Una Brennan Super Fan

Super Facialist by Una Brennan Vitamin C+ Renew Cleansing Oil, £10.99 for 200ml.

It's no secret how much I love and trust the Super Facialist by Una Brennan range, specifically the Tea Flower products designed to combat combination and oily skins. I've had good experiences with both the Foaming cleanser and the mattifying moisturiser (I've gone through several tubes of this myself and also carry it in my makeup kit) so when I saw a product that I hadn't spotted before, I had to give it a go.

I am a cleansing oil newbie, and I haven't been disappointed, infact I'd say I am pretty much converted and will be seeking to use them more. Many of you who have oily or combination skin similar to mine might have been worried or put off by the word 'oil', sending you into panic with visions of greasy skin and clogged oily pores, however with the cold weather change setting in, it's important to maintain and lock as much good moisture into your skin as possible, and using a harsh or foaming cleanser is probably not the way to achieve this (though of course there are exceptions).

This cleansing oil lathers a little, into a soft layer of small bubbles when massaged onto the face with warm water. It rinses off easily and doesn't leave a greasy film behind, which is what I was most concerned would happen. Alas, it doesn't! In the evenings I double cleanse with this and my skin is left feeling soft and nourished, not dry or tight. It has quite an overwhelming scent, sort of citrusy, though my fiance did insist the other night that I smelt of oranges. Either way, it's pretty fruity. My skin is never perfect (I'm hoping my new Clarisonic Mia 2 will change this) but this cleanser has certainly calmed my, at times, irritated and sore skin and seems to balance my oily t-zone. It hasn't tightened my pores, which is one of the reasons I like her foaming Tea Flower cleanser, however I reckon they could make a pretty sweet duo. It is gentle, and something I would recommend to all skin types.

As with all of the Una Brennan range, it is free from nasty ingredients such as mineral oil and parabens. The majority of my skincare regime is completely free of these ingredients generally, I have absolutely no desire to go out and buy a £40 Clarins moisturiser bursting with the stuff. This one contains lots of seed oil extracts- sunflower & olive along with more exciting passionfruit, cucumber and rosehip.

PS I've been absent again. Thankyou for putting up with me and for continuing to read my blog, I spent a few weeks back and forth to London (makeup lyf- assisting on a very exciting campaign that I will tell you more about on its release) and then been ill for a week and a half inbetween which has been boring as hell. i.e. not ideal circumstances for blogging, but I am feeling better and looking forward to sharing more stuff with you over the coming weeks!

Thanks for reading,

E.

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.

Etat Pur Review

Etat Pur Express Purifying Mask, £7.50 for 50ml.

I won a couple of products quite a while ago in Sandra's Giveaway. They were both from Etat Pur, a brand I hadn't previously used, but both I have enjoyed using so much.

The mask uses white clay and is therefore white in colour with a fairly thick texture. Clay based masks are great for drawing out any impurities and clearing the skin, and that is exactly what this mask claims to do, along with creating a fresh and radiant complexion.

I find this mask much more comfortable to wear than the other clay masks I own. It does dry and consequently set, but doesn't feel too heavy. I once had it on for hours, I was pottering around the house and completely forgot it was still there until I looked in the mirror! The instructions state that this only has to be left on for 5 minutes, hence the 'express' in it's name, but as always a like to leave it on a little longer to ensure maximum results (normally half an hour to 45 minutes if I can.)

One thing I really notice is how soft and plump my skin feels afterwards. It doesn't feel dry or tight, like my skin does feel after many other clay based masks. It really does seem like it has worked with the balance of my skin rather than stripping it completely, so I would therefore recommend it for sensitive skins too.

The main factor I really noticed when looking on the Etat Pur website is the value for money. For the quality I have noticed with the products, the price point is actually very affordable. This mask costs only £7.50 and the micellar cleansing water Sandra also sent me is £7.40 in comparison to the La Roche-Posay I am currently using which is about £11 in Boots. 

Check out Etat Pur, I know I will definitely be buying from them in the near future as they have surpassed my expectations!

Thanks for reading,

E.

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil.

L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil, £17.50 for 250ml.

Following on from my post about chemicals and ingredients in skincare last Monday I thought it best I review a product that is free from all of those I listed. L'Occitane Almond Shower Gel is easily accessible- it is available from L'Occitane shops & their website and is also stocked in larger Debenhams stores and online too.

It is a luxury showertime treat, being fairly pricey at £17.50 for 250ml, however I imagine this is partly due to the ingredients- it is free from SLS which is a very cheap 'bulking' product to make bath time products foam and is normally second on the ingredients list of most shower gels (proving it's high content.) The absence of SLS leads me to think the ingredients including in this shower oil are premium or of good quality and therefore worth paying a little extra for.

Lets get down to the details. In my head I was expecting what is the often assumed almond scent in artificial products- that potent smell like amaretto or marzipan. It's a smell I love but I appreciate that the scent of this almond oil is more true to life and less synthetic, it is very subtle and almost nutty, a lot more elegant and a lot less overwhelming. An element of sweetness remains but this isn't overpowering, resulting in a product that both males and females can use without worrying about an after-scent seeming either too masculine or too feminine.
The oil in consistency is runny, as expected. Both it's liquidity and colour could easily be likened to olive oil! I was worried about an oil feeling heavy on the skin or leaving an icky film behind but thankfully this product does neither of these things, it lathers up in a natural, not overly bubbly way and washes off easily leaving skin feeling cleansed and smoothed.

Something I have noticed since using this is my skin seems calmer. I have never thought that I experienced skin sensitivity, particularly on my body but I had noticed recently that after showering my back and legs would become so itchy. This had just become the norm and to be honest I hadn't put two and two together (duh!) and am now certain that something in my old shower gels was irritating the skin in these areas.

I know this product has a certain amount of 'blogger fame' and while I am always a bit wary of such claims I can honestly say that this is worth the hype. It is lovely to use, though understandably a higher price tag than many would like to pay for a body wash. However if you are concerned about SLS, parabens and so on, I would urge you to give this a go- I love it.

Let me know if you have used or continue to use this product. If you can recommend any other shower products that are free from SLS etc then please do let me know as I am really keen to try more!

Thanks for reading,

E.

What is in your shower gel?

Due to a series of recent events I have begun to take a large interest in the ingredients of the products I buy. To some this may seem odd but since I have taken the time to actually look at what is contained within them I have become a lot more aware of how deceiving some brands are about so called 'natural' or 'skin caring' products. I was recently having a bath round my sister in laws and noticed that her bubble bath by Simple had SLS as number 2 on the ingredients list as well as parabens. The Sanex hair and body wash sat next to it, which is marketed with a 'kind to skin' attitude and multipurpose for children also had a high content of SLS.

Not long after I found myself in the Hamleys store in Cardiff searching for a 1st birthday present. Of course, I ended up in the baby & bath section. Picking up a translucent duck shaped bubble bath I took a quick look at the ingredients, just out of interest. This £2 duck bubble bath, which to anyone else would be really appealing to both bathe their babies in and/or to give as part of a gift contained SLS and two parabens. Another bubble bath that I picked up contained the same. All of this just lead me to think that we cannot really trust retailers to sell us the best products for us or our children. I know that Hamleys don't claim to sell organic or natural products, after all they are a toy store, but even the sweets and chocolate bars in there contained hazardous warnings about certain 'E' ingredients that might have an adverse effect to children under the age of three. Every adult and parent should have the right to make informed choices about what they buy for their children but when I think about the rest of my family and those that have children, I am 100% sure that they wouldn't know about these ingredients, it is unlikely they even look at them. I am sure this goes for the majority of my friends too. Below I have listed a few ingredients that I find are commonly found in shower and bathing products and a little bit about them...

Sodium Laureth/Lauryl Sulfate or SLS; An emulsifier & detergent that is extremely cheap and is used to make products foam. While there is research being undertaken to prove its links as a carcinogen (it is exposed to a dodgy ingredient called 1,4 dioxane during the manufacture process which is thought to be carcinogenic), SLS is a skin irritant. Putting it in skincare products such as bubble bath and shower gel will do your skin no good at all and would be best to avoid it if you suffer with sensitive skin or eczema for example, and I wouldn't recommend using it on baby's skin either. It is a way for companies to produce foamy products with little cost to maximise profit. It is classed on EWG as a 'moderate hazard' but when it is contained second on the ingredients list (after Aqua/Water) on the majority of products you have to wonder how much of the product you're paying for is an undesirable, cheap ingredient. I have struggled to find any shower products that do not contain SLS (L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil is free from SLS and parabens if you are interested in changing your products or routine.)

Sodium Hydroxide; A strong chemical that is mainly used to balance pH in skincare but in it's pure form is a strong corrosive that is also used in cleaning products. It is highly dangerous and it only takes one google search to see its links with blindness and chemical burns as well as several articles about how reactive it is. Obviously this pure, dangerous form will not be contained within cosmetics as it will have to go through a chemical change to make it safe to use, but it might make you wonder about whether you want even an ounce of it in a product that is meant to be looking after your skin and whether it's inclusion is completely necessary and could instead be swapped for something else.

Mineral Oil; To the untrained eye, mineral oil probably sounds appealing. 'Mmm, an oil full of minerals! That'll be great for me!' but actaully it is a by product of the process of making petrol and gas from crude oil. Untreated mineral oil is a known carcinogen however refined oil isn't believed to be too harmful. Some argue that Mineral Oil interferes with the production of oestrogen and can cause a harmful imbalance. Mineral Oil is in lots of lip products and actually pulls moisture away from the skin and acts as a barrier, causing a disruption to the skins natural balance that helps keep you healthy. It creates a film on top of the skin and is in many cleansers (Lancome and Shu Uemura for example). 

Parabens eg. Methylparaban or Propylparaben; These are used in the cosmetics industry because they are an effective preservative. Similarly to SLS they are low on cost so allow the manufacturer to create long lasting 'fresher for longer' products without spending much money. There has been scientific links with cancer and breast cancer been made with the use of paraben and it is known that there are thought to be links between deoderants containing parabens and breast cancer. However both Methyl and Propylparaben have been OK'd and are 'Generally Recognised As Safe' by the FDA however many people continue to choose to avoid them.

The problem with these ingredients is that they have been used in cosmetic products for such a long time that it is hard to argue how dangerous they really are. We can only make an informed decision based on our personal preferences.

I use products that contain both SLS and parabens, I find it difficult to avoid them on a day to day basis (though not impossible if you are committed) but seeing these ingredients in baby products just hit home with me and made me realise that it is not something I would want any future children to come in contact with, nor any future children that my family or friends have. I thought a post naming a few most common ingredients and what they really are may help a few people out there or make them think twice and check the ingredients list before exposing either themselves or their children to a product that may not actually do any harm, but will certainly not do them any good either. A small amount of research will show that there are companies committed to creating honest skincare, containing none of the above ingredients (amongst others)- examples of these are Jao and Bodhi. 

I hope this has interested some of you. I am not trying to scare monger anybody, but I believe as consumers we deserve to get what we pay for- if we are paying for skin care, then we deserve for it to care for our skin. I don't think that is too much to ask!

EHD.

Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask.

Origins 'Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask', £20 for 100ml.

It has taken me about 3 months and roughly 12 uses to form an opinion of this, it's only recently I have appreciated what this mask has done/is doing for my skin so I thought I'd pop a quick review up.

I use this mask weekly (every Monday FYI) to help clear my pores after an often naughty and skincare UNfriendly weekend! My pores are most visible on my nose and my cheeks. I've learnt through consistent use for the last few months that the longer this mask remains on your face, the more succesful the results will be. I leave it on for a lot longer than the recommended 10-20 minutes and try to wash it off after about 45 minutes. I find a flannel soaked in warm water is most effective at removing it, the warm water melts it and the flannel exfoliates it off, because it is a clay mask it 'sets' and if you're leaving it on for as long as I do, you'll need that extra help to get it off.

This mask contains Activated Charcoal and White China Clay and is very wet and smooth in it's consistency. After about 10 minutes it will dry completely. I feel a slight tingling sensation throughout the entire time of wearing this mask, though it is heightened at around that 10 minute mark. As it dries it does tighten on the skin and feels quite uncomfortable (and it will crack if you try to talk or smile!) I don't find the process particularly enjoyable but I love the way my skin looks and feels after I remove it.

Once I've washed the mask off my pores appear significantly clearer and and the skin looks more radiant than before. This mask draws out impurities to help the appearance of the skin, and this is what I notice. For about an hour after I've removed this I don't put any other products on my face, it feels so refreshed, clean and 'alive' that I let it breathe, thankfully, and also surprisingly, my skin doesn't feel tight or dry and my skin doesn't go red or react in any way.

After 12 uses (I apply it all over my face, avoiding the eyes) this 100ml tube shows no signs of running out. I definitely think I've noticed the effects of this a lot more recently than I did before, it has become an important staple in my skincare routine and now I always look forward to 'mask mondays'.

Do you use this mask? What product from Origins would you recommend to me?

Midweek post: L'Occitane Milk Body Wash

L'Occitane Bonne Mere Gentle Body Wash, £22 for 600ml.

Whenever I walk past the L'occitane shop in Cardiff I always look through longingly. Well, on my birthday this looking caught Ben's attention and he dragged me in there for a birthday treat. Straight away I saw this and knew I had to have it!
It appealed to me with it's 'gentle' and kind-to-the-skin claims, I'd noticed some dry patches cropping up here and there, particularly on my lower legs and the back of my arms, and I like to use body washes that aren't too strongly scented or overpowering. I also thought it would be suitable for Ben to use too, should he want to borrow it (he has sensitive skin).

There was a choice between a milk or honey formulation. I chose the milk because I remember getting a giftset years ago with a milk bubble bath in it and I loved it.
The texture is creamy and feels like a foaming moisturiser. It lathers amazingly well, you're coated in bubbles after just a pump or two and it smells softly of milky-creamy goodness. I've noticed that said dry patches I mentioned above have been restored back to normal and my skin doesn't feel tight or dry after showering.

This is a luxury bathtime treat, and I would really recommend this body wash, particularly if you suffer with sensitive skin or are suffering from any skin ailments, I imagine this would be lovely and soothing on sun burn.

The pretty packaging also can't go unmentioned-simplistic and appealing with a tasteful nod to vintage- like other L'Occitane products. I love the way it adorns our bathroom!

What are your favourite L'Occitane products? Would you pick honey or milk?