Natural and Organic Empties - May 2018

Hello Lovelies,


Welcome back! And welcome, if you are new here 💕💕💕

Natural and Organic Empties - Green Life In Dublin

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I hope you are all well? With summer and a new job I am busier than ever, so please forgive me while I play catching up game on blogging and social media! I have a huge back log of posts, so please bear with me. Thankfully this post won't be two miles long, I finished very little stuff in May due to testing new stuff for The Beauty Shortlist Mama & Baby Awards, as I was one of the lucky ducks selected as a judges (see here). 
Let's jump in - and I will let you know if I will repurchase the item or not, and the reasons why. Honesty is always my policy!


DrHauschka Rose Day Cream - I love this cream! One of my staples from Love Lula and it is something I will always want to have when the weather temperatures drop - I find it too greasy for summer. See the review here.


Dudu Osun Black African Soap - another staple from Love Lula, I love it, and so does my whole family. See the review here if you want to. About to order it in bulk along with Hurraw lip balms, Organii organic cotton patches and something else, not too sure what yet. Thinking of getting full sizes of Sukin shampoo and conditioner.


Zatik Hair Food Organic Oil Blend - once I'd bought it TKMaxx & can't find it there ever since (see my post on what you can find there here, I worked hard on that post - 80+ photos to boot) - and this has lasted me well. Smells gorgeous, does not leave hair greasy at all, softens, conditions, the whole lot! I have used it as a body and even face oil in a pinch, and it worked well. 


Fruu Coconut Lip Balm - this was promising, but didn't end up as my fave. Tt lasts once on your lips, but it was super hard to use in winter (had to warm it up really well before applying on my lips) and in Spring it became super grainy and changed smell for the worse. I think I will stick to my trusted faves Bees Flying Wild and Hurraw ones, especially Moon Balm.


Inika Long Lash Mascara - one of the best green beauty mascaras, and I will definitely come back to it at some point! For now I seemed to acquire Fitglow Beauty Good Lash, 100% Pure Maracuja Oil mascara (both also so so good) and new-to-me Pacifica mascara, which is new to me, but will have to wait it's turn.


Bella Aura line - My love for Bella Aura knows no bounds - see my review here. Not only it suited my uber sensitive skin to a T, but it also helped heal my dermatitis and game me continuously good skin! What more can You ask for? I almost didn't want to like it when I first received it, but I quickly made a U turn, it only took me three days to fall head over heels in love with the line, and I never want to be without it. To me, that's the line worth investment for, as I know I will have a good skin for days. And that's it is priceless, my dears.
Ps. Ps. While I still think the products are fantastic, I also have to say I am ghosted and probably dropped as an ambassador. I still love the products & I will try to repurchase them with my own money when I am in better financial position. At the moment the story is that my DMs and emails go unanswered for months. The only time I got a reply, it was very vague “we do not know what we will do with Ambassador program” type, yet I see it is still going strong – just without me. It stings and I have to think if I still want to continue to support the brand who would play ghosting games and not be straight with me once asked head on. I have no time for shadiness, when I was nothing but loving and supporting towards them. That’s not the energy I want to bring into this year and my life going forward.



That's it for now. Let's see if I will be able to squeeze one more blog post for today?

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Lots of Love,

Renata.

 This blog post features a mix of products bought with my own money and PR.

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Reviews I never posted

Hi Lovelies,


Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕

I got this idea of bundling quite a few reviews in one blog post as I want to get them out of the way - these are the products I planned to review individually, but never got round to it for various reasons. Some products were used and gone a year or so ago, and I moved on to another products (so it doesn't make sense to post reviews of three or four eye products in the row) or the products didn't suit me in one way or another, and I didn't want to put out a bad review. I have a few, but I don't feel comfortable with them, like I am bad mouthing a brand or product, even though I am always very clear why something didn't work out for me. I is good to be known for your honesty, but it is double edged sword. Like in life in general, isn't it?
I won't be listing the ingredients of everything here as not to turn it into two mile blog post. Ingredients are only a short google search away anyway :) So let's get cracking, shall we?

Neal's Yard Remedies White Tea Eye Gel

This came in my NYR consultant starter kit, so it was ages ago! Technically I am a NYR consultant, but also my one and only customer - my inner circle are more interested in getting free products from me than buying stuff, and pushing products onto people I don't know is not for me, let's put it that way. I have a few blog posts on NYR products, and I will link them down below. As for the gel, it worked really well, my under eyes were nicely hydrated, and I really enjoyed using it for the day time, combining with Lil Fox eye butter for the night time (more on it for just a second). Even though I never repurchased it it stayed at the back of my mind in my imaginary "to repurchase someday" list, and one day I will definitely get it again. It is just us bloggers are a fickle bunch always onto the next hot product, plus we get sent stuff. I guess I should add I bought this eye gel with my own money? Transparency is important to me. The gel was nice and cooling and never caused me any issues in form of millia or irritation and you gotta love that, right? I know I did at the time I had it. The only con was that it expired on me only one third way down, but as that was four or five months later, I got good use out of it! The label says three months use after opening, so I stretched it for a bit longer as you can see, but as the product is housed in sanitary pump bottle I wasn't worried about contamination.

Neal's Yard Remedies White Tea Eye Gel and Lil Fox Miami eye butter

Neal's Yard Remedies White Tea Eye Gel

Lil Fox Miami Eye Butter

Lil Fox Miami Eye Butter

I think this was my first ever giveaway winning via Instagram (if you are not on Instagram, get on it immediately, as there are always fabulous giveaways going in the green beauty scene) and I was jumping for joy when my "surprise" win turned out to be Lil Fox Miami eye butter! I have never had an eye product from a luxury brand before, so needless to say I was really excited and dug straight into it. The product was also very good, and I really enjoyed using it while it lasted, but truth to be told I can't afford 50€ worth of eye butter, especially after seeing it also expired on me halfway through, but this was partly my fault - I savored it more than I used it - up until recently I loved "having" lots of nice goodies rather than truly using them consistently.  One tip to take away from this post guys - use your green beauty products like there's no tomorrow people! Don't save and savor it, like I tend to do, but I am learning. We all want really natural products sans preservatives, but we also get upset with their short shelf life. I understand how hard it is on brands to navigate this fine line, but as consumers, I say we should aim for less but good quality products and love the ** out of them, pardon the language. Lil Fox Miami is a brand I really want to go deeper into and try many of their products, as I am always oohing and aghhing over their ingredients!

Zatik Sea Buckthorn -Apricot Organic Herbal Moisturiser

Zatik Sea Buckthorn Apricot Organic Herbal Moisturiser

Zatik is one of the few brands that is always to be found in TKMaxx, and I was eyeing this product for weeks before getting it, I wanted to try it badly because I already had and really enjoyed their organic hair oil (review to come, promise) but at the time I didn't need a new moisturiser. I So when I finally got it and tried it, I was sad to learn it is not for me - it irritated my skin and wasn't moisturising at all. I have had many products with sea buckthorn in them (from different brands) and I always enjoyed what sea buckthorn does to my skin, but this product wasn't any good unfortunately. Despite it's aimed for normal to dry skin (hello, me) it is thin yogurt consistency with no moisturising properties to it whatsoever. And I didn't feel any sea buckhorn oil in it, so the amouth must have been minuscule. My face was left tight, dry and irritated after using it, so I had to give up pretty soon. I tried using it as a hand cream, and it was the same, irritated and not moisturised skin. Not repurchasing. I had one more Zatik skincare product that I remember not having good experience with either, but for the life of me I can't remember what the product was, so even though I can still find Zatik skincare in TKMaxx to this day, I am passing on them. The one product I would repurchase and worked really well for me, the hair oil, is never to be found in said shop ever again. Why, oh why?


Jason Shampoos and Conditioners

Jason Shampoo and Conditioner

These products were one of the firsts I have tried when I switched to green beauty lifestyle years and years ago, but I remember I didn't like them for some reason, and I couldn't remember why. So when  I was offered them for review, I said yes, because I wanted to try their newly released Gluten Free line, and partly because I was curious if they will work for me second time round. It didn't. And I remembered why I didn't like them straight after my first wash - it gave me dandruff. Gluten free one was the same, so I left them to my family there after. The conditioners are not my fave either, they weigh my hair down, and I don't feel they are that moisturising. . Purists might be not entirely happy with their ingredients list (I remember seeing a few ingredients I didn't like) but as we all are on a different levels of what we deem "pure", what is not satisfactory to one person, might be perfectly fine to another. Good thing they are widely available, in the shops and online, and if they happen to suit you, all is good. My own daughter asked me to repurchase it for her, so I did.

Kjaer Weiss Foundation (not pictured)

Umm, can I just say that finding your perfect cream or liquid foundation in the green beauty world is proving the hardest thing to do? Years later I am still not there much to my frustration. I purchased this foundation maybe a year and a half ago, maybe just a bit over a year ago from Naturisimo - just a refill to try first, and that is exactly why I don't have a nice picture to show it to you. Well, I am really torn about this foundation - for once, this is certified organic and has an ammaaaaazing coverage for a natural product, but on the other hand, it doesn't last, collects in my pores, has talc in the ingredients list and I much rather not have that in my foundation. Especially at this inflated price point! Let's elaborate a bit, I know there's quite a number of you who wanted my opinion on it, and I found myself writing the same lengthy response over and over and over on Instagram, so why not add it here too? First of all, as I already said it has an amazing full coverage for a natural product, something I really like about it.I am also impressed that it is certified organic product. It also looks very good in photos - giving you that luminous, lit from within kind of glow that you see in the pictures.  But I feel the pros ends here, and here's what I don't like about it - I feel it is not suitable for a day to day life - yes, it will give you coverage and you will look fantastic as you see the models from the glossy ads, but give it an hour or a couple of hours, and it will looks like crap on your skin - it will emphasize any dry patches on your face (even the ones you didn't know you had), it will slide of your face, collect in your pores and crease badly under your eyes (yep, even though they say it is foundation and concealer in one, it does not work as a concealer, it will crease badly no matter if you will set it or not, and the creasing will make you look older, and quite frankly who wants to look older? I think it is due to the talc in it, it is notorious for it, plus drying your skin out. I would like to see how those models look after a few hours after the photoshoot, as they go on about their daily life? Looking good for a shoot, yes. Holding up as you go on with your daily life? Hmm. And forget staying power if you have seasonal allergies like me, as soon as you will blow your nose, all the coverage will be gone from that area. Yes you might carry it for touch ups, but then again, you will go thought it like there's no tomorrow, meaning you will run out of it quite fast. Setting it helps staying power a bit, but as a dry skin gal I don't like to set my foundations as I don't to be a cake face. But as you can understand, this foundation does not hold up on it's own. Ooooh! I just remembered one more valid point I should add - it broke me out every single time until I used a primer underneath. At the time of getting it I had no primer, and after spending that much dough on it I wasn't willing to admit to myself that it breaks me out (coconut oil in it), but the zits popping after every single time after I used it told me another story. I persevered with it for many months, and finally got no spots after finally acquiring a primer. I know many of you keep this foundation for special occasions or for a nights out, but as those are a rarity in my life, I don't think I will repurchase it any time soon.

Chrys Renee Candle & Bath Spa

This is a US small company who does soy soothless candles and soaps - they sent me one of each back in March, and I have to say the candle was very good. Burned for a week straight (burning it at day time only, I always snuffle candles for the night) and never giving me any issues - it burned evenly, I never had to trim a wick or anything like that, and I was really happy with it. I was tempted to repurchase, but their free shipping is for US only.

Naobay Soft Tolerance & Eye Contour Cream
This is Spanish certified organic brand I wanted to try and was excited to do so when offered. I used it in winter along with Mahalo Vitality Elixir, and I was happy with it. I should have to say almost happy, I always had slight itching on the skin upon application, but as I never experienced any adverse reactions beyond it, I carried on. The thing is when I ran out of Vitality Elixir and started to use this on it's own, my skin really wasn't happy with it, itchiness and red patches appearing on my dermatitis affected areas quickly made me to discontinue using it. I finished it up as a hand cream. Oh, the joys of uber sensitive and dermatitis prone skin! Everybody else, be my guest.

Soley EyeGLO face cream
I moved onto this after setting Naobay aside, and at first I really liked - it seemed to really suit my skin, not irritate it in the slightest, and I even saw some diminishing of my dermatitis scars. So I was prepared to give it a glowing review. But... after going through half the jar, the same thing happened! Not sure what happened over there, did it go bad on me or something? I didn't change anything in my skincare routine, nor I added any new  
 

See? This is why I don't like putting reviews of the stuff that didn't work for me - I feel like I am trashing products, even though I know most of you will appreciate it as a valid points of why it does not work. It is also worth remembering that we are all different and what's not working for me, might be as well your perfect product, who knows? We have to agree to disagree on certain points. And I am certainly happy if these products ended up working for you. My skin (and scalp) is very sensitive, and even if I reacted to some product or other it does not mean you will too. Not everybody has sensitive and reactive skin.


That is all for now. Have you tried any of these product and what was your experience with them?


Lots of Love,
Renata.

Related:

Neal's Yard Remedies Palmarosa Daily Moisturizer Review

Neals Yeard Remedies - My Stash and Experience So Far

Neal's Yard Remedies Wild Rose Beauty Balm review

My Everyday Skincare Routine

2016 Favourite Products

Green Beauty Items Spotted in TKMaxx

Shop my NYR page here

(if you want to)

What I am Using Right Now or The Edit

Hi Lovelies,


Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome 💕💕💕

I just realized that working thoroughly on reviews is taking a lot of time (at least for me, I post a review after testing an item for a few weeks) and while I am not short of ideas or stuff to review, I wanted to share with you what I am currently using/testing right now. All these items are new(ish) to me, and if you follow me on Instagram, you have seen majority of them, but not all. I am on the hunt for my perfect foundation, so I am testing out a few, mineral powders and liquids. I finally got my skincare where I want it to be, so I am putting a lid on the new stuff for the moment, as my super sensitive and dermatitis prone skin wouldn't go too cray cray on me. These are not all, but I didn't want to overwhelm you with a sheer amount of stuff. All these items are clean when it comes to the ingredients, I won't be listing the ingredients here, or it will be two mile long blog post, and who wants that? I listed fifteen items here, in reality I could've carried on to fifty three (the current amount of drafts in my blogger's dashboard) and would still not be done! Oh dear, I am definitely not a minimalist, am I?

1. Vintner's Daughter facial oil
I got it in a green beauty swap with Cleanshelf from Instagram. I jumped at a chance to try 200$ facial oil as it is something I wouldn't be able to try otherwise, it is way out of my price range. I m on a fence about it, good at brightening my skin, but too potent for me for everyday use, so l use it twice a week now.

2. Josh Rosebrook Balance shampoo and conditioner.
Again, acquired from the same swap, and the same story with these products, too pricy for me, so was so glad to receive in a swap. First impressions not that good, after three attempts I moved on to 100%Pure shampoo and conditioner, which are so much better in my opinion. I should finish up these as I plan a blog review.

3. 100%Pure Neem and Burdock shampoo and conditioner
I was so excited about these, and they are good! I have a blog post review on them coming soon, but l guarantee you, if you will get them, you won't be disappointed! What can I say? Since I tried this brand, I have fallen in love and will continue to buy the products till I cease to exist. Not everything suited me, but I am impressed with 99% of the stuff I have tried from this company. Does not happen very often. (Reviews can be found here, here, here, here, here and here.)

4. 100%Pure Pretty Naked II palette.
I can't put it down since getting it! Enough said. I have a review on it coming shortly as well, and make sure you get your paws on it once it will becomes available to the public, I have a feeling it's going to sell out pretty fast. Oh, and you can enter 100%Pure giveaway to win one (plus three other palettes for your friends) on their Instagram page.

5. Jo Browne natural perfumes
I received a lovely present in the post, and these little beauties made me so happy! Handmade in Ireland with organic beeswax and the fragrance is 98% natural too. These last for 6-7 hours, which is incredible for a natural perfume.

6.. Inika goodies
Expect a review on their powder and liquid foundations, luminizer and blushes. One word? Love.

7. Living Nature Illuminating foundation
Don't have formed opinion on it yet as I only have it for a couple of days. Stay tuned.

8. Pai facial oil.
All I can say is - what took me so long??

9. Fushi Eczemaid
I'm due a review on this chickweed ointment which helped (or not) to heal my recent dermatitis outbreak.

10. 100%Pure spray SPF30 and Everywhere SPF30 stick.
With our "wonderful" summer I didn't even get a chance to wear those yet as it is raining every day and I am back into my leather jackets and the scarf. (When EU and US are having a heatwave. Not fair if you ask me). Anyways, these have great ingredients, the spray rubs in clear (yay!) and the stick leaves a white cast, but it is so portable to take with you anywhere. That is all I have to say for now.

11. Honest Everything palette and luminizer
I was reduced to tears when I got this package from the lovely (and funny) lady that is Natasha or nici_evans from Instagram! She is too good to be true! She knew I wanted to try Honest Beauty products (since I can't get them here in EU) so she sent me this wonderful package not asking for anything in return!! How amazing is that? Please go to her Instagram page and send her some love.
Anyways, back to the Honest products - they are amazing! Really live up to the hype. The palette is gorgeous, but it is the luminizer that surprised me big time, I keep reaching for it every single day, and it comes from a person who wasn't into luminizers at all.

12. Zatik Moisturiser
I bought this USDA certified organic moisturiser in TKMaxx recently as it was a bargain at 10€ only and has really good ingredients, sea buckthorn oil, apricot kernel oil and much more, but I think it''s better suited to oily skin people, not me, the dry skin gal, even though it says on the box it's for normal to dry skin? It is very thin in consistency and my skin feels still dry and tight after application, which is not ideal situation, so I mix it with Pai oil. I'll use it up, but I won't repurchase.

13.. Lotus Wei
Omg, love! Flower remedies never worked for me until now, so I was really apprehensive when I got these babies, but a few spritzes later I knew it was something I want to have with me forever! Just one little word of warning, have a sniff in the actual brick and mortar shop if you have a chance to do so, I highly recommend that or ordering sample kit before investing in a full size products, because I ended up loving completely different products than were recommended to me after I took Lotus Wei flower quiz. But Infinite Love is a love from a first spritz and for forever. Yes, it is rather expensive, but for me it is worth it, because it totally dissolves my anxiousness and fears. I would rather go without something else. 

13. Red Apple Lipstick
 I jumped at a chance when I discovered RAL's blogger's program, because I was dying to see if the lipsticks will live up to the hype, and oh my goodness they are good! Super loving Twist 'N Pout I got, it is getting so much love this summer. Stay tuned for a review.

14. Kimberly Sayer facial SPF30 sunscreen
Another item I got from a lovely Cleanshelf in a green beauty swap. I knew it is aimed at oily skin gals but i jumped at a chance anyway as I wanted to properly try it (I had a sample) and oh my goodness I love it, first facial sunnscreen that is not breaking me out and it is not ghost white! It is not enough moisturising for me, but i mix it with cold pressed raspberry seed oil, which naturally has SPF of 30-50. I will review it too.

15. Pure Anada goodies
Let me do a little more testing, but I think I found my perfect mineral foundation! It has so much pigment, I get nearly full coverage from ONE LAYER!! No need to sit and buff seven layers of it like with some other mineral foundations. I am excited about this review, stay tuned!



So that is all for now my dear friends! I hope you are not exhausted just by reading it :) This post made me realize that I am not a minimalist I though I am, far from it! And I am excited to bring you reviews of everything in the near future, so make sure to come back every Monday :) why I am posting on Mondays? Why, to brighten up your start of the week just a little :)

What are you using slash editing at the moment? Please share with me, I would love to know.



Ta ta for now,
Lots of Love,
Renata.









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