my September Beauty Favourites are geared towards the upcoming colder weather, so here's what I've been loving recently.
Ingenious Beauty Ultimate Collagen+ Supplements* (£75, 120 capsules for 40 days supply, link)
I'm a huge fan of taking supplements to boost my health as many of you already know, and during Autumn and Winter, I like to add a high-quality collagen supplement to my daily routine to further boost my skincare. Now, I've tried a lot of different brands and it's safe to say that no two collagen supplements are the same, and it's often the more expensive ones that will give you actual noticeable results, which these ones from Ingenious Beauty have done for me. Their Ultimate Collagen+ Supplements are 100% natural and feature a 'Unique Triple Active' where each vegetable based capsule contains:-
- Natural Astaxanthin (a powerful antioxidant found in certain marine plants - it helps to improve skin moisture levels and elasticity, prevents and repairs UV damage, reduces the appearance of wrinkles, freckles and spots and has also been shown to help improve heart, eye and cellular health, as well as boosting the body's immune system).
- Natural Marine Collagen (derived from fish and revered for its antioxidant properties, it helps to repair cellular damage caused by environmental factors such as UV rays, low humidity, and the overall ageing process).
- Natural Hyaluronic Acid (an ingredient we all now know and love in the skincare world - this superstar hydrates and plumps the skin by holding 1,000 times its own weight in water, supporting skin cell renewal, building collagen and healing wounds).
I've been taking these supplements as instructed (one to three capsules a day on an empty stomach) for the past four weeks, and I've seen a noticeable improvement in my skin. It feels much smoother, looks more even and brighter, and the dehydrated areas have nearly vanished. My nails also feel stronger and are less prone to breaking. Impressive! They're sadly not cheap, but as the ingredients are housed in an enteric capsule, it means that they are absorbed by the body in the small intestine for maximum effect, rather than being broken down in the stomach, so that's something to consider if you're looking for a new collagen supplement to try out. Highly recommended.
balmkind Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm* (10ml, £14.50, link)
I always carry a lip balm with me wherever I go and my new handbag addition comes from a British company called balmkind who I was recently introduced to, and they only make one product, the Alpine Rose & Lysine Lip Balm. This lip balm is formulated with a host of nourishing ingredients and features Alpine Rose, Lysine, Oat Lipids, Licorice Root, Pomegranate Sterols and Vitamin E to name but a few. Free from Parabens, Mineral Oil, Lanolin, Palm Oil and Phthalates, it's a deeply moisturising lip balm that also gives a beautiful glossy shine to the lips, similar to that of a non-sticky gloss. Great for applying on the go and perfect for the colder weather ahead.
Caolion Pore Tightening Day and Night Glowing Duo* (20g & 30g, £30, link)
Korean skincare brand, Caolion, have been constantly popping up on my beauty radar lately so I was eager to try out one of their bestsellers, the Pore Tightening Day and Night Glowing Duo. These two moisturisers neatly stack up on each other saving you valuable room in your bathroom cabinet or travel bag, and I really like this sleek form of minimalistic packaging. On top, there's the Pore Tightening Bounce Cream, a lightweight, almost gel-meets-cream that's instantly absorbed into the skin and has a wonderfully 'bouncy' texture. It helps to control sebum, minimizes the look of large pores and moisturises all at the same time, so you can easily swap your morning moisturiser and use this instead if you have oily skin, plus it makes an amazing smooth base for makeup so you can skip the primer step as well.
Underneath that, you'll find the Pore Tightening Memory Sleeping Mask which has a weird, but fun jelly-meets-non-sticky-honey feel and texture to it. It's a bit gloopy when you take it out of the jar so there's a handy spatula included, and I like to scoop out a portion and put it straight into the palms of my hands so I can apply it to my face easier. It has a fresh and minty scent, and feels lovely and cooling on the skin, with a subtle tightening effect. Pores appear much smaller and less noticeable in the morning and although this is only a temporary effect, it's a welcome one!
Playa Pure Dry Shampoo* (145ml, $26, link)
One of my favourite beauty discoveries from last month was finding a Californian natural luxury haircare brand called Playa. I fell in love with several of their products, but their Pure Dry Shampoo particularly won me over. Made from a base of Rice Starch and Rose Powder mixed with a blend of botanicals and minerals, it effortlessly sucks up excess oil and dirt, completely refreshing the hair in no time at all. Be sure to check out my feature on Playa here for more gorgeous haircare.
Aveda Texture Tonic* (125ml, £21, link)
Lastly, I just had to feature one of Aveda's latest new haircare releases because I've been using it constantly since it arrived through my letterbox a couple of weeks ago. Texture Tonic is an easy to use texturising spray made from 94% naturally derived ingredients. It utilises Cane Sugar and Salt to add texture and flexible hold to styles like beachy waves, for a fuss-free, but beautiful finish. I love how it also adds some extra shine and doesn't make my hair feel stiff, dry or 'crunchy' afterwards - win win!
What are your beauty faves this month?
I was kind of unimpressed overall with the ingenious capsules from a scientific standpoint they just seem really meh?
ReplyDeleteI asked for their studies on this and they showed that you need to be taking 3 tablets a day for 20 days before you will start to see any differences and in that there was only a 24% difference in how the skin looked
Also collagen is extremely hard to metabolise so there is no knowing how much collagen you would need to physically ingest before seeing a real and noticeable difference
Not to mention that its going to cost you £75 per month if you want to keep using them because once you stop using them your skin and nails will just go back to how they were before
Also they say on the bottle that they contain collagen but i spoke to the brand and they dont contain collagen at all they contain a collagen peptide that promotes synthesis of collagen in the blood stream, i have to admit that was a little impressive as i said collagen isnt easy to metabolise by the body it usually just gets flushed out
Thanks for your comment! I don't think their science is that bad as I spoke to a dermatologist about them at a blogger event recently (it was at the Natural and Organic Beauty Shows so unrelated to this brand as they were not exhibiting there) and the main problem he had with collagen supplements are the huge claims that some brands attach to them.
DeleteI asked him about this brand's claims and he said they seemed reasonable for the very reasons that you stated. Collagen is very difficult for the body to absorb, so there isn't a product on the market that is going to give you more than say a 25-30% difference. I think Ingenious Beauty state their claims fairly based on the studies that they showed you, so it's up to the individual consumer as to whether they want to try them, but they don't promise anything more like some other brands do.
He also said that collagen peptides have the same amino acid structure as collagen protein and that collagen peptides are often a much better ingredient to have in supplement form as the body can absorb them better than pure collagen. These collagen peptides also work considerably better when formulated with other ingredients such as Hyaluronic Acid (which these have), and the fact that these supplements contain an enteric coating means that it prevents the ingredients dissolving in the gastric fluids of the stomach, and allows it to be absorbed in the small intestine instead (he pointed out that many pain killers also have this coating so it's quite common, otherwise most tablets would just be destroyed by the stomach).
It's an interesting area to look into, but even without looking at the science, I like to review products from the point of view of an average consumer. I'll look at the claims, take it and if it gives me a noticeable difference, which these did, it'll get a positive review :)
I love the balmkind lip balm too!
ReplyDeleteLovely isn't it?! x
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