Showing posts with label natural. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural. Show all posts

Monday, 25 November 2013

Skincare Spotlight: Antipodes



A few weeks back I attended an afternoon tea with lot's of lovely bloggers and the founder of Antipodes (for more info and lot's of foodie snaps click here). Having never tried anything from the brand I was really excited to try some of their newest items, as well as cult favourite the Aura Manuka Honey Mask*.

I particularly love the philosophy behind Antipodes skincare, for me it's a major plus that the ingredients for each and every product have been carefully selected from natural ingredients for an organic product. I find natural products much more suitable for my sensitive skin and so was extremely excited to try their products. 

First up, the Antipodes Hallelujah Lime & Patchouli Cleanser* intrigued me as I've become accustomed to using balm cleansers instead of cream. I found this a joy to apply, I think a lot of the success behind Antipodes if the gentle formula's and amazing fragrances. Packed with essential oils such as the nutrient-rich avocado oil, macadamia nut, with patchouli and kawakawa to purify and uplift - you just know this smells heavenly. The cleanser was soft, gentle and effective without provoking any rashes or redness but instead cooling my skin. Thumbs up.

New to the range is the Delight Hand & Body Cream*. Now, it takes me a lot to get excited by a hand or body cream, but this product is something else. I can't help but whip it out and caress it into my skin, namely my hands, which are becoming quite dry and cracked due to the weather. Again, it's the scents that draw me in most. Gorgeous pangs of Gardenia hit my senses and the macadamia nut oil is silky soft and high in palmitoleic acid (Omega 7), which richly hydrates your skin with the helping hands of Marigold flower oil and antioxidant extract of Vinanza Grape for extra dry patches. My mum, my auntie, and even my brother have been known to swipe this from me to use, I just can't get enough.

I've saved my favourite for last, in the form of Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask*. You've probably seen this raved about of many a blog, so I will save too much spiel and just let you know that this is a dream in mask form. Again, soft and gentle, my skin laps this up greedily. I use this once a week as a treat to hydrate my skin, as well as tackling any pesky blemishes I might have. I apply this after the cleanser and leave for around twenty minutes whilst I potter around the house. By now you'd have guessed that this too smells divine, with hits of vanilla pod and mandarin greeting your nostrils. The manuka honey is a traditional Maori remedy to draw moisture back into your skin, breathing in new life, whilst the red pohutukwa bloom (again traditional to New Zealand, where Antipodes is based) is one of natures finest antioxidants. All I know is that science smells good, and this stuff really works at plumping up and hydrating my skin.

With all of those being such a success in my skincare lineup, I'm really excited to try some more. In particular their new Grace Cleanser* and Joyous Night Replenish Serum*, but more about that in their own post soon...

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Friday, 6 July 2012

Purely Natural Skin Healing Moisturiser



I hadn't heard of Purely Natural until they recently got in touch via twitter and I jumped at the chance to try out their new healing moisturiser as, like all their products, it is made of 100% Natural ingredients! And although their packaging is very simple and not much to behold when compared to some higher end brands, the no fuss packaging doesn't bother me and in fact I applaud companies such as Purely Natural for using recyclable PET packaging.

Now let's get onto what we really want to know, does the product work?

This product is geared towards those of us who have suffered or do suffer from damaged skin in need of a bit of TLC. In my early teens I did go through quite a horrendous and emotionally draining phase where I was very acne prone and my light purple acne scars around my chin area serve as a not so pleasant reminder of those days. I've searched and searched for products aimed to help reduce scarring with some hits and many misses along the way and so after using this healing moisturiser I hope to try out their healing scars scrub and acne cleanser.
 I have noticed a reduction in the appearance of my acne scarring and a clearly visible 'good riddance' to dry skin just by applying a small amount of this product and after just a few applications my skin feels smoother, more hydrated and I feel like it's added an extra luminosity to my otherwise quite dull skin. 

In terms of its contents it contains beeswax, carrot seed oil, sunflower oil and Vitamin E oil amongst other natural oils found from vegetables and fruit.
Vitamin E has been a popular choice for beauty oils even since the ancient Egyptians for skin and hair care purposes and has been considered a valuable source of maintaining healthy skin as it is an excellent antioxidant providing both cell protection as well as maintaining our immune system. The results speak for themselves as Vitamin E has proved an ideal weapon against problematic skin such as roughness, dryness and fine lines - what more could we ask for!

 I would say that I do prefer more creamy forumula's when moisturising my skin and in particular my facial area as opposed to the more oily consistency of this product which I don't normally like applying to my skin. However, the skin does quickly absorb the oil which as shown above is filled with skin loving ingredients that will only serve to nourish and moisturise and there is little excess oil and residue left on the skin surface which I originally thought might be a problem when first trying out this product; you only need to use the smallest amount so don't over do it with the product as it is oil based.

The results speak clearly for themselves as my skin does feel heaps and bounds betters and I look forward to trying out more from the Purely Natural range!

What do you think, will you be trying anything from their range or could you recommend any products specifically for damaged skin?

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