Review: Wild Medicines Facial Steamers: Oily/Teenage Skin and Face Oil with organic Rosehip, Evening Primrose, Patchouli and Neroli

Wild Medicines Helping Me Get Happy Skin Again...

When I was younger, my mum used to have a facial steamer and would pop in a few drops of essential oils to the hot water and let the vapours from the steam work wonders on her skin. I was too young to be interested in doing the same at the time but i always loved the scent that would waft around the room whilst she was doing this.
My skin has been feeling very irritated and congested for the last few months, i've noticed a lot more breakouts and felt my skin looked bumpy since the holiday definitely but I put this down the sun lotion I was using and thought it would clear up in time. Nothing has really changed so I thought about what I could do or change in my daily skincare routine to make my skin happy again - it just suddenly occurred to me that i should try steaming my face. I googled a few things and was looking for facial steaming bags when I came across Wild Medicines; a must have brand for any green beauty lover!
Wild Medicines was created by the lovely Louise Bowery who believes we can both sooth our skin and our minds by using and listening to nature, which is all around us. We all have a fragrance that when we smell it, it has the power to move us and alter our moods... I absolutely love the scent of jasmine for its uplifting properties and woody scents such as patchouli to calm my mind. Her powerful and potent products are paraben & cruelty free and never test on animals.

I have been using the Facial Steamers (£4 for 4 bags) designed for oily/teenage skin as I wanted to feel like my skin was being purified and decongested of any toxins and grime from every day life. They aim to do just this and leave you with healthy glowing skin afterwards which  can safely vouch for! I popped a bag in a bowl of hot water (you don't need a fancy steaming facial kit to use these like my mum had) and put a small towel over my head and breathed in the vapours whilst they got to work on my skin for around 5 minutes. I'm not a massive fan of steam rooms and find it hard to breathe so i don't tend to use for longer than 5 minutes and pop out for air but you can use for 5-10 minutes quite happily if you wanted to. My skin felt fresh as a daisy and totally rebalanced and i felt like i'd had a mini spa session minus the price tag! I think another positive of using steaming in your skincare routine every now and then is that your skin is primed for any skincare that you use afterwards - especially face masks or serums/oils as your pores are open and more receptive to lotions and potions. The bags come in a handily little tin to keep them fresh and can be easily stored in your vanity cupboard. 

I have only just started using the Neroli Facial Oil (£16 for 30ml) but even though I have oily skin, i'm finding it a real pleasure to use. I've not had any breakouts and don't find it heavy, plus the scent it divine. I try to steam once a week and choose to use a facial oil every other night or so. I'm not sure why, I just don't feel the need to use it every night, but i love using oils like this one when my skin needs a serious hit of moisture.

If you want to try these products for yourself or find out more, visit Wild Medicines or why not tweet Louise on Twitter who will be happy to advise! 

Greenwood Organics: Natural & Handmade Pampering Duo!

"Always natural, always organic..."

My Powerful Pampering Duo

That's the statement that Zoë Greenwood, founder of Greenwood Organics promises to every single customer. Zoë has harnessed the benefits of blending ethically sourced organic oils to create a powerful range of products that nourish and care for your skin, no matter what skin-type you are or what stage in life you're in; there's something for you.

One of the main things that drew me to Greenwood Organics is the fact that their products are handmade in England and contain only the finest organic oils and ingredients that can be found. There's something wonderfully comforting and reassuring about supporting local brands... Although I do own and continue to purchase products from elsewhere, I hold a special place in my beauty cabinets (yes plural, I can never have enough storage!) for English beauty products to sit with pride :)

Intensely Nourishing Face Mask

Each potent essential oil that goes into a Greenwood Organic product like my Jasmine & White Clay Mask, is carefully chosen for it's powerful effect on the mind, body and soul. The products go so much further than just nourishing the skin; it really is like bringing the spa home as I felt so relaxed and soothed after an evening of pampering with my Greenwood Organics duo.

Oh So Creamy...

The mask I've been using is £20 for 50ml and you only need a small amount to cover the entire facial area - it really glides across the face easily thanks to the creamy texture. French white clay helps to stimulate and tone the skin and is blended with rose water, sunflower oil and vitamin E to thoroughly cleanse and care for the skin. The main thing I loved about this mask is how nice a change it is to use a mask that doesn't dry out and feel tight after a few minutes! It never really dried but you could still feel it working its magic. I felt a slight tingling sensation around 2-3 minutes after applying but it was only light and went away for the rest of the duration. I left the mask on for the full 15 minutes but you can have a quick facial needing only 5 minutes for this little beauty to do its work. Jasmine is something of an obsession of late with me; if a product has jasmine oils in it, it's pretty much sold to me! I find the scent so soothing. The scent of this mask is nice and light and also unlike any of the jasmine products i already own - it smells divine and you can definitely smell the rose water mixed in there. After use, my skin felt so very soft, that's the main thing I noticed straight away. I like that it doesn't strip my skin whilst cleansing and that I'm left feeling balanced and soothed after.

Scent-sational Salts! Trust Me...

The product that really blew me away and has secured me as a new fan of Greenwood Organics is the Rosemary & Juniper Bath Salts... I've never smelled something so intensely refreshing! The scent upon opening the tub and taking a whiff is really quite powerful but in a good sense! When it comes to bath products, I'm usually disappointed by how lovely something smells in its container but smells of thin air once tipped into the bath. Not the case here. When I was opening this product, I eagerly stuck my nose almost straight into the salts and was quite pleasantly shocked at the aroma that shot straight up it! This product uses Dead Sea Mineral salts and Epsom salts  which are great for detoxing and have been to known to help diminish dimples/cellulite so i'm going to be using this on the run up to my holiday to help me get bikini ready. These salts are also excellent for when you're feeling a little rundown or have any aches and pains. The magnesium from within Epsom salts is a great muscle relaxer! This 250g pot should last me a few more baths, maybe a total of 5 baths and you could possibly make it last longer depending on how much you pour in - a handful or two is recommended. I can't believe they're only £9.00 most places I've come across selling similar retail them at around £25 so these are just a bargainous buy and it's nice not to be ripped off for something that actually works! Literally cannot praise these salts enough... If you try one thing from Greenwood Organics today, you have to try these bath salts.

I can pamper guilt free in the knowledge that once I have finished my products, I can easily recycle the violet glass jars at a bottle bank or clean and re-use for storing other things in. I think I'm going to thoroughly rinse my face mask jar out and try my hands at making a home-made face mask concoction myself! If anyone has any lovely recipes for me try, do let me know and don't forget to check out Zoë's natural and handmade range of beauty products over on Greenwood Organics :)

BB x

Willow Organic... Luxury Organic Beauty

Organic & Gorgeous...

Natural Soya Wax Candle...

I've spent a lot of time researching organic skincare and beauty recently as I really want to refresh my makeup bag with more eco friendly and natural products. I'm starting to think of skincare and beauty products as food because whatever we put on to our skin eventually gets eaten up and ends up inside our bodies! If you wouldn't eat chemicals, why slather them on your skin waiting for them to be absorbed?! Making the transition to greener beauty isn't hard and I certainly haven't gone and thrown out my beloved must haves that don't meet the certified organic status, but by discovering brands like Willow Organic, I'm slowly finding new organic products that are replacing my old favourites :)

From left: Liquid Gold Face Oil £42, Fig & Wild Honey Candle £28 and Nourishing Night Cream £52

Willow Organic is Soil Association certified organic and was founded by Sue Stowell in 2006 who saw a niche for luxury organic beauty products. Now I love luxe and I can totally see how there's a gap for luxury in organic products/packaging. When i used to think of organic beauty products, I would see shabby/hippy-ish packing or just plain dark brown or blue bottles. There's nothing wrong with plain... Aurelia Skincare use the old fashioned brown bottles but have a simple yet sophisticated look. Same here with the Willow packaging; simple and elegant. It might sound vain but I like the products I buy to look appealing and it's fair to say these beauties will look lovely on my makeup desk. 

Beautiful candle...

 Isn't this candle just beautiful?! I cannot express just how much I love this candle from Willow Organic... I got the fig & wild honey fragrance which i wouldn't have opted for usually but I'm obsessed with the scent now! Not overpowering at all but very fragrant and unusual; it soothes me as soon as it has been lit as just looking at it is relaxing enough but in literally no time my room is filled with its divine scent. I think the rosebuds adorning the top of the candle look so natural and pretty. I'm definitely going to be stocking up on this when it finally burns out; it's made from natural soya wax and has an impressive 40 hour burn time! If I try another scent I think i'd go for jasmine & geranium or rose & sandalwood next as they sound lovely and are more typical of my usual picks but as i say, so very thrilled with the fig & wild honey candle.

Rose & Manuka Honey Nourishing Night Cream

I've never opted for anything too heavy in terms of night creams and this one from Willow is quite intense and creamy. I always get a fear of the dreaded breakouts from using anything too heavy duty but this wonderful cream goes on like a dream delivering maximum hydration overnight allowing you to slip off to the land of nod on what smells like a bed of roses! I'm a bit fussy with my rose scented items, some smell heavenly for the first five minutes before making me nauseous but this cream though quite strongly scented didn't become overpowering the longer I wore it, phew. I didn't experience one blemish whilst using this product, only seriously soft skin. Wowza!

Overnight Skin Food

Just look how creamy it looks n its tub... I think i may have found the perfect night cream! Rose oil and Manuka honey combined harness the power to visably plump and rejuvenate the skin whilst you sleep allowing for a brighter complexion when you wake. My skin felt radiant the next day after just the first use! Organic creams really do feel like they get to work on the skin much faster than chemical nasty products. I'd recommend this to anyone, as i have sensitive/combi skin so this isn't just for dryer/more mature skin types as a lot of people sometimes think when it comes to night creams. Don't delay looking after your skin; prevention is cheaper than the cure!

Liquid Gold Face Oil

I was a complete newbie to facial oils until a few weeks ago but now I wonder how i ever coped without them! I use them only on days when I feel I need that extra boost of moisture or when my skin is feeling and or looking a bit tired and in need of TLC. The Willow organic website states 'our miracle face oil will light up your skin and leave you with a dewy and radiant complexion' - quite a statement and set really high expectations in my mind. It certainly didn't disappoint and used every other night or atleast 2 x a week for me personally alongside my Willow night cream has definitely made a difference to the luminosity of my skin. I just feel like i'm glowing from within! It delivers a concentrated and intense hit of moisture so you wouldn't need to use it every night; unless you really suffer from dry skin. Again, a lovely rose scent lingers on the skin as rose oil is used but I find it to be much lighter than the cream so even when combined you still don't get an overpowering fragrance. 

For anyone wanting to introduce organic beauty into their daily routines, be sure to give Willow Organic a try! Investing in your skin and it will thank you in the years to come... 

Take a peep at the beautiful selection of organic beauty products available at Willow Organic and let me know if you've tried anything from the range or what you'd like to try soon! x

Review: SoukSouk May 2013 Box

The Little Green Beauty Box...

May 2013 SoukSouk contents

What is SoukSouk?

A monthly 'green and clean' beauty box that aims to introduce ethical beauty lovers to new brands and products that are either certified organic and natural; are free from certain chemicals; and are not tested on animals! Wheww, finally, a truly guilt free beauty box... Subscriptions cost £14.95 (this includes £2.95 p&p) and get you 4-5 'green' beauty samples to play with and a copy of the SoukSouk magazine! The magazine is well worth a read and contains all the latest beauty and gossip news alongside any updates of what is going off in the world of green beauty. Did you know that on the 11th of March 2013, the EU implemented a ban on animal testing for cosmetic products and ingredients within the EU? Hurrah :)

May 2013 Box Contents

Here's a little look at what I received in my May box:

• Dr Bronner's Magic Soap 18-in-1 Hemp Rose (59ml)
• Green People Moisturising Shower Gel (30ml)
• Green People Nurture Body Lotion (30ml)
• BalmBalm Lip Balm (full sized 7ml version)
• Inika Eyebrow Pencil Brunette (full sized) 

I'm going to talk about my favourite picks from my box first and my absolute fave is the BalmBalm lip balm; it smells dreamy! I got the rose geranium version and I'm so glad I did as this would have been the one I went for if I was buying it myself. I adore floral scents and these two flowers combined make an enticing fragrance that just soothes my mind upon applying and has the added bonus of soothing and repairing my chapped lips! This natural emollient balm is suitable for all skin types and can be used pretty much anywhere that you have dry skin that needs some TLC... Who doesn't love a great multi-tasker?!

I've never really used brow pencils before so I was happy to see the Inika pencil for brunettes nestled in my box. I don't know what it is about using actual pencils to fill in my brows that I find so much harder than using my current Benefit Brow-Zings palette and angled brush? But I just never seem to get the application right; too heavy or too light. After trying this pencil though, i'm feeling a little more confident about making the switch as this applied smoothly and didnt feel like I needed to really press hard to make it leave the desired amount of product. 

As you can see from my swatch, it gives a lovely rich chocolate brown shade - perfect for brunettes ofcourse as the name states and maybe even for the darker of the lighter brows. Just don't apply it as thickly. Glides on effortlessly! It even comes with a sharpener that you can attach the opposite end of the pencil for on-the-go sharpening. Really impressed with this product.

I love the pretty bow that is wound around the contents list paper turning it into a scroll; it adds nicely to the overall natural feel of this product and is different to the usual silk ribbons that adorn most beauty boxes. The Dr Bronner's Magic Soap is something i've only heard about before so it was good to try it, but I wasn't keen on the scent. It's rose so i thought i'd love it but sometimes there's certain rose scents that just make me feel a bit nauseous and sadly this is one. I'm definitely going to use it as the scent is still quite light so it won't give me a headache but it's not something i would repurchase. It can be used for a variety of things as the name suggests which is fab if you are wanting to cut down the clutter you have in your bathroom cabinet, for example! On the back of the bottle it says you can 'enjoy only 2 cosmetics, enough sleep & Dr Bronner's Magic Soap'... That's quite a statement! Some of the things you can use this soap for is as a bath oil, massage oil, deodorant and even pet shampoo! To find out even more of this soaps wonderful uses do visit SoukSouk's blog and if you can think of any more uses be sure to let me and SoukSouk know! 

Little Green Magazine

Again i was introduced to another new brand in this month's box; Green people. The samples are 30ml so there is plenty to play with and they are perfectly sized for packing away in a travel bag. I've tried both and i'm in love! The body lotion is very nourishing and doesn't take long to fully sink into the skin which i always look out for when sampling new moisturisers. I hate that sticky feeling from the ones that just sit on your skin and this lotion is free from alcohol which probably explains why it's so good at what it does. Alcohol is very drying I find when it's included in skincare products. Team this lotion with the moisturising shower gel and you're going to have silky soft skin with the lightest and most delicate fragrance of orange blossom. I can't wait to try more of the Green People range now... Highly recommend!

Overall

I adore my first SoukSouk beauty box experience! I love everything about it... I've been trying to be more green beauty conscious of late and I'm finding that I'm really not that clued up when it comes to what is on offer in the world of ethical and clean beauty; there's just so much choice! It's nice to have a monthly lot of handpicked samples delivered to my door, taking the hard work out of finding green beauty brands. I love how SoukSouk include the stamps that certify organic products, free from animal testing and vegan certified approved on their contents summary page making for very easy reference. The magazine that comes with the box is one of the best I've read from all the boxes i've subscribed to... very different and most importantly very informative. It was nice to see a section at the back that lists the 'Good Guys' when it comes to purchasing beauty and skincare if you just can't wait for your next box arrive... ;)

To find out more and to subscribe to SoukSouk's little green beauty box click here! Be sure to give them a follow on twitter too.

Did you receive the May box also? Let me know what you thought, I love to hear your thoughts x