Alpha H liquid gold review

Alpha H Liquid Gold: is it as good as everyone says it is?

Alpha H Liquid Gold is regularly described as the holy grail of skincare: the one product NO ONE should even attempt to live without. IS it, though? I decided to find out…

A few months ago, I became obsessed with the idea that I should probably have a proper, grown-up skincare routine by now, and because I don’t know the first thing about skincare – or even the second thing, really – I decided I’d do this by basically just rushing out and buying all of the products the beauty gurus rave about, even although some of them cost more than a pair of shoes, and I’d secretly rather have the shoes. Who wouldn’t, though?

I decided to start with Alpha H’s ‘Liquid Gold’, which, as far as I could gather from the reviews, was ACTUAL liquid gold: as in, the people reviewing it seemed to believe they’d found the philosopher’s stone, and that their lives – or, at least their skin – would never be the same again.

Here it is in my bathroom, where it blended seamlessly with the tile. Would this be the ONLY benefit of Alpha H Liquid Gold, though? If the suspense is killing you, read on. And if not, well, it’s been nice knowing you for this all-too-brief time…

Alpha H Liquid Gold Review: is liquid gold really as good as everyone says it is?

Alpha H Liquid Gold Review

(Alternative title for this post: ‘Could I Have Taken a More Boring Photo of This Product?’ Answer: probably not, but in my defence, I couldn’t work out what the hell I was going to say about it, so I just snapped a quick iPhone photo one night, on the off-chance that I’d decide to write about it after all. Let’s file this under ‘Things I Regretted in the Morning’…)

So, as I was saying, the beauty gurus all raved about this product, and despite my natural scepticism, when faced with rave reviews, I find it really hard not to completely lose my mind, and believe them with every fibre of my being. I spent quite a bit of time typing the words ‘Alpha H Liquid Gold Review’ into Google this year, and that’s how I found myself in possession of the alleged fountain of youth – even although I still wasn’t TOTALLY sure what the hell it actually WAS.

Here’s what I did know about it:

01. It is NOT a toner: I repeat, NOT A TONER.

02. It totally sounds like a toner, though.

03. You apply it after cleansing.

04. Just like a toner, really.

05. It is so strong you have to build up your tolerance to it gradually, using it once a week for 2-3 weeks, before gradually building up to using it 2-3 times per week.

06. If you don’t do this, your face will fall off.

07. Then a new face will grow in place of the OLD face, and this new face will be a TERRIBLE new face. A Voldemort face, if you will.

08. I just totally made that up, to see if you were paying attention.

09. Although your face will (probably) not fall off, it will tingle after application. You will find this quite alarming.

10. No, I don’t know why you will find the tingling so disturbing, but all of the reviewers did, so if you don’t, there’s something wrong with you, OK?

11. I’ve totally lost control of this post now: it’s like it’s writing itself.

12. You can use moisturiser after applying Liquid Gold, but if you want a more intense treatment, you can skip the moisturiser.

13. You will NEVER get used to going to bed without moisturising first. This is because you are a proper, grown-up adult, who would never DREAM of skipping the moisturiser, not even if it’s really late, and you should probably have skipped that last glass of wine, instead. Whoops.

14. Regular use of Liquid Gold will transform your skin, your life, and will also alter the space-time continuum.

15. “There’s virtually nothing this skincare miracle can’t accomplish!”

16. It ACTUALLY says that on the Cult Beauty product page for this. I wonder if the Pope will give it a Sainthood, now that we’ve established it can do actual miracles?

17. If there’s nothing it can’t accomplish, it’s a shame IT didn’t write this post instead of me, huh?

18. I’ll stop now, I promise.

I also discovered – again from reading the Cult Beauty product description – the following Alpha H Liquid Gold review:

“Starring nature-derived glycolic acid (it comes from sugar cane), this overnight treatment harnesses the cell-stimulating and exfoliating properties of alpha hydroxy acids, which melt the ‘glue’ that binds dulling dead cells to skin’s surface, revealing the healthy ‘new’ skin cells beneath. What’s more, by lowering skin’s pH (from 5.5 to around 3), this stimulates cellular activity – accelerating repair and renewal processes, as skin works hard to re-establish equilibrium. It bolsters synthesis of elastin and collagen (the ‘scaffolding’ that keeps skin firm), while penetrating deep within pores to eradicate spot-causing bacteria – while the resurfacing action also helps to diminish visibility of acne scars, dark spots and brown patches, so your complexion quickly looks more even-toned and luminous. “

I hope you were paying attention to all of that, because there will be a quiz at the end of this post…

By the time it arrived, then, I was almost giddy with excitement and anticipation: so much so that I’m ashamed to report that I failed to follow the “build up your tolerance gradually” advice, and proceeded straight to the “2-3 times per week” bit, and by that I mean “four times per week”. Here’s what I discovered:

01. My face did not fall off as a result of not building up my tolerance gradually.

02. My skin DID tingle, but I did not find it alarming: I actually found it quite pleasant, in an, ” I can feel it working, so it must actually be working,” kind of way.

03. I found myself really looking forward to the nights designated as ‘Liquid Gold’ nights, purely because on those nights I didn’t have to use moisturiser, and I’m a lazy ass, who will take any excuse to skip a step in her night-time routine.

04. I’m very aware that that line about looking forward to the ‘Liquid Gold’ nights sounds super-sleazy, somehow.

05. By the end of the first week… absolutely nothing had happened.

06. By the end of the SECOND week, however, I had started to notice an improvement in my skin. It was the kind of improvement that I normally think of as, “God, I have no idea how I’m going to describe this on my blog? My skin looks… better? In an undefinable kind of way?”

07. At around about this time, I took off my makeup one night, and Terry commented – totally unprompted – that I looked “really fresh-faced.”

08. It’s only just occurred to me that although I took this as a sign that Liquid Gold had done its job, and done it good, he MIGHT have just meant that my face literally looked like it had been freshly slapped?

I mean, I don’t THINK that’s it: in all seriousness, I genuinely noticed an improvement in my skin after the first couple of weeks, and I became really quite excited, thinking that AT LAST I’d discovered a product that truly lived up to the hype, and that my skin would basically just continue to get better and better, until I was starting to age in reverse, Benjamin Button-style. I was REALLY pleased, seriously.

The problem was, however, that after that initial improvement… nothing much happened. My skin didn’t get any better, and I don’t THINK it got any worse, but by that stage I guess I was used to the new status quo, so every time I looked in the mirror and realised I had once again failed to knock yet another year off my age, I felt a bit disappointed, really. I realise my expectations were unrealistic here (and, just in case it’s not obvious, I didn’t ACTUALLY expect to turn into Mr. Button. That would just be weird…), and that no product will make your skin continue to get better every single time you use it, by the fact remains that by the time I reached the end of the bottle, several weeks later (And I will say this for Liquid Gold: it might be pricey, but you don’t need to use much with each application, so it does last for a long, long time…), I was reluctant to splash out on a new one.

Don’t get me wrong, the product is pretty good, and I DO recommend trying it if you feel your skin needs a little something extra. For me, though, it just wasn’t good ENOUGH to make me want to continue buying it: or not for now, anyway. I may well go back to it at some point, but as of now, I stopped using it a few weeks ago, and my skin doesn’t really look any different, so I’m probably going to try something new, rather than buying a new bottle of Liquid Gold.

Have you tried Alpha H Liquid Gold? What did you think of it?

Alpha H Liquid Gold review

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COMMENTS
  • Mia

    REPLY

    I didn’t want to start the comment with “HAHAHA” but… “HAHAHA!”.
    Great self writing post I would say. Since I’ve been using Liquid Gold for a while now, I wanted to say that I really can’t do without it. It might be a skin type kind of thing but my skin has a sort of… “texture” to it if I don’t use any proper exfoliation. Milder ones like the Pixi Glow Tonic are great for every day but I still need the Liquid Gold every once in a while to get the smooth feeling on my skin.

    September 20, 2016
  • B

    REPLY

    test

    September 20, 2016
  • I just left a fairly long comment and it didn’t publish, so I’m going to try again because I need to share the glycawhatever acid revelation I’ve had! I haven’t tried this gold stuff (which sounds like the 80 proof gin version) but I have tried the grandma’s sherry version, Pixi Glow Tonic. I had reservations at first but now I wouldn’t be without it (and it’s only £18 in comparison, compared to £30+ for the gold stuff). It was totally an impulse purchase in M&S though, after I read an article about it somewhere. x

    September 20, 2016
  • Interesting that two people above mention the Pixi Glow Tonic because that’s the one I’ve started using as of a month ago. And just like you’re describing – initially a couple of weeks in I felt like my scarring had slightly improved, B unprompted said ‘your skin is looking better’ when I woke up one morning (what a compliment, by the way). But then, just as you describe, it’s like all progress has stopped. I still think it’s doing a good job taking off the dregs of my make-up and I am also lazy and didn’t use a toner before. But it’s kind of expensive for a toner so I’m not sure if I’ll keep going once I run this bottle out… I think the actual way forward in my life is snail goo products, as my friend is currently raving about those…

    September 20, 2016
  • I do want to try this but worried that it’ll be too much for my skin plus I’m incredibly cynical of how much people rave about it. There’s definitely a reason Liquid Gold Nights sounds sleazy, Liquid Gold is also a name for poppers 😉 (Great review btw :D)

    September 20, 2016
  • Žanete

    REPLY

    I loved your review, Amber. 🙂 It made my evening although I the person who has absolutely no interest in buying skincare products (cause I don’t really use anything for my face). 😀

    September 20, 2016
  • Donna C

    REPLY

    I found the same with Liquid Gold, all the beauty gurus rave about it so it must be good, right? Well no, I was very underwhelmed by it and didnt see enough of a result to warant a repurchase, instead of gone back to the Nip and Fab super strength pads, definite results, notice if I don’t use them for a bit and reasonably priced!

    September 20, 2016
  • Haha, I hated this stuff. I wrote a post on it a few years ago and it literally did nothing for me. I spent hours reading about it and wondering whether I could justify spending £50 on the stuff. I caved in the end and it was a waste of money. I noticed zero difference in my skin. Boo! I was hoping for so much.

    Corinne x

    September 20, 2016
  • Bex Miller

    REPLY

    Voldemorts face! Haha. I didn’t really care for the Liquid Gold, I found it a bit underwhelming. I do however like the Clarins Gentle Exfoliating toner which is a similar concept, and does a nice job of brightening and exfoliating (sadly no reverse aging yet though) x

    September 20, 2016
  • Ellen

    REPLY

    I’ve got a couple of small bottles of the gold stuff that I got in an offer from m&s. I use it occasionally and all it seems to do is make my skin itchy and more sun sensitive. The pixie one I had last year and it felt a bit too harsh for me. Irish skin needs something gentler!

    September 20, 2016
  • Chiarina

    REPLY

    I really shouldn’t be one to comment here, because ever since my second child I have been using baby skincare products on my face, and find them better than most things I’ve tried, but I enjoyed reading this post so I thought I’d say it… I really like it when your posts take on a life of their own, Amber!

    September 21, 2016
  • Theresa Wood

    REPLY

    Brilliant writing!!
    ?

    June 4, 2018
  • Wendy

    REPLY

    As a skin biologist I can confirm that alpha hydroxy acids will help the corneocytes ( the top layer of skin cells) shed. The rest though is hokum: -collagen and elastin are synthesised and operate as structural proteins in the dermis, not the epidermis, and no cosmetic product sold in the US or the EU without prescription can penetrate the epidermis to get to the dermis. The whole point of the skin is that it is a functional barrier to protect your insides. Additionally there is no way that enough acid can get into your pores, ducts or follicles to mess with the micro flora that is supposed to be on your skin.
    Don’t get me wrong, I use acid treatments to help remove the dead corneocytes, and they do a great job of it, but that’s the only functional effect when applied topically in the concentrations permitted for cosmetic products.

    June 5, 2018
  • I am alllll about skincare! If you’re looking for a good Glycolic Acid treatment, I swear, SWEAR by the Nip+Fab Extreme Glycolic Fix wipes and they’re less than half the price of Liquid Gold. Although it says to use 3-4 times a week, I use it every night and honestly, the difference in my skin is noticeable and they’re the one product I will not be replacing any time soon xx

    July 26, 2018
  • I love how your reviews read like an actual person wrote them. Not that other people who review products are robots or aliens, but yours are worded in a really accessible way.
    I’d also love to hear your review of the Pixi Glow Tonic, because I’ve long considered trying it out.

    July 26, 2018
  • Sharon

    REPLY

    I’ve got Liquid Gold and also bought the Alhpha H Liquid Laser set from QVC at the same time. The gold is fine, but my goodness the Liquid Laser is amazing. It was a trio of facewash, serum and balm. I’ve finished the facewash and I don’t think it did too much. The reason being is that when it ran out and was only using the serum and balm I was still getting good results. Incredibly soft and hydrated skin. It’s handsdown the best skincare I’ve ever used. But yeah, when the gold runs out I won’t rush to buy anymore more cos why would I when the laser stuff is a-ma-zing!!!

    July 26, 2018
  • Liquid Gold was my first ever chemical exfoliant, and even though I never proclaimed it could do everything, it did leave me deeply impressed. I think whether or not you see dramatic results is down to which skincare issues you have. Not all skin needs exfoliation, and if you don’t really struggle with hyperpigmentation or texture, you probably won’t see the results as much as someone like me, with acne scars, congested skin and texture.
    Although I admit that any chemical exfoliant would have probably had me raving, even at a much lower price.

    Anne – Linda, Libra, Loca

    July 26, 2018
  • Lila Athanaselis

    REPLY

    Best product I’ve found great for your skin St Ives apricot facial scrub, lightly scrubs, keeping skin clean fresh and soft, I use it every day in the shower and have stopped using any moisturisers at night. Used to use Apri but it got oily after a while.

    July 26, 2018
  • Maureine

    REPLY

    I purchased alpha gold 2weeks ago on a flight £23 not too bad the stall on flight agreed it was fantastic so hand in purse paid and purchased been using pixie for awhile very good results so I tried this alpha gold very excited to try it but as of yet seen nothing that would get me to repurchase so back to pixie why do we keep doing this what’s wrong with us overpriced and yet we cave in again and again no product really that we can buy without prescription are really the answer but still we look for that product that is so raved about we buy just saying hang on to your money

    October 3, 2018
  • Gaz

    REPLY

    My understanding is liquid gold is like a chemical exfoliator makes sense you would only use it no more than three nights a week. What if you used retinol on the opposite nights and other serums I’d say it probably is a tool in the routine but not the only tool

    March 28, 2019
  • This may just be the best beauty blog post I’ve ever read. I hardly laugh out loud when I say “lol”; I merely appreciate humour internally. But this post had me chuckling in an animal-like fashion, and even prompted a snort. Thank you for writing in the honest and refreshing way that you do. It is needed in an industry that often takes itself far too seriously. 🙂 A lesson for me, too, to do the same.

    April 19, 2019
  • Aianne

    REPLY

    I was just searching for a review about this product – just like you were – when i found your blog. For a moment, I thought I wasn’t really understanding what was written and then boom saw you are english and at the end realized what a great review this came out to be – and so well written. It’s different than what I usually read, it seems more genuine, coming from a real person, an ordinary costumer, like myself. Thank you (still unsure about buying the product though, but subscribed to your newsletter and you got a Brazilian fan). ?

    May 30, 2019
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