A skincare brand I had heard great reviews on that was still on my list of things to try? Pai. Pai is a skincare brand that was founded to cater to skin that is sensitive and gets irritated easily. This line is promoted as soothing, yet also luxurious and gentle. So that sounded like it could be right for my dry/ dehydrated, sensitive skin and when I got a set of freebee travel sized minis with a recent Sézane order, I felt I could kill two birds with one stone. By now I have taken these with me on a trip, used them a bit more and I can give you my thoughts. This is my Pai skincare review.
Skincare review: Pai Travel Size Mini Moisturizer, Cleansing Oil, Hydrating Mask & Face Oil
Pai skincare is a brand I first was introduced to by influencers. I wasn’t sure where I could buy them and that’s why I hadn’t tried them before. As far as skincare goes, this isn’t a super expensive brand, but it also isn’t a very affordable one either. The full sizes for the products I am showcasing here today range from €30 – €50 a piece. For this price point to be worth it I will be a bit more critical. I don’t mind spending more money on my skincare, but I do want it to be effective and if a product is in this price range and I feel it doesn’t do much for my skin for whatever reason would make me a bit more disappointed than when this was super affordable.
Pai Resurrection Girl Hydrating Mask
So the first product I got to try was their hydrating mask. And this one was… weird. The texture is quite thick so I had high hopes for this to work as some sort of overnight mask. This is supposed to replenish the skin and really give it a good drink of water. It should work on even the driest and most dehydrated skin. For me this just felt strange. Yes it was hydrating but at the same time this also put some sort of weird layer on my skin that just wouldn’t be absorbed by my skin. And it was sticky! Even an hour after I put this on my skin would just stick to my pillowcase. Not great. This is also the most expensive product I tried. A full size retails for €49.
What are the ingredients like? Here they are!
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil* (Sunflower Oil), Glycerin*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond Oil), Butyrospermum Parkii Butter* (Shea Butter), Aqua (Water), Camellia Oleifera Seed Oil* (Camellia Oil), Prunus Domestica Seed Oil* (Plum Oil), Sucrose Laurate, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water* (Orange Fruit Water), Inulin, Hydrolyzed Glycosaminoglycans, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Myrothamnus Flabellifolia Leaf Extract* (Resurrection Leaf Extract), Sucrose Stearate, Sucrose Palmitate, Tanacetum Annuum Flower Oil* (Blue Tansy Oil), Fructose, Citric Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Saccharide Isomerate, Sodium Citrate.
So I think why this wasn’t working for me was mainly because there was a lot of oil and butter in this. This definitely feels like a nice product, but the blue tone of the product was confusing to me and if I wasn’t careful I did look a bit like a smurf. And because of the thicker texture I also felt it was very easy to overapply this. I also felt this smelled a bit strange. Not because it is heavily fragranced but it just wasn’t a great scent as it sat on the skin for a long time.
Pai Light Work Rosehip Cleansing Oil
The product that possibly worked best for me? The cleansing oil. This felt really nice on the skin. I mainly used it for my morning time or second cleans and this felt great. It didn’t strip my skin, a little went a long way and therefore I felt I was really getting the use out of this mini product. They do this in a 100 ml size that retails for €37.20 which for a cleanser of this caliber I would be more than happy to pay. This doesn’t have a noticeable scent, it does not irritate the skin and it cleans your skin very well too. Yes, yes, triple yes.
What are the ingredients like? Here is the ingredient list!
Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Polyglyceryl-4 Oleate, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Extract*, Jasminum Grandiflorum (Jasmine) Flower Extract*, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Oil*, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil*, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil*, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Oil*, Tocopherol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract*, Naturally occurring in essential oils: Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Citral, Linalool
This mainly consists of several oils (what’s in a name!) and I found that that is why this works. It is very inoffensive, doesn’t feel super oily and can get the job done. With a cleanser, that is all I ask for.
Pai The Anthemis Chamomile & Rosehip Soothing Moisturizer
The package also included a moisturizer. And this one is another product I feel is not worth it. This is formulated for the most sensitive of sensitive skin types. And while I get that, that is why I didn’t like this. I have found that my skin needs a bit more than what most moisturizers formulated for sensitive skin can give me. This is another one of those. What’s wrong with it: it is too thin, absorbed too quickly and after just 5 minutes it feels like this has already disappeared completely and now that this is pretty much used up (which didn’t take long as I have to use so much of this) I can confidently say this just isn’t potent enough to work on my dry skin. A 50 ML full size retails for €44.
What are the ingredients like? Let’s find out!
Aqua – Purified Water, Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil* – Apricot Kernel Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil* – Jojoba Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius Seed Oil* – Thistle Oil, Cetearyl Alcohol – Naturally derived Emulsifier, Glycerin – Organic derived Vegetable Glycerine, Rosa Canina Seed Extract* – Rosehip Seed Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter* – Shea Butter, Cetearyl Glucoside – Naturally derived Emulsifier, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract* – Chamomile Extract, Leptospermum Scoparium Branch/Leaf Oil – Manuka Oil, Sodium Levulinate -Naturally derived Preservative, Tocopherol – Natural Vitamin E, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil* – Lavender Oil, Sodium Anisate -Naturally derived Preservative, Pelargonium Graveolens Oil* – Rose Geranium Oil, Lactic Acid – pH regulator, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate – Naturally derived Emulsifier, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate – Naturally derived Preservative, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract* – Rosemary Extract.
My main reason for not liking this? It’s too thin and then I see this has not one but two types of water and I think that can explain at least some of it. There are some other ingredients here that would have me expect it might work for me, but for the most part I need a moisturzer with a richer texture to give me the hydration that I need.
Pai Rosehip BioRegenerate Universal Facial Oil
Not a favorite that I feel I want to run out and buy, but one that I am liking enough to use up completely at some point: the facial oil. This feels great on the skin as well. This should work with irritated, flaky, dry skin and just any skin issue where you might feel your skin needs some extra loving and attention. In terms of price point, this is also quite reasonably price and I also felt I am getting a reasonable amount of product in this mini size. A full size is 30 ML and retails for €27 while this 10 ML travel size is available for sale at €18.
What are the ingredients like? Let’s find out together!
Rosa Canina Seed Extract* – Rosehip Seed Extract
Rosa Canina Fruit Extract* – Rosehip Fruit Extract
Tocopherol – Natural Vitamin E
Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract* – Rosemary Extract
And that’s it! Just four ingredients and I think that’s why I like this one. It just is Rosehip from start to finish with some Vitamin E and Rosemary. What’s not to love?
My final thoughts
Of these Pai travel size mini skincare products I had success with some and some just aren’t for me. As I had expected, not all of these products are quite right for me either because they are too much or because they aren’t doing enough for my skin. While these are very nice when they go on and the ingredient lists are very much on point, I do feel this brand suffers from what I feel many sensitive skin targeting brands are dealing with: it just isn’t quite right to give my skin what it needs. So this is one where I would recommend some trial and error if you want to try it, because it definitely didn’t cause any irritation on my sensitive skin.
Would I recommend Pai skincare?
I only tried minis so I do want to add that here, but based on what I have tried I would recommend looking into 2 of these and staying away from the other 2. The Hydrating Mask and Moisturizer are the things I would recommend you do not yet. The Cleansing Oil and Face Oil are my two standouts here. The cleansing oil more so than the face oil those can definitely be good ones, but I will just be hanging on to my minis for now as I can still use them for travel whenever I feel I need something small to chuck in a bag.