I genuinely thought that I had written this review a long, long time ago. I can’t really begin to understand why I didn’t, or if I did (which I think I did), where on earth it has gone!

You’ve heard me go on and on and on about Liquid Gold. You must have done. Even if you have previously followed me on Twitter, Facebook, Youtube but not here on the site, then you’ll still have heard me going on about Liquid Gold. (What is Liquid Gold? If you are at a loss – perhaps you’re a new reader, in which case WELCOME! – then you can read about Alpha-H Liquid Gold here.)

I use Liquid Gold (Glycolic Acid for those who don’t know and can’t be bothered to read up about it!) every two or three nights. I put a little of the liquid on a cotton wool pad and sweep over perfectly cleansed skin, and that is it. Nothing to follow, no other little additions, apart from my eye cream. (StriVectin, Alpha-H Absolute or Dermalogica at the moment, in case you’re asking!) There’s a slight tingling when the Glycolic gets to work (it’s an acid that exfoliates and helps to boost cell turnover) but that’s it. It is, probably, the one skincare product that I couldn’t do without – my desert island necessity, if you will.

Sound good? It is. The gentle but very effective exfoliation is kinder, I think, than scrubbing away with broken-up fruit stones and bits of plastic, and the Glycolic actually helps to increase collagen production, contrary to how you’d instinctively think that an acid would work. It’s great for helping to treat acne – the exfoliation reduces build-up of dead skin cells, helps to reduce the size of enlarged pores and generally just does a splendid job of keeping the skin clear. It’s also amazing for helping to reduce visible scarring, and, (most importantly for me personally) it’s a pretty powerful “anti-ager”. The skin is kept “on its toes” as it were, so new, fresher cells come to the surface faster.

Anyway, this was NOT supposed to be “Liquid Gold Revisited”, so I shall move on! You can get Liquid Gold with free worldwide delivery from BeautyBay.com.

Moving on. The Liquid Gold Intensive Night Repair Serum. I can only apologise for not having posted on this earlier, because it’s really quite an integral part of my beauty routine. I use the serum every two or three nights, on evenings when I’m not using the liquid. (This all feels very familiar writing this down, I am sure I’ve posted this before!) The Night Repair Serum works slightly differently to the Liquid. It contains a higher percentage of Glycolic, but it works at a higher pH so the acid does slightly different things. In fact, it’s not really the star ingredient in this show. The serum is formulated with Niacinamide, one of my favourite ‘wonder’ ingredients. It helps to improve the skin’s barrier functions so that the skin can hang onto moisture and it’s key in keeping collagen production ticking over nicely. It also helps to fade hyperpigmentation and prevent further damage.

So…bit of an all-round superstar, then, this serum! If you’re looking for a product that ticks a lot of boxes, then this could be it – lots of people feel overwhelmed by the sheer mass of products out there for anti-aging (so many of them crap, too!) but this one has lots of fingers in lots of pies, so to speak. Wrinkles, loss of firmness, dark spots, acne scars, dehydration – it’s an amazing product to add to your beauty arsenal. Also, if you hate the feeling of the Liquid Gold and can’t bear the idea of not “moisturising”, then this serum could be a better option. You can apply a moisturiser afterwards (and apparently, should, though I didn’t for the first six months that I used it!) and if you can alternate it with the Liquid Gold.

It’s got a very distinctive smell, the serum, and I’m not sure what it is. A little like fake-tan perhaps? Anyway, for some reason I love it! Maybe it’s just because I love the product so much. You can see from my photo that serum number 3 is on its way out and 4 is ready to be opened…in all truth, there’s a long way to go before 3 runs out but I panic if I’m not stocked up, so…

Couple of side-notes here: remember to use a good SPF during the day if you’re using glycolic. You should be using one of some kind every day anyway, but it’s even more important that you remember if you’re using anything with this ingredient. Also, if you have sensitive skin then tread carefully! You’d be surprised how many people think that they have sensitive skin but are actually just stripping the hell out of it all the time – these people might be pleasantly surprised with the effects of the Liquid Gold, especially if they have acne and wrinkles or oily skin with dry, flaky patches. But if you really have sensitive skin that’s intolerant to many things, you may want to go very carefully or perhaps even avoid. And anyone who is new to AHAs (the group of acids that glycolic belongs to) should start off gently-gently. Once every three nights at first, then every other night. Then, if you’re truly addicted (as I am!), alternate the Liquid with the serum! I only have a night off so that I can test other things for review and now and then I stop altogether for a few weeks if I’m doing an in-depth test (as I have been recently).

Whew! Longest post ever. Sorry about that! I hope I haven’t bored the absolute pants off you all, but when I go all-out and say that I really love something, I like to explain why.

Alpha-H Liquid Gold Intensive Night Repair Serum is £49 with free worldwide delivery from Cult Beauty – this bottle will last for months and months. You only need one or perhaps two pumps to do the whole face and neck. I usually follow with the Alpha-H Essential Hydration Cream (£33 from BeautyBay.com) because that’s what was recommended to me, but a good, no-frills moisturiser without any active ingredients to react with the serum will do just fine. I sometimes use a little bit of my Pai moisturiser or Emma Hardie Lighter Lotion.

**UPDATE: I wrote about Niacinamide a few weeks ago, for those interested: StriVectin EV Review)

**UPDATE 2: the serum is NOT suitable for use during pregnancy, just FYI!)