Tuesday, 18 September 2012

My favourite eye makeup remover

Do you have scents associated with your childhood? I do. Apart from the iconic yummy fruity scents of my native island (vanilla, coconut, mango, etc..) and the not so yummy ones (overripe guava, papaya, banana) I think I will never forget the scents of essential oils of vetyver,  geranium, sweet almond oil and lavender. My mother used to be a big fan of essential oils. Her favourite was lavender and she used to  douse herself in it, as it 'would keep mosquitoes at bay' she used to say. Well, the stuff pongued so much, I'm not surprised it kept  mosquitoes and any form of living species at bay. I also will never be able to forget the strong, powerful and nauseating scents of  geranium and vetyver essential oils. Sweet almond oil, however, was a total different story. I couldn't never get enough of it. When  I left home, my contacts with sweet almond oil became more and more rare, verging non existent. In fact, I even forgot it  existed.


Soon after my poll about eye makeup remover and with the firm intention to purchase one of your recommendations, I ended up  purchasing a bottle of Johnson's baby oil to use as a makeup remover, after seeing lots of rave about it on YouTube. There's nothing  quite like an oil I think to remove stubborn eye makeup with ease. But deep down, I was not fully satisfied. I knew it wasn't the  best for my eyes and that it contained the controversial mineral oil, I turned to eBay and  came across Naissance a seller who sold 100% pure organic sweet almond carrier oil, bottled in the exotic land of ... Swansea.


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Very often, when you try to reconnect with food and products from your childhood you end up being disappointed. Scary films from the  past feel suddenly ridiculous, and kids sweets don't taste as good. When I opened my little 50ml of sweet almond carrier oil, I must admit I  was disappointed. It had a lovely smell but it was nowhere as strong as the essential oil that my mum used to have. The fragrance is  very delicate. But then again, I thought that it was a blessing in disguise as I mainly purchased it to use it on my eyes. The very  day I tried the sweet almond oil on my eyes, the very day I threw away my bottle of Johnson's Oil, which was still half full.


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I can't describe how lovely it feels to remove my eye makeup with this oil. I love how effortless and quick this removes my makeup.  The whole makeup removal ritual feels like a mini pampering session, with no skin tugging, scratching, and eye stinging whatsoever. 


Doesn't it leave my skin too greasy?
No. In fact, it leaves my dry skin so nourished and I feel that my lashes have been given a second  lease of life. If I need to reapply makeup straight after, say I have made a booboo and want to start over, I try to remember to  revert to my good old trusty eye makeup remover from Simple, in an attempt to finish the bottle but the reality is that I use this organic oil as a  makeup remover 99% of the time.


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I feel really happy about myself when I use the sweet almond oil on my eye area. Sweet almond oil is high in proteins, and vitamin E,  an ingredient which I have been very fond of recently because of its universally recognised anti-ageing properties (vitamin e is powerful antioxidant) I feel like I am really caring for my eyes as the whole eye makeup removal  process is so gentle and there is hardly any tugging involved anymore. Twice I just plopped some directly on my face to use as a face mask and it made my skin feel so smooth! My skin is basically loving it and despite being an oil, it doesn’t cause any breakout.


Will I purchase a full size bottle?
The question doesn't even  need asking and this is the first thing on my shopping list come pay day. For now, I am enjoying my very handy travel size (see photographed above with one of my most worn day lipsticks) of sweet  almond oil and will continue to do so until the last drop.


what: 100% pure organic oil cold pressed sweet almond oil (carrier)
where: ebay, amazon or directly on the website.
name of ebay seller: naissanceuk.
how much: £3.29 for 50ml
disclosure: bought myself
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Wednesday, 15 August 2012

Lusting after …

Just when you thought you would be free from beauty products temptation when going to buy milk, you need to think again. I am doing this diet at the moment where I am trying to find alternatives to traditional skimmed milk. So I headed to my local Hollands & Barrett to find some 'different' kind of milk. I had no idea there were selling so many organic beauty products and the first sight which greeted me when I entered the shop was a very tempting stand full to the brim of Dr Organic skincare products.



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The stand is absolutely massive, from face moisturisers, face masks, serum, shower gels, body butters. Huge, I tell you. And they extend, from what I can gather, across 12 ranges, with the Moroccan Argan Oil and the Coconut one as their most recent.



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I can't buy everything that I see but if I could, this would be what I would love to spend my pennies on:



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Virgin Coconut Oil Hydrating Radiance Elixir (£12.99, 30ml) I am totally nutty about coconut, anything with coconut in and I am there. This is what they have to say about it: An intensive treatment that organically replenishes and rehydrates the skin for instant radiance and softness. This light, fast absorbing elixir instantly penetrates the skin, helps restore the hydrolipidic barrier, improves the dynamic and static hydration and decrease the trans epidermal water loss.


Virgin Olive Face Mask (£6.19, 125ml)
I have been recently disappointed with a certain olive oil face mask but I am still craving olive oil products.  "This nutrient rich clay based formulation draws oil from the pores while ridding the skins surface of dead cells and impurities and supporting the circulation deep into the capillaries to leave the skin feeling toned and perfectly hydrated".


And finally, I also fancy the Pomegranate Skin Lotion (£7.19, 200ml). This is the only product I was able to test on my skin: so light and smells divine. In fact, I don't know of any other pomegranate product which smells equally as good. Yum!


Have you ever used any products from Dr Organic?
What would you recommend?


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Friday, 6 July 2012

Shower Treats

If you were going on holiday, you could always, buy a set of travel bottles and fill them up with your current shower gel. Or you could take the fun route, chuck a few of these cute and colourful Weleda limited edition mini body washes at random in your case and be surprised at your holiday destination.



If you are new to the brand (I am), Weleda is a German organic brand committed to all things natural, organic, eco-friendly, sustainable and fair trade, so committed that they won the Best Ethical Range’ award in the latest Natural Health magazine Beauty Awards 2012.Last year Weleda celebrated their 90 years of existence releasing a Mini Body Oil Gift Set. This year, they have released a set containing five of their best-selling pampering body washes (Citrus, Sea Buckthorn, Pomegranate, Wild Rose and Lavender) all using a cleaning base of coconut, sugar and sesame oil.


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To my surprise, you can find Weleda products at Boots but I can't find this mini shower gel gift set online yet. Alternatively, you can get it on Weleda online at £9.95.



Do you know Weleda? Is there a product that you would recommend?


disclosure: I heard about this set by email today and received no compensation to write about it.
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