Naturalla Beauty

Happy Canada Day!  Grounded Sage (formerly Batty's Bath) is one of my favourite Canadian skincare brands, so today is the perfect day to share their Floral Aura Skin Assessment.  I've also teamed up with Grounded Sage for a giveaway over on Instagram, so make sure you check that out too!



In case you've missed my many previous raves, Grounded Sage, based in South-Western Ontario, features an extensive handcrafted product line that includes skincare, body care, and makeup.  The brand is constantly innovating with exciting new launches (like the dreamy-sounding Cucumber Refresh Facial Moisturizer they released just last week!) and always provides a ton of educational content in addition to their excellent products.  

Thera Wise is a family business making natural and plant-based medicinal ointments in Vancouver, B.C.  Warren Brander, Thera Wise's founder, recognized a need to improve conventional over-the-counter ointments, most of which are still petroleum and petrochemical-based, and combined his cosmetic science training and background in Traditional Chinese Medicine to develop Thera Wise's line of ointments. 

Photo Credit

The line consists of five ointments: SHO Skin Healing, Ac+ Acne, VpR Vaporizing, DpR Diaper, and HmR Hemorrhoidal, all of which are vegan and cruelty free, Health Canada NHP approved, and made in Canada from pure plant-based extracts, prebiotics, and natural oils.  

I had the opportunity to test out two of the ointments and I'm excited to share my thoughts on them.  I've also teamed up with Thera Wise to give some ointments away on Instagram, so make sure you head over there after the review to enter.  


SHO Bio-Active Skin Healing Ointment
Of Thera Wise's five ointments, SHO is probably the most multi-functional.  Intended to treat multiple skin ailments, it helps heal wounds, reduces skin irritation and inflammation, and works on everything from cuts and scrapes to rashes, bruises, sunburns, and eczema and dermatitis.  

There are a lot of skin balms and ointments out there, but the ingredients in the Bio-Active Skin Healing Ointment really stood out to me.  SHO features concentrated calendula, chamomile, and burdock root -- potent anti-inflammatory botanical extracts that target irritated and itchy skin, minimize scarring, and reduce swelling.  The ointment also includes oat beta glucan, aloe vera, olive squalane, shea butter, and rosehip, sea buckthorn, and argan oils to improve skin immune function, soothe and repair compromised tissue, and generally speed up the healing process.  Tea tree oil also adds antibacterial and anti-microbial properties to the mix.  

I've been using the Skin Healing Ointment for about a month and half now and while I -- happily -- haven't had much opportunity to test it on cuts or wounds, I can say that it works very well on dry, itchy, and irritated skin.  We've had a few serious cold spells here and the Skin Healing Ointment is what I've been reaching for to treat my poor wind chapped face after walking the dog on those -10°C or colder nights.  It does a fantastic job both soothing and reviving the skin.  I've also used it numerous times on dry cuticles and it's wonderful there too.  The ointment sinks in right away, instantly smoothing and softening the skin, and it doesn't leave behind any kind of film or oily residue.  The ingredients list is what first caught my eye, but the actual performance is what has had me coming back to the ointment over and over these last several weeks.



Ac+ Bio-Active Acne Ointment
I don't deal with a ton of acne or breakouts anymore, but I do still get the occasional pimple.  Plus, I'm pretty sure everyone can benefit from having a great spot treatment on hand!  

The Bio-Active Acne Ointment is a supportive ointment that helps reduce swelling and inflammation caused by acne or blemishes and provides gentle but effective antibacterial benefits without compromising the skin's natural defenses.  It uses a low dose of salicylic acid (0.5% compared to the 2% found in most acne treatments), naturally sourced from willow bark extract, and an olive wax base that allows the skin to breathe and function normally under the ointment.   The ingredients also feature popular acne fighting witch hazel and tea tree oil,  cooling peppermint oil, soothing aloe vera and oat beta-glucan, and reparative tamanu oil -- a particular favorite of mine.  The ointment also includes alpha lipoic acid, an antioxidant that actually suppresses inflammation on a cellular level to minimize scarring and prevent collagen breakdown, and alpha glucan oligosaccharide, a prebiotic that stimulates the "good" bacteria on the skin to improve the skin's natural defenses and barrier function, leaving it less susceptible to the "bad" bacteria and pathogens that contribute to acne. 

A lot of acne treatments can be overly harsh and aggressive, but Ac+ opts for a noticeably gentler approach.  When using the Acne Ointment, I found that swelling and redness was visibly reduced and pimples healed quicker.  It's not an instant miracle worker, but in helping blemishes heal more effectively, it leaves you less likely to end up with long term effects like hyperpigmentation and scarring.  Pimples and blemishes do heal a little faster and, if caught early enough, the ointment can stop them from forming entirely, or at least help keep them small.  I noticed that any leftover marks post-breakout faded a lot quicker too.  I like the more holistic approach that gently addresses active blemishes, while also offering skin-healing and nourishing ingredients that help improve overall skin function, hopefully minimizing future breakouts before they even occur.  Ac+ feels a little more emollient than the Skin Healing Ointment, but it rubs in easily too.  I haven't had any problems using it during the day or wearing it underneath makeup.  



The Bottom Line
Thera Wise's ointments have stellar ingredients and the products work incredibly well too.  The SHO Skin Healing Ointment is multi-functional and would be a great addition to any medicine cabinet or first aid kit and Ac+ is wonderful for treating acne and blemishes in a kinder, gentler, more holistic and skin-friendly way.  

Enter the giveaway to try them for yourself! I've teamed up with Thera Wise to give away two ointments -- winner's choice! -- to three lucky Instagram winners. 

I'm usually a year round powder foundation wearer, but once the colder temperatures hit this winter, my regular mineral foundations just weren't doing the trick anymore.  Right around the same time, I was offered the chance to try out a couple products from Batty's Bath, a London, Ontario company I'd seen raved about before and had followed on Instagram for several months previously, and I knew right away I wanted to try out the company's Whipped Cream Foundation*.

The Whipped Cream Foundation ($34 CAD for 0.5 oz) is both vegan and gluten free, and, as the name would suggest, has a creamy, moussy consistency.  The ingredients are super clean and natural, and the formula is free of common allergens and skin sensitizers. 



My skin has reacted negatively to a lot of cream and liquid foundations in the past, so I was cautiously optimistic to try the Whipped Cream Foundation.  My problem with most cream and liquid formulas is twofold: 
1) they often feel heavy, or, at a minimum, noticeable on the skin
2) they leave me with clogged/congested pores if I wear them for more than a couple days in a row.

Happily, I haven't had either problem with the Batty's Bath foundation!  

The foundation is very creamy, but at the same time, it has a drier feel on the skin than other cream products I've used.  It doesn't quite set to a full powder finish, but once it's applied and blended, skin feels basically dry to the touch and not tacky, greasy, or coated in makeup.  This finish also means that - at least in the winter - it isn't a product I absolutely need to set with powder, although I do find that a light dusting helps the foundation wear a few hours longer.  The foundation also feels very lightweight on the skin and isn't makeup that I can feel sitting heavily on my face throughout the day.  

As for the second point, I've been wearing this foundation pretty much exclusively since early January and haven't experienced any skin issues.  I don't wear makeup every single day, but there have been weeks when I've worn it five or six consecutive days and I still haven't had any problems with clogged pores or congested skin, something I credit to the foundation's simple and skin-friendly ingredients.

Instead of the coconut oil frequently found in natural cream products, Batty's Bath relies on a base of organic jojoba and apricot kernel oils and organic shea butter.  All three rank considerably lower on the comedogenic scale than coconut oil, and are suitable for both sensitive and acne-prone skin types.  The formula also includes lavender and rosewood essential oils, great for multiple skin concerns.  The essential oils also give the foundation a delicate herbal scent.  The remainder of the ingredients list is short and excludes unnecessary bulking agents and fillers.

Coverage
The foundation has a good, solid medium/buildable coverage.  A light application evens out skin tone and makes skin look pretty and perfected, but still natural, while fuller coverage can be achieved with a heavier application.  The finish is very natural and skin-like.  It's not overly dewy or glowy, but it's also not a flat matte on the skin.  

The foundation also easily doubles as a concealer.  My undereyes tend to be pretty dark and most days I'll opt just to use a second thin layer of foundation topped with a brightening powder, rather than adding in a separate cream concealer.

Check out the before and after photos! (Click to enlarge.)  Relying on natural sunlight in the middle of winter means the lighting changed a little between photos, but hopefully you can still get a good representation of the foundation.  The first photo is bare faced, second is with just the Whipped Cream Foundation, and the third is the foundation + a setting powder, blush, brow pencil, and lipstick.  I've also posted a couple photos of me wearing the foundation on Instagram this past month.



Application
My favorite way to apply this foundation is with my fingers.  A little bit goes a long way and fingers help the product spread and sheer out easily for a lighter makeup look -- my preference day-to-day.  Because of the foundation's thicker, cream consistency, I find it difficult to get a light application with a brush, but if you're aiming for fuller coverage, a buffing brush and a little more product will easily accomplish that. 

As with any foundation, well-prepped skin is essential.  My skin leans a little dry, and if I haven't moisturized quite enough, the Whipped Cream Foundation can cling to drier patches on my face.  Patting over it with a damp sponge usually does the trick when this happens, so it's not been a big deal.  Batty's Bath also suggests mixing the foundation with a small amount of a hydrating product like their Hydra Healing Rescue Gel for dry skin, but that's not something I've experimented with so far.  

Color Range
The Whipped Cream Foundation comes in seven shades.  I chose Fawn - the second lightest shade in the range - because of its pinker undertones.  My skin is very neutral, but happily Fawn isn't super pink - it's more peachy than anything - so it matches my skin very well. The seven shades offer a good range of both cool and warm shades for light and medium skin tones, but I'd love to see Batty's Bath add a couple darker shades in the future as currently there's only one color suitable for deeper skin tones.  



The Bottom Line
Definitely a big hit!  With wonderful ingredients and great buildable coverage, I think the Whipped Cream Foundation would work well for a lot of people.  The foundation never feels slippery or greasy on the skin, and it wears well throughout the day.  Despite being a cream formula, my skin has been very okay with it - truly, I don't think my skin has ever been this happy with cream or liquid makeup before - and it's a product I see myself using and enjoying for a long time.  If you're in the market for a new foundation, I highly recommend giving this one a try!

Avocado: it's not just for eating anymore.  The same combo of essential fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants that makes avocado such a healthy food, are also wonderful used topically on both skin and hair.

And that's where Lovacado, a Toronto company based around the humble avocado, comes in.

Lovacado believes in going back to basics and wants people to rediscover the effectiveness of simple natural ingredients.  Everything is simply formulated with minimal, high quality ingredients and is free of synthetic preservatives, additives, and colors.  Currently the line consists of two key products: Extra Virgin Avocado Oil* and an Avocado Powder Face & Body Mask*.



Extra Virgin Avocado Oil
Like many other oils, Lovacado's Extra Virgin Avocado Oil is a fantastic multi-use product that can be used on the face, body, and hair.  Avocado oil, extracted from the green flesh of the avocado, is a great emollient oil high in vitamins A, D, and E, lecithin, potassium, beta carotene, chlorophyll, and unsaturated fatty acids.  Lovacado's oil is cold-pressed, extra virgin, and mixed only with essential oils.

Avocado oil is a richer oil, often recommended for dry or mature skin, but - assuming you aren't using unnecessarily copious amounts - it absorbs well and won't leave skin greasy or slippery.  I find it a little too heavy to use alone on the face, but a drop or two mixed in with lighter oils or a cream moisturizer is great for an intense shot of moisture.  I also love using it as a body oil and in my hair.

In fact, while prior to this I was an argan oil devotee, I think I like Lovacado's oil as a leave-in even more!  I run a few drops through the damp ends of my hair after showering and it leaves them smooth and ultra soft.  It can also be used pre-wash as a nourishing deep conditioning treatment.

Lovacado's oil is available unscented and in three scents: sweet orange, lemon, and lavender.  I've tried the three scented versions and they're all lovely.  Fresh smelling and scented enough to be noticeable as you use them, but never overpowering.  Every bottle of oil also comes with a Lovacado refillable travel bottle that makes it super easy to carry the oil with you.  

Avocado Powder Face & Body Mask
Despite knowing the skin and hair benefits, avocados never actually make it out of my kitchen, which is why this avocado powder has been so fantastic.  Made of 100% dehydrated avocado powder, it's easy to work with and makes a great mask, both on its own and in combination with other ingredients.  The powder, which smells just like avocado, starts out a little chunky, but it smooths out as you mix it with water.  

My favorite way to use it has been combining equal parts avocado powder and bentonite clay to make a gentler clay mask, perfect for more sensitive or delicate skin.  This combo gives the best of both worlds: detox and exfoliation from the clay, and moisture and collagen-boosting nutrients from the avocado powder.  The avocado powder also makes a wonderful moisturizing mask, either on its own or mixed with a little honey.  I'm curious to try incorporating it into a hair mask next!



The Bottom Line
I love the simplicity of Lovacado's ingredients and, clearly, I'm a fan of how the products perform as well.  The oil is great for a multitude of uses, and the powder is a unique mask ingredient I haven't seen anywhere else.  I think both will be great year round, but they've been especially fantastic for keeping my skin hydrated through this latest cold spell.

Giveaway
I've also teamed up with Lovacado to give TWO of you the chance to try these avocado delights for yourselves.  Each winner will receive a bottle of Extra Virgin Avocado Oil in the scent of their choice, the Avocado Face & Body Mask, and a refillable travel bottle.  

The giveaway is limited to US/Canada.  You must follow Lovacado on at least one platform to enter.  All other entries are optional.  Follow the Rafflecopter widget, below, to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'll be the first to admit that products like hand cream often fall by the wayside here during the warmer months, but as soon as temperatures drop, you better believe I start slathering them on again like nobody's business!  My most recent pick?  Rocky Mountain Soap's Apricot Hand Cream ($11 for 50 ml/1.69 oz).


The formula and overall feel of the cream is lovely.  It has a silky, creamy consistency that feels rich and hydrating, but it also doesn't take long to absorb.  I wouldn't say reach for a touchscreen immediately after using the cream, but you're good to go within two to three minutes.  

The hand cream is loaded with nourishing ingredients like sunflower, olive, jojoba and apricot kernel oils and mango and shea butters, and I've found it very effective at keeping dry, papery hands at bay this fall/winter.  It also contains date palm extract, a powerhouse antioxidant with proven anti-aging benefits, and honey extract, a gentle humectant that helps the skin absorb and hold onto moisture.  

I'm not crazy in love with the apricot scent, but there's nothing wrong with it per say.  Smelling the cream straight out of the tube, it's very fresh and fruity and I love it, but once it touches my skin, my nose also picks up a kind of milky note that I'm not as crazy about.  It's not an offensive scent by any means, just not a favorite for me either.  

The Bottom Line
Rocky Mountain Soap Co. is a great Canadian company and I'm really happy with how well the hand cream works.  It's rich and moisturizing but doesn't leave you with greasy hands or unable to touch anything for a prolonged period.  I'd likely opt for a different scent next time, but it's a product I can definitely see myself buying again!

I was contacted a couple months ago by Chorus Supernatural, a British Columbia company making natural skincare, hair care, body care, and wellness products.  Like most Canadians, I get pretty excited about Canadian companies, and with an extensive range of products and items for kids and adults alike, Chorus Supernatural is a great discovery.  



The entire line is free of synthetics and made with 100% naturally-sourced ingredients.  The "Supernatural" part of the company's name relates to the 4 "supernatural" ingredients that Chorus includes in every product they make.  These 4 ingredients are:

Lithia Mineral Water - Chorus uses water from an untainted hot spring in the Canadian Rockies.  This water is rich in naturally-occurring lithium and has been shown to offer skin revitalizing benefits beyond that of ordinary distilled water. 

Moor Mud - also known as Heilmoor clay, moor is a nutrient- and mineral-rich peat formed by thousands of years of decomposition of herbs, flowers, grasses, and other plants.  Chorus's moor is sourced from remote locations in B.C., far from any industrial activity, ensuring that it remains pure and unpolluted.

Giant Kelp Seaweed - hand-harvested off the northern tip of Vancouver Island, giant kelp absorbs nutrients from the ocean and is rich in potassium, iodine, and 70 other nutrients, including iron, zinc, copper, cobalt, manganese, boron, and a variety of beneficial enzymes and proteins.  Chorus uses a liquid seaweed extraction that preserves the chemical composition and nutrients of the seaweed better than dehydration processes that often require a lot of denaturing heat.  

Clay - also sourced from Vancouver Island, Chorus uses clay with a unique blend of minerals, vitamins and crystalline gemstone substances.  It starts out a dark green clay when wet, but dries down to an aqua blue color.  

Chorus kindly sent me a few items from the line to try out.  Let's jump into the products themselves!



CLEANSE Cleansing Gel* ($19.90 for 4.5 oz)
Cleanse is described as a low-foaming cleansing gel for normal to oily skin, but I haven't found it to be stripping or drying, so I think it could suit most skin types.  With a unique, pearly-gel consistency, it glides effortlessly across the skin and rinses away cleanly.  The instructions recommend using the cleanser on a cotton ball, but I much prefer using my fingers, as you would with most cleansing gels.  The cleanser does a fine job removing face makeup, but I prefer to use something else around the eyes.  

POLISH Facial Scrub* ($24.90 for 4.5 oz)
Polish is an extremely gentle scrub made with jojoba beads.  It has a jelly-like consistency, and while the jojoba beads are noticeable, I don't feel like they do a very thorough job exfoliating my skin.  I generally prefer scrubs that are a little more abrasive, but if you're looking for something extra gentle, Polish might be just the ticket.  I did enjoy the relaxing chamomile-lavender scent and the fact that it didn't irritate or dry out my skin.  

MASK Facial Mask* ($22.90 for 2.9 oz)
My favorite of the bunch, Mask is a facial treatment made of just 100% pure moor mud and lithia water.  I've used other moor mud masks in the past and the rich peat is excellent for gentle detoxification and cleaning out the pores.  Without any additional ingredients, the mask smells quite earthy - like, well, mud - so I like mixing in a drop or two of a skin-friendly essential oil like lavender or frankincense.  The mask always leaves my skin looking fresh and glowy and is more gentle and less drying than other types of clay.  The tube needs a good shake before each use, as the water and mud have a tendency to separate, but they blend back together easily, so it's no big deal.  Both the fact that it's ready-to-go in a tube and that it only needs between 3 and 10 minutes on the skin, make this mask a great option for pampering in a hurry!

The Bottom Line
I love Chorus's affordable price point, that they're a Canadian company, and that they make a point of sourcing healthy, natural, and local ingredients for all their products.  Of the three items I tried, I'm most smitten with Mask, an excellent gentle detox mask that's especially great when you're short on time.  Cleanse is a good, non-drying cleanser that I think could work for a lot of different skin types, and while I personally would have liked a little more abrasiveness in Polish, I can see it being a hit for ultra-sensitive skin.

Have you tried anything from Chorus Supernatural? 

When it comes to trying new skincare brands, there isn't a lot I love more than a good trial set.  After all, who wants to invest in expensive, full size products only to find out they don't work for you?  Trial sets are a great way to sample a number of products and get a feel for a line without a big financial investment.  Pure Daily Essentials, a small handcrafted skincare company based in British Columbia, kindly sent me their Pure Necessities Set* - minus the facial bar, which contains palm oil - and I've been enjoying trying everything out over the last couple months.  The Pure Necessities set retails for $39.99 and includes mini sizes of seven products.  Keep reading for my take on the set and the individual products: 

Pure Necessities Set (Full size Facial Cream pictured)

Make-Up Remover
The Make-Up Remover is an oil-based makeup remover made with sweet almond and olive oils, plus comfrey root, calendula and chamomile extracts.  As you would expect from the ingredients, it feels very gentle on the skin, but still does a fantastic job removing makeup.  The oil is scented with lavender essential oil, making it a great product to wind down with at the end of the day.  I generally follow the Make-Up Remover with another cleanser, but I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary.  It's not a product that will splash away with water like an emulsifying cleanser, but it does wipe off fully with a damp washcloth.

Revive Hydration Mist in Sandalwood
The Hydration Mists are blends of water and essential oils intended to bring hydration and balance to the skin.  The Sandalwood Mist is made with sandalwood, as well as geranium, palmarosa, vetiver and ylang ylang.  The 10 ml size is a little too small to form a full opinion, but I enjoyed it - it feels refreshing and has a grounding, earthy scent from the sandalwood and vetiver.  I also appreciated that the tiny spray bottle is glass rather than plastic.

Age Defense Facial Cream
This cream is an interesting midway point between a traditional cream, an oil, and a balm.  Dipping into the jar, it feels like a soft balm, but the product melts into a light oil consistency as you work it into the skin.  With a base of coconut and sunflower oils, unfortunately my skin did end up reacting a little after a few days, so if coconut oil tends to be an issue for you, I wouldn't recommend it.  It did initially leave my skin feeling nicely moisturized and very soft.

Ageless Eyes Advanced Eye Treatment
The Advanced Eye Treatment has a lot of overlapping ingredients with the Age Defense Facial Cream, but used just in the eye area, I didn't experience any problems.  In fact, this ended up being my favorite product of the bunch, and since I tend to be especially hard on eye products, that's not something I say lightly.

Again, this has a soft, balm-like consistency and melts into an oil with the heat of your skin.  I've mostly stuck to using this product in the evenings as it takes a few minutes to completely sink in, and in the morning my eyes are noticeably less puffy and dark circles seem a little lighter too.  

Peppermint Lip Balm
The Peppermint Lip Balm is a nice basic lip balm with a minty tingle.  It has a light, non-waxy feel and really sinks into the lips.  Because of how fully it absorbs, the balm feels very healing and nourishing.  It's not the kind of protective product I'd reach for before venturing out into a snow storm, but it's great for indoors or during the warmer months.

Lavish Hydration Calendula
The Lavish Hydration lotions are body lotions intended to deeply nourish and hydrate the skin.  The Calendula lotion is extra soothing with calendula, comfrey and chamomile and has a thin consistency and a feel that reminds me a little of some body oils, in that while it rubs in easily, it takes several minutes to absorb and also leaves the skin with a slight dewy, glossy appearance.  I don't love the scent, a floral-smelling mix of ylang ylang, sweet orange and benzoin, but I do enjoy how soft and hydrated the lotion leaves my skin.  

The Bottom Line
Pure Daily Essentials has some lovely products and the Pure Necessities Set is a good way to try several at once.  With the exception of the Age Defense Facial Cream, which didn't agree with my skin, I enjoyed trying everything, though the standout products for me were the Make-Up Remover and Eye Treatment.

The first thing that stood out to me about Mamma Oceania Handmade Soap was their tag line.  After all, it doesn't get much better than "Mermaid Approved Clean," does it?  Add in a cute logo, great ingredients, minimal packaging, and the fact that the soaps are handmade in small batches here in Toronto, and I was sold.  



Anna Mattiuzzo, Mamma Oceania's founder and soaper-in-chief,  was working in fashion PR and publishing when she started making soap for her own personal use.  When she began sharing the soaps with friends and giving them as presents, people loved them and asked for more, and one thing led to another until Mamma Oceania was born.  

Anna was kind enough to send me all eight of her soaps to try and I've been having the best time testing everything out.  The soaps are made with USDA certified organic ingredients and are free of controversial palm and canola oils, as well as artificial colours, fragrances, and preservatives.  The entire line relies on a gentle, moisturizing base of olive oil, shea butter, coconut oil, sweet almond oil, colloidal oatmeal, and banana and Canadian kelp extracts, and each individual soap varies from that point on.  Soaps are cured for four to six weeks using the traditional, cold-process soap method, ensuring that you get a firm, solid, hefty bar of soap that really lasts and won't melt away in just a couple washes.  (Though you'll still want to keep your soap out of the direct shower spray and let it dry between uses to help it along!) 

Each soap produces a beautiful, rich lather that feels very soft and gentle on the skin.  I always keep bar soap at my bathroom sink and I've had several culprits over the years leave me with dry, papery hands, but I haven't had that problem with any of the Mamma Oceania soaps, even through colder weather.  Instead, my skin is consistently left feeling clean, soft, and touchable.  Without any added scent ingredients - either natural or synthetic - the soaps just have a very light, clean scent that's basically undetectable as soon as you rinse off.  

My absolute favorite of the bunch has been the Baby Clean Soap, made with chamomile extract.  It has a slightly creamier scent than some of the others and feels extra soft and almost buttery on the skin.  Other favorites have been the Skin Nourishing Soap with rosehip, and the Gentle Exfoliating Soap with pomegranate and coconut milk.  Regular readers may recall that I don't generally enjoy exfoliating bits in my bar soap, but the Gentle Exfoliating Soap is, as the name suggests, extremely gentle and actually feels basically smooth to the touch.  If you like your soaps extra gritty, this isn't the one for you, but if you prefer a creamy lather with just a hint of exfoliation, it's just the ticket.  Mamma Oceania also makes two face-specific soaps, the Brightening Facial Soap and the Pore Saver Facial Soap, but the entire line is so gentle that I would honestly feel okay using any of them on my face.

Photo Credit

The Bottom Line
Mamma Oceania soaps are especially wonderful for those of us with sensitive skin and noses, but I really think they'd be a treat for any soap lover.  With a rich, creamy lather, an abundance of organic ingredients, small batch manufacturing, and no animal testing, Mamma Oceania is beautiful traditional handmade soap at its best!

The Mamma Oceania website will be set up for transactions very soon, but in the meantime orders can be placed by contacting the company through the website, Facebook page, and by email.  

For Torontonians, the soaps can regularly be found at Nepal Pari Salon on Front St. W., and Anna will also be at the following markets this Spring:

Mid-February isn't too late to write about holiday gift sets, is it?  I actually got this set on my birthday, at the end of January, without any plans to blog about it, but it ended up being too lovely not to.  Rocky Mountain Soap Co. is a Canadian bath and body company founded on the principle that nature provides everything we need for beautiful and healthy skin.  The company believes that body care should be beneficial to our health and psychological well-being and has even launched an entire Toxin-Free Movement to help spread information about ingredients and how to shop clean.

I've checked out Rocky Mountain Soap's website numerous times in the past and even tweeted with them on Twitter, but with stores only in the Western provinces, my birthday was the first time I came across their products in person.  I wasn't sure where to start until I spotted a lone Vanilla Candy Cane Mini Tray in the store's sale section.  Vanilla and mint scents are some of my favorites, so finding this - and on sale to boot - made it an easy decision.  The Mini Tray came with mini sizes of the Vanilla Candy Cane Body Butter and Bar Soap and a full size Vanilla Candy Cane Lip Butter.  It also included a card redeemable for a free bar of soap in one of their stores, which I will certainly be hanging onto until I - or someone I know - can make it to one of the ten Rocky Mountain Soap stores in person.




Vanilla Candy Cane Bar Soap
I'm always excited to discover new palm-oil free soap options, so this was probably the item I was most eager to try in the kit.  It didn't disappoint.  The Vanilla Candy Cane scent is the mildest in the soap, and while I wouldn't object to it being a little stronger, it's still there and quite delicious.  The soap creates a good, rich lather that feels soft and non-drying on the skin and it's also lasted a good bit longer in my soap dish than expected, considering its compact size.  

Vanilla Candy Cane Body Butter
Solid body butters can be tricky, but Rocky Mountain Soap has really nailed the perfect lotion bar consistency here.  It's solid without being waxy, so it smoothes onto the skin easily without dragging or feeling sticky.  It's also not overly oily and sinks in beautifully.  My favorite thing to do with this has been to use it as a hand butter, since the tube packaging makes it so easy to smear on the backs of your hands and quickly rub in.  The product absorbs nicely, so you don't end up with greasy hands or needing to wait more than a minute before you can touch anything.  The Vanilla Candy Cane scent is a gorgeous mix of cool peppermint and sweet vanilla that I can smell on my skin for a few hours after application, and the body butter leaves anything it touches super soft and hydrated.  The smaller, mini size is also perfect for carrying around with you and using on the go.  

Vanilla Candy Cane Lip Butter
The lip butter feels very similar in consistency to the body butter and is beautifully rich and buttery.  I notice a slight peppermint tingle on my lips, but nothing over the top.  We've had -25° temperatures here the last several days and while admittedly I haven't been spending a lot of time outside, the lip butter has done a great job protecting my lips when I have ventured outdoors.  

The Bottom Line
I've been impressed with all three products, so I'm pretty confident this won't be my last experience with Rocky Mountain Soap.  The Vanilla Candy Cane scent - which is phenomenal - was a limited release for the holidays and isn't currently available, but all three of these products - and the Mini Trays - are sold year-round in other scents. With a large assortment of products and many varied scent choices, I sort of envision Rocky Mountain Soap Co. as a healthy alternative falling somewhere between Bath & Body Works and Lush.  I'd love to visit one of their stores one day, but in the meantime, I will content myself with their website, plus the products stocked at The Big Carrot here in Toronto.  

I really don't notice a significant difference between the three formulas.  If I had to differentiate, the Hemp has a little more slip to it than the other two, while the More Moisture is a bit more substantial and buttery on the lips.  The Vegan is a little more solid in the tube initially, but it applies great once it's warmed up on your lips.    All three are excellent.

Victoria says...
There's no contest: The Epic Blend flavours Caitie gave me to try are my new favourite lip balms.

I was pretty thrilled with the flavours I scored: The ones Caitie didn't really want were exactly the ones I wanted to try. After a long and very scientific (ahem) trial process, my favourite wound up being Hemp Vanilla, which has an unexpected chocolate note thanks to the combination of vanilla and cocoa butter. Vegan Wild Berry is a close second, with a rich and fruity scent. I also love More Moisture Cherry and More Moisture Green Apple, which smell exactly like the fruits they're named after without any artificial tang--just scrumptiousness. Last but not least, Hemp Coconut is the one that has made its way into my work bag, since it's a neutral but still aromatic flavour.

I had a scare about a month into using Epic Blend, when the weather changed and I discovered that my lips were chapping and peeling. I stopped using anything but Epic Blend for a couple of weeks to give them a fair shot, and the problem went away--which is when I threw out most of my other lip balms. Good riddance!

The Bottom Line
Epic Blend has pretty well hit it out of the park for both of us!  Epic indeed.  I love that the company is Canadian, that the ingredients are predominantly organic, and that the balms really work.  I highly recommend checking these out!

We've also got two balms to give away to one of you: More Moisture Grape and Garnet Star Tinted Lip Balm.  The giveaway will run for a week and is open to anyone, anywhere.  Fill in the Rafflecopter widget (below) to enter.