During winter even my oily skin needs a little extra TLC. When people talk about dehydrated skin it gives an impression that skin needs extra water. That is not the case, the skin needs oil. Natural skin lubricator, sebum, is an oily substance secreted by sebaceous (oil) glands to keep our skin protected against harmful environmental stress. You may have noticed that moisturiser absorbs faster than face oil however oil is better at nourishing the skin at a much deeper layer. With these principles in mind for over a year I have been mixing my moisturiser and face oil as part of my mourning routine.

Source: ENT Wellbeing

This winter I am absolutely loving the combination of Pai moisturiser and Mallow & White face oil. I have found mixing moisturiser and oil a very versatile life-hack which allowed me to tailor my skincare to the needs of my skin without having to cycle between different moisturisers. Of course, for this to work, you originally need a lighter moisturiser because you can add more oil to the mixture but you cannot take away oil from already very rich and nourishing moisturiser.

Mallow & White Restore Facial Oil for dry / normal skin RRP £38.00 for 30ml

I love Mallow & White for the simplicity of their ingredients - in the entire range there is no product which contains more than 6 ingredients! They really do prove that effective skincare does not require a huge list of exotic sounding ingredients, instead you can create a hero product with only a handful if you know what you are doing. I am a big fan of simple ingredients because I get bored when it comes to reading endless list of different oil blends at the back of the bottle. When the list also contains INCI as well as plain english, it becomes easy to miss something you may be avoiding. Moreover, I am skeptical that in the concoction of 15 or 20 ingredients all of them can truly demonstrate all of the benefits attributed to them (alright, there maybe this super rare extract from an African shrub which just does wonders to your skin but in a 30ml bottle how much of it are you actually getting?).


All of the products are also handcrafted and made in small batches to preserve them for longer. Also the packaging (including packing materials) is recyclable or compostable and 10% of profits go to charity (Kiva) so thumbs up for the green and ethical approach.



To the oil itself, I only got a sample bottle of 10ml. The full size version comes in deep blue glass bottle which would help to protect the oil inside against sun damage (after all, you would like to have the full benefit of the oil!). The restore line is designed for dry to normal skin types so I was slightly hesitant to use this facial oil on my oily skin in case it would be too nourishing or worse, pore clogging. To my pleasant surprise, the oil is an absolute delight, it is light enough to be added into my morning moisturiser and nourishing to keep my skin soft and supple without making me look like a grease-ball. And no clogged pores or breakouts! I loved this oil so much without a second doubt I packed it with me for my trip to London (where I also used it as my night oil). The light scent of geranium is non-irritating and so mild that even those sensitive to smells will be able to tolerate it. It sounds silly but I actually look forward to apply this oil in the morning. By far this is my hero product of the winter!

The whole range comprises of 3 lines tailored to dry, mature and sensitive skin. Each line consists of facial oil, clay based face mask and a cleansing oil. I would absolutely love to try their cleansing oil! Leave me a comment if you have tried any of the Mallow & White range.

Ingredients: Rosehip Seed Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Jojoba Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Rose Geranium Essential Oil

Vegan, 100% organic, cruelty free, made in England.


Pai Skincare Geranium and Thistle Rebalancing Day Cream RRP £34 for 50ml

Pai is one of my most favourite brands hands down. I always have something from Pai in my stash because the thought of being caught out without a Pai bottle is unsettling. If you are new to the green beauty world (welcome!), Pai is an amazing green skincare brand which formulated all of their products with sensitive skin in mind. Pai, meaning "goodness" in Maori, promises to be good to their customers by giving expert advice (and the only green company to my knowledge which provides 30 day money back guarantee), only using non-harmful and non-irritating ingredients and to minimise their environmental impact. Pai products are also certified by Soil Association (meaning all of the products are 100% natural and at least 70% organic and free from pesticides and GM), Leaping Bunny BUAV (meaning no final products or individual ingredients have been tested on our furry friends and no sales to countries where animal testing is mandatory, such as China) and Vegan Society (shopping with a piece of mind without having to second guess where this or that product came from). The company also wants to give back to the community by providing mentorship programmes to young girls and working with cancer centres. Ethics - approved!


This is not my first encounter with the Pai moisturiser but this handy travel sized companion was also with me during my London adventures. The two key ingredients, geranium and thistle, help to calm, balance and mattify the skin. The texture of this cream is very light and it soaks up like a dream. I find using this cream my skin is very soft and moisturised. While I did not notice a great mattifying effect, I am still very happy to use this cream which gave me no breakouts or clogged pores. My skin feels very happy when I use this moisturiser, even during winter time. The scents is rather sensual but still very faint so it does not overpower or irritate. Once I pump the cream into my palm I like to give it a little sniff as a little "pick me up" in the morning.

You may notice the price tag is rather high on Pai products however you are paying for very careful formulation and premium organic ingredients. Since Pai does not use any harsh ingredients which may irritate the skin, their preservative system is mild. The flip side of this is that the products only last for the 6 months as specified on the packaging, so once opened they do need to be used. I found by storing some of the bottles in the fridge I was able to keep the contents fresh for longer (bear in mind this method can change the consistency, few skincare items are formulated to be kept in the fridge).

Ingredients: Aqua, carthamus tinctorius seed oil*, simmondsia chinensis seed oil*, cetearyl alcohol, glycerin*, borago officinalis seed oil*, cetearyl glucoside, pelargonium graveolens oil*, tocopherol, lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil , leptospermum scoparium leaf oil, cymbopogon martini oil*, sodium levulinate, sodium anisate, glyceryl stearate citrate, sodium lauroyl lactylate, lactic acid

Vegan, 73% organic, 100% natural, cruelty free, made in England