Green People Foaming Face Wash.

£10.95 for 100ml.

It's no secret that I have been endeavouring to use more and more natural, cruelty free and organic skincare products. It's an interesting process, with some good and bad surprises along the way! I don't think that my face will ever be 100% cruelty free but I am a believer that every bit makes a difference.

I found this in my local independant health food shop and thought I'd give it a go. At just over a tenner it is good value for money in terms of amount of product you get, not cheap yet not expensive- a happy middleground in terms of price. Affordable.
The term 'foaming face wash' had me assuming that the product would foam up, once massaged into the face with water. Infact, this product comes out of the dispenser as foam, something I've not had to work with before! I found this initially, and still, quite disappointing. I would much rather this came out in liquid form and foamed up once wet as it would feel like a more thorough cleanse. It also made me worry I would experience tightness or dryness in my skin, as foaming washes are often famed for.

I've been using this for both my morning and evening cleanse for about three weeks and not noticed any negative side effects. I haven't experienced dryness, tightness that I had worried about. My skin feels balanced and looks healthy, I've had the odd hormonal induced spot here and there but nothing severe. It does a good job at removing any left over makeup that I have missed with my micellar water, though I wouldn't advise using this as your soul makeup remover as it does struggle a little with mascara.

Getting used to the foam has been quite a strain, as at times I feel the product didn't coat my face enough. The cleanse just didn't feel indepth or thorough, which took away from the enjoyable experience that I normally find cleansing to be. However it must be doing a good job, as I said before- my skin feels balanced and I've not experienced any nasty outbreaks or problems.

This cleanser claims to be suitable for all skin types (though I would suggest it would be best for combination or oily skin types due to it's foam consistency), it contains 96% organic ingredients, many of them fair trade. It is worth noting that it contains salicylic acid- a favourite of mine for clearing out blocked pores. It's is alcohol and soap free, therefore ideal for sensitive skin, the product is not tested on animals and does not contain any nasties such as SLS (unusual for a foaming product), parabens, lanolin etc and last but not least they donate 10% of their profits to charity. Talk about ethical! Perfect for anyone concerned about using harsh chemicals in their skincare, vegans/vegetarians, or who favour a foam for their face wash.

This isn't and won't be my 'holy grail' cleanser, there are many more on the market for me to discover and test. That said, I would recommend this. The ingredients and the company ethos is fantastic and faultless. The brand 'Green People' have all to offer; including toothpaste, a cosmetics range and lovely products to cater especially for babies and children. I will definitely be looking into them more in the future, but I don't think that I'll repurchase this particular product.

Thanks for reading,

E.

Dr Bronner's Magic Soap

I've seen it in American Apparel, I've seen it in & Other Stories, but I finally caved when I saw the infamous Dr Bronner's Magic Soap in my local HomeSense store for a few pounds off it's RRP. After contemplating which 'flavour' to choose I decided to go with Peppermint, because you just can't beat the freshness of a mint scent. My intention was to use it for all sorts, but mainly for cleaning my makeup brushes as it had been recommended to me.

The first thing I must say is that this is such a thorough cleaner. It makes things squeaky clean, and I mean squeaky, in little to no time at all. I tested it in three ways: My makeup brushes, as a bathroom cleaner, and as a shower gel. It does state it's multipurpose, after all.

On my makeup brushes it didn't lather up much, but cleans them very well. Unfortunately I can't detect a peppermint smell once they have dried, but that would have just been an added bonus. I've noticed no difference to the quality of my brushes, nor has it left any residue behind or was hard to rinse out.
A few squirts of this around my bath, shower and sink and lathered up with a cleaning sponge, this worked fantastically. I love that it isn't pumping any nasty or dangerous chemicals back into the environment, and a little really does go a long way. My bathroom was dazzling within minutes, as it works grime and smudges off immediately.
This really foamed up when I used it as a shower gel, and it was a very luxurious clean. However, I didn't like that it made my body squeak after I had washed it off!! Loved the peppermint scent lingering on my skin for the rest of the day though.

Magic Soap is a fantastic product because it is multipurpose and also cruelty free. None of the ingredients nor the final product are tested on animals (which for me always makes a product way more enjoyable to use) plus they are vegan as they don't use any tallow in the soap making process. Magic Soap is completely free of harmful and/or nasty ingredients such as SLS or parabens. Not only this, but it is a 100% organic product AND fair trade! If there was ever a completely ethical product to buy, this is it. Next time I see it locally I'll be stocking up, I've really enjoyed using this and have been so impressed by it too. I would be intrigued to try more products from Dr Bronner too, especially the hand sanitizer and the the body soaps. What a fantastic brand, definitely one I will be looking into more and would completely recommend this.

Thanks for reading,

E.