Luxola & SK-II #EyesForBeauty

I’ve been sitting on these since Luxola sent them to me. Luxola is now available for Indian customers and they sent me this limited edition SK-II Pitera Essence Set alongwith a box of Signs Eye Masks and I am particularly obsessed with the latter. ( If you have not shopped at Luxola yet, here’s a discount code for you as a first time customer – valid till 25th December – for a 30% discount, the code is BLX-NAINACO ).

SK-II (pronounced S-K-Two) is a luxury beauty brand launched in 1980 in Japan. It is Procter & Gamble’s prestige line of skincare products in Asia. I had previously heard a lot of great things about its Pitera range and was thrilled to finally be able to try it out in person.

The brand itself has a simple but interesting history. From Wikipedia : SK-II was born out of “Secret Key”, a skincare line developed by Japanese scientists during the 1970s who were looking into using more naturally derived ingredients. While observing workers at a sake brewery, they observed that elderly workers had wrinkled faces that showed their age, but their hands were smooth, clear and younger looking from years of submerging their hands in the fermented yeast. After much research and development, the strain of naturally-occurring yeast was isolated for use. “Secret Key” was launched as “SK-II” in December 1980.

The Facial Treatment Clear Lotion on the left above is basically a toning lotion for your skin.~INR 4,000 for a 150ml bottle. Soak cotton pad to wipe face. I currently do it once a day – but can be done twice a day as well.

The Facial Treatment Essence is a cleaning lotion – use it after the toner. ~INR 5,000 for a 75ml bottle. Facial Treatment Essence has over 90% Pitera, which is the TM ingredient in most of the SK-II range of products. Again, soak a cotton pad and apply on the face. I would say keep going till the pad is dry so that your skin gets all the goodness. Use after the Clear Lotion application.

I am also quite interested in this Facial Treatment Mask.

Luxola also has a Pitera Essence Set that I would recommend for a first timer to try.

In my opinion, anything Japanese is bound to be superlative and these eye masks below surely are. The effect under the eye is visible to the natural eye after just one ten-minute application. And no, I do not throw away the eye mask after its ten minutes under the eye are done. I transfer it to a slightly lower area under the eyes and leave them on there for a bit as well. If the mask is still moist after that – which it will be – I transfer it further down to my cheekbones. The masks have a lot of juice and when I’m home, I can leave them on to prettify my whole face!

The Signs Eye Mask is ~INR 5,500 for a box of 14 masks ( I could be wrong about the quantity though – I was so excited to try them out that I did not bother to count how many pouches there were in this box. Apologies. Definitely more than 10 sets though.)

Remember, broader end of the mask will go to the outer corner of your under-eye area. Also can be applied twice a week. I don’t really have a problem with dark circles but the skin feels quite supple for at least a day after application and there is definite lightness of the skin. Also I can’t say about reduction in fine lines etc. – no lab-testing/data recording here. The product description claims reduction in fine lines etc.

If you are keen to try out this brand – and others – from Luxola.com – and are a first timer to their website, don’t forget to use this 30% off discount code : BLX-NAINACO It is NOT an affiliate link, just a clean 30% discount. They also have free delivery for shopping carts worth more than INR 2,300.

Luxola is also participating in GOSF and if you are into that sort of thing, now is the time to check it out! Have fun & do tell what your experience with both brands is – Luxola and SK-II.