Face masks

Using a face mask once a week is good for your skin. I like Trilogy Purifying Masque, $33.90 for 35ml. Evolu Purifying Mask $35 for 75ml, is also good. Although both these masks are for all skin types, they are clay-based masks, which are good for oily skin, as are mud masks. Another clay mask is Dr Hauschka Cleansing Clay Mask, $62 for 90g, which is in the form of a powder which you mix up with water. I didn't realise that it was a powder when testing it out at Farmers once, and spilt quite a large amount of it on the ground. Anyway, moving on from that...


People with drier skin will benefit from a moisturising mask in a gel or cream form, like Living Nature Ultra Nourishing Mask, $59 for 50ml. As for those with sensitive skin, try Weleda Almond Facial Masque, m$22.50 for 30ml.


Some other options:


$10 and under: Clear as Mud Face Mud $4 per 18g sachet, Skinfood Mud Masque 100ml $9.99


$25 and under: Clear as Mud, $24.99 for a box of seven 18g sachets


$30 and under: Weleda Iris Intensive Treatment Masque 30ml $25.50, Alba Botanica Hawaiian Papaya Enzyme Facial Mask 85g


$45 and under: Living Nature Deep Cleansing Mask - 10 5ml sachets for $42, Living Nature Hydrating Gel Mask 50ml $42, Antipodes Manuka Honey Treatment Mask 75ml


$80 and under: Ren Multi Mineral Detox Facial Mask 50ml $69, Ren F10 Enzymatic Skin Smoothing Facial Mask 50ml $74, Ren Jiaogulan Cell Energising Facial Mask 50ml $76

$90 and under: Dr Hauschka Firming Mask 30ml $89

$120 and under: Aveda Deep Cleansing Herbal Clay Masque 125ml $102, Aveda Intensive Hydrating Masque 150ml $117

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

Sukin Travel Pack

New from Sukin is a travel pack for $33 (which, unfortunately, I can't find a picture of) containing:

Purifying Shampoo
Nourishing Conditioner
Facial Moisturiser
Cream Cleanser
Hydrating Mist Toner

All are in 50ml bottles, useful for taking on holiday (especially if you are going overseas, and need small bottles for on the plane), or for trying out new products without buying the full-size versions.

Sweepstake at 1GreenProduct.com

The website 1GreenProduct.com is giving away two prize packs from a company called LaLicious. The packs are worth $100 (US dollars) each, and contain Tahitian Flower sugar souffle scrub, body soap, body oil and body butter. Contest ends November 4th at 11:59 p.m (not sure what time zone this is though). It is open to US residents only, so if you are a US residents, and wish to enter, follow this link

LaLicious is an all-natural, line of bath and beauty products, which is sulfate-free, paraben-free and cruelty-free.

Body Butter

When you want something a bit more thick and rich than body lotion, try body butter. I like Skinfood body butter, $14.95 for 250ml. There are a lot of other options. For example:

$20 and under: Upper Canada Naturally Body Butter 200g $20, available in Cranberry Moro Orange, Wild Lime Mint, Red Tea Grape, Sweet Vanilla Fig, and Pressed Olive Avocado

$30 and under: Greenland less=more Body Butter 200ml $26, available in Bergamot, Pomegranate, Cocoa-Vanilla, and Cranberry

$40 and under: Bod Amazonian Nut Body Butter 200g $39.90

$45 and under: Pure Fiji Body Butter $40.90, available in Coconut, Frangipani, White Gingerlily, Mango, Pineapple, Passionfruit, and Starfruit, Bod Frangipani, Aloe and Cucumber Body Butter 470g $44.90, Antipodes Jubilation Ultra Nourishing Body Cream 200ml $45

$50 and under: Crabtree & Evelyn Naturals Body Butter 200g $49, available in Avocado Butter, Olive & Basil, Cocoa Butter, Nutmeg & Cardamom, Illipe Butter, Lemongrass & Sugar, and Mango Butter & Grapefruit

The Body Shop Nature's Minerals

A lot of brands have been bringing out mineral makeup lines lately. The Body Shop has recently launched Nature's Minerals. The Nature's Minerals line consists of:

Foundation SPF25 5g $45, available in six shades

Cheek Colour 2g $30, available in Pink Quartz, Golden Terracotta, Warm Copper, and Brown Topaz

Eye Colour 1g $25, available in Platinum Silver, Radiant Graphite, Golden Emerald, Pink Opal, Bronzed Amber, and Molten Brown
Foundation Brush $38
Blusher Brush $36
Eye shadow brush $20

There are no unescessary fillers in these products - all you'll find is minerals and clay. The SPF is higher than any other mineral makeup that I'm aware of. While this makeup is somewhat expensive, it is a lot more affordable than some other minerals on the market.

I got the foundation in the lightest shade using the 20% off birthday voucher which I got from the I Love My Body Club. I didn't buy the foundation brush; I used a powder brush to apply it. I really like it - it gives good coverage, and it has a matte finish, thanks to the clay I suppose. It is also supposed to be good for blemishes - due to the zinc oxide, I guess.

I also bought the eye shadow in Golden Emerald. It's a little bit more sheer than I'd like, but it works well when I layer it over a brown eyeshadow. I didn't buy the eyeshadow brush, I used one which I already had.

Soap

If you prefer bar soap to liquid hand wash and body wash, there are a lot of natural soaps to choose from. I like Dr Bronner's Bar Soap, available in Almond, Unscented Baby-Mild, Citrus Orange, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Peppermint, Rose, and Tea Tree. $5.40 for 140g.

I also like Trade Aid Soap, available in Rose, Neem, Cucumber, Green Apple, Clove, Honey Scented (does not contain actual honey, as all the soaps are free from animal ingredients), Jasmine, Sandalwood, Coconut, and Cinnamon. The soaps are 80g, and are $1.95 from Trade Aid stores for a limited time.

Ecostore also a selection of soaps - Manuka Honey & Kelp, Orange & Cinnamon, Goats Milk, Lemongrass, Lavender, Vanilla, Manuka & Oatmeal, Peppermint & Honey, Sandalwood, all $3.95 for 100g. Coconut, Lemongrass, Manuka Honey & Kelp, and Vanilla soaps are also available in boxes, $3.70 for 80g.

Obviously, these are just a selection of the many natural soaps which are available on the market.