Hey Dolls :)
Origins was always a brand that I was never particularly intrigued by, I'm not really sure why. Rather fickly, it is probably because the packaging or counter never really called out to me, it always seemed a little...dull - terrible I know. However, after reading several rave reviews I went in to see if I could get a sample of one of their eye creams, GinZing. However after talking to the SA and undergoing a consultation, I walked out with a new skin care regime.
Firstly, the experience at the origins counter is one of the best I have ever had. The staff take a real interest in any skin care concerns you have and I felt they actually listened to what I said, and selected products that suit my skin care needs. When you go to the counter, the SA completes a customer record card, recording everything you speak about in the consultation. Following the consultation, you are offered a complimentary facial in a couple of weeks to discuss how your regime is going (which I have taken advantage of and was amazing - I honestly can't believe it was free!). Before buying any products, the SA always demonstrates how to use them and allows you to feel the products in action on the back of your hand.
I really felt that Origins as a brand try to offer a more personal and tailored service, by building a proper personalised relationship with their customers, predominantly through the customer records system which means you mainly deal with the same member of staff each time you visit the counter. On my first visit, I commented that I am very wary of trying new products - instead of trying to push me to buy, the SA gave me generous samples of all the products we had spoken about - amazing! If you look down through the last couple of posts, I have definitely seen an amazing improvement to my skin, overall my skin tone is more even and brighter and my skin definitely produces less oil throughout the day.
1. Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash
I personally would never of considered using a face wash in place of a cleanser, as I never feel that a face wash does anything beneficial to my skin. However, my skin has never felt cleaner and more refreshed since using checks and balances.
I have combination skin, predominantly oily but I do get small dry patches, meaning skin care can be a bit of a nightmare. Checks and Balances is designed for combination skin - however if you're skin is on the drier side I would be a little wary of using this, I could see it being quite drying on already dry skin. However, for a more oily combination this is amazing! My skin feels mattified without feeling tightened plus any dry patches have disappeared.
Scent wise - it's a herbal-y mint, which is pleasant enough, though nothing particularly exciting. To use, I squeeze the tiniest amount into the palm of my hand, lather with lukewarm water and massage into my face before washing off. Checks and balances lathers up so well, it definitely is true to it's name - foamy! I do use a separate eye make up remover as it can sting a little around the eye area. For £16.00 you get 150ml which I think is reasonable considering the amount of product you use for each cleanse. I can't recommend this enough!
2. Balanced Diet Lightweight Moisture Lotion
Balanced diet is another product that is designed for combination skin. I really dislike using heavy moisturisers, particularly on my face as my skin is so oily, however I do still think moisturising is important. For me, balanced diet is perfect; as it's a lotion it is really light on the skin and sinks in really quickly without leaving any residue.
It contains wheat and soy protein that help moisturise the skin, but also konjac powder that helps to soak up any excess oil. My skin has never felt so smooth since using Balanced Diet. Until now, I had still being using La Roche Posay's Effaclar M which, as a mattifying moisturiser, is amazing but I always felt that my skin could feel softer and more moisturised. With Balanced Diet the balance between mattifying and moisturising properties is perfect. For £21 you get 50 ml of product.
3. A Perfect World for eyes
As I mentioned previously, I had originally visited the counter to ask about GinZing, however trying A Perfect World I absolutely had to buy it. I fully believe that if you look after your skin now, it will look after you as you get older, and a good eye cream is key to this. A perfect world is the smoothest, silkiest eye treatment I have ever tried, it is more like a gel/serum than a cream - which is a big change to Kiehl's creamy eye treatment which I had been using previously. My eye area seems much brighter and refreshed and again you need the tiniest amount. It is quite expensive at £27.00 however, in comparison to the kiehl's eye cream, you get 1 ml more for the same price and you use less product so for me, a perfect world is...perfect!
4. Brighter by Nature Brightening Peel
Brighter by Nature is a completely new concept to me - an exfoliater that is a pad. Initially, I was a little wary as the pads smell a little more of alcohol compared to the other products - however I honestly think these pads have done a lot of work to how bright my skin looks. They use fruit acids to peel away dead skin which, when used routinely has really evened out and brightened my skin tone.
I use a Brighter by Nature pad twice a week, sweeping the pad over my entire face before moisturising. The pads do feel quite abrasive on the skin so use them gently, and you are left with a slight tingling sensation. Again, these seem quite pricy at £29.00 however, I read that when you work it out, using two pads a week, one pot of pads last 5 months - which works out to £5.80 a month!
I hope you can see how much I love these products and the brand as a whole. All of Origins products are free from Parabans, mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, animal ingredients and are 100% natural. They are tested on voluntary panels and as a company, are dedicated to recycling and using renewable energy - even the boxes are made from 80% recycled material!
If you're interested in any of the Origins products, I can't recommend visiting a counter more, the staff are honestly the nicest and most helpful I have ever dealt with. I really do get so excited by skincare!
Lots of Love
Nicola
xxx
Origins was always a brand that I was never particularly intrigued by, I'm not really sure why. Rather fickly, it is probably because the packaging or counter never really called out to me, it always seemed a little...dull - terrible I know. However, after reading several rave reviews I went in to see if I could get a sample of one of their eye creams, GinZing. However after talking to the SA and undergoing a consultation, I walked out with a new skin care regime.
Firstly, the experience at the origins counter is one of the best I have ever had. The staff take a real interest in any skin care concerns you have and I felt they actually listened to what I said, and selected products that suit my skin care needs. When you go to the counter, the SA completes a customer record card, recording everything you speak about in the consultation. Following the consultation, you are offered a complimentary facial in a couple of weeks to discuss how your regime is going (which I have taken advantage of and was amazing - I honestly can't believe it was free!). Before buying any products, the SA always demonstrates how to use them and allows you to feel the products in action on the back of your hand.
I really felt that Origins as a brand try to offer a more personal and tailored service, by building a proper personalised relationship with their customers, predominantly through the customer records system which means you mainly deal with the same member of staff each time you visit the counter. On my first visit, I commented that I am very wary of trying new products - instead of trying to push me to buy, the SA gave me generous samples of all the products we had spoken about - amazing! If you look down through the last couple of posts, I have definitely seen an amazing improvement to my skin, overall my skin tone is more even and brighter and my skin definitely produces less oil throughout the day.
1. Checks and Balances Frothy Face Wash
I personally would never of considered using a face wash in place of a cleanser, as I never feel that a face wash does anything beneficial to my skin. However, my skin has never felt cleaner and more refreshed since using checks and balances.
I have combination skin, predominantly oily but I do get small dry patches, meaning skin care can be a bit of a nightmare. Checks and Balances is designed for combination skin - however if you're skin is on the drier side I would be a little wary of using this, I could see it being quite drying on already dry skin. However, for a more oily combination this is amazing! My skin feels mattified without feeling tightened plus any dry patches have disappeared.
Scent wise - it's a herbal-y mint, which is pleasant enough, though nothing particularly exciting. To use, I squeeze the tiniest amount into the palm of my hand, lather with lukewarm water and massage into my face before washing off. Checks and balances lathers up so well, it definitely is true to it's name - foamy! I do use a separate eye make up remover as it can sting a little around the eye area. For £16.00 you get 150ml which I think is reasonable considering the amount of product you use for each cleanse. I can't recommend this enough!
2. Balanced Diet Lightweight Moisture Lotion
Balanced diet is another product that is designed for combination skin. I really dislike using heavy moisturisers, particularly on my face as my skin is so oily, however I do still think moisturising is important. For me, balanced diet is perfect; as it's a lotion it is really light on the skin and sinks in really quickly without leaving any residue.
It contains wheat and soy protein that help moisturise the skin, but also konjac powder that helps to soak up any excess oil. My skin has never felt so smooth since using Balanced Diet. Until now, I had still being using La Roche Posay's Effaclar M which, as a mattifying moisturiser, is amazing but I always felt that my skin could feel softer and more moisturised. With Balanced Diet the balance between mattifying and moisturising properties is perfect. For £21 you get 50 ml of product.
3. A Perfect World for eyes
As I mentioned previously, I had originally visited the counter to ask about GinZing, however trying A Perfect World I absolutely had to buy it. I fully believe that if you look after your skin now, it will look after you as you get older, and a good eye cream is key to this. A perfect world is the smoothest, silkiest eye treatment I have ever tried, it is more like a gel/serum than a cream - which is a big change to Kiehl's creamy eye treatment which I had been using previously. My eye area seems much brighter and refreshed and again you need the tiniest amount. It is quite expensive at £27.00 however, in comparison to the kiehl's eye cream, you get 1 ml more for the same price and you use less product so for me, a perfect world is...perfect!4. Brighter by Nature Brightening Peel
Brighter by Nature is a completely new concept to me - an exfoliater that is a pad. Initially, I was a little wary as the pads smell a little more of alcohol compared to the other products - however I honestly think these pads have done a lot of work to how bright my skin looks. They use fruit acids to peel away dead skin which, when used routinely has really evened out and brightened my skin tone.
I use a Brighter by Nature pad twice a week, sweeping the pad over my entire face before moisturising. The pads do feel quite abrasive on the skin so use them gently, and you are left with a slight tingling sensation. Again, these seem quite pricy at £29.00 however, I read that when you work it out, using two pads a week, one pot of pads last 5 months - which works out to £5.80 a month!
I hope you can see how much I love these products and the brand as a whole. All of Origins products are free from Parabans, mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, animal ingredients and are 100% natural. They are tested on voluntary panels and as a company, are dedicated to recycling and using renewable energy - even the boxes are made from 80% recycled material!
If you're interested in any of the Origins products, I can't recommend visiting a counter more, the staff are honestly the nicest and most helpful I have ever dealt with. I really do get so excited by skincare!
Lots of Love
Nicola
xxx
Ooh yeah!! I went to the one in frasers at the back of the beauty hall - it's good because the facial area is all closed off by a screen so noone can see you! And it's a little bigger - though I popped into the debenhams one today to buy a face mask and the lady was lovely too! xx
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations! Ever since Vita-Zing blew up all over the blogs, I've been intrigued by this brand. I'm definitely going to be checking out Origins the next time I have the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteOooo, I've never been that keen on Origins either but I think I may have to have a look. The only thing that's putting me off is the price tag! xx
ReplyDeleteAlex Kay - I'm always a little divided over vita-zing, I don't think I would get the best use out of it! Definitely go and speak to someone at the counter, they're so good at letting you try things out and giving you samples!
ReplyDeleteAbbie - Do you think it's the packaging and things? The way I tried to look at it is - the cleanser is £3 more than liz earle however lasts a lot longer so it didn't make me feel as bad :p