Walden Natural Perfumes Review

Hello Lovelies,


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

Walden Natural Perfume in A Different Drummer

Today I am coming at you with a review of some fabulous natural perfumes that came into my life recently, and I wanted to share my thoughts with you. 
Walden Perfumes are 100% natural and made from the finest absolutes, resins and essential oils in the world. They are named after Henry David Thoreau’s seminal novel Walden. Part meditation, part handbook for simple living in natural surroundings the book has inspired countless readers and Walden Perfumes is proud to follow in those footsteps. Offering a natural alternative to mass-produced fragrances made by industrial processes and shilled by celebrities, Walden Perfumes is proud to return to the glory days of real perfumery when fragrances were made by hand in small batches from natural ingredients of the finest quality. They are housed in simply stunning bottles, they are very simplistic, but elegant, there's chunky square glass bottle with a wooden lid and a simplistic label. The fragrance feels very decadent and luxurious to me, exactly the way I like my perfumes to be. There's five scents to choose from.

A Little Star-Dust: Ylang Ylang, Iris & Jasmine with Amyris & Tonka Bean 
(Finalist for 'Best Natural Beauty Product', Natural & Organic Awards Europe 2017)
A Different Drummer: Pepper, Cedarwood, Amber, Amyris & Sandalwood
Castles in the Air: Citrus, Tropical Flowers and Lavender
The Solid Earth: Petitgrain, Vetiver, Patchouli Oil & Amyris
Two Eternities: Wild Roses, Jasmine, Iris, Bergamot & Sweet Orange Oil

I chose "A Different Drummer" one as it appealed the most to me, and I am pleased to say I got it right (sandalwood and amber - yes please!) - I can't stop oohing and aahing over it ever since I got it! I fully intend to try samples of them all as the time goes by, "A Little Star Dust" is calling my name too, but I am sure "A Different Drummer" will be in my favourites forever. When first applied, it can be a little heady and strong, but soon sinks into your skin and transforms into a natural scent that smells classy and exotic at the same time, almost one of a kind! I like not smelling like everyone else, and that is exactly that type of a smell. Choosing fragrance is very personal to me, and that is why I am so picky about it, I reject 95% of the fragrances easily. That is why I am so chuffed with myself for getting it right from the very start with Walden. The scent can easily be worn by men or women, I noticed my hubby sneakily using it too. I simply adore this scent and I am simply under the spell and utterly in love with it! I look forward to wearing it - that is saying something, believe me. Well done, Walden Natural Perfumes, your products are simply exquisite! I am looking forward to wearing them for years to come.
The fragrances are available from LoveLula.com.


That's it for today. Have you tried Walden natural perfumes yet and which one is your favourite? What natural perfumes are you guys loving? Please share with me, I would love to know.

Lots of Love,
Renata.

Jo Browne Ireland Solid Perfumes Review - Irish Series

Hi Lovelies,

Jo Browne Ireland Solid Perfumes

So today I am continuing my Irish brands series, and I am very pleased to present you with fabulous solid perfume brand called Jo Browne, handmade here in Ireland by lovely lady Josephine Browne, she is qualified refrexologist and holistic terapist with a passion for essential oils.

She first contacted me a good few months ago and I’ve mentioned them on my Instagram here, but I held off from reviewing them for a couple of months to see how they will fare a few months on, and I am pleased to say that they are still going strong! The reason I wanted to wait is that these are not my first solid perfumes, and most often they lose their smell in the first two months. So not the case with this product, I think you will get your money's worth from these products. They retail for 18€ each and the shipping to other countries is very reasonable too.

The packaging is adorable, everyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for bamboo packaging, as I find it gorgeous (the fact that it's natural and sustainable can't hurt either). They are made with organic beeswax and the formula is 99% natural, they are made with essential oils with a drop of fragrance to boost the natural scent. All product are handmade from scratch, and hand poured too. The process of it takes six months! The base is made of mango butter, jojoba oil, organic beeswax, rice bran oil and vitamin E. All ingredients are chosen organic where possible.and the package is eco friendly too, as we all know, bamboo is very sustainable and one of the fastest growing plants out there. I am the most sensitive of them all (lucky gal, I know) and if I haven't had any reactions, that means you can go ahead and use them with confidence. There are six scents available, and from all six I like five of them, and that is also good news, because I am very picky with my perfumes, I can easily reject 200 of them to find the “one”. They last around 5-6 hours on me, and I really like that, because it is rare not only in a green beauty world, but in conventional scents too. The last perfumes I tried prior to these were Pacifica ones, and they lasted for only an hour on me, I was pretty disheartened by them if I am honest. Let’s not forget that easy compact packaging makes it very easy to carry them around and they are perfect for traveling too, no spills and no confiscating at the airport! And if you are a visitor in Ireland, what a perfect Irish souvenir to pick up for presents, right?

So let's see what's on offer, shall we?

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Floral Note (Lemongrass and Wild Jasmine)

Sweet Note (Citrus and Crushed Vanilla)

Oriental Note (Spice Tea and Honey)

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Woody Note (Sandalwood and Patchouli)

Oriental Note (Saffron and Sweet Amber)

There are three scents for women and two for men, and my favourites are Sweet Note and Woody Note. I will let you into one secret of mine, I use a mix of men’s and women's fragrance to make something my own, I have been doing that for years, as I like the idea of creating my own unique smell that no one else will have! I would use straight up men's cologne too, because I am rebel like that :) Yes, it feels so good to break the rules! So I mix these two favourites, aka Sweet and Woody notes and that's my favourite combo right now. I sooo wish blog or IG would have scratch-and-sniff feature so I could share the scents with you!

You can pick them up via JoBrowne.com website here or check out the list of stockist here. She is lauching in US as we speak and has launced in the UK recently too,  so the best of luck with it!!!

Have you checked out this brand? What is your favourite natural solid perfume?

Psst.. want to check out some more reviews from Irish brands? Click here and here. And I have a couple of more to come real soon.

So that is all for now!

Lots of love,

Renata 💕

Please like and share this or any other post of mine, and you will have my gratitude forever.

Disclaimer: These are PR samples but I will invest my own money once I run out, because I genuinely like the products. All opinions are my own. The link to the website is not affiliated and I am not on their payroll in any kind of way. Thank you for being eagle eyed and reading the small print.

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.









#organic  #organicskincare #organichaircare #cleaningredients #nontoxic #natural #naturalingredients #100%Pure #100percentpure #100%Pureshampoo #review #reviews #greenbeauty #cleanbeauty

Natural Solid Perfume DIY

Hi There My Green Sisters,

Good afternoon everybody, today I am coming at you with a natural perfume DIY, hope you will enjoy it as much as I do! So, long story short, I had to give away all my perfumes after switching to natural products, and since I am really aprehensive about buying scents online (seriously, how can you choose a scent online?) and natural perfumes in stores here in Dublin are practically non existent, so what's a gal to do? Make my own of course :) Here's the recipe for you all, and a little disclaimer first - I am no expert at this, and I am not telling you to do it, I am only saying it worked for me and I didn't get any irritation, you can try it at your own risk, or not, your choice, ok?


Here's what you need:
Two little pots or perfume pendants if you have it 
Teaspoon of beeswax (or vegan wax)
Teaspoon of oil (I used almond oil)
Double boiler (aka pot with hot water and a metal bowl on top)
Essential oils (or fragrance oils) of your choice
   

Directions:
Put the oil and grated beeswax on the double boiler and stir for a minute or two until the beeswax has melted, take off the heat,let it cool a bit and carefully pour into your pot, here I am recycling a pot from old solid perfume form Lush and a little eyeliner glass jar, these worked perfect, and you can use whatever you have, even old chapstick tube would work perfectly too) and add essential oil or fragrance oil. (here I am using Yankee oils from their aromatherapy range, Stress Relief and True Bliss, since these are already perfume blends, and they smell gorgeous! Of course you can use single essential oil instead, let's say orange or experiment with your own essential oil blends, just bear in mind that you would have to keep the perfume for a month before using it). The reason I am using Yankee is because one, these smell amazing, second of all I do not have enough nice smelling essential oils to blend myself, third I used to work with Yankee and I know they use purest quality wax for their candles, so I am assuming they use purest quality for their oils too. Plus I tested these neatly on my hand and I did not get any irritation, but please do not try this at home :) As you can see, these pots I am using are small, so I added 10 drops in each pot, but the beauty of this recipe is that you can adjust the scent to your liking, 5 drops will give you nice mild scent, 20 drops will be very strong, but beware if you're prone to headaches. Just start small, and you can go from there.


Another plus for this recipe? Why, yes, it is the cost of it, I am assuming it's less than 50 cents for the whole thing, I mean 2 little pots of solid perfume! And how much would you pay for it in the shops? 10€ and upwards, right? So I encourage you to go ahead and make those for yourself and for your little ones, rose scented ones will work beautifully for Valentines day, and these would make perfect gifts, because you made them specially for the person in mind :)

Let me know if you have any questions or tag me on istagram if you will have a go at it, I would love to see the results!

Lots of love,
Renata.