Have I said how much I love organic products? Well, here's another review for y'all.
From the Human Heart Nature website You too can be treated like a queen! Royal Jelly, the main food of the queen bee, is rich in amino acids, vitamins A & D, niacin and folic acid. With natural sun protection, it will keep your skin glowing like royalty. You thought only royalty could afford organic royal jelly? Not any more - look at these incredible prices!
Yay!
Price. This one is so affordable! At Php89.75 (close to $2) for a 50ml tube an Php149.75 (a little over $3) for a 100ml tube, it definitely won't burn a whole in your wallet!
Pleasant Scent. Though I normally prefer unscented products, I can't help but sniff this yummy banana smelling facial moisturizer straight from the tube!
Effective. It moisturizes my skin without feeling heavy, sticky or greasy. But, what I like most about this product is how it got rid of my syringoma around my eyes (thanks to Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion!).
Did not break me out. Unlike Clinique's DDML which gave me syringoma, this face moisturizer from Human Heart Nature has never irritated my skin. No zits, no whiteheads, no blackheads, no rashes!
Availability. This one's locally available to Philippine consumers. I'm not sure if they have a stall somewhere, but you can always through their website or through their distributors. My sister and I get our fix of organic products (Leyende, Human Heart Nature, and By Nature Handmade Soaps) from Tet of The Good Earth.
Has SPF. I'm not sure how high its sun protection is, but if the product label says it has it, I'll believe it and be thankful it has even a bit.
Organic. No parabens or any extender. Made with pure goodness of cocoa butter, beeswax, goat's milk, royal jelly, bee propolis, calendula extract, and natural vitamin E. Now ain't that good?
Philippine made. I'm one proud Filipina what with the amazing products that our people have been coming up with lately.
A little goes a long way. All you need is tiny dot on your finger to spread on your entire face.
Nay!
Uhmm... None?
My Verdict I'm not one to use facial moisturizers since I never liked the feel of most moisturizers in the market, but when my sister told me how much good this has done for her, I knew I had to try it. This has got to be the best face moisturizer hands down.
Will I recommend the product? At a drop of a hat, YES!
This cream has been said to be "the cream for the roughest and darkest areas" on the Venus and Mars website, and all I can say is, "affirmative." No cream in the market has been able to lighten and smoothen areas the way this cream had done.
Product Description (from the Venus and Mars website) Bare It All Emu Body Cream is specially formulated to smoothen and whiten the roughest and darkest skin areas. Shea butter, jojoba oil and mango butter are known to be the best moisturizing elements from nature. Just imagine how good these can be when mixed with EMU OIL, the ONLY natural oil that is closest to the human oil components. It also penetrates 5x faster than any other natural oil! This could be the holy grail of body creams! This product also has papain, a powerful whitening extract. The peppermint content is sure to give you a relaxed mood that’s enough to ditch all day’s (or even the brewing!) stress.
Effective. My knees and elbows are softer and smoother (and lighter too!) after just a few days of usage. This product exceeded my expectations!
Very moisturizing. It moisturizes like no other cream or lotion does. I've used tons of lotions and body butters from well-known brands but none has ever compared to this cream. My sister who suffers from excessively (and somewhat grossly) dry chicken skin even swears by the effectiveness of this product.
Availability. It's locally available to consumers in the Philippines.
Relaxing Scent. I was never a fan of lavender scents but with this one, I found it to be so relaxing and soothing.
Minty feel. Oh, I love how this feels so minty cool on my skin. I love putting it right after bath as it gives that really cool and fresh feeling. It's also my best friend at night, as I found it to help me get a good night sleep.
Non-greasy and non-sticky. I hate creams that make me feel like I bathed in butter. This one sure doesn't! It's even perfect during the hot summer months!
Doesn't feel heavy. If not for the tingling sensation, I wouldn't be able to tell that I put something on my skin. It's that light on the skin!
Varieties. It comes in four variants: Lavender (mentholated and plain) and Mango (mentholated and plain)
Organic. Ah! My love for everything organic outweighs everything.
Philippine made. Don't you just love buying and supporting Philippine made products that deserve all the exposure that they should be getting?
Nay!
Php225 (a little over $4.50) is a little too costly for a 100g tub that lasts me only a month.
Unhygienic. If you're an OC, then you will find it unhygienic to dip your fingers in the tub once in a while.
My Verdict Ever since I started using this in May, I have never itched to try other creams. I'm totally sold on this product for being very effective. It totally blew me off after a few days of usage. My once dark and rough knees and elbows are now worthy of attention. They're lighter and softer and smoother to touch. That's when I told my sister to try this product, and sure enough, she herself got hooked. Well, who wouldn't? For something this effective, I wouldn't mind paying over 4bucks every month.
Will I recommend this product? Hell yeah! Start ditching your other creams/moisturizers/lotions and start using this cream from Venus and Mars. Take my word for it lovelies (I have never been this gaga over a skin care product) and order from Jamie (owner of Venus and Mars). She's one of the sweetest and most accommodating sellers around. Buying from her is always pleasing.
What's the best, most moisturizing body cream for you? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Is your skin dull? Does it look scaly (hopefully not flaky)? Is the skin on your elbows, knees and ankles hard? Can you draw on your skin?
If you answered yes to these questions, then it’s about time you rescue your skin from dehydration.
How do you rescue your skin from dehydration?
1.Drink lots of water. Haven’t we been told time and again to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water daily? If you think 8 is too much, then try 6. This is best and most natural way to hydrate your skin. If you consume more coffee, tea or any flavoured beverage more than water, your skin’s bound to look dull and lifeless and will likely be drier than the skin normally would.
2.Keep a good and balanced diet. Avoid stuff that will make your skin dry and dull. If you’re one to skip meals in order to keep a pin-thin figure, think again. Starving yourself will only make your skin lackluster.
3.Have at least 5servings of fruit and vegetables daily. These plants not only contain essential nutrients and vitamins needed by our body. They also nourish the skin, making it glow with health. They likewise contain lots of water that help hydrate the skin in some way. Munch on watermelons, turnips, radishes, honeydews, etc. and bid bye bye to the junk you fuel your body with. Rescue your skin from dryness with some of these delectable and healthful treats.
4.If the first three are not enough to rescue your skin, have a good moisturizer within reach at all times. A good moisturizer will rescue your skin from dryness, dullness and scales. Tip: Apply your moisturizer right after bathing. Towel dry the excess water and slather on some good moisturizer to help lock in the moisture.
Now what’s a good moisturizer and where do you find one? There sure are a bazillion moisturizers out there in the market that promise intense moisturizing benefits for the skin. The branded and well-known ones sure are good, but they will more than certain rob you off your last payslip. But not only that. Commercialized products do contain a vast amount of additives and chemicals that will (read: WILL, not MIGHT) eventually do more damage than good to your skin and health. Some additives in our skin care products and even cosmetics have actually been linked to some form of cancer. Now I sure don’t want to want cancer to have anything to do with me. All I want is a skin that’s healthy. Knowing that these big companies fill their products with additives and chemicals led me to find other alternatives that are safer and less expensive but still highly effective to replace all my traditional skin care products.
And so my quest for all natural products began. I was thrilled with my first few discoveries. The feedback of the customers were so tempting and convincing. I was ready to place an order until I looked at the price. It was a total rip off! This was one problem I had with all natural products until I tapped the local little giants: Venus&Mars, Skin Hour, Ilog Maria, Vanilla&Company, Embodyment, All Organics, Brook&Ivy, Leyende, By Nature Handmade Soaps, and Human Nature. Don’t these companies make you a proud Filipina?
In this post, I’ll feature one of my favourite moisturizers of all time: Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter.
Vanilla&Company is the only skin care line that I know that sells the most delectable smelling skin treats. Imagine smelling like vanilla, tropical fruits, coffee, chocolate and whatever dessert you fancy. Their products are made of all natural ingredients that only bring out the best in your skin. Their packaging isn’t something you’d be fond to look at, but the products speak for themselves. The price? Nothing that harms my wallet.
Read on for my review on Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter.
Product Blurb:
“Its name speaks for itself – a whopping 50% cocoa butter to lighten stretch marks and also prevent future occurrences of stretch marks for teens and mothers-to-be! Cocoa butters are also ideal in soothing parched skin. This good ol’ cocoa butter naturally smells like dark chocolate, its actually a moisturizing chocolate for the skin!”
What I love about it:
·The scent! Who wouldn’t want to smell delicious? Their 50% Cocoa Butter does smell like dark chocolate, more chocolatey than The Body Shop’s Cocoa Body Butter (TBS’ Cocoa Body Butter doesn’t smell anything close to dark chocolate). Not only is the scent scrumptious, it lasts all day.
·The price. I got mine at Php299 during their month(s)-long sale. The company goes on sale every once in a while, so when they do, be sure you place an order.
·The product delivers! It’s intensely moisturizing. I apply it all over my body during the late morning, specifically targeting my knees, elbows, ankles and heels. These areas remain soft until midnight; and I only apply the product once. Not only that, I think my stretchmarks have also lightened. Yes, I have stretchmarks on my knees. I’ve had them since I was 10. Ugh. Beats me why I have them.
·It’s non-greasy and non-sticky. This is in fact the reason why I never used moisturizers. A lot are greasy and sticky and feel heavy on the skin. Vanilla&Company’s moisturizers don’t.
What I hate about it:
·I love the scent, but sometimes I find it to be too strong that it competes with some of my favourite perfumes. I don’t know. Either my sense of smell is poor or the scent is just too strong.
·I don’t really hate the consistency of the product, but I find it runny for a moisturizer. Quite unusual, should I say? Nevertheless, the product delivers.
The Final Verdict:
I am in love with Vanilla&Company’s 50% Cocoa Butter not only because of the scent but because it exceeded my expectations of body butters. Other body butters tend to be sticky and heavy. I wasn’t too thrilled to use it when I saw the consistency, but then I thought, “hey, I’ll give it a shot. Who knows, it just might work;” and true enough, it did. My sister, whose skin I liken to a snake when it’s molting, is rather amazed with the effectiveness of this body butter. She even asked me, “why are you still looking at [TBS’s] body butters when you have one at home that’s much cheaper and more effective? Just get your body butters from them [Vanilla&Co].” If you’re not convinced at how effective this product is, I’m not sure what will. I will surely buy this one from them once I run out of it, or maybe try other variants. FYI, they’re famous whipped buttercreams won awards from Meg Magazine.
One of the important things that I neglect is sunscreen. I know just how harmful the sun’s rays can be to our skin and health but I always skip putting some on my face for two simple reasons: 1. a lot of moisturizers are sticky, greasy and feel heavy on the skin; 2. the heat in the Philippines makes wearing sunscreen (or any moisturizer) much worse. But with the summer months getting much hotter, I figured I should start wearing sunscreen. Since I didn’t know what brand I should get for my sunscreen, I headed to the nearest Watson’s to check what they had on the shelves. There were tons of the dual purpose moisturizers, err... the whiteners with SPF and some other plain ‘ol sunscreen. What did I get?
Product Blurb:
Active UV Cell Protection
The effective NIVEA SUN UVA/UVB filter system and free radical scavenger protect the deeper layers of skin cells against sunburn and premature skin ageing and help reduce the risk of sun allergies.
Active NIVEA Care
The caring and non-sticky formula absorbs quickly and provides long-lasting moisture for smooth and supple skin. Vitamin E helps to protect the skins cells against free radicals. Water resistant.
What I love about it:
·It has high SPF --- SPF 50
·It’s non-sticky
·It absorbs quickly into the skin
·It doesn’t feel heavy on the skin
·It’s non-greasy
·It’s sweat proof
·It didn’t irritate my sensitive skin
What I hate about it:
·Since it dries too quickly, you have to spread the product the moment it touches your skin. If you don’t, you will have to squeeze more of the product to spread on to your skin.
The Final Verdict:
Nivea Sun Face Sun Block Moisturizing Cream with SPF50 is a good sunscreen for its price (if I remember correctly, it’s somewhere between Php250-350 or $5-7) considering that it’s neither sticky nor greasy.
I said that it’s “sweat proof” because even though I sweat barrels every time I walk under the heat of the sun to hail a cab to get to work, I never feel like I have something on my face. I love that it never feels heavy, greasy or sticky even when I sweat.
Will I purchase again:
Maybe. No matter how good this sunscreen feels on my skin, I’m still too lazy to add another step to my daily doll-me-up-time. I think the only reason I wear it every day is because I don’t want to get a tan. Silly, I know.
