Pretty In Bronze

I'm back again with another skin care review! iQ Natural Skincare reached out to me to test out some of their products. Because I already have a bunch of skin care in my routine I chose what I was missing and wanted for a while. I've always wanted an undereye cream or gel, but I never got around to purchasing one (mainly because they're usually super expensive). I also have hormonal acne that takes forever to go away so I mentioned that as well.  iQ Natural was awesome enough to send me their Rested Eye Brightener Gel AND their 2% Salicylic Gel. They also gave me an affiliate link that will save you money if you decide to buy from their website! I'll talk more about that later in the post.

Here is a snippet about the company that I got on their website:

"iQ Natural's focus on certified Organic, high concentration active-naturals and holistic plant based ingredients has given clients both professional and personal use, a product with highly effective and health driven results for over 14 years. Results that can be summed up in the vibrant, beautiful, glowing and youthful appearance your nourished skin will emanate."

I love that the ingredients are super natural and once again there's no tea tree oil! Yay for Amy not breaking out into massive rashes! iQ Natural is also pretty affordable for the quality of the products. The packaging is pretty simple and doesn't feel luxurious by any means, but it's what's inside that counts.


The Rested Eyes gel is so nice! I apply this every single night (and sometimes in the morning if I didn't get enough sleep) and it absorbs really nicely. You only need the smallest amount ever so this will last you forever basically. I'm still only using what is in the cap and I've had it for over a month.

Claims: The website claims that this will brighten, get rid of bags and fine lines, cure sagging and  even firm.

Results: This definitely made a few creases disappear. I don't know if they vanished, but I do feel like my undereye is less sunken in. It's like they've plumped up a bit, which is super nice because I look way less tired and those no makeup days aren't as weird to me! I also feel like this brightens the area a little bit, which is a plus because that means less concealer!

Ingredients:  This is copy and pasted directly from the website so credits to iQ Natural for it!

Organic Herbal Infusion, Organic Aloe Barbadensis Leaf (Aloe), Matrixyl 3000, Palmitoyl Triepeptide-3, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Globularia Cordifolia Callus Culture Extract (Plant Stem Cells), Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber Hydrosol), Organic Simmondsis Chinensis (Jojoba Oil), Cassia Angustifolia Seed Polysaccharide (botanical hyaluronic acid), Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Carrageenan Gum, Silk Amino Acid Blend (Sodium L-Pyrrolidone Carboxylate, Sodium Lactate, L’Arginine, L-Aspartic Acid, L-Pyrrolidonecarboxylic Acid, Glycine, L-Alanine, L-Serine, L-Valine, L-Proline, L-threonine, L-Isoleucine, L-Histidine, L-Phenylalanine), Wildcrafted Vinca Major (Periwinkle), Organic Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice), Wildcrafted Euphrasia Officinalis (Eye Bright), Wildcrafted Ganoderma Lucidum (Reishi), Organic Centella Asiatica (Gotu Kola), Boswellia Serrata (Frankincense), Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethyl Hexyl Glycerin.


Packaging: The packaging on this is totally fine. It has a twist off top so everything stays fresh inside.

The gel itself is clear and has a light scent, but not anything that would bother anyone. All in all this is great and you should try it! This goes for $34.00 which is a steal! The time I came close to buying an eye cream it was for the Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream. Do you know how much that stuff is? I was thinking $30.... NOPE. IT'S $66.00 and in my opinion does the exact same thing! So please, if you're looking for an eye cream consider this or something that isn't ridiculously priced because something being expensive doesn't mean it's going to work any better and I definitely learned this while using this eye gel.

This works perfectly fine under makeup! At first I was worried because this applies a bit sticky, but if you let it sink in along with your regular moisturizer it will be fine underneath stuff like primer, foundation, and concealer.

Here's a pic of the eye gel.


Now onto the 2% Salicylic gel serum. This is listed at $34.00 on the site as well. While this may seem a bit steep, there's quite a bit of product in there. The Salicylic acid that I was using before only had 22mL of product in it and it was $12. This has 33mL, but the ingredients are much better and way more natural. While Salicylic acid is the star of the show, there is also Hyaluronic acid and Pro-vitamineB5. For me this is worth trying just because I don't have terrible acne, but I do get spots when it's that time of moth.

Claims: This will help shrink and clean out skin pores that cause acne.

Results: This acne serum is BOMB. This will sound really weird, but I love that I can actually feel it working. When I apply this to any active zits I can feel it burn and it's so satisfying! I noticed that the zit was much smaller the next morning so it definitely helps shrink the zits. I can't really speak for the science behind Salicylic acid, but it definitely works. I also feel like this doesn't leave scars behind like my other Salicylic acid did. And I scar badly so it's a big deal for me.

I wouldn't recommend putting this on underneath makeup because anything with Salicylic acid in it tends to create a little layer of peely stuff (I really have no other way of explaining it) that won't stay put under makeup. I put this on every night after all of my other skin care is on. This is recommended to put on once a day either way and I feel like everything is more effective while sleeping.

Ingredients: These are once again taken directly from the website!

Water, witch hazel, denatured alcohol, willow bark extract, methylcellulose, aloe vera whole leaf juice, vegetable glycerin, salicylic acid, silver dihydrogen citrate, citric acid, potassium sorbate. - See more at: http://www.iqnatural.com/skin-concerns/acne-oil-control/salicylic-gel-clear.html#sthash.ARhZWWvr.dpuf

Packaging: The packaging is the only thing that I don't like about this product. The pump is difficult to control so it's all or nothing. By that I mean the product is either shooting out at high speed (beware the first time) or you're pressing too lightly and nothing will happen. This might be a one off, but I thought I should mention it!

Final Thoughts

I'm really impressed with the two products I received. I'm really intrigued now because iQ doesn't only have skin care products, but makeup as well! I highly recommend checking them out!

If you're interested, please check out the website with this link that will give you a discount of 10%. It is an affiliate link so if you dislike me, but want to buy something just google them!

I will be posting a face skin care routine next on my channel using these products and all of my other skin care products so keep an eye out! I'm hoping for either Saturday or Sunday!

Thank you so much for reading and Thank you iQ Natural for reaching out! :D

Amy 

I thought it was really cool that the team included product information sheets. These give information on the products including the ingredients, how to use them, tips, and the prices. I found this useful because I don't have to struggle to write down ingredients while looking at the small font on the packaging. I will be using information from the sheets in the post to make it as helpful as possible for you! Anything that is directly from the sheet will have an asterisk (*) in front of it.

Speaking of packaging; it's really high quality. I'd go as far as saying that the moisturizers jar is quite luxurious. I'm used to cheap plastic packaging so this makes my routine a little bit more special. The packaging on everything else is really nice too. The serums both have pumps that can lock into place to keep the products from going bad. These pumps push down smoothly so nothing will shoot out across the room, and you can easily control the amount you get out. The sugar cleanser is in a squeeze bottle, but it's still quite nice considering I just keep this in my washroom cabinet.

Now onto the review of each product. I'll go into detail of what my routine with these products looks like after I give their individual reviews, but I want to explain what each product does, and how effective it's been on my skin.

Refining Sugar Cleanser - $25.00 USD

This is what I was most excited about (and I still think this is my favourite product out of the bunch). Several girls talked about how much they love this so I was already expecting it to be good, but man is it awesome! This stuff smells AMAZING. It smells like sugar, but it also smells like something else that I can't quite pin down. My favourite thing about the product is that you can customize it. I have pretty sensitive skin so I can't normally scrub my skin every day with a scrub like this. However, the more water you add the less intense it is. I can use this every night if I add a little bit more water. You only need a really small amount of product as it spreads quickly so that's another bonus. You just need to rub this into your skin until the sugar has dissolved and then you're done! Here's a picture of what the texture looks like.

I 100% think this is worth the price because it's not only amazing, but it's quite big! The bottle is 3.5 fl oz (104 mL) and in the full month of usage I've barely put a dent into the tube. I did accidentally press it way too hard one time and a bunch shot out, but I put it inside of a small travel container and gave it to my mom (who also loved it).

I estimate that this will last me at least six months. That might seem like nothing, but that's if I use it every single day. For those of you with super sensitive skin, you might only use it a few times a week. I also mentioned that you need a small amount, so it really does go a long way.

Tip*: Once the sugar has dissolved, leave the cleanser on your skin for 3-5 minutes for a gentle hydrating treatment. I don't do this everyday, but about once a week when I do use more, I let it sit for about 5 minutes and my skin feels extremely silky afterwards. It feels like it's going to take forever to wash it off, but then you realize that there's no product left over and your skin really does feel that soft.

Key Active Ingredients*: Crocus Chrysanthus Bulb Extract (DermCom), Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 (Matrixyl synthe'6), and Sodium Hyaluronate (L) (Hyaluronate Acid). There are a bunch of other ingredients that are listed on the website as well if you'd like to check them out! This goes for all of the other products!

Perfect C Serum 17% - $44.00

This product contains vitamin C as well as many other great ingredients (that I will mention below) and is meant to be used in the morning after cleansing. I don't cleanse my skin in the morning, but I do go in with a toner before this. When my skin is ready I apply one pump of this all over my skin. I only wear this on the days that I'm not wearing any foundation (which is a lot more often than you would think).

This is probably my least loved product of the bunch that I received. I do love it when I'm not wearing makeup, but I don't recommend wearing makeup when using this because on me it starts to peel the moment that I put primer or foundation on. It pretty much flakes off, but because I wear moisturizer every single day, my skin feels soft and plump so it just sticks to it and makes a mess. In the summer I wear SPF under my foundation and primer so I'm not sure if that would make it flake off, but if you don't try to add any makeup to your face, this product is perfect.  

This product is quite pricey so I don't know that I'd say it's worth it. I really like it, but out of all of the products, this is the one that I'd say you can skip. However, if this didn't flake up underneath primers and foundations I would say that it's worth the price.

Tip*: Humans do not produce Vitamin C so it should be incorporated into everyone's diet and skin care regimen. This is why I love the product so much, but I'm not sure if I can get past the flaking when I wear makeup.

Size: 0.5 fl oz / 15 mL

Supreme Polypeptide Cream (Moisturizer) - $56.00

This stuff is awesome. My skin has never been as hydrated as it is now. I do still have a problem area around my chin, but I spoke to my doctor who said that it's from my hormonal breakouts. Everywhere else is super soft and I've noticed that my skin doesn't look as wrinkly as it did before (I'm 21 so it shouldn't be wrinkly at all, but I have a few noticeable ones). This doesn't surprise me because this specific moisturizer is an anti-aging moisturizer, but MyChelle does have other moisturizers targeted for different issues!

This works well under makeup, but I learned to wait at least 30 minutes before applying foundation. The moisturizer is really thick and rich and takes a while to absorb into my skin, so in the morning when I am planning on wearing makeup, I quickly tone my face and apply this right away. By the time that I'm finished eating breakfast and feeding my dog, I can start on makeup. My makeup goes on really nicely on top of this, which I'm really happy about.

At nighttime this is ideal for me. It's super thick and it gives my skin tons of time to repair itself. I never wake up with my skin flakey. This really helps with hydration and the overall appearance of my skin. I love that my acne cream and eye gel works on top of this product as well, though I only use those at night time, unless it's a stay at home day for me without any makeup. Here's a pic of the product itself.

I don't have anything negative to say about this, but my boyfriend does. He cannot stand the smell. He says that this smells like iron and dreads when I put this on (especially at night). I don't have an issue with the smell (my mom and best friend didn't either), but since Steven did, I do want to warn you that if you're super sensitive to smell, you might not like this. But if you aren't fussy about how skin care smells, then you'll probably love it if you want something super moisturizing that will help with fine lines!

This is the other product that I think is worth trying out. While the price is quite hefty, most good moisturizers are. When I was looking for moisturizers to purchase, most of them (with good reviews) were in the $50-$80 range. The highest recommended ones were over $100. This might be because I live in Canada (makeup and skin care tends to be more expensive here than in the U.S.... and yes, even when taking our minimum wage into account). At the sale price of #39.25 I definitely think you should try it out before it goes back to the regular price!

Tip*: Use with wrinkle spot treatment for the ultimate in age defense (I don't have this so I can't say much about that).

Key Active Ingredients*: Palmitoyl Tripeptide-38 (Matrixyl synthe'6), Pisum Sativum (Pea Peptide) Extract (Proteasyl TP), and Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5 (Syn-Coll) Peptide. The rest of the very lengthy ingredient list is on the website as well!

Size: 1.2 fl oz / 35 mL

Remarkable Retinal Serum - $47.50

I don't know if I'm crazy, but I think this actually works. I mentioned that my lines weren't as apparent, and I think it might be this. This is meant to be worn at night time since it contains Retinal. This feels almost like a moisturizer, but it's not. As soon as I cleanse my face with the sugar scrub, I pat it dry and apply 1-2 pumps of this and wait 30 minutes (as the directions say to do). Usually I do exactly 1.5 pumps. This doesn't really have a scent, but since it's meant to be worn under the moisturizer I guess it doesn't matter. 

Do I think this is worth the price tag? I think so, but I don't know for sure. I do feel like this has been improving my skin. My skin is way more even than it's been since before I hit puberty. My lines are less noticeable (I haven't changed my makeup technique so trust me on that) and my skin just feels nicer. You don't absolutely need to wear the MyChelle moisturizer if you already have one that you love, but this serum is great. Of course I've only been using these products for a bit more than a month, but I feel like it's enough time to get a good feel for everything.

Tip*: To enhance anti-aging results, add the Remarkable Retinal eye cream into your evening routine to target fine lines and wrinkles around the delicate eye area. I don't use an eye cream from this brand, but I do use one and the two products do work amazingly together!

Key Active Ingredients*: Retinal (Retinaldehyde), Citrustem Orange Plant Stem Cells, and Ceramide 3. The rest of the ingredients are once again on the website!

Size: 1 fl oz / 30 mL

My routine with these products:

Morning: I tone my face > sometimes use the Perfect C Serum 17% > I put on the Supreme Polypeptide Cream > I wait 30 minutes and apply my makeup and go.

Evening: I cleanse my face with the Refining Sugar Cleanser > I apply the Remarkable Retinal Serum > I wait 30 minutes and apply the Supreme Polypeptide Cream > I apply my under-eye gel and acne cream and then I'm done.

Overall:

My skin went through a mini purge when I first started using everything. About a week in I was breaking out all over, but this ALWAYS happens when I start to religiously use skin care products (especially a cleanser). The breakouts quickly disappeared and I haven't had an issue since. The biggest thing for me is that I'm not allergic to any of the ingredients. I'm super allergic to Tea Tree Oil so I need to steer clear of a lot of skin care (I'm looking at you Lush and The Body Shop). Most holy grail products that I see YouTubers raving about include tea tree oil, which helps with breakouts. None of these products contain anything that I'm allergic to, but they are mad up of very natural and amazing so that's a huge thumbs up for me.

Pros: 

Cons: