Alpha-H Liquid Gold Rose

I don't think Liquid Gold gets enough love these days. I know, The Ordinary has arrived shaking up the beauty world in the past year making the best active ingredients accessible for a wider audience, but Alpha-H and Liquid Gold is still one of the cult treasures that cannot be knocked off the top of beauty 'best of' lists. I love The Ordinary, but Liquid Gold from Alpha-H will always be one of my all-time favourite beauty products. I started to use it about six years ago (it was launched 18 years ago) when it really started to get a buzz on beauty blogs and it looked like this:

Old packaging - photo from www.amodelrecommens.com

I fell in love with it after the first use simply because it's one of the few rare products that gives you instant results and it doesn't stop working. Liquid Gold and Glycolic Acid was a true discovery back then and now I can't imagine my skincare routine without it. People I introduced it to often responded with the same enthusiasm,  some even saying 'I want to take a bath in this thing!' which is quite tempting actually, trust me.

New packaging - photo from www.qvcuk.com

Many years and a packaging/logo makeover later, Alpha-H has become one of the most loved brands, Liquid Gold is still going strong and is one of the top anti-ageing products out there, a true skin care Holy Grail. The company is still family owned and kept their integrity which is so refreshing these days. They also do clinical trials which shows you that they really care about results.

What is Liquid Gold?

It is 5% naturally derived Glycolic Acid, Liquorice Extract and silk proteins. It's not called 'overnight facial' for nothing. The acid loosens up dead skin cells from the surface of the skin and reveals a bright, bouncy skin. It fades pigmentation, improves the appearance of pores,  it keeps them clean and bacteria free, it reduces the appearance of fine lines and increases the skin's own HA and collagen production. It also stimulates skin cellular activity, accelerating repair and renewal of cells.

All in all, it improves the texture of the skin, smooths and tones it, brightens plumps and firms. Glycolic Acid drops the PH of the skin, so the skin has to work hard to raise it back up. This work the skin does is almost like a workout that keeps it fresh, makes it tighter, firmer. This sounds absolutely magical, doesn't it? It is basically forcing your skin to behave to its optimum, and it really does work!

Supercharged Liquid Gold Rose, the makeover
Alpha-H has just come out with a new version of the Liquid Gold infused with Rose, Lotus Petal, Orchid Flower and Scandinavian Red Algae. There's an added hydration element here, it is more gentle on the skin and less irritating. The beautiful scent is a bonus. It offers a bit more for the people who have a bit of dryness on the surface of their skin, redness, broken capillaries or are a bit more sensitive. This edition is so much more than adding a rose scent. With the added botanicals this is a lot more luxurious experience than the original.

How to use Liquid Gold? 
I would start using it 1 or 2 nights a week after cleansing and work it up to 3 nights a week. If you have sensitive skin or rosacea, please do a patch test before putting it all over the skin just in case. Try to resist using a foaming cleanser before Liquid Gold as they advise because it upsets the balance of the skin. Try to also resist using a moisturiser after, because that would raise the PH of the skin and counterbalance the effects of the acid. Sweep over entire face, neck and chest, I do the back of the hands too. It might tingle after the first few uses but you can build up your resistance to it. I used to use it every third night, but now I alternate it with other Glycolic products (because of my hoarding of anything with Glycolic Acid in it, I need to get through them), so it might just be once a week for now. 
   
It is safe to use it during pregnancy too which is good news for many people.

My Alpha-H regime

Apart from it giving you instant results and a luxurious skin care experience, Liquid Gold is a great investment - a 100ml (the original is £31.00, the Rose edition is £34.00 at QVCUK) bottle lasts a long time! They say the Liquid Gold Rose is a limited edition but if it gets enough love the company promised to bring it back. So give it some love because if you haven't used it before surely it will change your life. I for one, can't wait for my next Liquid Gold night.