Organic Beauty Week

Hello everyone!

If you didn't know, September is Organic Month. This basically means I have given myself every justification for buying the lovely expensive organic produce from my local Tesco....but also has been refreshing my memory of all of the wonderful organic beauty products that I have tried previously and that are still on offer.

In particular there is an Organic Beauty Week which is next week, the 19th to the 25th of September.

I think it is great to bring organic produce to more people's attention, especially beauty products. They are a lot more available than they ever used to be before, and I have tried a few in the past that were really good.

So in light of this I thought I would talk about two of my favourite organic beauty products that I have tried, and hopefully you can give me some recommendations too!

My first favourite product is the Antipodes Divine Face Oil*. 

Antipodes is a brand I came across a few years, remember that exclusive Selfridge's beauty box that was released when they opened up their Beauty Department? (there's a post here if you need a reminder but the giveaway is obviously over now!)

This was my first organic product and also the first oil I put on my face, and in true blogger style I have not forgotten it. I have in fact repurchased it a number of times but due to buying a house last year my budget has been restricted....Antipodes were kind enough to send me another recently to refresh my memory. 

It is still absolutely my favourite facial oil that I have ever tried. I remember this was when the realisation of 'I can put oil onto my oily skin and it won't break me out?!' days. This was a revolutionary product for me and I'm so happy to have it back in my life, so is my skin as it has definitely shown in the last few days of usage.

I'd recommend it for any skin type as wen my skin was oily it never broke out when I used this, plus now that my skin is drier it works like a charm at hydrating it so I think it works for all skin types.

Why should you try it?

The Divine Oil contains premium avocado oil as the main ingredient along with rosehip oil, jojoba oil, jasmine oil plus pure plant fragrances such as Sandalwood and Ylang Ylang.

The organic avocado oil however is the star of the show, it is high in essential fatty acids (EFAs) including Omega 3 and 9 to help with regeneration, restructuring, moisturising and film forming. It also has lutein which helps to protect against the sun with its natural UVA sun-screening properties and antioxidants to help against the damage that free radicals can cause to the skin resulting in ageing.

So the promise is there...and the science backs it up. After some studies Antipodes have found the it stimulates collagen in human skin cells by up to 51%.,,,, Can we bathe in it?!

The Divine Face Oil costs £19.99 for 30ml and can be purchased directly from the Antipodes website but also Look Fantastic, Beauty Expert, Naturisimo and Feel Unique.

My second favourite organic product that I've tried is from Neal's Yard Remedies.

We attended an event from them two years ago now when they released their infamous Wild Rose Beauty Balm* in the beautiful new packaging to celebrate 10 years of the product.

Isn't it beautiful???

This is a wonder product, and my original post on this product (click here) lists the ideas other users have come up with but my favourite use is as a deep cleansing mask, hydrating mask, lip balm and general salve for any burns, sun burn etc that my skin has. 

It comes with a muslin cloth that I use to remove the product and this also helps with exfoliation. 

This balm also contains rosehip oil along with starflower, patchouli and geranium so it smells wonderful as well as providing a whole host of benefits for hydration, smoothing and soothing.

This one even has the Soil Association rating of 99% organic which is obviously really hard to achieve and hard to prove. It's impressive that this rating can be achieved but proves it is possible, i think more brands should aim to achieve these badges of honour!

The Wild rose Beauty  Balm can be purchased for £38 for 50g, and can be purchased from the many individual stores and their website, as well as John Lewis and Waitrose.

As the Soil Association is a UK registered charity this is probably why Antipodes don't have the same rating (they come from New Zealand). It would be great if they were more easily compared in terms of organic ratings but to be perfectly honest this isn't something that would stop me from buying a product from either reputable brand.

Have you tried either of my favourites? Do you think Organic Beauty Week is a good idea?

What's your favourite organic beauty product or brand?

L xxx

*Both products in this post were given to me for review by the respective brands directly, however this has not affected my opinion of either product. This post is not sponsored by the Soil Association either, I just think it's a great idea :)

Antipodes Saviour Skin Balm

Hey All

Lack of posts from me the last week as I'm totally swamped in work atm and doing extra hours to fit everything in. Organic Beauty Week is coming up soon so a few weeks ago Antipodes got in touch to see if we fancied trying any bits from the range! L and I are massive fans so of course we said Yes. L will be sharing her's soon.

I'm off on holiday next month so the Saviour skin balm stood out to me straight away. This is an amazing multi use product that I couldn't wait to try it out. I'm naturally really pale and will inevitably burn on holiday so thought this would be great to put on my sun burn. It's also great for the skin post flight and seen as I'll be on planes for over 14 hours I'm going to need a treat for my skin.

The Saviour skin balm is also antibacterial, antifungal and antimicrobial and is great for cuts, bruises and rashes as well as many more. I've been putting this on spots to help calm them down and it's been amazing at softening the skin on my feel.

The balm has an amazing texture and is super soft. It melts on the touch and soaks into the skin easily. I've been recently putting it on stretch marks too and can't wait to see the difference it makes. Due to the echinacea and grape seeds it really helps cell and skin repair. I can't wait to see the improvement this makes to my skin!

I really love all purpose balms that are a one pot does all. This is perfect for holidays as I don't have to take as much with me. It's perfect for chapped lips and dry skin so will definitely be a saviour on holiday!

Are you testing out any new products for Organic Beauty week? I think I need to order myself the SPF from antipodes ready for holiday!

Love M

xxx

Snacking Organic

Hey All

We were recently sent some snacks to try as part of a Organic September. Both L and I try to eat healthy as much as possible and organic is something my other half and I have been recently trying to buy. We recently made the decision to start up Riverford veg boxes which is a company that delivers in season organic fruit and veg! We are loving these so far and it definitely seems to taste better.  We also had a lot of hello fresh boxes which some of the products were organic (I'm not sure if it all was or not, you can read about those here).

Organic snacking isn't something I've really thought to look into, especially not teas. I love teapigs and some of them are organic but not all. 

As soon as the parcel arrived I couldn't wait to taste everything. I'm a fan of different teas and rooibos is a favourite. I've had the oatcakes a lot before as my mum was wheatfree for a while.

Kromland Farm Organic Rooibos Caramel Tea* retails for £2.49 for 40. For herbal teas I think it's a pretty standard price and not much more than normal herbal teas. For me I will definitely be repurchasing this. For a while I've been trying to reduce my caffeine intake. I have one of the giant sports direct mugs (tacky I know but as a tea lover the bigger the better, size matters!!) in work and I was drinking about 5 mugs of tea , green tea or coffee and more at home. Rooibos is naturally caffeine free and the natural caramel flavours adds a touch of sweetness to a rich tea. I like to drink this without milk. I've been swapping out about 3 of my massive mugs of tea for this instead so hopefully I'll be weaned off caffeine again soon except for my morning cuppa! I'm pretty evil without that! 

Next up is the Ombar Buttons Coco Mylk * which retail for £1.49. I was really dubious about these. I instantly assumed dairy free would then be some sort of fake chocolate and just not taste good or it would taste overly sweet. I was so pleasantly surprised by them. They get there flavour from Raw Cacao and coconut palm sugar. These are so good, they have a great natural chocolate flavour which is still creamy and not excessively sweet and a perfect taste of coconut that isn't overly fake. I also love that the ingredient list is pretty small, when I know most of the ingredients on something it does make me more intrigued to eat it. As well as being dairy free they are suitable for vegans!

Not the healthiest of snacks but both L and I would rather get out sweet treats in this way then a normal bar of chocolate.

Clearspring Snack Organic Tamari Roasted Sicilian Almonds* retail for £1.49. These were the clear winner in the snack we got to try. L is much better at snacking on nuts than I am. I don't tend to buy them much and I really should as they are a great source of fat and protein. To me unless I fancy it nuts seems a bit boring but these have got a great taste to them. It's hard to explain, slightly sweet, sour and just good really! (there is a reason I'll never be a food blogger I struggle beyond it tastes good, it tastes bad!!). I loved these so much I've already ordered more. They are great to keep at my desk for when I want a savoury snack.

Nairns Organic Oatcakes* retail for £1.09. I've had these a lot before as I mentioned above my mum used to follow a wheatfree diet so got these instead of bread. I'll start with what annoys me with them. I wish they came in 6 packs of 4 oatcakes rather than 4 pack of 6. When there is 6 in a pack I eat them all but would have been satisfied at 4. I really like these and always have. I find them pretty tasty and snack on them dry as they are most of the time. Or if I'm having them for lunch will have something like tuna or avocado and salmon. They do seem to go with everything and are a great way to start to introduce organic foods into your diet. I would have normally picked up non organic without thinking but would always grab the organic ones instead now.

Do you purchase any organic food? Would you now consider it?

Love M

xxx