Review: Mia and Dom Soothing Skin Salve

I've been trialling a balm from Mia and Dom on my son Z's eczema. Mia and Dom are a company based in York launched by Jennifer Feltham in February 2015 when she decided to make some natural products for her son's eczema. A great story and something I would love to do myself. Their products are over 70% organic with many of them being over 98%. They contain ethically sourced ingredients and are not tested on animals.

When I first started using the balm on my son, his skin was in a bad way. Some patches of eczema had been healed nicely by a balm from another range and then he had a massive flare-up where his entire body went scaly and dry, together with red patches in the usual places, plus some more in areas where previously he hadn't had any. As this only comes in a small pot, I would have probably used it all in one go, so I chose a lotion from another brand (review coming soon) to put all over, and used this balm on the red areas.

Review: Herbfarmacy Skin Rescue Balm

I recently tried a skin rescue balm from Herbfarmacy. They are a UK company based in Herefordshire who have a five acre farm where they grow their organic plants and herbs.

This award-winning 100% organic balm is lemon-coloured with a herby smell. It isn't vegan as it contains beeswax. I used it on a patch of eczema on my leg that was almost healed from using another balm and a new patch that had flared up on my chest. 

March Empties: Botanics, Tropic, Sanctuary Spa, Superdrug Vitamin E, Pür Minerals

This is the first empties post I've done. It is mostly skincare with a mascara thrown in.

Botanics Micellar Water Hydration Burst

I started using Boots' Botanics range a few months ago after I started throwing away all my old skin care stuff and seeing what else was out there. I was browsing in Boots and my eye was caught by a sale on Botanics, so I bought a few of their products. Botanics' selling point is that they have developed their range in conjunction with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, they are free from parabens and are people tested.

Review: Balm Balm Super Light Coconut Cleanser

Balm Balm are the Leaping Bunny approved brand from Amarya Ltd, who are also behind Ooh! Oils of Heaven and the shopping site Love Lula.

This vegan coconut cleanser from Balm Balm is as pure as you can get. The ingredients are caprylic/capric triglycerides (coconut oil). And nothing else. Which makes me wonder why people would want to use chemical-laden crap from the supermarket on their faces when they could use this? One reason might be money. This 100ml bottle is £14.50. Was it worth it?

Review: Ooh! Oils of Heaven Natural Cacay Anti-Aging Oil

Today I'm going to review a lovely oil from Ooh Oils of Heaven. I've been trying a few different oils recently (me, who's never used oils prior to the last few months) and this was a welcome addition to my collection.

Oils of Heaven are the same company behind Balm Balm and also the natural beauty shopping site, Love Lula. They say:

Oils of Heaven was established to scour the world for the most effective beauty oils known to humankind and bring them to a wider audience. Oils whose effectiveness in repairing cells and healing skin has stood the test of time over centuries. Once identified, Oils of Heaven strives to source these oils from small local suppliers in a fair and equitable manner, trying to help particularly women to establish a livelihood for themselves and for the community. Oils of Heaven strives to bring you the absolute best of nature in a sustainable, equitable and natural way to make the world a more beautiful place.

Review: Coconut King Chocolate Orange Body Butter

It has been my pleasure over the last couple of months to review this cruelty-free, vegan, all natural body butter. And when I say pleasure, I mean that sincerely. It's like cocooning your body in orange flavoured chocolate, which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned. 😍

The Coconut King is a UK company based in Brotton. They make body balms, body butters and lip butters and a lot of their business seems to be aimed at natural tattoo aftercare.

Review: Green Woman Fit Pit Deodorant

Recently I have been trying a natural deodorant made by The Green Woman which is based in Shropshire. Reading up on the background of the company, I discovered it was created by 2 sisters and they give 10% of their profits to charity including Breast Cancer UK (a leaflet about the link between chemicals and breast cancer was included with my sample). I thought the product came in what looked like a jam jar and sure enough I saw a post on the GW blog which told of their initiative to rescue hotel jam jars from landfills and reuse them. They take 100-200 from one hotel alone each week. I was both staggered and impressed by this fantastic recycling plan. 

 Fit Pit is an organic, handmade, vegan deodorant, free of aluminium, parabens and BPAs. The range has men and women's deodorant plus a sensitive skin variation.

Samaya Skincare Review

I recently tried 3 samples from the Samaya Skincare range. Samaya is based on Ayurvedic principles which helps you to achieve 'samadosha' or perfect balance, in your life. They have 3 ranges, based on the doshas of Pitta, Vata and Kapha. I was invited to either choose my favourite scent or undertake a questionnaire to find my dosha. I took the quiz and found I was 50% Kapha and 40% Vata. So I opted for Kapha and received samples of the cleanser, facial oil and moisturiser.

Mother's Day Gift Guide

I have a collection of things here that I've either tried myself, seen good reviews for or come across while browsing online. I think all of them would make lovely gifts for a special mum this mother's day. I must confess, there's a bias towards roses and pretty packaging 😉

GK Creations Himalayan Rose Bath Salts

How gorgeous does this look? It's pink Himalayan rock salt with rose petals and essential oils of geranium, lavender and orange. I think it would look so nice in any mum's bathroom and if it was mine, I probably wouldn't want to use it. 

GK Creations do gift sets featuring the bath salts with soap, bath truffles and a candle, starting at £14 here

Review: Balm Balm Little Miracle Rosehip Serum

I have recently been trialling Balm Balm's Little Miracle Rosehip Serum.

Balm Balm are a UK company who are 100% organic and leaping bunny certified. Their founder, Glenda Taylor, is a qualified aromatherapist. Their oils are vegan but their balms use beeswax. This oil has some bold claims and fantastic reviews on the company's website and I was keen to see if it lived up to expectations.

Review: Friendly Soap Shea Butter Facial Cleansing Bar

I recently tried the shea butter facial cleansing bar from Friendly Soap.

We are friendly because…

…we use the traditional Cold Process method of natural handmade soap making, which not only generates zero by-product but also allows us to carefully choose every ingredient ourselves and make natural handmade soap that is Earth friendly, Animal friendly and Skin friendly.