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

A’kin PureMAN range

It’s been around for a while in Australia, but the A’kin PureMAN range has only recently arrived in New Zealand (well, recently in Wellington anyway, I can’t speak for the rest of the country). The products are:

Energising All-In-One Hair + Body Wash 150ml $20
Invigorating Daily Face Wash 125ml $27
Dual Action Face Wash + Scrub 75ml $25
Calming After Shave Balm 75ml $25
Visibly Fit 24 Hour Moisturiser 50ml $30

New Trilogy Sensitive Skin range

Trilogy have three new products designed for sensitive skin:

Very Gentle Cleansing Cream 150ml $39.90
Very Gentle Moisturising Cream 50ml $46
Very Gentle Calming Fluid 30ml $43

All three products are fragrance free, alcohol free, and have been dermatologically tested for sensitive skin.

New products from Primal Earth

NZ men’s skincare brand Primal Earth have a couple of new products:

Aloe Hydrate Facewash 125ml $11.99
Aloe Hydrate Moisturiser 50ml $17.99

Available at Foodtown, New World, and Countdown stores.

More info on the Karen Murell range

Karen Murrell sent me her awesome new range of products in January, and I have been having fun trying them out. You may remember me

mentioning this range a few months ago. Karen launched Skinfood in 2002, and this new range late last year. The products are certified by Ecocert (the first New Zealand brand to have this certification), and the Organic Food Chain. The boxes, tubes and bottles all have the percentage of organic ingredients printed on them. The packaging is pretty cool – the boxes, bottles, and squeezy tubes are recyclable, (the boxes are made from recyclable, renewable paper using soy inks) and the lipstick and lip balm tubes are biodegradable – you bury them. That’s cool, and not something I’ve come across before. The packaging is also very stylish and eye-catching, with funky artwork on the boxes.

They are available at Farmers stores, as well as some other stores. For more information on stockists, as well as more information about the products, check out http://www.karenmurrell.com/.

I think this new range is great. It’s hard for me to pick a favourite out of all the products, but if I had to pick one, it would be the moisturiser. More on it (and all the other products) below).

Here’s the lowdown on the products:

Pure Honesty Cleansing Gel
Size: 100ml
Price: $34
Packaging: A recyclable (HDPE 2) squeezy tube inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: It’s gentle, but cleanses thoroughly. I only need to use a little bit, so I can see the tube lasting for a long time. Any skin type could use it, but it contains seaweed and witch hazel, which are both beneficial to oily and combination skin. Using it in combination with the moisturiser has helped my skin clear up (I had previously been getting a few pimples). It smells nice and fresh.

Absolute Luxury Face Moisturiser
Size: 50ml
Price: $45
Packaging: A recyclable (PETE 1) pump-top bottle inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: A nice, light moisturiser with a lovely scent. It moisturises well, but doesn’t clog pores, and I find I only need to use a small amount. I have combination skin, and it’s good to have a moisturiser that is non pore-clogging, but still, well, moisturises! It contains tamanu oil, a ‘miracle ingredient’ which accelerates new tissue growth.

Aqua River Face Cream for Men
Size: 50ml
Price: $36
Packaging: A recyclable (PETE 1) pump-top bottle inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: I gave this to my brother-in-law, and he likes it. This also contains tamanu oil.

True Miracle Intense Balm
Size: 50ml
Price: $39
Packaging: A recyclable (HDPE 2) squeezy tube inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: This is really good for dry cuticles, lips, or dry skin, really. Smells and tastes great too. Ingredients include cocoa butter.

Nature’s Essense Body Scrub
Size: 200ml
Price: $45
Packaging: A recyclable (HDPE 2) squeezy tube inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: This is a great moisturising scrub, ideal for using before applying fake tan. Contains tamanu oil, salt and oat flakes.

Moisture Stick Lip Balm
Size: 4g
Price: $24.99
Packaging: A biodegradable tube inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: A good, nourishing lip balm that smells great, thanks to the sweet orange essential oil. I find that I don’t need to apply it all that often. Contains jojoba and castor oil.

Lipstick
Size: 4g
Price: $24.99
Packaging: A biodegradable tube inside a recyclable two-piece cardboard box.
The verdict: The lipstick is available in four shades: Cordovan Natural (beige nude), pink starlet (bright pink), Red Shimmer (bright red), Violet Mousse (nudey pink). The shades are fairly matte, but the lipsticks are moisturising, including ingredients such as jojoba and castor oil. The lipsticks smell really amazing, probably due to the cinnamon oil in them. I really like all the colours, but my favourite is Violet Mousse.

I very much recommend the Karen Murrell range, it’s good to have another great New Zealand natural skincare range available.

Karen Murrell range

A new brand has popped up at Farmers recently – Karen Murrell. I’m not sure if this is the same Karen Murrell who founded the Skinfood brand (there is an Auckland address on the bottom of the product boxes, so it’s therefore a New Zealand brand, and could well be the same Karen), but the products look pretty good. They are:

Nature’s Essense Body Scrub 200ml $45
Pure Honesty Cleansing Gel 100ml $34
Absolute Luxury Moisturiser 50ml $45
True Miracle Moisture Balm 50ml $39
Aqua River Face Cream for Men 50ml $36
Moisture Stick Lip Balm $24.99
Lipstick in four shades $24.99

All the products are 99.5% natural, and have EcoCert certification and environmentally friendly packaging. Nice!

Juice Beauty is here!

Finally, Juice Beauty has reached New Zealand. A large amount of the range is available at Life Pharmacy stores. Brace yourself for this long list:

Antioxidant Serum 50ml $79.00
Apple Age Defying Solutions kit $89.00
Blemish Be Gone 8ml $29.00
Blemish Clearing Serum 50ml $59.00
Cleansing Gel 150ml $39.00
Cleansing Milk 150ml $39.00
Exfoliating Cleanser 100ml $39.00
Green Apple Antioxidant Moisturizer 50ml $89.00Green Apple Antioxidant Serum 30ml $79.00
Green Apple Cleansing Gel 100ml $45
Green Apple Extra Firming Body Moisturizer 300ml $59.00
Green Apple Hydration Mask 50ml $65.00
Green Apple Moisturiser SPF15 50ml $79.00
Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser 280ml $55.00
Green Apple Nutrient Eye Cream 15ml $69.00
Green Apple Peel Full Strength 50ml $75.00
Green Apple Peel Sensitive 50ml $75.00
Green Apple Repair Mask 30ml $65.00
Green Apple Repair Moisturiser 50ml $79.00
Hydrating Mist 150ml $39.00
Lip Plumper 15ml $29.00
Nutrient Moisturiser 50ml $69.00
Oil-Free Moisturiser 50ml $55.00
Organics To Go Clear Skin kit $79.00
Organics To Go Kit $69.00
Smoothing Eye Concentrate 15ml $59.00
Soothing Serum 50ml $69.00

Nice! I have the Juice Beauty Tinted Lip Moisturizers (got them in Australia), which are great. These are not available over here, but I am keen to try some of the products listed above, like the Lip Plumper.

Stuff that smells like lime

I like the smell of lime, it smells refreshing and juicy. Check out these lime-scented products.

Antipodes Hallelujah Lime & Patchouli Cleanser 200ml $42 - a gorgeous cream cleanser.

Blue Earth Lime Lip Balm $11 - contains shea butter, cocoa butter, and vitamin E to moisturise.

Alba Coconut and Lime Shave Cream 225g $13.50 - moisturising for a smooth shave.

New skincare range for guys

Trilogy has a new range of skincare, Natural Actives for Men, containing pure plant oils, and zinc, copper and magnesium. The products in the range are:

Face Wash + Scrub 150ml $27 (comes with a free golf tee!)
Smooth Shave Cream 150ml $21.90
After Shave Balm 100ml $32.90
Moisturiser with SPF15 150ml $36.90

L’Occitane certified organic range

French skincare brand L’Occitane has a new skincare range that is certified organic by Ecocert, the Olive Tree Organic range. The products are:

Cleansing Foam 100ml $44
Cleansing Milk 150ml $44
Toning Face Mist 150ml $44
Moisturising Face Mask 50ml $58
Moisturising Face Lotion 30ml $65

Organic range from Pacifica Skincare

Up until recently the Pacifica Organics line has online been available on Air New Zealand planes for business premier and pacific premier class passengers (therefore only on international flights – New Zealand is too small to have business class on domestic flights – domestic flights are no more than an hour long, because we’re a small country, and our planes are pretty small too).

Ok, end of lesson on NZ. Pacifica Organics has been supplying Air New Zealand planes for the last few years (previously Living Nature products were used). Anyway, the line contains a lot of native New Zealand plant extracts such as Pohutukawa, Harekeke, Kawakawa, and Manuka Honey. The products are:

Nourishing Lip Balm 10ml $11.99
Eye Cream 20ml $34.99
Replenishing Serum 30ml $42.99
Gentle Facial Cleanser 100ml $29.99
Refreshing Toner 50ml $24.99
Hydrating Facial Day Cream 100ml $44.99
Hydrating Facial Moisturiser for Men 100ml $44.99
Nourishing Hand and Nail Cream 60ml $23.99

The range is available at Life Pharmacy stores. It looks very nice, good to see another NZ natural skincare brand on the market.

Happy Earth Day! New skincare range for men!

Happy Earth Day!

Men’s personal care brand Zirh has a new green range, Zirh Natural. The products are free from parabens, sulfates, fragrance, synthetic dyes, petro-chemicals and phtalates.

The products are:

ZIRH NATURAL FACIAL CLEANSER
RICE PROTEIN GENTLE CLEANSER (3.4 OZ/ USD$22)
Foams and gently cleanses skin to remove dirt and oil without dryness or irritation.

ZIRH NATURAL FACIAL SCRUB
JOJOBA POLISHING FACE SCRUB (3.4 OZ/ USD$22)
A nutritious blend of ingredients gently buffs dull surface skin for a smoother and brighter appearance.

ZIRH NATURAL FACIAL MOISTURIZER
DAILY FACE MOISTURIZER WITH PROTECTIVE PLANT COMPLEX (3.4 OZ/ USD$36)
Provides continuous moisture all day and restores skin tone.

ZIRH NATURAL ANTI-AGING CREAM
REGENERATIVE FACE CREAM WITH LIPO-VITAMIN COMPLEX (1.7OZ/ USD$48)
Nourishing night cream that delivers intense moisture and protection and helps regenerate and restructure damaged skin to prevent signs of aging.

ZIRH NATURAL UNDER EYE CREAM
AGE DEFYING EYE CREAM WITH BEECH BUD EXTRACT (1.0 OZ/ USD$38)
A renewing treatment that stimulates circulation and boosts protein production to help revive tired eyes.

ZIRH NATURAL SHAVE GEL
VITAMIN ENRICHED CLEAR SHAVE GEL (3.4 OZ/USD$22)
Helps smooth and calm skin while shaving to protect against razor drag, burns, nicks and cuts. Clear gel formula creates a visible surface ideal for maintaining a precise shave.

ZIRH NATURAL SHAVE CREAM
VITAMIN ENRICHED SHAVE CREAM (3.4 OZ/USD$22)
Rich cream that calms skin while shaving with soothing aloe Vera, a powerful anti-inflammatory. Creates a slick surface that allows the razor to glide easily over the skin and protect against razor drag, burns, nicks and cuts.

ZIRH NATURAL POST SHAVE BALM
ANTI-INFLAMMATORY POST SHAVE SOLUTION (3.4 OZ/USD$38)
Soothes and relieves freshly shaved skin, while maintaining moisture.


Also, in conjunction with the launch of the Zirh Natural line, ZIRH will donate 5% of all online sales during the month of April to The Elephant Sanctuary – a non-profit organisation that provides a safe haven for endangered African and Asian elephants. It is located on more than 2,700 acres of land outside of Nashville, Tennessee and is home to elderly, sick, or needy elephants in need of recovery from life in circuses or zoos.

Good to see a new natural skincare range for men, and a great organisation being supported! Check out the Zirh website - http://www.zirh.com/.

Teen products

When you're a teenager, your skin can really start acting up. Oiliness, blackheads, pimples, clogged pores...not fun. Not all teenagers get acne, but it is pretty common. A lot of teens are also on a tight budget, so I'm focusing on affordable skincare, bodycare, and makeup.

A foaming cleanser is best for acne-prone, oily or combination skin types. Try Sukin Fomaing Facial Cleanser, $12 for 125ml, or Natural Instinct Foaming Facial Cleanser, also $12 for 125ml.

A good ingredient for oily skin is witch hazel, which can be found in both of the above cleansers, as well as in a lot of toners, such as Natural Instinct Toner, $12 for 125ml.

Natural Instinct Aloe Vera Gel ($12 for 125ml, and $19 for 250ml) works well as a moisturiser, and Weleda Iris Moisture Cream, $23.50 for 30ml, is also good, as it contains witch hazel.

Exfoliating two or three times a week helps get rid of dead skin cells which might otherwise clog your pores. Try Skinfood Exfoliating Scrub, $9.99 for 100ml, or Sukin Facial Scrub, $12 for 125ml.

Once or twice a week, after exfoliating, use a clay or mud face mask to draw out impurities. Skinfood Mud Masque, $9.99 for 100ml contains clay, and Rotorua mud. Clear as Mud Face Mud contains bentonite mud from Parehaka. It's $4 per sachet, or $24.99 for a box of ten sachets.

Some teens have dry skin. A creamy cleanser is better for dry skin. Try Skinfood Cleans All Cleanser, $9.99 for 100ml, Sukin Cream Cleanser, $12 for 125ml, or Natural Instinct Cream Cleanser, $12 for 12ml. For moisturiser, try Skinfood Nourishing Moisturiser, $9.99 for 100ml, Sukin Moisturiser, $12 for 125ml, or Natural Instinct Moisturiser, $12 for 125ml.

There are a lot of great natural body washes out there. One of the most affordable ones is Pure Innosenses Shower Gel, $11 for 375 ml, available in Reviving (Chamomile and Feijoa), Relaxing (Lavender and Iris), Energising (Rosemary and Citrus), and Hydrating (Peach). Also great is Sukin Botanical Body Wash, $12.99 for 250ml, $16.99 for 500ml, and $24.99 for 1 litre.

Pure Innosense Body Lotion is also pretty good. It's $12 for 375ml, and is available in Reviving (Chamomile and Feijoa), Relaxing (Lavender and Iris), Summer Skin (a gradual tanning lotion, scented with vanilla and mandarin), and Sensitive Skin (fragrance free). I like Sukin Hydrating Body Lotion, $12.99 for 250ml, and $21.99 for 500ml.

Not all natural makeup is expensive, so for teens on a budget, here are some options:

Foundation: Natio Mineral Loose Foundation (available in Beach Sand, Desert Sand, and Sunset) 10g $23

Blusher: Natio Mineral Blusher (available in Sweet Petal) $16 , Natio Mineral Brush N Blush (available in Rose) 3.1g $15

Eyeshadow: Natio Mineral Sparkle Dust Eyeshadow Compact (colours are Pink, Aubergine, Copper, and White) 0.3g $18 , Natio Mineral Eye Shimmer (available in Silver, Rose, Lilac, and Gold) 1.5g $15, SHE Australia Dusting Powders (not specifically for eyes, but could be used as eyeshadows. Available in quite a few shades, not sure what they all are.) $12.95

Bronzer: Natio Mineral Pressed Powder Bronzer (available in Sunswept) 18.1g $23

Lip colour: Alba Terratints Lip Balm (available in Blaze, Bloom, Dawn, Garnet, Sienna, and Sunset, although I've only seen it in Blaze, Bloom, and Sienna) 4.2g $8.9

Nail Polish: SHE Australia Nail Varnish (available in fourteen colours, not sure what they are) $14.90

I haven't yet come across any particularly low-cost natural concealers, eyeliners or mascaras.

Stockists

Sukin: Commonsense Organics, Health 2000, Farmers

Natural Instinct: Homestead Health, various pharmacies

Skinfood: Woolworths, Foodtown, Countdown, New World

Natio: Farmers, various pharmacies

SHE Australia: Various pharmacies

Alba Botanica: Commonsense Organics, Homestead Health

Pure Innosense: Various Pharmacies

'Tween products

Preteens or ''tweens' (ages 8 - 12) will have different skincare needs to younger kids. Puberty often brings oily skin and/or acne, so a foaming facial cleanser containing witch hazel may be helpful - try Sukin Foaming Facial Cleanser, $12 for 125ml, or Natural Instinct Foaming Facial Cleanser, also $12 for 125ml.

This is nothing to with skincare or anything - but, if you want your daughter to use more natural menstrual products, check out Natracare. They make enviromentally friendly menstrual products - their tampons are made from organic cotton - and their website is pretty cool - check it out at http://www.natracare.com/ It has a lot of really interesting info on it.

For girls who are just starting to get interested in makeup, suggest they try a glossy lip balm like Living Nature Lip Balm, $16 for 10ml, or a tinted lip balm like Alba Botanica Terratints, $8.99 for 4.2g.

Cleansers

Cleansers are an essential part of a good skincare routine. My personal favourite is Sukin's foaming facial cleanser, which can be bough for $12 at Health 2000 stores (and $9.90 at Commonsense Organics). It comes in both pump top and flip top lids.

I also like Weleda's Iris Cleansing Lotion which retails for about $19.90 at Health 2000 and Hardy's stores. I've also tried Skinfood's Cleans All cleanser, but found that too pore-clogging, and Natural Instinct's Foaming Facial Cleanser, which I found too drying. However, it may be alright for someone with oilier skin than me. I have combination/oily skin.

There's heaps of great cleansers out there, at a range of different prices. To list a few:

$10 and under: Skinfood Cleans All Cleanser $9.95

$15 and under: Sukin Foaming Facial Cleanser $12, Sukin Cream Cleanser $12, Natural Instinct Foaming Facial Cleanser $12, Natural Instinct Cream Cleanser $12

$20 and under: Weleda Iris Cleansing Lotion $19.90, The Herb Farm Energising Gel Cleanser $18.60

$30 and under: Kosmea Purifying Cream Cleanser $30, A'kin Sandelwood & Neroli Pure Facial Cleansing Gel $28.90, A'kin Rose & Geranium Pure Creamy Cleanser & Toner in One $28.90

$40 and under: Living Nature Purifying Cleanser $38.00, Living Nature Vitalising Cleanser $38.00, Trilogy Cream Cleanser $38.90, Trilogy Balancing Gel Cleanser $39.00, Antipodes Hallelujah Lime & Patchouli Cleanser $37.50, Evolu Relaxing Cream Cleanser $35, Comvita Huni Every Day Cleanser $39.00

Please note that these prices vary depending on where you shop.