The Natural Beauty Box May 2017 | Review
02:56
I said it before and I will say it again - I love simplicity in ingredients! There is no denial, it is very exciting to discover a product with a super ingredient which does wonders, however, to make a product more appealing (and perhaps to make suitable for everyone), companies seldom limit the ingredient list, hence the number of super nourishing oils and super powerful extracts is longer than my to-do list! Personally, this irritates me in several ways. First, say there are 30 ingredients in a moisturiser and they all have their own unique properties for which they have been selected. However, when you apply this moisturiser, you only use approximately half a millilitre per application. How much of a difference can an individual ingredient make in such case, especially when they are at the bottom of the ingredient list? Second, reading a long list of ingredients makes it easy to miss ingredients you are possibly avoiding, especially if it is an unfamiliar brand. Add tiny print, poor lighting, tired eyes and will get wasted money on a product you will not be using. Rant over. Breathe in, breathe out.
This month theme of The Natural Beauty Box is Beauty of Simplicity, meaning all of the selected products contain no more than 8 ingredients each - whoop whoop!
Alchemy Grapefruit Hair Remedy RRP £8 for 30ml
Alchemy oils use Ayurvedic traditions to nourish and condition the scalp and hair. The range consists of 2 hair oils, 1 beard oil and 1 brow oil, plus some limited edition blends. The grapefruit hair remedy is blended to promote growth, thicken hair and impart lustrous shine. Who is in? Definitely me! I absolutely love hair oils and try to have at least one hair mask a week. I found the most effective way is to apply oil overnight and wash in the morning. From my experience, the longer oils stay on hair and scalp, the softer and shinier the hair will be - I like to leave the oil on for at least 12 hours for the maximum effect! If you are worried about staining your pillows, simply put a towel over it. I guess it will not be a surprise when I say for me this was a star product of this box? Since I have very long hair, I tend to use more expensive blends on my scalp and roots, and stick with cheaper coconut oil for the majority of length and ends. I decided to give this oil a true challenge and used only it for my overnight hair mask. It does not feel very heavy on the skin when applying and tangy grapefruit smells amazing yet not overpowering (it also keeps dandruff at bay and stimulates hair growth, win-win). The first thing I thought when I was shampooing my hair the next day is "wow, my hair feels so soft". And it was very soft and shiny! I would love to use it every time of the whole length of my hair but unfortunately, I am not rich enough for that!
Ingredients: Ricinus Communis Oil (Organic Castor Oil), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Fractionated Coconut Oil), Persea Gratissima (Organic Avocado Oil), Prunus Dulcis (Sweet Almond Oil), Citrus Paradisi Peel Oil (Grapefruit White Essential Oil)
Vegan, UK brand
Kathy Sue Ann's Organic Lip Scrub RRP £6 for 30g
I was very happy to discover there will be a sugar-based lip scrub in this box because my first and only lip scrub from Jane Iredale was purchased an embarrassingly long time ago. Of course, it is super easy to blend olive oil with some sugar but there is no limit to my laziness! Sugar based scrubs are my hands down favourites too. When you open a pot you can smell the delicate sweetness of the scrub with a slight hint of coconut. I like how the consistency is just right - there is no messy goo of oil floating on top and all sugar is sitting at the bottom and, contrary, a rock-solid lump that you have to scrape out. Everything is JUST RIGHT. The instructions suggest to take a small amount, massage the lips and wash away. I like to massage the scrub and then just swipe away the sugar so the moisturising coconut and almond sweet oil remain on my lips. If you are feeling naughty, you can even lick your lips or offer a smooch to your significant other (we know you want it!). Buffing away dead cells from your lips means the lipstick will glide on evenly and sit very nicely but do not be overly zealous and use the scrub a couple of times a week
Balm Balm Super Light Coconut Cleanser RRP £14.50 for 100ml and Little Miracle Rosehip Serum RRP £14.50 for 30ml
I was very happy to discover there will be a sugar-based lip scrub in this box because my first and only lip scrub from Jane Iredale was purchased an embarrassingly long time ago. Of course, it is super easy to blend olive oil with some sugar but there is no limit to my laziness! Sugar based scrubs are my hands down favourites too. When you open a pot you can smell the delicate sweetness of the scrub with a slight hint of coconut. I like how the consistency is just right - there is no messy goo of oil floating on top and all sugar is sitting at the bottom and, contrary, a rock-solid lump that you have to scrape out. Everything is JUST RIGHT. The instructions suggest to take a small amount, massage the lips and wash away. I like to massage the scrub and then just swipe away the sugar so the moisturising coconut and almond sweet oil remain on my lips. If you are feeling naughty, you can even lick your lips or offer a smooch to your significant other (we know you want it!). Buffing away dead cells from your lips means the lipstick will glide on evenly and sit very nicely but do not be overly zealous and use the scrub a couple of times a week
Ingredients: Organic palm sugar, cocos nucifera (extra virgin coconut oil), prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond oil), tocopherol (Vitamin E)
Vegan, UK brand, organic
Balm Balm Super Light Coconut Cleanser RRP £14.50 for 100ml and Little Miracle Rosehip Serum RRP £14.50 for 30ml
Who has not heard about Balm Balm? No need to raise your hand, it is just a rhetorical question because they were pretty much the only locally available brand when I went veggie. Their products have a short and simple list of ingredients, the packaging is simple yet appealing and their skincare is 100% organic. The cleanser consists of fractionated coconut oil which is meant to be light enough to be washed off with water (although my favourite method is still with a muslin cloth). The serum is a blend of carrier oils which closely resemble our natural moisturiser (sebum) which would allow it to quickly sink into the skin without a messy residue. Unfortunately, I simply have too many face oils waiting to be used so I will have to be firm with myself and part with this oil and probably with the cleanser too.
Cleanser Ingredients: Caprylic/capric triglycerides (Coconut Oil)
Vegan, UK brand, 100% organic
Serum Ingredients: Rosa Canina (Rosehip), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba), Borago Officinalis (Borage), Boswellia Neglecta (Frankincense), Pelagonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium), Cymbopogon Martini (Palmarosa), Juniperus Communis (Juniper Berry), Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin)
Vegan, UK brand, 100% organic
Skin Elixir Organic Frankincense and May Chang Moisturiser RRP £7.95 for 15ml
Cleanser Ingredients: Caprylic/capric triglycerides (Coconut Oil)
Vegan, UK brand, 100% organic
Serum Ingredients: Rosa Canina (Rosehip), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba), Borago Officinalis (Borage), Boswellia Neglecta (Frankincense), Pelagonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium), Cymbopogon Martini (Palmarosa), Juniperus Communis (Juniper Berry), Citrus Nobilis (Mandarin)
Vegan, UK brand, 100% organic
Skin Elixir Organic Frankincense and May Chang Moisturiser RRP £7.95 for 15ml
This generously sized travel pot of moisturiser contains only 5 ingredients, including the "king of oils" Frankincense which is renowned for its uplifting qualities, and black seed oil which is stimulating, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial, hence great for skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis and acne. The richness of shea butter will be great for those with dry skin. The description suggests a little goes a long way hence my suspicion is that it will be too rich for me as a face moisturiser. Instead, I might try using it as a nourishing hand cream, and Frankincense and May Chang essential oils can double as a body perfume.
Ingredients: organic Shea butter, organic sweet almond oil, unrefined virgin Black Seed Oil, Frankincense essential oil and May Chang essential oil
Vegan, UK brand, organic
Indigenous Beauty Natural Deodorant Cream, Uplifting Sweet Mandarin and Grapefruit RRP £1.50 for 5ml
Last but not the least, a sample of natural deodorant. Deodorant is something many people struggle with when switching to natural products. Some are missing the anti-perspiration qualities, some find the body odour is not kept at bay as it used to. For several years I used Miessence deodorant before my armpits started to protest in the form of a very very itchy rash. Then I swapped to another deodorant, however, the controversy of potassium alum has not left my mind. Looking for an alternative, I have decided to try cream deodorants. One of the catches is that cream deodorants can contain bicarbonate of soda and some people may be sensitive to it. I have had bad reactions to it too and I try to minimise these by using a balm prior to applying a deodorant and not using bicarbonate of soda on freshly shaven armpits.
Deodorants from Indigenous Beauty come in 3 scents and I have received uplifting with a blend of grapefruit and sweet orange. The main ingredient is bicarbonate of soda (fights odour), followed by arrowroot powder (absorbs moisture), and nourishing and moisturising coconut oil and shea butter. This little pot is a sample size and I like to keep them for travelling purposes.
Ingredients: Sodium bicarbonate, maranta arundinacea root (Organic Arrowroot), cocos nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil, butyrospermum parkii (Organic Shea Butter), a-Tocopherol (Vitamin E), citrus sinensis peel oil (Organic Sweet Orange essential oil), citrus grandis peel oil (Organic Grapefruit essential oil), limonene*
*Natural constituent of essential oil listed.
Vegan, UK brand
In all honesty, I had some predictions as to what brands will be included in this box, however, I have not been able to guess any of them! If you are into minimalism and simplicity, I would recommend to check out the following brands which I adore:
- Skin and Tonic
- MuLondon
- Mallow and White
All of the products included in this box are oil based which allows to cut the ingredient list dramatically - there is no need for emulsifiers to mix water and oil and for stronger preservatives to stop water ingredients from going off. This is great if you have dry skin to target but I doubt I will be able to switch to a water-free moisturiser since my face is very oily.
The total value of the box is £52.45 plus discount code to be used with Indigenous Beauty.
Announcement - my reviews of June and July editions of The Natural Beauty Box will be published at the end of summer!
Disclaimer - products are bought by me with my own money. Please check the official website for up to date information regarding every product. All information presented in this article is the opinion of the author and cannot be taken as a fact.
Agave Bun x
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