My Autumn Skincare Must-Haves

Though I have pretty oily skin during summer that all my makeup melts throughout the day, I suffer from dryness during winter -which is why I call my skin type combination rather than oily. December started and the air is getting colder and drier in Tokyo that instantly spoil my mood. I love trying out different skincare items though I have some products that I completely rely on when my skin becomes unstable.

Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream is definitely one of those products. This unscented cream seems very simple and kind of boring, but it basically mends the skin and make it look plumped. Even when I have rash due to some kind of allergy to new skincare products that my skin doesn't agree with, it heals the skin within a couple of days of use. It hydrates the skin whilst keeping the skin surface feeling smooth. I used up my first jar now that I am ready to repurchase. Though, I might wait for a while as I just ordered the moisturiser from First Aid Beauty which I have heard works similar to this one.

Terracuore Damask Rose Dew Oil that I mentioned in the past (HERE) can be used in different ways. I usually use it as serum, but it can be used right after the cleanser to softens the skin, or you can of course mix it with a moisturiser. The mix of rosehip oil, almond oil, avocado oil and safflower oil makes your skin feel soft and hydrated.

It smells like rose perfume in the nicest possible way, though I do not like a rose scent, but this one is an exception. It smells divine that I recommend to ANYONE. This is definitely one of the best smelling face oils out there. This none-greasy oil protects the skin from dryness, and balances out the oil production.

Hada Labo Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly that you can read an in-depth review HERE has been living in my makeup bag. During the colder months, my makeup tends to look cakey and kind of powdery though I only use liquid foundation, and that can be fixed with a product like this. I LOVE how light it feels on the skin. It can be used in the morning, night and during the day -basically ANYTIME! This is what you want to keep in your bag all the time, ditch your vaseline and grab this one instead!

I use Trilogy Everything Balm  when my skin requires even more hydration. This is quite an oily balm that I rarely use, but when my skin feels very dry that Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly cannot even fix, I rely on this balm. It smells very 'natural and organic'-like, which not everyone would love. I definitely smell something like ylang ylang or patchouli. The great thing about this is that you can use it on your hair, nails, hands, face...everywhere on your body. Apparently this is one of their best-selling products, and I understand why. It's slightly more tacky than Gokujyun Premium Oil Jelly but it works wonders on my skin. This mini that came in one of the look fantastic beauty box is super handy!

Do you have any products that you cannot live without during the colder months? Let me know!

Facial Oil Obsession

In the book I'm currently reading, Pretty Honest from Sali Hughes, there is a line that says "I feel sad and frustrated by how many woman have been convinced they must avoid oil to prevent oiliness" followed by another line "I am entirely understanding about why oil-free moisturisers are a more comfortable, matte and practical make-up base by day, but I would still advocate a light facial oil at night".

I have dry skin during winter, and it becomes more like combination skin in spring and summer. Which makes it hard for me to fully understand what it's like to have oily skin all year round, but I believe what Sali is saying is true. A good facial oil helps your skin a lot. Today I'm going to share my favourite face oils for different purposes.

For an intensive hydration treatment.....
Suki Balancing Facial Oil $32.95
This amazing oil specially made for oily to combo skin is from an American brand called Suki.  I have used their brilliant face scrub before and since then I fully trust their products. I got this oil from Vitacost.com (I put the link above), and I am so glad I did.

According to the website, what this oil does is this : "Non-clogging sebum equalizing complex™ - jojoba, borage & hazelnut – matches skin's own complex chemistry balancing designed specifically to deeply deliver perfect hydration for overall harmony"

I apply it on my face after cleansing it, and massage for a minute or so. Then I place a hot towel on my face and relax until the towel gets cold. Once it's cold, I heat it up again, then do the same until I feel that the oil is fully absorbed into my skin. The blend of lavender and chamomile essential oils helps to relax as well.


Once the oil has sunk in completely, I apply lotion and moisturiser as usual. My skin feels like a baby's butt whenever I do this, this is definitely my favourite way to pamper my skin.

For cleansing.....
Badger Organic Beauty Balm Damascus Rose $13.59
I was inspired to use this balm as a cleansing balm when I read a blog post by Alix from I COVET THEE. In this post HERE, she is introducing this balm from Neal's Yard as a cleansing balm. But this is sold as a mositurising balm that you use after moisturiser. 

So I thought, using a balm as a cleansing balm could be pretty good, and I was right. It's very moisturising and surprisingly it does remove makeup too. But one thing you need to be careful is to make sure to use a muslin cloth to remove, otherwise it repels water. I'm not a big fan of a muslin cloth, but I have no choice but to use it when I cleanse my face with this balm. 


The scent is divine, a blend of lavender, rose and chamomile which is pretty soothing and relaxing.

As a serum.....
Terracuore Damask Rose Dew Oil  6,696yen
If you haven't tried anything from this Japanese brand Terracuore, you are missing out. Although I'm not a big fan of organic beauty products, their products are amazing I have to admit. And the weird thing is, their products never broke me out. They have an organic farm in Italy and develop the products in Japan. Their damask rose cleansing milk has been very popular and I am a big fan of it too.


This oil is tiny and pretty pricey but trust me, it's worth it. I use it before or after moisturiser as a serum, depending on my skin condition....or let's say, my mood. It smells absolutely brilliant, it smells like a rose bouquet without being overpowering. I am not a big fan of rose -scented beauty products, as I often find them smelling too strong and feminine, but this one is just beautiful. 


I apply one drop of it on my entire face and leave it as it is until next morning. I admit it doesn't sink in immediately and it does go on my pillow a little bit, but it's not sticky or greasy at all. On the next morning, my pores look smaller and my skin looks plumped. Sometimes I feel that it works better than the expensive serum that I'm using.

Facial oil is definitely effective, and I cannot live without them. I strongly recommend you to try the hot towel treatment with a good facial oil if you are not used to it, because it doesn't leave the oily feel on the skin at all yet it definitely hydrates the skin. What's your favourite facial oil?

Are "natural" beauty products good for you?

Recently, I often hear people raving about "natural" and "organic" beauty products on the blogs and YouTube videos. I hear them say "This product is amazing, and it's good for your skin because it's natural" or "You should try to use as natural products as possible, they are good for you". I want to object to that, and decided to write a blog post about it.

More than 5 years ago, natural and organic beauty products started becoming popular in Japan. Some specialised shops like Cosme Kitchen, Crayon House and Terracuore were the pioneers. I was studying aromatherapy at that point, and I found myself totally into those products.

I thought artificial colouring, perfume and preservative as well as silicone, paraben, sulfate and those "chemicals" were bad for you, and can be a cause of cancers. I tried my best to avoid them, and I checked all the labels whenever I would buy beauty products, to make sure those were "safe". 

After a while, I found myself having breakouts on my skin. I thought it was stress or dry skin. I tried my best to cure it, I even went to a clinic as I was suffering from breakouts for more than 6 months at that point. The medicine didn't work. One day, in England actually, I had an opportunity to use a moisturiser which is not organic for a couple of days. I thought it would make my skin worse, as I believed that the organic ones were better. But it ended up clearing my skin up completely. That's when I realised that my skin was reacting towards the natural and organic products.

Since then, I stopped using organic skincare products. I stopped using organic shampoo and hair treatment as well. Then what happened? My skin became silky smooth like before, and my hair no longer looked like a bird's nest. Organic shampoo and conditioner that don't contain silicone contains oils instead, to make your hair feel smoother, which can stay on your scalp and get oxidized, that can cause an odor. It happened to me as well, and I used those products even more to get rid of the odor, which was just a negative spiral.

There are loads of chemicals you should avoid, such as paraben and artificial perfume. There are some natural preservatives that can be used instead of paraben. Essential oils can smell better than artificial perfume. But you need to remember that the natural and organic ingredients are not purified and sometimes contains impurities, which means it has a higher risk for your skin to react badly towards the ingredients. The natural ingredients are said to be sometimes stronger than chemicals, and chemicals are made for benefits (not only beauty purposes of course, but you know what I mean) whereas natural ingredients are just natural ingredients, they are not specially made for the beauty purposes. They have benefits as well, of course, but they also have impurities which can irritate your skin. It would be great if your skin doesn't react to it, but you should know that that's just you. Not everyone.

Some people react to chemicals, and some people react to natural ingredients. I am not sure what my skin did not agree with, but since I stopped using all organic products it has been in a very good condition. I still like some brands such as REN, balance me and Liz Earle that don't attack my skin. But on the other hand, I have so many brands (mainly organic ones) that broke me out so bad and I have been staying away from. 

I want to say to those people, especially influential bloggers and YouTubers, that natural ingredients cannot always be good for you. I hate it when people say "It's natural, so it's good for you". You need to know that it works for you because your skin agrees with it. There is a big difference.

I am not against the natural beauty products, there are tons of them that are good, and that I like. You should switch to natural products it for sure if your skin likes them, because they don't contain ingredients that feel good for now but could be harmful later. 

I'm against the people who say "You should go for natural beauty products, chemicals are bad!" or "Natural products would clear up your skin, as they are safer" or things like that, because that is not true. Look for products that your skin likes, not ONLY because the products are natural or organic.

Nourish Revital-Eyes Eye Cream

Nourish Revital-Eyes Eye Cream £29.50 
My favourite UK brand Nourish has launched their first eyecream -in October I guess- and I am totally in love with it. According to the official website of Nourish, the eye cream is "Supercharged with peptides, amino acids, B vitamins and antioxidants to boost natural resilience against signs of aging." It contains vitamin-rich kale extract, macqui berry and pomegranate enzymes, which help counter puffiness and dark circles. Who doesn't want this miracle eye cream? Doesn't it sound amazing? But what's more amazing is the fact that it actually does work.

It feels like a creamy lotion when I apply it under my eyes. It's pretty loose and thin but it takes time to be absorbed so you need to keep massaging it into the skin for at least 20 seconds. The reason is when it's rubbed on the skin it turns milky white and it leaves the residue. I guess that's because it doesn't contain any harsh emulsifying agents, so I don't mind at all. Just remember you need to gently keep tapping with your ring finger until it completely absorbs otherwise you would look pretty ridiculous with while cream around your eyes.

It doesn't have a pleasant scent but that's because they wanted to make eye cream which doesn't irritate sensitive skin around the eyes. My skin has never reacted to fragrance including natural essential oils and artificial perfume, but I've heard there are people who are sensitive to any kind of fragrance, so if you are one of them, you can totally rely on this eye cream.

I use this eye cream every night before bed as well as in the morning before putting makeup on. When I was using  a thicker eye cream I avoided using it before makeup because it tend to ruin foundation and concealer. But with this product, it's completely opposite. It actually brightens up my eye area to prep for foundation and concealer and create a hydrated and smooth surface. With this eye cream, it's much easier to hide my dark circles.


You need a tiniest amount to moisturise your eye areas which makes this tiny bottle last for months. Considering the fact that I wasted so much money on worthless eye cream, I don't think it's too pricey. I would purchase it when my bottle is empty, hopefully with some discount codes from feelunique.com....! Overall it's a very good eye cream. What's your favourite eye cream?

naturaglace Eye Colour Parfait

naturaglace Eye Colour Parfait  3,780yen
Are you looking for a natural beauty brand with high quality makeup products? naturaglace would be your destination! naturaglace is a Japanese beauty brand which only use natural ingredients in their products. They have anything from BB cream, foundation, blusher to eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. They don't use mineral oil, instead they use plant oils such as macadamia oil and avocado oil. They don't use paraben, silicon, surfactant and artificial colouring and fragrance either, and use natural substituting ingredients.

 
To be honest, I was not sure about their quality before I tried their products. I thought those artificial ingredients were needed to create the amazing pigmentation or texture. So when a product is made without them, the quality as a makeup product should be lower. But I was wrong. I have tried their primer and powder foundation, and both were great. If I was not told that they were made with natural ingredients only, I wouldn't have noticed at all. So I was so excited to try out their eyeshadow quad this time!

The shade I got is BL1, which has got this unique combination with blue, khaki, white and peach. They all are shimmery but none of them has big chunky glitter. It has a tiny brush underneath but I got rid of them because I would never use them. I wish the packaging was a little bit slimmer and lighter -it's a bit bulky. Besides that I really like how it looks.

The pigmentation isn't too bad, especially the blue one looks pretty don't you think? I also like the peach which gets rid of the dullness on my eyelids and make them look fresh and alive. I might like to wear it alone with a little bit of khaki as eyeliner. 

So on this eye, I applied the peach eyeshadow all over my eyelid. Then I added a little bit of the while highlight shade under my eyebrow, then applied the pale blue on the upper lashline and used the kahki shade on the lower lashline.

On the other eye, I used the peach as a base and used the khaki shade on my crease, then use the blue on my lower lashline. The khaki was a little bit hard to blend, it just sat there and didn't move at all. It literally took like 3 minutes to blend. 

I personally like the first look  just because the blue shade stands out this way. It's such a beautiful shade that reminds me of mermaid, very clear and innocent. As you can see the eyeshadow creates this "wet" look which its amazing shimmer. I love how it looks and I was very impressed by the quality. 

The palette costs almost 4,000yen which isn't cheap at all, but if you are allergic to the harsh ingredients, or you want to avoid chemicals, it's worth it. They have 3 different shades and I personally like PG1 which has got this beautiful plum shade and smoky green and khaki. What a perfect quad for this winter! 

Have you tried any natural makeup products? Would you like to try if you haven't?
 

The definition of toner in Japan

A few months ago Caroline Hirons, the famous skincare expert in the UK appeared in the video on Pixiwoo's Body Talk Channel, and talked about hyaluronic acid which made this particular product Hydraluron go out of stock in Boots. Now everyone's talking about
hyaluronic acid and it's well-known that it's good for your skin. But let me clarify...
hyaluronic acid was super popular more than 10 years ago in Japan. I guess 8 out of 10 woman in Japan know what hyaluronic acid is. 

In Japan, toner is called "Keshou-sui". Keshou means makeup, sui means water. The idea of Japanese toner is different from what it is in western countries. It's not for removing makeup or dirt which your cleanser didn't clean, it's mainly for moisturising purpose. We have all sorts of toner here: moisturising one, whitening one, anti-aging one, astringent one and calming one. The most popular one is the moisturising one, which we use after cleanser and before serum or moisturiser.

This toner from Hada-lab is one of the best-selling toners in Japan. It's been around for 10 years and I used to use this when I was in high school because it was cheap. The main ingredient of this toner is super hyaluronic acid which holds twice the amount of the normal hyaluronic acid does, and the size is 1/100 which makes it easier to penetrate.

We Japanese tend to have more sensitive and thinner skin, so generally we use our hands to apply toner rather than using a cotton pad to avoid any friction and damage to the skin. The main purpose of Japanese toner is to help the skin condition, so cotton pads are not needed anyway.

do organic Extract Lotion Repair 3990yen
This is my favourite toner at the moment. This is from the Japanese brand called "do organic" which mainly use organic ingredients. This toner is like magic....! It leaves the skin surface so smooth while moisturising inside of the skin. It's such a perfect toner for summer or for those who have oily to combination skin because it leaves the skin matte and shine-free! It also contains hyaluronic acid as well as some other moisturising ingredients such as rise bran extract and glycerin.

The base of this toner is rose water which makes it smelling so soothing. Even though the skin surface feels matte and smooth, it never feels drying which is simply amazing. 

There are some other ingredients attracting woman in Japan. My favourite one is ceramide, but also collagen, placenta, coQ10, Lipidure etc are very popular here in Japan. If you would like to know more about Japanese toners, please leave a comment and let me know!

Nourish Golden Glow Illuminating Face Shimmer

Nourish Golden Glow Illuminating Face Shimmer　£14.95
Nourish is a British beauty brand which use organic ingredients mainly, to create products that are gentle and effective. I wrote in-depth reviews about their products in the past (HERE and HERE), and I'm totally in love with their serum and Golden Glow Toning Soufflé which I'm currently using. From my point of view, some of their products are more effective than chemical-based cosmetics out there. Also I adore the packaging too, they are very pretty without being childish, which is suitable for grown-up women as well as young girls! Anyway, today I'm going to talk about their newest product, Golden Glow Illuminating Face Shimmer.

Basically it's liquid highlighter you can wear underneath or on top of makeup. It smells the same as Golden Glow Toning Soufflé, which is the beautiful blend of Frankincense, Neroli and Myrrh. The texture of this Face Shimmer is a little bit looser than Toning Soufflé, which makes it easier to spread on the face.

A little goes a long way so you need a tiny bit to highlight your cheekbones. I apply a little bit on the highest points of my face after applying moisturiser to give a subtle golden shimmer. I tried to wear it on top of my makeup, but then it emphasised my pores and I looked a bit greasy somehow. 

It's obviously not glittery, which makes it wearable on daily basis. It doesn't make your face all shimmery either, but to give a natural sun-kissed glow on your face. It's subtle but definitely makes a difference, and it appears quite yellowy which you should be aware of. I like wearing it on my decolletage as well as on my face.

It's a very light texture which doesn't make my skin greasy, which could be horrible in the hot weather, and it smells so good. I've never had a highlighter which smelled as good as this product! The only downside of it is that it emphasises my pores on my cheeks. That's just because I have quite large pores (Can anybody teach me how to make them smaller? I've been doing everything I could do....), so if you don't have large pores or acne, this is a great highlighter for you! 

Have you ever tried anything from Nourish? I've seen Rosie from Made in Chelsea mentioned that she loved the cream from the brand! If you haven't tried their products, you definitely should check them out!

Nourish official website
Nourish on feelunique.com

April Empties

In April I've used up quite a few products. Or maybe since I started writing monthly empties posts I've been encouraged to finish up products rather than keep them all in my tiny apartment. It feels satisfying somehow to finish up beauty products and judge whether it was a good product or not. 

Redken Scalp Relief Dandruff Control Shampoo  (REVIEW)
This was my 2nd bottle and I'm so sad it's finished. I don't have dandruff but I have a really sensitive scalp which gets irritated quite easily by using shampoo which my scalp doesn't like. At worst it gets itchy that keeps me awake all night so I am very picky when it comes to choosing the right shampoo. And this shampoo from Redken is the best so far. It lathers well, it makes my hair and scalp very clean but doesn't make them dry. It contains glycerine which moisturises the scalp. It has a very subtle herbal scent which is pretty nice and I really enjoyed using it. I would love to repurchase again but as YEN is much weaker now I'm trying not to shop much on feelunique and lookfantastic lately...so when YEN gets stronger I'll definitely buy a new bottle.

The Body Shop Rainforest Shine Shampoo and Conditioner
Apparently this shampoo is a best-seller on The Body Shop UK website, but I absolutely hated this series. Before they changed the whole haircare series, they had shampoo and conditioner with honey and I loved the scent of them. So one day I went to the shop and asked for it then they said it was discontinued and instead they had new haircare series, and they recommended this one because it smells similar to the honey one I loved. But in my opinion it doesn't smell the same and the scent doesn't even stay on your hair. Also it's pretty drying and makes my hair frizzy and basically it doesn't do anything to my hair. I just don't like it and I'm not going to repurchase, ever.

LebeL Trie 5  Hairspray
I think I bought this about a year ago after my hairdresser used it on my hair at the hair salon. It smells like green apples which is brilliant but it doesn't do much on my hair. I don't think I'm going to repurchase it but I might have a look at a bit stronger hairspray from the same brand because it smells so good.

Terracuore Jasmine and Honey Body Scrub
Terracuore is a Japanese organic beauty brand which has fields in Italy to grow the herbs which are included in their products. Terracuore is my favourite Japanese beauty brand and their products are very good. Although they are pricey and I can't buy them often. This product was given to me by them when I had a business meeting with them but actually it's 5250yen which is about 35 pound / $52. It's ridiculously pricey but it's VERY good. It contains Jasmine essential oil which are derived from more than 13800 jasmine flowers. I was expecting a strong jasmine scent but it's much softer and sweeter, and surprisingly NOT overpowering. This creamy body scrub contains crushed apricot seeds which exfoliate your skin gently, and believe me it does make my skin so so so soft. And it leaves the pleasant scent on my skin. What more do you want? Another great product from Terracuore I've tried.

Jurlique Rose Moisture Plus Moisturising Cleanser  
This was sent from my lovely fellow blogger Mel from The Beauty Dispensary a few months ago. Since the day I received it I had been using this cleanser every single morning. It's such a gentle cleanser with pleasant rose scent. I think I should have used it in the summer time because foaming cleanser tends to strip natural oils on your face and obviously in summer your skin produces more oils than in winter. I really enjoyed using this cleanser, and also I loved the chic packaging so much. Thanks Mel!

Pangea Organics Facial Mask  (REVIEW) 
The best face mask I have ever used. I literally cannot live without it. Whenever I feel my skin is dry or dull, I use this face mask at night. Immediately I feel the difference on my skin and the next morning my skin feels glowing again. It smells a little bit weird but now I'm used it and I'm more into the result it makes on my skin. I cannot explain how and why it works so well, but trust me, it really does work. I introduced this face mask to my readers on my Japanese blog, and some of them actually tried and they all loved it. If you haven't tried it yet, you definitely should. It's amazing and of course I repurchased it again.

Jason Apricot Scrubble (REVIEW)
I loved this scrub! It's such a gentle face scrub you can use every day. I only used it 2-3 times a week but it was enough to make a huge difference on my skin. It makes my skin so silky and soft with such a fresh and sweet apricot scent. You would be very surprised to feel your skin after you've used this product, it's such an amazing face scrub. I love it but I'm not going to repurchase now because I have some other ones to use up. I strongly recommend this product if you're looking for a gentle face scrub.

Bourjois healthy mix serum (REVIEW) I decided to bin it although there's a bit left in the bottle because it's getting old. I used up like 80-90% of it and I liked it very much. Mine is shade 52 Vanilla and it's slightly darker but matches my skin tone OK. It doesn't feel heavy on my skin and I really liked it. I've got the new version of Healthy Mix Foundation and I'm totally in love with it. The review will be coming soon!

BIODERMA Sensibio H2O  (REVIEW)
I don't need to explain what it is because you all know what it is. I loved it, although I didn't like the weird smell at the beginning. It takes everything off without being harsh on my skin. It didn't irritate my eye areas which is great, and I'm dying to repurchase but for now I'm not going to just because it's expensive here. I will buy tons when I go to Paris. Someday...

Weleda Wild Rose Day Cream (REVIEW)
This product was sent by my another lovely fellow blogger Zanka from Zanka Talks Cosmetics. As the name is not in English, I don't know what exactly it says but I assume it's a day time moisturiser. I was using it in the morning before putting makeup on anyway, and it worked really well. It smells amazing, of natural wild rose which was pretty soothing in a busy morning. Thanks Zanka so much!

PAUCE Cleansing Butter
I LOVED this cleanser so much! It's got this buttery texture and it melts on your skin turning into an oil consistency. It removes all my makeup including eyeliners and mascara. I didn't even need my BIODERMA to remove my eye makeup because it took off literally everything. And it left an oily feeling on my skin even after rinsing it for more than a minute, and this oily feeling turned into a whole new moisturising feeling after I dried my face. It's such a good cleanser to take makeup off and I'd love to repurchase if it wasn't this pricey. What a shame.

Skin Repair Moisturiser™ Normal/combination
Another product I loved so much. Although I have dry / sensitive skin, this one worked really well during winter. I couldn't stand the smell at the beginning but I think it faded after a few weeks since I opened the jar because at some point I wasn't bothered by the smell anymore. Now I'm using a new jar and it stinks and I realised that it wasn't me getting used to the smell, it was the smell faded by time. Other than that it's such a nice cream which really is effective. I'll keep repurchasing their products until I find a better brand which I doubt :)

Phew, it has become such a looooong post, you must be bored. Thanks for reading!

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Soufflé

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Soufflé £24.95 

You may have heard of this product already but I HAVE TO talk about it too because it's such a unique product! I talked about this brand Nourish the other day here,  introducing their skincare range. This product I'm going to talk about today is a very unique body cream made with organic ingredients.

First of all, I absolutely love the packaging. All of their products look so pretty but look at the jar, it looks cute! Basically this cream has shimmer in it and it gives a healthy sun-kissed glow on your skin.

I have no idea why it looks lumpy, I was a bit surprised to see the consistency of the cream when I opened it for the first time. Another big thing which surprised me in a good way was the scent. It's got frankincense, Neroli and Myrrh essential oils which makes it smell so good! The smell is not too strong at all which made me want to use it every day but considering the fact that it's got shimmer in it, I don't think I'm supposed to put it before bed...

Can you see the subtle glow with gold shimmer? It doesn't have big glitters which are so obvious, it's more like a natural sun-kissed glow. I apply it only around my collarbone in this season just because that's the only part not covered by clothes but I would apply it on my arms and legs in summer which I'm looking forward to!

Body cream which has got shimmer in it made with organic ingredients is pretty rare. I have used many organic beauty products but they all are basic stuff. This product is in between makeup and bodycare which is pretty unique and I admire the idea. It's like BB cream for body, isn't it? I love everything about this product!

What are your thoughts about this product? Would you like to try out?

Petal Fresh Organics Shampoo and Conditioner

Petal Fresh Organics Shampoo and Conditioner  1,260yen each

I had never heard of Petal Fresh Organics before and I couldn't find their official website in English although it's supposed to be an American brand, so I put the link of the Japanese website above. Petal Fresh Organics was launched in 2005 with the products without paraben and artificial colouring. 

This is how this shampoo looks like. It's a clear gel-like formula which is easy to spread all over your scalp. As you can imagine from the packaging, it contains extracts of pomegranate and acai berry, which prevent your hair colour to be washed out. It smells just like bubble gum, which was surprising because I was expecting  more natural, aromatherapy-kind of smell. It foams very well and doesn't make my hair squeaky.

This conditioner doesn't contain silicone but coats my hair well, though I need some silicone-contained leave-in conditioner before I blow my hair because this conditioner is a little bit too light for me and my hair gets tangled hard. I think my hair is too fair and damaged for silicone-free conditioner, I need really rich hair mask instead. 

I definitely would keep using shampoo without silicone because why does shampoo need silicone even? Shampoo is something  to cleanse your scalp mainly, which silicone has got nothing to do with, and washing your hair with silicone every day would clog your pores on your scalp. I really liked this shampoo mainly because of the sweet smell! I'm not sure if it really prevents my hair colour to be washed out but I will see how it goes as I just coloured my hair a few days ago! 

Are you a big fan of organic haircare products?

Nourish Protect Gift Box

Nourish Protect Gift Box  £45.00

Can you imagine how excited I was to receive this box? Every time I unwrapped something, I was literally screaming like "Oh my gosh, how pretty it is?" "Oh my gosh, it's amazing!!" all by myself. Don't you think that the box looks so pretty? I really love the design which is simple yet colourful. Love it.

Nourish is a British organic beauty brand. They use organic ingredients as much as they could and it's written clearly on the bottles how much percentage of organic ingredient are used in the product. They have four different ranges for different skin types. Relax is suitable for sensitive skin, Balance is for oily and combination skin, Radiance is for normal skin and Protect is for dry skin. 

Mine is Protect which is suitable for dry skin. It contains Vitamin C which helps protect the structural proteins of your skin as well as collagen and elastin from free radical damage. It also contains Orange and Mandarin essential oils.

These are the items come in the cute box. I'm going to introduce them one by one here.

Protect Refreshing Cleanser
This is a gentle milky cream cleanser which removes dirt and makeup. According to the direction given by the brand, you're supposed to apply it on a cotton pad and sweep over the face. I tried that way but it kind of irritated my skin because the consistency didn't seem to be right for using on a cotton pad. It doesn't sink in like water cleanser, or it doesn't stay on the cotton pad to prevent friction like cream cleanser does. So instead I apply it on my palms, cleanse my face and rinse with warm water. It smells absolutely amazing. It smells just like fresh orange juice, a little bit zesty and bitter, and so refreshing. It's the best cleanser in the morning because whenever I wash my face with it, it wakes me up with a happy feeling! But the only downside of this cleanser is the pump. It's too weak and I have to put more than 10 pumps on my palm to cleanse my face without friction. Also it doesn't remove makeup much so I need to remove my eye makeup first with BIODERMA. I would have a smudged eyeliners and eyeshadows under my eyes if I don't do that in advance.

Protect Cooling Toning Mist
The bottle looks identical to the cleanser. It's got the pump so you can spray it directly on your face. I actually spray it on my palms and apply it on my face because the spray is a little bit too direct, I wish it was more like mist than water-jet. It smells very nice too, it's just like orange juice for skin! It's not the most moisturizing lotion in the world but it prevents dryness pretty well and makes my skin soft.

Protect Replenishing Peptide Serum

I love the bottle of this product. It's the frosted glass bottle which is smaller than the other two but definitely heavier. It's the serum which locks in moisture and protect skin from dryness. On their website this product is described as "Nourish Peptide Serums feature skin-smoothing tripeptides and ultra-moisturising hyaluronic acid, combined with scientifically proven natural extracts to deliver an intense nutritional boost". 

It's got this loose gel-like-texture. As you can imagine, it spreads really quickly on my skin. But it's almost too slippery and slimy, it takes more than 30 seconds for the serum to sink in. I keep massaging it into my skin until it stops my fingers, which is the sign that the serum has sank in, but then my skin becomes so gloopy somehow. I have to wash my hands after using it because otherwise everything I touch gets gloopy. Although my skin feels pretty smooth in the next morning, I hesitate to use it at night because I know it takes long to apply. It's really a shame that the texture is not very good because it seems to be effective. 

Protect Hydrating Moisturiser  
Again, I love this packaging. It contains Vitamin C and plant oils such as organic rosehip oil, organic sunflower oil, organic orange and mandarin oils, to moisturize skin.

It's pretty thick cream which smells absolutely amazing. It does moisturize my skin but it just doesn't sink in much. It stays on my skin surface for a pretty long time and even though the cream is on my skin it makes my face feel dry. It's a weird feeling really. It doesn't actually dry out my skin but it feels like so. Weird isn't it? But what I love about this cream is the scent. This is the best smelling cream I've ever used. And it's not an artificial fragrance! 

Over all, I really love the concept, packaging and scent. I hope they develop the texture of each product to make it comfortable and easy to use. I'm very curious about their bodycare products, I cannot even imagine how amazing it would be to wash / moisturize my body with their wonderful scents! I strongly recommend their products if you love natural scents. 


Have you tried their products? What did you think? :)