Last year on Black Friday, Pai Skincare, my favorite natural skincare brand from the UK had one of the best deals I’d ever seen. No better time to review it like now, right? Pai usually has great holiday deals but they never reveal any info until Black Friday or after. So maybe this review will help you decide to jump on the deals this year and get excited for what’s to come. (Stay tuned for that!) Although, I personally never need much persuasion when it comes to Pai Skincare goodies…
For the usual price of $136 (USD), Pai was offering a skincare starter kit (with a choice from four kits according to skin type) AND as part of the Black Friday deal, you received additional products: Kukui & Jojoba Bead Skin Brightening Exfoliator, Echium & Argan Eye Cream, and either the Sea Aster & Wild Oat Instant Calm Redness Serum, the Copaiba & Zinc Perfect Balance Blemish Serum, or the Echium & Amaranth Age Confidence Facial Oil (depending on which starter kit you chose). That was a value of about $167 for $136 and six full-size Pai products (plus the muslin cloth) for the price of four! As a fan of Pai Skincare’s high-quality organic and natural products, this was a great deal especially because Pai products are a bit on the pricer side normally.
Each starter kit comes with a Day Cream, Camellia & Rose Cleanser, Exfoliating Muslin Face Cloth, and BioAffinity Skin Tonic, all really nice skincare products perfect for any skin type and a great introduction to Pai Skincare. Depending on which skin type, the additional products offered with the Black Friday deal varied in formula but in general, each bundle came with a facial serum, eye cream, and exfoliator.
One of the first natural skincare brands I started using when I switched to green beauty was Pai Skincare. I purchased some products as a birthday gift to myself and was so pleased with the quality of the ingredients and effective formulas that I became a lifelong fan. I still can never be without the Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream or the Camellia & Rose Cleanser. Pai’s Rosehip Oil is also the one natural product I always recommend to friends and something everyone ends up loving.
Though I have mostly dry and sensitive skin, I purchased the Perfect Balance Starter Kit because like I said, I really love the Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream and this was the kit that came with that specific cream. Plus, the Black Friday deal for this kit included some products I hadn’t tried before and was curious about. The Perfect Balance Skincare Kit included the Camellia & Rose Gentle Hydrating Cleanser, Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic, Geranium & Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream as the base products. If you’re wondering about the cleanser and the Geranium & Thistle Day Cream, see my past review here.
Here are my thoughts on the products in the deal that I tried for the first time:
Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinity Tonic: I have previously only tried the Lotus & Orange Blossom version of this toner (which I love) but I was interested to try this one too. I didn’t enjoy the Rice Plant & Rosemary Tonic as much partly due to the scent, which was a bit too strong and medicinal-smelling for me. I will say, I feel as though this formula has as much soothing properties as the Lotus & Orange Blossom and actually feels more potent in cleansing and balancing the skin. The Rice Plant & Rosemary Tonic would be great for sensitive and reactive skin types as I think it’s very soothing, gentle and helps clear impurities better. Personally, I think the Lotus & Orange Blossom Tonic feels more hydrating on my skin. It’s also been a while since I’ve used a Pai toner and they’ve changed the spray bottle packaging, an improvement I do love. The bottle sprays easier and distributes a much better amount of product than before. Other than that, in general I still think Pai Tonics are great quality but very pricey as far as toners go. If I were to treat myself again, I’d probably purchase the Lotus & Orange Blossom Tonic, which I think is also better for my skin type. $56 for 1.7 fl oz.
Kukui & Jojoba Bead Skin Brightening Exfoliator: I’ve raved about this product before and still really love it. The Kukui & Jojoba Bead Skin Brightening Exfoliator is a unique product in that it’s a gel exfoliator formulated with jojoba beads that are gentle on your skin and also have less an impact on the environment (as opposed to micro-beads in most exfoliators). The gel-formula also melts into a silky, milk-like texture when rinsed from the skin, great for sensitive skin types like myself. This exfoliator is gentle, soothing, and really gets into your pores for a good scrub without ruining your skin. Using this exfoliator regularly once a week keeps my complexion looking clean, balanced, healthy, and glowing. I love how gently this exfoliator polishes my skin and that it is not a messy product to use. It seems that currently, Pai has done away with the pump packaging (which was honestly not the best design for this product’s thick, viscid texture,) and have repackaged into a squeeze tube. If you’re looking for a gentle, high-quality exfoliator with a unique gel texture, you definitely need this one. $44 for 2.5 fl oz.
Copaiba & Zinc Blemish Serum: I know a lot of people have raved about this product and because it was one of Pai’s newer releases, I was curious as well (the other treatment serum also peaked my interest but this came with the package I bought). However, I’m not sure this really did much for my skin. I don’t have too many blemishes so perhaps that should be taken into account although I thought this serum would help improve my overall complexion anyway. The Copaiba & Zinc Blemish Serum is supposed to treat and soothe acne-prone skin, reduce sebum production, and improve the appearance of blemishes, “By regulating oil production, Zinc helps reduce skin shine, blackheads and congestion, while Hyaluronic Acid deeply hydrates skin to maintain skin tone and suppleness.” This serum has a light, almost watery cream texture and to me, a stinky scent. (I can’t even describe the scent well, it sort of reminded me of the way glue smells.) This serum can be used as a treatment alone after cleansing or underneath moisturizer or facial oil. I tried it both ways and still didn’t notice much difference. I’d be interested to try the instant calm redness serum but I’m not sure I believe that would work for my skin either. $78 for 1 fl oz.
Echium & Argan Gentle Eye Cream: I’ve heard a lot of great things about this eye cream and was excited to finally try it out for myself. I can get pretty lazy when it comes to remembering to apply eye cream, but I still think it’s an important step especially as my skin and I are both getting older. I don’t have extremely dark bags or wrinkles under my eyes but I do experience occasional puffiness and dryness. The Echium & Argan Gentle Eye Cream is perfect for my skin and I think would work well for many skin types. It is a very gentle, creamy formula with a lightweight texture that sinks into skin instantly. Noted for revitalizing delicate skin and suitable for sensitive and easily irritated eyes, this eye cream is extremely hydrating and soothing on my dry skin. This is one of the few eye creams that I actually enjoy using as it keeps my skin nourished, supple, and soft. I find that most eye creams are extremely heavy or greasy but I like that Pai’s eye cream is more lightweight but just as nourishing and hydrating. $54 for 0.5 fl oz.
Overall, I think this was a great opportunity to try out new Pai Skincare products while receiving more of my favorites. I can’t wait to see what the Black Friday deal is at Pai Skincare this year!
Have you tried anything from Pai Skincare before? What are your favorite Pai Skincare products?
Check out Pai’s website for full, detailed ingredient lists for each product. All Pai Skincare products are Certified Organic by the Soil Association, vegan, and not tested on animals.
