Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream

Antipodes is a New Zealand brand focused on natural and organic skincare with scientific backing, to provide a product based in nature with great results. I have tried several products from Antipodes before and have really enjoyed them, in particular the Anti-Ageing Minis (made even better if you can nab them on sale!). I love that they are a natural skincare brand that feels really luxurious and does provide great results on my skin. The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is my current day and night eye cream and has lasted me a helluva long time.

The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream promises to help moisturise and soften fine lines as well as soothing and cooling the eye area.

Eye creams are one skincare item that I religiously apply both morning and night. Despite that they
are sometimes a thicker cream that might not sit so well under makeup - something that I wish I did not have to wear every day, but, working in an office environment demands it - the area around my eyes always seems to lap it up. The Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is a great eye cream for the day time, as it is a light lotion texture, so will be perfect for those who do not have quite such a thirsty eye area and it absorbs really well. This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money.

I was really hoping this one would smell like fruity kiwi. Does anyone else pick up a skincare item purely based on how they hope it will smell? It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would a kiwi fruit cream smell!

In terms of efficacy, this is great at keeping the eye area hydrated and smooth. I am 25 this year so I do not have too many fine lines to worry about just yet but of course, being obsessed with skincare as I am, I do notice the few that are beginning to appear. I do not find this eye cream to quite as good as one of my favourites Adavanced Night Repair Eye from Estee Lauder in diminishing fines lines however it certainly plays its role in hydrating the area to prevent more appearing, as it promises to do. I have also found this to be a bit of a lifesaver recently, as my eyelids really dried out in a bad reaction to a concealer and this helped to bring them back on track to being smooth and flake free.

This eye cream has a water base and includes some really beautiful ingredients comprising avocado oil, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol (derived from coconut), cetearyl glycosides (derived from wheat straw), glyceryl stearate (an emulsifier which, in combination with the previous two ingredients, prevents the water and oil in the formula from separating), Vitamin E in the form of tocopherol acetate, carrot seed oil, kiwifruit seed oil (obviously), borage oil, gluconolactone (a polyhydroxy acid (PHA), basically a milder acid than an AHA that is better for sensitive skin), sodium benzoate (a salt preservative derived from fruit), and finally grapefruit seed extract (the Antipodes core brand ingredient Vinanza grape seed extract).

Price: $52.99 (Priceline website) [$1.77/mL]
Rate: easily absorbed, vegetarian, hydration benefits
Hate: packaging (I still rate the Kosmea eye cream packaging as one of the best around!)
Verdict: not a repurchase for me at this stage as I have found other eye creams that work better for me, but I would highly recommend if you are after a simple, light eye cream

What is your favourite eye cream that I should try?

Daily Skincare Routine I

My current daily skincare routine has been really pared back lately, for a couple of reasons. Firstly,
we have just moved from the city to the country in the past two months and for the vast majority of those two months, I have not been bothered to unpack all of my beauty bits and pieces. So I learnt to make do with what was I'd thrown in my toiletries bag before moving, which wasn't very much! Secondly, the hormonal acne on my jaw and chin has been absolutely horrendous so I have been trying to keep things simple with adding in a product here and there to see if it is successful in controlling it at all (spoiler: I actually have found something that has worked wonders, but that's part of my nightly routine and a story for another post).



First up (always) is an hydrating toner and my current baby is the 100% Pure Jasmine Green Tea
Tonique for normal to dry skin. This one is all natural and vegan and smells amazing. I love anything jasmine (probably one of my first purchases when I eventually own a house will be a jasmine vine...) and this has such a beautiful, refreshing scent. It is a pretty heavy mist so probably not a great one for misting over makeup to refresh it, which doesn't bother me because I use this purely as skincare and an extra hydrating layer. It is packaged in a beautiful white glass spray bottle and (touch wood) I haven't dropped it yet so I love the packaging. Heads up, this is currently on sale from Nourished Life and a really good price, so get on to it if it sounds good to you!



Next is eye cream. I am currently using the Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream from Antipodes. Look, I don't particularly love this one. It is hydrating, sure, but really doesn't do a lot for me in terms of plumping or smoothing the eye area. I was also mega disappointed when I first opened it to use it that it didn't smell like kiwi fruit! It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would that smell! This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money. Not my favourite eye cream in terms of what it does for my eye area and I am looking forward to moving on to something else soon.



Serum follows eye cream and, whilst I would usually be switching between a few depending on what my skin needs, I have been almost exclusively using Hydraluron from Indeed Labs because it was in my toiletries bag. This is an always repurchase for me because it is such a saviour for dry skin and also a great all rounder serum that suits my skin no matter what. No such thing as too much hydration, right? It's also great on sunburn, FYI. It's light, easy to use, doesn't affect any makeup, and plumps up skin beautifully. My only problem with it is the packaging. Because the serum is so runny, it runs straight out of the opening in the tube and you always end up with way more than you need everywhere! I can forgive the packaging woes though, because this is just so good and so simple. It is basically my go-to serum when I'm not really sure what my skin wants that day.



Moisturiser is the next layer and I have currently been using a new purchase, the Boost Balancing Moisturiser from Botáni. This is beautifully light and absorbs super quickly, so it has been awesome to use under makeup on work mornings because it sets really nicely so it won't disturb your following layer of foundation. It has a woodsy smell when first pumped out of the bottle but once applied, it actually smells quite sweet! It gives off strawberry jam vibes to me. I really enjoy using this and love how the scent develops. The packaging is also a big win - so quick, easy and hygienic. I can see myself repurchasing this as a work morning moisturiser and it is most definitely the winner of the two moisturisers I purchased in the Priceline 40% off skincare sale.

What does your current morning skincare routine look like - and have you used any of my current routine before?

Latest Buys

Since I started my full time job out of university, I have had a bit of extra cash to spend on my greatest vice - skincare. I reasoned that, seeing as I did not spend the money on the recent Priceline skincare bag, I would spend my money on things that I actually did need. "Need". Two of my recent hauls are featured here.




























The first came about because of a David Jones GWP on Clarins. I did not need much more convincing than that to go and pick up the Everlasting Foundation that I had heard great things about and also a new moisturiser that I definitely did need. The other bits were just a bonus! Clarins is one of my favourite skincare brands and their products are just beautiful. They all smell divine and look so classy standing around on my dressing table.

The second big spend came about when I noticed a post from Amy from Bottled Beauty advertising her blog sale. I was there in a flash! She had so many lovely skincare bits for below half the retail price so I could not help myself. I picked up two pieces from Antipodes and the Go-To Skincare Face Hero serum. I have been dying to try out some of the Go-To Skincare range so this was a perfect way to start.

I have so much new skincare to try out and I cannot wait to get stuck into it all! Let me know if you would like to see any particular reviews on the products featured here and I will put it on the top of my list.

Have a great weekend all!

Antipodes Anti-Ageing Minis

Antipodes is a New Zealand brand focused on natural and organic skincare with scientific backing, to provide a product based in nature with great results. These are the first two products that I have tried from Antipodes and it is such a great introduction to the brand. I picked up this super cute little set in the Priceline 40% off skincare sale (it only ended up costing $12, bargain!). It includes the Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum and the Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream.

The Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum promises to repair dry and damaged skin and freshen the complexion. The Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream promises to prevent the signs of ageing along with soothing and mositurising the skin. It also promises to neutralise free radical damage.

The night cream smells AB-SO-LUTE-LY incredible, all herbal and fresh and slightly pear-sweet (turns out this is a combination of ylang ylang, jasmine and sandalwood, hah). I love applying this at night as it is so calming to the senses. The Joyous serum is so silky and delicious and smells clean with a slight tang of blackcurrant.

After cleansing and layering up on toner, I pat 2-3 drops of the Joyous serum all over my face, neck and décolletage, followed by a pea-sized amount of the night cream. The night cream is ultra-rich but easily spreads all over your skin. In the morning, I wake up with hydrated, smooth and plump skin that is (dare I say it?) soft to the touch. The night cream can feel a little greasy when you first put it on as it does not immediately sink in to the skin. For someone like me with dry skin, I relish the heavy feeling but for anyone with more of a combination skin type, this might be a bit much!

Over the five weeks that I have been using this pair nightly, I find my skin to be much smoother and clearer in general and, if anything, breakouts have been reduced and are healing quicker. I also haven't had any issues with dry, flaky skin, except the typical patch on the tip of my nose. Does anyone else have that problem?

Both products feature some wicked, skin-loving ingredients. The Joyous serum includes blackcurrant oil, goji berry extract, raspberry seed oil, hibiscus flower extract, Reishi mushroom extract, natural berry fragrance, essential oil components...and that's it! How's that for minimal ingredients? The Avocado Pear night cream has a shea butter base and includes vegetable-derived squalene (for hydration), avocado oil, manuka honey, macadamia nut oil, calendula oil, coconut oil, grapeseed extract, and vitamin E amongst others.

I am really keen to try out more from the Antipodes brand, what an amazing skincare range! I also might have noticed that they have a small makeup range when browsing their website...uh oh.

Price: $19.95 (Adore Beauty website - this particular set doesn't seem to be available from Priceline any more, but the full sizes are) [$1.00/mL] (the minis are a cheaper way to buy the serum, but you are better buying the night cream full size on a per mL basis)
Rate: scent, luxurious, ingredients, calming, improvement in skin appearance
Hate: relatively expensive for full-size purchase
Verdict: would definitely repurchase both (hopefully in full size)