Product Review: Purelygreat deodorant

Purelygreat is a Canadian company that makes all-natural, aluminium-free deodorant. Deb from Purelygreat kindly sent me two samples of the Women’s Cream Deodorant to review; Citrus, and Lavender. They also make an Unscented Deodorant, Men’s Deodorants in Citrus, and Patchouli, Teen Boy’s Patchouli Deodorants, and Teen Girl’s Lavender Deodorant.

Size: 45g (each sample I received is 20g)

Price: CAD$12.99 (On sale from $15.00)

Packaging: A glass jar with a screw-on plastic lid

Available at: www.mynaturaldeodorant.com

The verdict: This is an extremely effective deodorant. It kept me dry and un-sweaty all day! Yay! I did not have to re-apply it at all; with most other deodorants I do need to re-apply later in the day in order to retain that fresh feeling. Both the scents also smelled very nice. I would definitely recommend it.

And so this is Christmas

...and what have I done? Well, not nearly enough work on this blog this year, sorry about that. I will try to improve on that next year.

The picture above is of a beach somewhere in New Zealand. The tree in the foreground is a Pohutukawa, which is sort of a 'New Zealand Christmas tree'. Christmas is in summer here, remember?

Merry Christmas!

To Mama with Love

It's Mothers' Day tomorrow, and here's an opportunity to support a really great cause. You may remember that last year I wrote about To Mama with Love. This is an online collaborative art project, honouring mothers around the world. You can set up a 'heartspace' where you tell everyone how awesome your mum is - it can be personalised with words, photos, and/or videos - and donate money to Epic Change, which supports some amazing women, including Mama Lucy from Tanzania, pictured above. Check it out at http://www.tomamawithlove.org/.

Happy Mothers' Day all you mums! Including mine!

Made from Earth

Ok, so you may all be wondering if I’m still here, given that I haven’t posted in a while...sorry about that. I’m still here, and I have a great brand to tell you about!

Made from Earth is an American company that makes organic skincare products. Check them out at www.madefromearth.com. They kindly sent me some of their lovely products to try. The products I tried were:

Rooibos Tea Facial Scrub

Size: 2 oz (about 57g; I had a smaller sample size)

Price: USD$24.99

Packaging: A plastic jar with a screw-on lid.

The verdict: This is a nice gentle scrub containing key ingredients jojoba beads, aloe vera, and rooibos tea. It’s detoxifying without being harsh, and it smells good too.

Pure Aloe Vera Skin Treatment

Size: 2 oz (I had a smaller sample size)

Price: $14.99

Packaging: A plastic jar with a screw-on lid.

The verdict: Soothing, moisturising, and non-greasy, containing healing ingredients including aloe vera, witch hazel, and neem . Great smell too. Very nice!

Rosehip + Hibiscus Facial Serum (pictured above)

Size: 2 oz

Price: USD$12.50 (Currently on sale from $24.99)

Packaging: A plastic bottle with a pump-top, and lid.

The verdict: This is nice and moisturising, without being greasy. Nice subtle smell. Contains hibiscus flower extract, rosehip seed oil, and glycerine, among other things. Love it!

Blueberry Organic Lip Balm with Vitamin E

Size: 0.15oz (4.25g)

Price: USD$3.99

Packaging: A windup plastic tube with a lid.

The verdict: This has a yummy but subtle taste and smell, and it’s very moisturising too, with sunflower and jojoba oils.

Citrus Fresh Organic Lip Balm with Vitamin E

Size: 0.15oz (4.25g)

Price: USD$3.99

Packaging: A windup plastic tube with a lid.

The verdict: I really like citrus scents and tastes, so loved this. It’s like a glass of orange juice in a tube! A dry-lip quenching one, that is.

I really like that there are so many great natural and organic ingredients in these products. I think it is great how much aloe vera is used in the products – very good for sensitive skin! The packaging is also really pretty. Plus, it is a cruelty free brand, which is a must for me.

To risk sounding like an infomercial, but wait, there’s more! Readers of this blog can get a 5% discount on Made from Earth products when you purchase them from www.madefromearth.com. Just enter the code 'TheMeanGreenBeautyMachine’. No minimum.

Merry Christmas!

So, I totally had plans to do posts about Christmas gift ideas, but I got crazy busy doing things like making my own wrapping paper (well, I didn't actually make the paper itself, I made the pattern on it), and those posts never happened. But I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and I'll be posting again after Christmas, on things such as my favourite products of 2011.

Note: The picture above, while lovely, is not quite what your typical Christmas scene in New Zealand would look like, it being summer here and all.

Ecostore Baby Bubble Bath

Ecostore have added a bubble bath to their baby products range. It is gentle on young skin, and is scented with essential oils. It is $10.95 for 200ml; see www.ecostore.co.nz for stockists, or buy it online at www.ecostoredirect.co.nz.

Peppermint magazine

I've been on the hunt for an eco fashion/beauty magazine that comes from my part of the world, and have not been successful - until now! I recently discovered Peppermint, an Australian eco fashion/beauty/lifestyle magazine. It is published quarterly, and can be bought at Borders, Magnetix, Starfish stores, and www.endemicworld.com for $11.95 (it costs a bit more at Starfish, $12.25 I think).

The current issue is focusing on cruelty-free fashion, and has an in-depth article about the fur industry, plus loads of other cool features, including info about various resuable water bottles, instructions on how to pretty up plain tank tops using doilies, and an article on palm oil. I think it's an awesome magazine, and I'll buying it every season from now on.

Evolu 3D Eye Care

New to NZ brand Evolu is the 3D eye care range. The products are:

De-stress Soothing Eye Gel 25ml $49.95
Daylight Firming Eye Cream 30ml $59.95
Decrease Eye & Lip Line Serum 15ml $62

Stuff that smells like grapefruit

For a yummy, zesty, scent, try these grapefruit-scented products.

Methven Uplift Shower Infusion 37ml $19.95




Giovanni Grapefruit Sky Hydrate Body Lotion 250ml $23






Ren Neroli and Grapefruit Shower Gel 200ml $62

New Trilogy products

New to Trilogy’s Age Proof range is Triple Action Line Smoother, $49.90 for 30ml. It contains nourishing ingredients such as jojoba oil, cocoa butter, and avocado oil, and is formulated to target fine lines and deep wrinkles.

New to the Body Care range is Ultra Hydrating Body Cream, $29.90 for 150ml. Moisturising ingredients like honey, sunflower seed oil, and olive oil nourish the skin, and mica gives some shimmer.

Favourite product of winter

Spring has begun, but it has got off to a shaky start, literally. New Zealand’s second largest city, Christchurch, has been struck by a major earthquake, causing severe damage to the city. There have also been a lot of aftershocks. People in Christchurch have been helping each other out, and several charity appeals have been launched. To anyone reading this who is from Christchurch, I wish you all the best, stay strong.

Anyway, my favourite product of winter is The Body Shop Delipscious Tinted Lip Balm in Papaya, $24, made from 100% food grade ingredients. It is super moisturising, thanks to the Community Trade Cocoa Butter, and it gives a subtle nude/peachy tint and shimmer to the lips. It’s also great to layer on top of a matte nude-coloured lipstick for some sparkle and shine.

New serum from Antipodes

New from New Zealand natural and organic skincare brand Antipodes is Joyous Protein-Rich Night Replenish Serum, $56 for 30ml. It contains Himalayan Goji, red raspberry seed oil, blackcurrant, hibiscus flower, and kiwifruit oil.

For every budget: Cream cleansers

Cream cleansers are good for drier skin types, because they add some moisture.

Low-cost: Sukin Cream Cleanser 125ml $12.99








Mid-range: Trilogy Cream Cleanser 200ml $39.90









High-end: This Works Clean Skin 150ml $60

Dr Hauschka Summer Impressions range

Dr Hauschka has a new limited edition makeup range, Summer Impressions. The products are:

Bronzing Fluid in two shades (Beige and Bronze), 30ml $54

Eyes & Lips Palette, with three eyeshadows, a kajal eyeliner, and two lip colours, in two colour schemes (Cool Breeze and Warm Breeze), $79

Powder Duo in two colour schemes (Cool Breeze and Warm Breeze), $65

The Mean Green Beauty Machine makes top 50 list!

The Mean Green Beauty Machine is on a list of the top 50 blogs for all-natural beauty, at http://onlinenursepractitionerschools.com/50-best-blogs-for-all-natural-beauty/. Very exciting!

Survey about cosmetic blogs

I've been contacted by a postgraduate student at the University of Plymouth, UK, about a survey regarding cosmetic blogs. She is completing her Masters in Marketing, and the survey is about the influence that cosmetic blogs have on consumers. To fill out the survey, follow this link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/G3ZFTD8. It takes about five minutes to complete, it is anonymous, and the data that is held will be kept confidential. It will be open until Monday 26 July.

Indah

Indah is a natural body care range founded in 2009 in Bali, Indonesia, by Australian Teisha Lowry. The word Indah means ‘beautiful’ in Balinese. The products are handmade in Bali, using ingredients such as honey, coconut oil, fennel, seaweed, cloves, and patchouli. Teisha travels to Bali to farm ingredients for the products, which are extracted from natural, organic flowers, fruits, and plants, which are sustainably grown and harvested. Most of the ingredients are cold-pressed, which means that they are extracted without the use of chemicals and heat. Indah products are free from artificial colours, artificial fragrances, fillers, parabens, sulphates, phlatates and petrochemicals.

The products are free from palm oil, and Teisha supports the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation. The packaging is recyclable, made from aluminium, recycled paper, and soy-based inks. A Balinese artist was commissioned to do the designs on the Indah packaging. Indah products are not tested on animals, and the company is an advocate of IDEP (Indonesian Development of Education and Permaculture). They encourage and support Fair Trade, and Mitra Bali, a non-profit, non-government organisation, which helps to improve conditions for Balinese farmers and their families.

The range is primarily targeted towards surfers, snow bunnies, and sun seekers, although is not only for those who enjoy the outdoors, but also who enjoy natural therapies. Indah adheres to the traditional Balinese cultural concept of Tri Hita Karana. This means that the company is committed to working harmoniously with, and respecting, the environment, humanity, and the divine.

The products are:

Surfer’s Body Balm AUD$19.95 in Fresh Soul
Lip Balm AUD$12.95 in Sweet Spice, Wellkiss, and Coco Love
Traditional Body Butter AUD$32.95 in Lovina Beach, Coco Love, and Dreamland
Body Bar AUD$9.95 in Uluwatu, Medewi, and Sanur Reef

Indah products can be bought on Indah’s website, www.indah.com.au, a variety of stores around Australia, and a number of Australian websites. Stockists are listed on the Indah website. There is also a link on the website to the Indah blog.

It’s great to see such a natural, ethical, eco-friendly, affordable brand. The products look amazing. If you live in Australia, then during July, if you spend $30 on the Indah website, you get free shipping and handling.

Tweet, tweet, tweet

The Mean Green Beauty Machine is now on Twitter! Check out the 'Follow Me' button to the right to see The Mean Beauty Machine's page. I'm still kind of figuring out how Twitter works, but it seems that other bloggers use it as a way of updating their readers about what's on their blog, so I'm going to try and find the time to do that!

The Body Shop Delipscious

In her lifetime, the average woman may ingest more than four pounds of lipstick! Bearing that in mind, The Body Shop’s new range of lip colours, Delipscious, contain 100% food grade ingredients. The Delipscious Sheer Lip Color, $28, is available in six shades, and the Delipscious Tinted Lip Balm, $24, is available in two shades. They are infused with blueberry and pomegranate fruit seed oils, and contain Community Trade cocoa butter, Community Trade organic beeswax, and Community trade organic virgin cold-pressed coconut oil. They do not contain any artificial colours. Plus, the packaging is great – silver tubes with pictures of cute little apples!

I already have quite a few lipsticks and tinted lip balms, but I’m majorly tempted to get one (or more!) of these...

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

You may notice things looking a bit different here. Blogger has a new design feature, and I've given The Mean Green Beauty Machine a makeover. Its sister blog, The Mean Green Fashion Machine will probably also be given a makeover at some point.