Elemento Mineral Black Clay Soap

I need to send Rossana from Elemento Mineral a huge apology, I owe her two reviews for the products she sent me when I was pregnant (that was over 2 years ago now!!!). There were too many things happening in my life that made it impossible for me to blog for a looooong time.

 

The first product is a mini Black Clay Soap. The website says it "has high concentrations of rare minerals that help in cell renewal and improve skin tone. Its delicious fragrance is composed of essential oils of Lavender, Vetiver, Patchouli, Orange and Labdanum. Provides soothing sensation and is anti-stress."

I remember that I was in love with it the moment I opened the package & inhaled the beautiful scent. Totally gorgeous! Bear in mind that at that time I was pregnant, having 24/7 morning sickness & couldn't stand the scent of a lot of thing. When I say it was a beautiful scent, it was really beautiful, it made me feel as if I was in a posh spa retreat in an exotic country. At that time I couldn't find many soap/product scents that didn't make me throw up - I really didn't enjoy being pregnant, it was a dreadful experience!!! Don't even get me started on the labour & birth stories, I literally almost bled to death... but that's another story for another time... 

 

Back to the topic. I think the essential oils made it nose-friendly. The soap itself felt really soft, nicely foamed without drying my skin, lasted ages. It did work as a little soothing relief during what was one of the most trying times of my life.

 

Verdict: highly recommended. In fact, I'm googling for stockists as I'm typing this, I want to order some for myself. In need of a calorie-less stress relief at the moment....

 

Ingredients: Sodium Palmate (Palm Kernelate Sodium, Sodium Stearate, Glycerin, Sodium Hydroxide), Tetrassodium EDTA (Sodium Laureth Sulfate), Cocoamidopropyl Betaine, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Titanium Dioxide, BHT, Sodium Astrocaryum Murumuruate, Black Clay (Montmorillonite, Kaolin, Mica), Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulces Peel Oil, Oil Citrus Ladaniferus, Pogostermon Cablin Oil, Vetiveria Zizanoides Root Extract. 

 

Long Time No See!

Hello! I haven't been on the blogosphere for eons. Life had been throwing me curve balls by the bucket loads.

 

It's way past midnight where I am now, suddenly remembered that I had (still have?) a blog. Quick check on the long-neglected gmail finally brought me back here.

 

If anyone out there still remembers me, can you please give me a shout? You might just help to bring this blog back to life.

 

Teasers: I've relocated twice to other parts of Australia since my last post. And the troublesome baby-in-the-tummy has grown up to be a know-it-all 2 year old. Time flies faster than I can say "wrinkles"! :)

Sanctum Body Soothe

I came across Sanctum Body Soothe during my stay at a Sydney hotel recently. It's a light lotion that's easily absorbed by my skin and smells strongly of lemon myrtle to my nose. When I checked out the description on the webpage it's supposed to have the natural aroma of vanilla. The ingredients list on the webpage also differ from the tube I have. I'm not sure why. Either the one I have is a version of body soothe that's made especially for hotel use, or they've changed the formulation. Based on the hotel version, I quite like the refreshing scent and the way my skin drinks up the lotion.

Verdict: made from "certified organic and natural ingredients" - I'm sold.

Ingredients: Aqua, Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita matricaria) Flower Extract, Canola Oil, Aloe barbadensis Leaf Juice, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Bentonite, Honeysuckle (Lonicear caprifolium) Flower Extract, Macadamia integrifolia Seed Oil, Honeysuckle (Lanicera japonica) Flower Extract, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Leaf Oil, Lemon Myrtle (Backhousia citriodora) Oil, Xanthan Gum, Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) Leaf Extract, Orange (Citrus aurantium dulcis) Oil, limonene, citral.

ELF Studio Angled Eyeliner Brush

The key word here is ANGLED. You can tell that I'm intrigued when I saw the new ELF Studio Angled Eyeliner Brush pictures in my inbox.

The blurb on the webpage says, "This thin pointed brush creates even and accurate color application in one fluid movement. The perfect angled tip of the brush provides exact placement for concentrated color right up to the lash line."

Sounds promising, considering I like the "wonky" brush of Benefit Get Bent mascara.

What do you think?

Billy Goat Soap: Milk & Honey

Last year I had to change most of my skincare & bodycare products due to pregnancy. I was so sick I was stuck at home for 4 months. Hubby tried to get me some "non-perfumed" soaps. Unfortunately according to my super-sensitive nose they still stink badly. (Don't tell me about Simple soap bars, I retched whenever I smelled them!!!!) The only option was for me to go out with him during my better days (which was really rare!), to choose something that has "acceptable" smell to me. 

One of those that has smell that didn't make me sick was Billy Goat Soap Milk & Honey. The blurb on the webpage: "Made using the same recipe and care as our famous plain bar, our Milk & Honey bar also uses fresh honey from Queensland. This bar is made from fresh Australian goat's milk, Australian olive oil, sweet almond oil, castor oil, grapeseed oil and palm oil. It can be used all over the body, including the face."

The soap is softer than other bar soaps, it "melts" in water so I have to make sure I put it in a soap dish with good drainage. It lathers reasonably well and doesn't dry my skin. I never tried it on the face, just because I didn't want to risk irritating my already more sensitive facial skin. The bar ran out very quickly, so it isn't that economical. Also, after using it for sometime, I discovered that somehow it made the inner sides of my feet felt itchy and looked drier than the rest of me. The problem solved after I changed to other soap. Disappointing considering I quite like the smell and the idea of using a "natural" soap...

Verdict: I might buy it for other people, but staying away from it until after I've given birth.

Ingredients: saponified olive oil (olea europaea), fresh goat's milk, saponified sweet almond oil (prunus amygdalus dulscis), saponified palm oil (elaeis guinnesis), saponified castor oil (ricinus communis), saponified grapeseed oil (vitis vinifera), beeswax, fragrant oil, fresh honey and gold colouring (gold mica - less than 1%)