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!

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

For every budget: Body scrubs

Body scrubs are great for smoothing out your skin, especially before applying fake tan.

Low-cost: Organic Surge Body Scrub 200ml $20, available in Tropical Bergamot and Fresh Ocean

Mid-range: Evolu Exfoliating Body Polish 200ml $40

High-end: Aveda Smoothing Body Polish 250g $73

Favourite product of autumn

People keep saying it's winter, and I keep reminding them that technically, it's still autumn. Well, it is until tomorrow. Anyway, autumn has come to an end, and my favourite beauty product of autumn is Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean & Cranberry Facial Scrub, AUD$39.95 It smells yummy, it's nice and gentle, and it's a generous size (110ml), so I can see it lasting a long time - and it has fantastic plantable packaging (which I really must get around to planting - but perhaps not in this cold weather). More details are available in a previous post. It was sent to me by the people from Ikigai, an online organic beauty boutique - check them out at http://www.ikigai.com.au/ .

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/.

Product reviews: Products from Ikigai

I previously mentioned Ikigai, a great online organic skincare boutique. The people at Ikigai sent me some products to review. Here is what I got:

- Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean & Cranberry Facial Scrub (full size)
- Two 10ml sachets of John Masters Organics Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner
- Two 10ml sachets of John Masters Organics Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor
- Two 10ml sachets of John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli Detangler

I have heard good things about Pangea and John Masters products, so it was great to be able to try these products out. Here are the reviews:


Pangea Organics Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean & Cranberry Facial Scrub

Packaging: A squeezy recyclable plastic tube with a flip-top cap in a cardboard box embedded with seeds – You can plant the box!
Price: AUD$39.95
Size: 110ml
Suitable for: All skin types
Available at: Ikigai website
Pros: Gentle, smells nice, generous size, plantable box!
Cons: None

Verdict: I have been using this weekly, and it is nice and gentle, but also effective. It leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth, and it smells good too. I think it is very cool that the box can be planted. I haven’t done this; I’ll have to get onto it. When it is planted, medicinal herbs will grow (the same herbs which are used in the product). Nice!


Note: The reviews for the haircare products give details of the price and packaging of the full size products; I tried the sample sachets.


John Masters Organics Lavender & Avocado Intensive Conditioner

Packaging: A squeezy recyclable plastic tube with a flip-top cap
Price: AUD$40.50
Size: 207ml
Suitable for: Dry hair
Available at: Ikigai website
Pros: Moisturising, non-greasy
Cons: None

Verdict: I have dry hair which tends to get frizzy, so this was really good for my hair. It says to leave it in for 1 – 5 minutes, and I left it in for about 2, which worked well.


John Masters Organics Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor

Packaging: A squeezy recyclable plastic tube with a flip-top cap
Price: AUD$51.60
Size: 118ml
Suitable for: Very dry, damaged or colour-treated hair
Available at: Ikigai website
Pros: Very moisturising, nice smell
Cons: None

Verdict: My hair is not colour-treated, but it is pretty dry, so using this helped give it some much-needed moisture. It is supposed to be left in for 2 – 4 minutes, and I usually left it in for around 2 minutes.

John Masters Organics Citrus & Neroli Detangler

Packaging: A recyclable plastic bottle
Price: AUD$29.99
Size: 236ml
Suitable for: Dry or fine hair
Pros: Very thick and moisturising, amazing smell
Cons: None

Verdict: The instructions say that this is to be left in for 1 – 3 minutes, but also that it makes an excellent leave-in conditioner. I used it as a leave-in conditioner. It is very thick, adds a lot of moisture to the hair, and smells very yummy!


Thanks to the people at Ikigai for sending me these great products! They came at just the right time, because I was almost out of face scrub, and my hair had been getting very dry, so using the John Masters products helped with that.

Stuff that smells like peppermint

Peppermint smells yummy and refreshing. It’s quite a popular scent for beauty and personal care products, particularly for toothpastes, lip balms, and foot scrubs and creams. Some minty products:

Avalon Organics Moisturizing Cream Shave in Peppermint $13.90 for 225ml - keep your legs hair-free with this shaving cream.


Lush Running to the Embassy Body Butter $16 for 95g - Exfoliates and moisturises feet.

Viola Organics Lip Balm Mint $6 for 4.5g - A blend of moisturising oils plus shea butter and essential oils.

Body scrubs

Body scrubs are great for keeping your skin smooth, preventing ingrown hairs, and preparing for fake tan. I like Alba Botanica Hawaiian Sugar Cane Body Polish, $24.75 for 200g. I also like Upper Canada Naturally Coarse Salt Scrub, $20 for 300g. I have it Sweet Vanilla Fig. It smells and looks like a yummy dessert (but it probably doesn't taste like one!). It also comes in Cranberry Moro Orange, Wild Lime Mint, Pressed Olive Avacodo, and Red Tea Grape. For a scrub that combines salt and sugar, try Linden Leaves Salt Sugar Scrub, $24 for 200g.

Some other options:

$25 and under: Alba Botanica Sea Salt Body Scrub 200g $24.75

$30 and under: A'kin Sandalwood & Sweet Orange Invigorating Body Scrub 200ml $28.50, Trilogy Exfoliating Body Polish 150ml $26

$35 and under: Pure Fiji Coconut Creme Body Scrub 250ml $35 (available in Coconut, Frangipani, White Gingerlily, Mango, Pineapple, Passionflower, and Starfruit), Giovanni Cool Mint Lemonade Salt Scrub 300g $35

$40 and under: Evolu Exfoliating Body Polish 250ml $40

$65 and under: Pure Fiji Coconut Sugar Rub 470ml $65 (available in Coconut, Frangipani, White Gingerlily, Mango, Pineapple, Passionflower, and Starfruit)

Face exfoliants

To get rid of dead skin cells, exfoliate your face a couple of times a week. I like Trilogy Gentle Facial Exfoliant, $40 for 75ml. It's a very gentle, fine grain scrub. I have also used A'kin

Jojo & Corn Gentle Exfoliating Facial Scrub $ for 75ml, which is also very fine grain. Sukin Face Scrub, $12 for 125ml is also good, but the grains are not very fine.

Most of the facial exfoliation products I have seen exfoliate manually (ie, in the form of scrubs), however, Living Nature Vitalising Exfoliant, $42 for 50ml, does not do this; instead it uses fruit acids to exfoliate.

Some other options:

$10 and under: Skinfood Exfoliating Scrub 100ml $9.99

$15 and under: Natural Instinct Facial Scrub 125ml $12, The Herb Farm Rosehip Exfoliant 30ml $13.60, The Herb Farm Vanilla Seasalt Exfoliant 30ml $13.60

$20 and under: Viola Organics Renew Exfoliator 65g $15.90

$25 and under: Alba Botanica Hawaiian Pineapple Enzyme Facial Scrub 118ml $20.75, Kosmea Refining Rosehip Scrub 125g $22.50, The Herb Farm Rosehip Exfoliant 60ml $22.70, The Herb Farm Vanilla Seasalt Exfoliant 60ml $22.70, Avalon Organics Lavender Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub 100ml $24

$35 and under: Bod Facial Exfoliant 60g $34.90

$40 and under: Evolu Renewing Facial Exfoliator 125ml $37

$45 and under: Antipodes Reincarnation Pure Face Exfoliator 75ml $45, Ayurda Invigorating Scrub 65ml $45

$55 and under: Ayurda Gel Scrub 100g $52