Trial & Review: Alpha-H Absolute Eye Complex 60 Day Trial Results (with before & after pictures)

A couple of months ago I purchased the Alpha-H TSV from QVC which, besides Liquid Gold and the Balancing Cleanser, contained the Alpha-H Eye Complex.  I had tried both LG and the cleanser before, both of which I love, but I had never tried the Eye Complex.

Being over 40, I now need lots of help in the eye area. I have fine lines, redness, puffiness, dark circles and "scaly" skin (Milia? But thought that was white spots?). My eyes are also quite sensitive. I sound attractive, huh?!  I am still on the search for my Holy Grail eye product. The trouble is, unless the results are dramatic, it is always very hard for me to tell if any of these creams/gels actually improve the problems I have in my eye area.  I peer at myself in the mirror, willing the cream to have worked, but has it, or is it just wishful thinking?

Therefore I decided, instead of guesswork, this time I would do a 60 day trial on a product and take photos at the start on Day 1 and photos at the end on Day 60 and compare them.  As they say, the camera never lies!  I am terrible for chopping and changing products so for 60 days I only used Alpha-H Eye Complex around my eyes so that I would know that any results are down to this cream alone. This trial was supposed to be for 30 days but I forgot to take photos after 30 days so I just carried on for another month!

The Eye Complex comes in a 15ml pump so it is quite a dinky bottle.  I found the pump a tad temperamental. If I pressed down for a full pump, it dispensed far too much product for both eyes so I felt it was very wasteful. I did try to press the pump lightly so that less came out but I found this very hit and miss, sometimes it only dispensed a little and others far too much.  Perhaps I have a faulty pump, I don't know but I don't like wasting product when it is not necessary.

The Eye Complex is more of a gel formula than a cream. This is one pumps worth and a tad too much for both eyes here.

The TV demonstration said to apply it over the entire eye area, up to the brow, including the lids.  I applied it as instructed and a little seemed to go a long way.  I did notice a tingling sensation when I first applied it which concerned me a little to begin with because I had a bad allergic reaction to a different brand eye cream earlier in the year which resulted in me getting steroid cream on prescription to clear it up. The gel absorbed quickly and the tingling stopped after a minute. After approximately one week of use, I no longer had any tingling at all.

I applied this gel twice a day, morning and night, before any serum or moisturiser.

So here we are with the BEFORE and AFTER pictures without make up - sorry, I should have done a warning "graphic content" disclaimer earlier! ;-).  Eek! I look old and tired! Worse than I thought!

BEFORE using Alpha H Eye complex

AFTER 60 days usage

BEFORE Alpha H Eye Complex

AFTER 60 days usage

BEFORE Alpha H Eye Complex

AFTER 60 days usage

As you can see, I do have the aforementioned problems. I didn't expect the darkness to disappear because my dark circles are actually caused by the way my muscle lies under my skin which causes a shadow. I have always had it and have had to accept it. I had hoped that the Eye Complex would improve my other issues. Mainly the ageing!  I do realise no over the counter product can make wrinkles disappear permanently but I had hoped that this would perhaps help soften them.

So what do you think of my results? I have zoomed in and studied them in great depth, and my verdict is... I can't see any difference! I am so disappointed. My eyes are perhaps a little less puffy in the AFTER pictures, but I find that this varies on a day to day basis anyway so I really don't think it is down to this product.

If you are interested in buying the Alpha-H Absolute Eye Complex it is available at all the usual online stores (Beauty Bay, Cult Beauty, etc) for £34.50 or for a couple of pounds more you can buy it at QVC which also comes with 50ml Alpha H moisturiser with SPF50 so better value for money.

I have a couple of applications left of this Alpha H so the 15ml  lasts about 2 months but, once I have finished it, my hunt for my Holy Grail eye cream continues... 
I have a couple of different products in my stash so I shall be starting a 30 day trial with one of those very soon. Watch this space...

Have you ever used this Eye Complex?  Do you have a Holy Grail eye cream/gel? I would love to hear about them.

Thanks for reading.
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care,
CJ xx

*purchased with my own money

You Beauty Discovery Box - May 2014

Well my You Beauty Discovery Box for May is finally here! Actually, I received it early this month but it was missing one product so I have had to wait until I could blog about it. Grrrr...
This months theme was CEW (UK) 2014 Awards.

The first product I chose this month was the Margaret Dabbs Foot Hygiene Cream.

Their website says it's ideal for sweat prone feet so I ordered this for my hubby!  I shall let you know how he gets on with it in due course.

The second item I chose was Glamglow Youth Mud Tinglexfoiiate Treatment mask. Even though I am not too keen on mud masks, I had heard rave reviews about this mask so I couldn't resist. I've not tried it yet but I shall report back once I have.

The other items that were included with this months box were a sample sachet of Caudalie Divine Legs, a sample sachet of Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Hair Repair leave in conditioner, and a portion sachet of Lizi's granola.

The You Beauty Discovery Box subscription costs just £6.95 per month and that includes postage! I love it because you get to choose 2 items from their shortlist and the value is great. The foot cream I selected this month costs £18 on its own!

If you subscribe to this box, what did you choose this month?

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx

**I purchased this box with my own money.

Review & Swatches: Tarte Amazonian Clay Sultry Sunset Eyeshadow Palette

When Tarte launched here in the UK on QVC recently, I got caught up in the hype and ordered several things. If you are interested, the haul details are here.

One of the items I was particularly keen to try was the Amazonian Clay Sultry Sunset Eyeshadow palette. This appealed to me because it had both neutral "daytime" shades alongside more pinky-purple "evening" shades. I thought this would be great for going away, having both looks in the one palette.

When it arrived I was very impressed with the palettes packaging. This palette comes in a gorgeous cerise pink faux leather case with a metal embossed Tarte branding plate on the outside. It was so tactile and lovely.

I really loved the packaging and couldn't wait to get inside! Opening it up, I wasn't disappointed. There was a lovely mirror in the lid and the colours were just what I was expecting. It contains 3 matte shades and 5 shimmers.

There was no applicator included, but that is no loss because I rarely use them anyway, preferring to use my own brushes. Here is a closer look at the shades, followed by a swatch on my arm.

As I hope you can see, the colour pay off isn't that spectacular and this is with me building it up. The matte shades did have a lot of fall out. The palette also contained a little "guide" on how to create 2 different looks.

Strangely enough they have used the pink- purples for the daytime look and the browns for the evening look. I would have used them the other way round but, hey, what do I know?!! 

Anyway, usually when I do make up reviews, I like to show them applied because I think it gives the reader a better idea of how they look, rather than just swatched on the arm. However, in this instance, there are no photographs of them applied! 

I tried this palette for around a month but whichever way I applied the pink and mauves I looked like I had done 5 rounds with Frank Bruno (a retired UK boxer for those who don't know!). My eyes either looked bruised or like I had been crying for hours! Not a good look unless it is Halloween! 

The brown shades were okay but I think I have pretty much all the brown shades already covered with my Naked 1-3 palettes. 

I REALLY wanted to love this palette which is why I kept it for almost 4 weeks to see if I could learn to love it but alas no. Thankfully QVC have a 30 day money back guarantee so if, for any reason, you are unhappy with a product you can return it to them within 30 days for a refund minus the postage charges so I have now returned it to them. This palette was £26.50 plus P&P so was definitely mid range veering towards higher rather than budget prices.

It hasn't put me off Tarte shadows by any means. These colours just weren't for me. Perhaps if QVC did a great value TSV which included a palette then I am sure I will be adding it to my basket but I don't think I would be tempted again to spend almost £30 for a Tarte palette alone.

I really hoped I would fall in love with this palette and I am so disappointed that I didn't.

Have you tried any Tarte eyeshadows? Did you love them?

Would love to hear your views.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx 

*purchased with my own money.

Magazine Freebies! May 2014

I popped into the local supermarket today and bought a couple of great magazines with free gifts.

First I picked up Elle magazine for £4 and the freebie was a Benefit Porefessional Primer mini size worth £8.

Now I won't bore you with all the "blurb" of what it is supposed to do because I am sure, if you regularly read beauty blogs, then you already know! That said, I still haven't ever tried it so I grabbed this freebie because I want to know if it is worth the hype. Fingers crossed.

The other magazine I picked up was Marie Claire priced at £2.50 (It's usually £3.90 but don't know if it is only cheaper at Tesco or other stores too so it might be worth checking this out).

This came with a free gift of 3 Aromatherapy Associates items - a rose cleanser, rose moisturiser and a rose mask worth £13 in total. Now I am already a fan of their bath oils but I have not tried their skin care, so I am looking forward to giving this a try.

I have also read that Instyle magazine are doing a Nails Inc nail polish freebie this month. I believe there are 3 different colours to choose from but I didn't look for it I'm afraid, because I rarely paint my nails.

EDIT TO ADD: the colours to choose from are...

- Copacabana Coral

- Sugarloaf Sunset

- Sao Paolo Streets

Instyle magazine costs £3.90 and a Nails Inc polish usually costs around £11.

Have you found any good freebies lately? Please let me know.

Thanks for reading.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Take care,

CJ xx