Comvita Anti-Ageing Hand and Nail Cream

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I suffer from very dry hands and wanted to give this hand cream from Comvita a try. It is from MyPure which means that it is paraben, phthalate and sulphate free. In addition it is meant to be an incredibly nourishing hand cream which sounded perfect for me.

One of the ingredients is Manuka honey, which is honey that comes from bees in New Zealand that frequent the Manuka bush. This is meant to have fantastic antibacterial qualities as well as being used to improve the skins elasticity which will delay ageing. Other ingredients are Moroccan argan oil, shea butter and Macadamia oil whichare included for their moisturising properties and extract of the native New Zealand Harakeke flax plant which is meant to have soothing properties.

The tube it comes in is a nice size, it is easy to carry in your handbag for moisturising on the go. The hand cream is white in colour and when massaged into the hands it is absorbed quickly. Your hands do not feel greasy and do feel much softer. You do not need to use very much, a little dollop of cream spreads over both your hands really well. As an added bonus it is a nail treatment as well, when used regularly it will strengthen your nails. I already have found that my nails are lasting much longer as well as my hands looking and feeling much softer. This is a lovely hand cream to use.

RRP £14 for 75 ml

For more information see the MyPure website: http://www.mypure.co.uk/comvita-anti-ageing-b163/nourishing-hand-and-nail-cream-p1494

Other reviews you may be interested in:

Comvita Anti-Ageing Gently Smoothing Cleanser

Alva Sanddorn (Anti-Ageing Cream)

Earth Friendly Kids Products

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

If you are looking for a range of products that is appealing to kids and kind to the skin, then its worth looking at these Earth Friendly Kids products. They are a range of bath and body products that can be used by children and are free of chemicals, artificial colouring, synthetic fragrance, sodium laruyl/laureth and parabens instead they use natural ingredients. The range is not tested on animals and is suitable for vegans and Vegetarian Society approved.

There are a number of different products in the range

Earth Friendly Kids Shampoo & Bodywash – 250ml, £4.08 which is a lovely gentle cleanser available in two fragrances, relaxing Lavender and uplifting Zingy Citrus.

Earth Friendly Kids Bubblebath – 250ml, £4.08 which are gorgeous foamy bubbles in an easy to pour bottle. Available in Minty Lavender or Zingy Citrus.

Earth Friendly Kids Handwash – 250ml, £4.08 in a really easy to use pump available in Minty Lavender and Zingy Citrus.

Earth Friendly Lids Gentle Kids Wipes – 60 wipes, £2.54

What mum does not need a packet of wipes for those emergency sticky fingered situations! These wipes are hypo-allergenic and fragrance free and infused with Aloe Vera. As well as this they are bio-degradable and flushable. Ideal to carry in your bag.

Earth Friendly Kids Body Lotion – 250ml, £5.10 which comes in an easy to use pump with skin nourishing ingredients for lovely soft skin. Available in Minty Lavender and Zingy Citrus.

I was sent some of the Zingy Citrus products to review. I love the fact that all these products have pictures of colourful collection of squeaky clean ‘super kids’ – Cosmo, Sophie, Leo, Daya and Spiro. Spiro is actually a dog. On the back of the bottles different super kids offer earth friendly idea, which definitely captured my sons imagination. The different products have different suggestions on them which adds variety. He was very taken with the idea of being a super kid and having a product just for him.

Handwash

The hand wash is a godsend. Its a really easy to use pump dispenser and placed strategically in the bathroom it encouraged my son to wash his hands when required. Usually I have to remind him to do this. The smell is lovely, really orangey and refreshing.

Shampoo & Bodywash

Again this has a lovely orange smell. The good thing is that the lid is carefully designed so only a small amount comes out at once. My son has a terrible habit of pouring half a bottle of shampoo out in any one go and then wondering why there is none left. With this bottle he in unable to do this. Its nice that the shampoo and body wash are in the same product. This makes it easy for him as he only needs to grab one product to be clean.

Body Lotion

This again is a cleverly designed pump action bottle so you only get a selected amount out of the bottle at any one time. It absorbs quickly into the skin leaving your skin feeling soft and well moisturised without being sticky.

The Earth Friendly Kids line-up is available from selected Waitrose stores, good baby and health stores and via www.HealthQuestStore.com (customers should call 0845 310 4411 for details of their nearest stockist). You can also find them on Facebook here

You may also be interested in my review of the Minty Lavender products which you will find here http://ali991.wordpress.com/2011/03/18/earth-friendly-kids-natural-body-care-products/

The Botanical Therapies range from Bodhi

Posted on May 17, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

I have recently heard a lot of good things about the new skincare brand, Bodhi and was really delighted to be sent some of their bath and shower products to try. The Botanical Therapies range is made up of seven bath and shower products, all of which contain a very high ratio of essential oils. Most products contain 0.5-1% of these oils but in Bodhi products you get double this amount. This makes them incredibly luxurious and the scent is long lasting. Essential oils are also used in aromatherapy as it is believed that different smells have curative properties.

In addition to this Bodhi products are free from harsh chemicals such as parabens, sulphates and petrochemicals but instead it uses mild cleansers derived from coconut oil and fruit sugars which pamper the skin.

The seven scents in the range are Galangal Spice, Jasmine Falls, Mint Thé, Palmarosa Verde, Pep Noir, Rosemary Chi and Ylang-Ylang Incensa and I love the names of these products as they conjure up visions of exotic places. A standard bottle costs £23.

When I received the delivery from Bodhi, I opened it to find a glamorous brown box tied up with a matching brown ribbon. Inside carefully wrapped in tissue paper I found three products, a big bottle of Ylang-Ylang Incensa and two smaller bottles, one of which was Mint Thé and the other was Rosemary Chi. They come in brown bottles with a different coloured banner across the bottle to indicate which product it is. This is simple, effective and stylish looking. I couldn’t wait to have a bath and try these out. They can be used in two ways, you can either apply them like a shower gel or add them to the bath like a bubble bath.

The first one I tried was the purple flashed product which is the Ylang-Ylang Incensa. This is a mixture of Ylang-Ylang and Patchouli with hints of Honeysuckle, Neroli and Pink Peppercorn. This is meant to be excellent for dry and sensitive skin. I poured this into the bath and the first thing that hit me was the smell. I was instantly transported to the far east and could visualize the hot heat, exotic sounds and intriguing smells. After the bath my skin felt loads softer and I felt revived.

The next one I tried was the Mint Thé, the bottle with the blue flash. This is a mix of Peppermint, Frankincense and Eucalyptus and is good for easing muscle tension. I didn’t like this as much as the first one, but it was still it was still gorgeous. The smell was delicious and minty and it left me feeling refreshed and revived. I think this would be brilliant if you do a lot of sports as it would definitely leave you feeling renewed.

The final one was Rosemary Chi ,which I found surprising as I think of Rosemary as a herb to use in cooking rather than in bath products. I have to say this is a complete miracle in a bottle. I had had one of those days, everyone knows the ones, where everything goes wrong, your children play up, nothing you do is right and you end up with a splitting headache and are ready to drop. I had a bath with this in and at the end of it I felt human again. The smell is reviving and gorgeous and it really lifted my spirits. Interestingly Rosemary is meant to do this, a fact I did not know. It also contains Mandarin and Petitgrain. I shall be keeping this one a close secret as it is worth its weight in gold.

I think these products are absolutely fabulous, it is lovely to see a brand that concentrates on reviving the body and soul in one product. They have created a range that has something to suit everyone. The little finishing touches are lovely as well, its so nice to receive a box that has been thoughtfully packed in tissue paper and bound up with a matching ribbon. It makes you feel that you are special and a valued customer. It is also nice that the range is made entirely in the UK.

You can find out more about the products by visiting their website, liking them on Facebook or following them on twitter

Acorelle Epilation body scrub

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

Its sunny outside, time to start baring flesh to get the sunshine. Time to invest in a good body scrub to slough away the trials of winter and to make your skin look nice. Time to bring out the fake tan and pretend you have been sunning yourself on a beach. I recently tested this Acorelle Epilation body scrub from MyPure. Everything from MyPure is free from sulphates, parabens and pthalates and they use natural ingredients.

This body scrub uses crushed almond kernels for the scrubby bits and for moisturising your skin it has a mixture of organic beeswax and organic royal jelly. Royal jelly is secreted by bees to feed their larvae and as a result is very difficult to harvest. I didn’t realise one hive would only produce about 500g of royal jelly over a six month period. As you may know it is very high in vitamins, minerals and enzymes and because of this is prized for use in a wide range of products. It is recommended that this body scrub is used once or twice a week on moist skin.

This is what it looks like in the jar. It is has a rich creamytexture with good size almond kernel pieces. The smell is a little bit bitter but its not strong so you so not really notice. It feels really nice on the skin, you can feel the scrubbing action but it is not harsh. The moisturising properties really seem to work well. After use my skin did feel a lot smoother and softer. It spreads really well and you find you do not to use very much to get a good effect.

This product costs £12.99 for a 200ml pot. Its a lovely body scrub which works really well. The only downside is that you are left with bits of almond kernel in the bath after use, but this can be said about other similar products.

Acorelle Epilation Roll On Deodorant from MyPure

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Dragons and Fairy Dust

This month I decided I would try Acorelle Epiliation roll on deodorant from My Pure. This sounded a great idea to me, it is a deodorant that reduces hair growth as it contains natural hair growth inhibitors. Apparently these are extracted from black truffles which is rather clever. I was intrigued to learn this was discovered by a French chemist who decided to find out why nothing grows under oak trees when black truffles are in the soil. Like all MyPure products it is free from sulphates and parabens

So what did I think of this product. The container is a nice handy size and looks rather smart. The deodorant has a rather strange smell but it is not strong so this is easily overlooked. As a deodorant it works really well. I demonstrated this by running for a bus on a hot day and ending up all sweaty, apart from under my arms where I had applied this. This also demonstrated I need to get fitter but this is a different story.

After using this for a couple of weeks I have to say that it really does slow down hair regrowth. It does exactly what it says its going to do. The deodorant is £12.99 for 50ml but it does last well.