prairie bliss botanicals

BioBliss Lash and Brow Booster Serum Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 3 Comments

BioBliss is Prairie Bliss Botanical’s science skincare line. Prairie Bliss is a small Canadian spa and skincare company offering all natural and organic products. I’ve also used the Caffeine Fix Eye Serum and U-Fresh Mist from this company. Since trying B Beauty’s Eye Lash Enhancer and not seeing the results I wanted, I purchased the BioBliss Lash and Brow Booster Serum.

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The Prairie Bliss website lists the ingredients; however, it is a hover list and has a copyright label, so I’m not sure I’d be allowed to list it fully here. Please see their website for a full list of ingredients. I’ll go through the primary ingredients though. The two active ingredients are peptides; myristoyl pentapeptide-17 and myristoyl hexapeptide-16. The pentapeptide enhances keratin production, thus creating lengthening and thickening of the lashes. The hexapeptide also stimulates keratin and makes lashes appear thicker, longer and stronger. Apparently these two peptides, when used together, make lashes grow 25% longer. The other primary ingredient listed is castor oil. Castor oil is anecdotally touted as a hair growth miracle all over the internet. I have doubts about castor oil growing hair; this is the first ingredient in the B Beauty Eyelash Enhancer, which didn’t lengthen my lashes.  However, I have been trying castor oil as a weekly hair oil treatment. The BioBliss Lash Serum includes other oils and vitamins.

This product claims to lengthen and thicken lashes with visible results in 2-4 weeks and best results in 6-8 weeks. This is to be applied on clean eyes at the root of the upper eyelash once daily. This can also be used on eyebrows. As with most eye products, it should be used within 3 months.

I have short eyelashes that seem to grow straight out with no curl. Due to over-tweezing my eyebrows years ago, they are thin and some of the hair follicles are likely dead (I don’t expect anything to revive dead hair follicles).

I applied this to my eyelid at the root of the eyelashes with the small brush and also applied it to the root of my eyebrows in the evening. The product itself is white and has a bit of a medicinal smell. It is not irritating. About three weeks in I started noticing results; my eyelashes were a little longer. I didn’t see any change to my eyebrows though.

I used the product for 8 weeks, and definitely noticed results in the mirror as I applied the product close to the end of the 8 weeks. I thought the eyelashes looked longer, but I didn’t notice any increase in thickness. In the photos the results were harder to see.

The top photos are before and the bottom photos are after 8 weeks’ use. Zooming in on the photos, I’m not sure I can see too much difference in the length looking at the front of the eye (a bit surprising since I could definitely tell there was lengthening as I applied the serum towards the end of the review); however, the side profile definitely shows lengthening. I can also see the lashes are a bit thicker especially towards the root. It looks like I might have some graying on some eyelashes and on the after photos the coloring looks better and the lashes look stronger and healthier.

Something I want to note is that the company recommends this be used by 3 months due to bacteria buildup. This is pretty standard with products used around the eyes (mascara, eyeliner, eye drops etc.). The bottle contains 10 mL of product. I used this for 2 months on my upper eyelashes and my eyebrows, and the product was only a quarter gone at the end of the 2 months. The product could easily be half the size.

I’d likely purchase again. I was hoping for more length, but perhaps with the way my eyelashes grow straight out, the length is harder to see. There are definite results with the eyelashes looking healthier and thicker. I was also hoping for at least thickening of the eyebrows as well. I might look for another product with the same active peptides in it; whether a product does what it claims depends on the concentration of actives used. There have been good, proven results with products containing prostaglandins, but I’m a bit reluctant to try these based on side effects.

Prairie Bliss Botanicals Caffeine Fix Eye Serum Review

~ Michele Raiyne ~ 1 Comment

The skin around the eye is thin and the first place to show signs of aging. After finishing YBF Skincare’s Correct Eye Cream, I was looking for an eye treatment that wasn’t such a heavy hitter, as my eyes are pretty good – a few fine lines and can look tired in the mornings with a bit of discoloration and a bit of puffiness especially after too little sleep.

Prairie Bliss Botanicals is a small Canadian spa company based in Saskatoon, SK that makes a number of all natural and organic skin care products. After reading the description of the Caffeine Fix Eye Serum, I wasn’t sure what the texture was going to be like. It’s called an eye serum, but the description says it is a “rich eye cream.” When I bought this serum, there was no ingredient list on the website or on the bottle I received, so I emailed the company asking for the ingredients. They responded to my email within the hour saying they couldn’t provide me with ingredients as it was propriety information. I see that the website now lists the ingredients; however, it is a hover list and has a copyright label, so I’m not sure I’d be allowed to list it fully here. Please see their website for a full list of ingredients. I’ll go through the primary ingredients though.

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Primary ingredients: Organic coffee, vitamin E, grape seed oil

I’m not sure if the company uses coffee, coffee bean oil, coffee extract and/or caffeine. Depending on what is used, there are lesser or greater amounts of caffeine and fatty acids. For example, coffee bean oil has a small amount of caffeine, but is rich in fatty acids, and smells like coffee. Caffeine on its own has no smell. Caffeine can help reduce eye puffiness as it enhances circulation. Caffeine is an antioxidant and helps protect the skin against UV radiation.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, fighting free radicals and helping prevent wrinkles. It is a good moisturizer for the skin.

Grape seed oil is an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. It has fatty acids, helping improve wrinkles and may improve scars and marks. It contains vitamins C, D and E.

Directions say to apply a small amount after moisturizing – after moisturizing the eye or face I’m not sure. It seems a bit redundant to use two eye products as the Caffeine Fix is plenty moisturizing.

The serum is packaged in a dark blue bottle, protecting it from light. It uses a pump which could have been better. I found that the pump was not very easy to push down smoothly, and way too much product would very suddenly come out as the pump eventually was able to be pushed down. It is very light yellow in color and is an oil serum, not a rich cream. It smells amazing; just like a cup of freshly roasted coffee. I didn’t really like to use it in the morning as it took a few minutes to absorb fully and if I got too much (which was easy to do with the pump) I found it could be a bit irritating if it got too close to my eye and just looked too oily, so I ended up just using it at night. I’ve used it so far for about 3 months. In the morning my eyes look less tired, less puffy and feel so moisturized, soft and smooth to the touch. I didn’t find too much difference in fine lines or under-eye darkness (may need to use it longer to see these results).

I don’t think I’d buy this again, as I much prefer an eye cream to an oil serum, but Caffeine Fix is very moisturizing and helps the eyes look more awake. This will last a long time as such a small amount is needed and it is very fluid (however the pump is not as smooth as it should be which leads to wasted product).