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Elizabeth Arden Peel & Reveal Revitallsing Treatment
by walsha11
So I discovered this amazing discount store near my boyfriend's flat and along with a whole load of rubbish they sell amazing beauty brands at knock down prices. Among these I found a load of Elizabeth Arden products at bargain prices and decided to try a few things I'd never used before.
This was one of the products I picked ... up on my first visit. I do have to explain that in this store there are no fancy beauty tables and therefore no samples. everything is boxed and sealed so you really just have to read the back and hope it is worth the discount price. I tend to think with branded products like this you can't really go wrong but I honestly had no idea what to expect from this before I opened it. The box said it was a skin revitalising face treatment so I imagined some sort of face mask type thing. I wasn't far off but I definitely wasn't expecting what I found.
The product some in a shallow round shaped glass pot. The outside of it has been coloured a shimmery pink/aubergine colour which is quite pretty. There is write writing and branding on the pot as well as a white plastic lid with silver metal rim. On the top of the pot there is a little clip and in this the brush that accompanies the product goes. The brush is basically a small application brush which has a clear plastic handle, metal cap and fine brush (similar to an eye shadow brush). There was a plastic cover that the brush came in but it won't fit in that and clip onto the lid so I discarded it pretty quickly.
Inside the pot is what is best described as a pink coloured goo. It has the consistency of treacle or golden syrup and has a very rich winey/berry smell to it - almost like concentrated ribena. The colour of the gel is similar to the outside of the pot, though obviously transparent.
The purpose of the product is basically as a mask. You apply like goo with the brush provided, smoothing on a layer across the entirety of your face. You then let this dry and once it has you can peel if off in one go. The first time I did it I didn't really know what to expect and wasn't anticipating the whole thing drying and peeling off like something from a prosthetics course. That said, this part is actually super fun - though I do have a couple of issues with it.
The goo is very hard to apply, much like golden syrup it is hard to get out the pot without creating a mess. you have to be quite patient because it does take a while to get your face covered. Once it is coated it feels really weird, kind of nice weird but it definitely isn't as relaxing as other masks I've used. I tend to find that as it dries you skin can feel a little itchy, especially if any parts begin to peel off. I've actually found it best to be in quite a cold room and to only apply a thinish layer otherwise it doesn't dry properly and can make a mess. When it does dry it makes your face very stiff and you have to be careful not to move it too much. I personally love this feeling because it really does feel like it is doing something, but others might disagree.
Though I love how easily it comes off, all in one peel, it can be a little annoying when it comes to hair. I do apply it over my eyebrows and it hasn't ever pulled hairs out but it can be a little sore and is far harder to pull off successfully from hair. Also, because of the rather pungent smell, you have to avoid getting this near your eyes as it can make them water. I have also found that once used the brush is never quite the same again and you have to be careful to wash it thoroughly after use.
All that said, I do really like this product. I only use it when I have a decent amount of time on my hands and want a relaxing and pampering session. I do find though that it is really fun to use, my skin always feels great afterwards and I like the feels of it as it dries. I've also probably used it 4 times since I bought it 6 months ago so it will last me for absolutely ages!
I've definitely had better masks in terms of what it does for my skin, though it does leave it feeling soft and supple. However, I really enjoy the process of applying and peeling off this mask and it does overall create less hassle as you don't need to wash anything off (this is always my least favourite part).
I paid £10 for mine and having had a look online it tends to retail at around £20+. This is a pretty decent saving and for something that I'll probably never need to replace it really is an absolute steal.
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Elizabeth Arden Good Night Sleep Cream
by redhead78
Whenever my mum goes on holiday she always brings me a treat back from Duty Free, bless her. Several months ago now, one of these treats was an Elizabeth Arden gift set, a lovely box filled with samples of lots of different products. To be honest, it got put into the airing cupboard with the rest of my toiletries and then promtly ... forgotten about. I've gradually been using some of the gems inside since rediscovering it and for the last couple of months have been using up my tube of the Good Night's Sleep Restoring Cream.
I'm not a particular product junkie like many of my friends and, whilst I do like to stick to a cleanse, tone, moisturise routine every day (except those 'can't be bothered' days when just a face wipe does the trick), I don't really bother with anything fancy and tend to stick to my trusted Nivea. So until now I've never used a night cream for my face and have tended to either use the thicker Nivea Soft or just put extra of my Light Daily moisturiser on at night when I wanted to give my skin a bit more of a treat.
Some sample sized products can be teeny weeny so that you don't really get chance to experience them, or their benefits, fully before they run out. Elizabeth Arden, however, are much more generous (although I don't know how much my mum paid for the set so probably shouldn't comment on whether they're generous or not!) and I received this product in a small royal blue plastic tube containing 30ml of the product. As the normal sized jar only contains 50ml I think this is a decent enough sized to really form an opinion on the cream.
The Good Night's Sleep Restoring Cream is widely available from many department stores and even in larger Boots stores or from their online shop which is, surprisingly, the cheapest place I've found it available apart from eBay. You can get it from Boots for just £20.99 for the 50ml jar, rather than the standard RRP of nearly £40. Obviously postage charges need to be added to that, although you can get it delivered for free to your nearest Boots store and you can collect 80 advantage points too. And as an added bonus, if you buy two Elizabeth Arden products you receive a free gift of 6 sample sized make up and skincare products in a red cosmetics bag, which looks absolutely lovely!
As I said, I got a small blue tube with a white screw top lid, but the normal packaging is a purple glass jar as can be seen in the picture above. On products like this where you have to use your hands or fingers to apply the cream I much prefer the packaging to have a flip top lid as they're easier to close, but with this tube, as you need such a small amount of the cream and it really only sits on one fingertip I've found it relatively easy to close the tube up again before actually applying the cream to my skin. I think I actually prefer my tube to the standard jar as it only has a really small hole through which you squeeze the cream, meaning you don't end up with copious amounts of product all over your fingers and so there is no waste. Whereas with the jar you would have to dip your fingers in it every night and to me this presents a slight hygiene issue.
So, the cream is squeezed out of the tube in a really small worm shape and only a very small amount is needed for good coverage of my face and neck. The tube doesn't give any information about how much to apply so I generally use a pea sized blob and this is ample. It is quite a thick consistency and feels like a really creamy cream, if you know what I mean?! It is easy to spread it evenly over my face and neck and it rubs in nicely without leaving my skin feeling greasy and manages to make me feel like I've got cream left on my face without leaving any residue behind.
The fragrance of this cream is quite a tricky one to describe. The first couple of times I used it I really wasn't sure whether I liked it or not, but it has grown on me and now I don't really mind it. It doesn't have a strong fragrance to it, more of a subtle floral background and, although I wouldn't particularly choose floral frgrances in anything, there's nothing really offensive about this.
As this is a night cream I always apply it last thing to cleansed and toned skin before I go to bed but, althought the tube states you should use this every night, I only use it once or twice a week as I find that if I overdo it with moisturising products on my face it can lead to me getting small breakouts of spots. I don't really use this expecting to see any visible difference to my skin, more to feel the difference it makes. Because, believe me, it does make a difference.
As soon as I apply this cream to my face I can feel it sinking in and it makes me feel like my skin must have been really thirsty and that this is quenching that thirst. Any dryness or tightness from my cleansing and toning immediately disappears after application of this and my skin feels softer and moisturised. And, despite this being a night cream, I was really surprised to still be able to feel the effects of this cream the next morning when I woke up too. My skin still felt much softer than normal and I really didn't feel the need to apply my usual moisturiser like I normally would as part of my morning routine.
I would imagine from the name of it that this cream is supposed to make you feel and look like you've had a good night's sleep and, whilst it does make my skin feel lovely, I don't think it makes my skin look any different. I certainly wouldn't use it after a big night out when I know I'm not going to get much sleep and expect it to make me look like I've had my full 8 hours. It doesn't brighten my skin or add any radiance to it so I'd still use my Clarins Beauty Flash Balm if I felt like my skin needed some oomph on a morning.
I've been really surprised by how long this small tube has lasted me. With using it probably an average of twice a week I've used maybe half of it now so can this lasting me until Christmas at least. Obviously if you use it every day it won't last nearly as long, but for my skin twice a week is plenty and so I think it is worth the price tag (in Boots, I wouldn't pay, or ask anyone else to pay, the full RRP).
Overall I've been really impressed with the Elizabeth Arden Good Night's Sleep Restoring Cream. It's not something that I would have picked up myself in a shop, particularly given the high price tag, but it's definitely something that I'll be adding to my Christmas wishlist in the hope that some generous soul will add it to my stocking. I would never use it every night as the packaging suggests as I think it's too intensive for every day use for me personally, so I use it more as a treat for my skin every 3 or 4 days and think it will be particularly beneficial in the coming winter months when my skin has been battered by the winds and frosts of the Lake District. It makes my skin feel like it's been given a real treat and when I apply it it really does feel like my skin is just drinking it in. So if you want softer skin that feels moisturised and cared for then I would recommend this cream.
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