Naturalla Beauty

If ever I was overdue to talk about a product or company, it's this duo from Flower and Spice.  I started doing some (non-blogging) work for Flower and Spice last summer and Karmen,the company's founder and formulator, kindly sent me a Discovery Set to try out at that time.  The Discovery Set retails for €69.00 and includes smaller sizes of Flower and Spice's two best-selling products: the Midnight Beauty Rich Revitalizing Serum and the Soothe and Repair Daily Moisturizer.  

Flower and Spice was created when Karmen decided to leave the stressful world of fashion, video production, and marketing in lieu of applying her longtime passions for green living, cooking, and flowers, herbs, and spices to creating a natural skincare line.  Karmen studied organic skincare science at Formula Botanica and Flower and Spice was born! 

Flower and Spice's products were formulated by Karmen in the Netherlands, but are currently produced in a leading natural skincare lab in Switzerland.  The entire line is 100% natural and all products are free of nasty ingredients, animal testing, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology.  



Before jumping into things further, I do want to stress that I've mulled over how to best approach this review -- or even to do it at all -- since I have an extra connection to the company, but after using the products on and off for several months, I really do want to share my thoughts on them.  I was not asked to write this and, as always, all opinions are honest and my own.  

Skin Dew ($58 USD for 2.1oz) is an EcoCert certified organic lightweight moisturizer made with more than 50% pure organic coconut water.  In addition to hydration, coconut water offers a high mineral, amino acid, enzyme, and antioxidant content to nourish skin.  It does not have the same comedogenic properties as coconut oil, so even those sensitive to the oil -- myself included -- can often benefit from products containing coconut water or juice.  

The cream also contains:

Cupuacu butter, rich in polyphenols to condition skin.

Sunflower, acacia, watermelon seed, and jojoba oils for lightweight, protective, sebum-balancing moisture and defense against environmental stresses.

Phytic acid sourced from rice to reduce dryness and help soften the appearance of fine lines.  

NaPCA Mist

The Skin Renewal Kit was a limited edition set for the holidays and included small sizes of the brand new Maximum Glycolic Meta Serum, the award-winning, cult favorite, HydrExtreme Extreme Hydration Booster, and one of two moisturizers: the Ultra Moisturizing Organic Face Cream or the Ultra Moisturizing Organic Face Cream for Dry Skin.  The kit is currently sold out, but the products can be purchased individually, both directly from Consonant and on Well.ca.

Let’s get right to the review!  Here are my full thoughts after using these three products for the last month.

Ultra Moisturizing Organic Face Cream

(L to R) Ultra Moisturizing Face Cream, Maximum Glycolic Meta Serum, HydrExtreme

The Bottom Line

Where my morning skincare is all about quick and easy products, night is when I like to invest a little more time in my skin.  Just a few years ago, skincare felt like a chore, but these days, I really enjoy the whole process.  One of the biggest changes I've made - and one I'd recommend if you struggle at all with nighttime skincare - is doing the majority of your routine earlier in the evening.  For me, sometimes that means as early as six or seven at night, but at a minimum, it's a couple hours before bed.  The benefits are twofold: if you're using heavier products that take time to sink in, you're less likely to lose them on your pillowcase, and you're also less apt to go to sleep without washing your face due to sheer exhaustion.

In terms of products, the skin does a lot of regenerating when we sleep, so I like to use products with nourishing, reparative ingredients that aid in those processes.  Here's my current lineup:



Badger Seabuckthorn Face Cleansing Oil* / Weleda Soothing Almond Facial Oil*
My favorite way of removing makeup is with an oil, since I've not found anything else as effective at breaking everything down.  I take a couple minutes to thoroughly massage it onto my dry face and then wipe it away with a warm, damp facecloth.  I love the clean, fresh feeling Badger's Seabuckthorn Cleansing Oil gives my face, but because the menthol in it sometimes irritates my eyes, I prefer to use a separate oil to remove eye makeup.  Usually I'd just use almond or jojoba oil, but since running out of all my plain oils, I've been using the Weleda Soothing Almond Facial Oil.  It's a gentle blend of almond and plum kernel oils with blackthorn extract and it works just as well to remove makeup as it does to soothe and moisturize the skin.

Andalou Naturals Citrus Kombucha Cleansing Gel
I like to follow the oil cleansing step with a gel cleanser.  The Citrus Kombucha Cleansing Gel is part of Andalou's Clarifying line for oily and acne prone skin, but it also works well on my normal and generally non-acne prone skin.  The smell reminds me of cutting into a fresh grapefruit, and although the cleanser foams up a moderate amount, it doesn't dry out my face.

On days when I'm not wearing makeup, I skip the oil cleanse and just use either the Cleansing Gel or Andalou's Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk, which I talked about in my morning skincare routine.

Nonie of Beverly Hills AHA! Skin Tonic*
Toners aren't a skincare item that really gets me excited, but I do like the AHA! Skin Tonic, which is one of the few products I use both morning and night.  It's gentle and non-drying and I've noticed a visible difference in the appearance of the pores on my nose and cheeks since adding this into my routine.

Nonie of Beverly Hills AHA! Brilliant Moisturizer*
With 5% alpha hydroxy acids from natural fruit sources, Brilliant serves as both a moisturizer and a gentle chemical exfoliant.  In the beginning, I experienced minor tingling from the acids, but after using it on and off for several months, my skin has gotten more used to it and I don't feel anything on application.  This is a great formula because while the acids are pretty gentle, they are still quite effective at resurfacing the skin.  I haven't noticed much difference in terms of fine lines, but my overall skin texture has improved and my skin is the softest I can remember it being in a long time.  

Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream / Holiskin Revitalize Eye Serum*
Like I mentioned, I like to do bulk of my nighttime skincare a couple hours before bed, at which point I'll use the Balance Me Wonder Eye Cream.  I find, no matter how conservatively I apply them, eye oils always manage to seep into my eyes if given the time, so I wait to apply the Revitalize Eye Serum until right before going to sleep.  Holiskin's serum is a light-textured blend of organic apricot kernel, camellia, rosehip seed, and evening primrose oils, plus non-GMO vitamin E, organic calendula extract, and essential oils.  I haven't been using it long enough to remark on its effect on dark circles or fine lines, but it feels very nourishing and does a great job moisturizing the eye area.  I'll update once I've used it for longer.

Rachel's Plan Bee Facial Oil*
Similar to in the morning, I haven't been using face oils every night recently, but on nights when I want a little extra moisture, I'll add in a few drops of Rachel's Plan Bee Facial Oil.  The oil, which smells like a warm vanilla cookie, has just enough weight to it to thoroughly moisturize the skin without any heaviness or greasy feeling.  It works well either applied alone as an additional step or mixed into my moisturizer.

And there you have it!  I've got one more post coming with masks, treatments and occasional products, but day-to-day, this is what I use.  What are your favorite nighttime skincare products?

Makeup has been a favorite of mine for quite some time, but it's only in the last six months or so that I've become more interested in skincare.  It's amazing how much of a difference a slightly more involved routine can make!  A couple months ago, I won an Osmia Organics lip gloss in a Facebook giveaway and Sarah, Osmia's owner/formulator, kindly included a sample of the Active Gel Nutrient Serum as well. 

"This gentle face serum provides an extra layer of soothing moisture, with hyaluronic acid and niacinamide to help maintain intracellular water in the skin cells.  White tea and aloe comfort the skin, and rice protein acts to smooth and support the collagen structure of the skin.  This gel serum is meant to be used as a middle layer, between washing and applying a moisturizer or an oil serum.  Think of it as a multivitamin for your face."
Osmia recommends applying the serum to moist skin, so after cleansing, I mist my face with George's Aloe and make sure to rub the serum in while my skin is damp.  It absorbs quickly and unlike a lot of other gel serums, it leaves no film or tacky feeling on your skin.  I prefer my morning skincare to be quick and with fewer steps, so I usually only use the serum at night, but it does work well under makeup too, should you want to use it during the day.

The first night I used it, I did a double take over how much more plumped and firm my skin felt only a few minutes after application.  At 25, I think I still have fairly young skin, but I can't remember my skin ever feeling as firm, plump, and lifted as it's become since I started using this product.  In the beginning, this feeling would last until the morning and then my skin would seem back to normal, but once I hit about the 3 week mark, I noticed that my skin seemed to be retaining the extra moisture better and feels this way all day long.

The serum is also fantastic for fine lines.  Some of you may recall my struggle with the two small lines between my eyebrows, and Osmia's serum has made a real difference with them.  I've tried a few different products in the hopes of targeting this area, and this is the first one that's given real, visible results.  I know hyaluronic acid can sometimes reduce the appearance of lines just by plumping the surrounding area, but I think it goes beyond that, as the lines definitely seem shallower and less pronounced, even up to 24 hours after using the serum.  Makeup also sits better on this area and I've had less problems with it settling into the lines throughout the day.  

I've been using the sample once a day for about a month and I've still got a little left.  A full size retails for $55, and considering how potent the serum is and how far the sample alone has gone, it's something I do think I'll be purchasing in the future.  I'm so impressed with the results I've gotten from this product!  Osmia's Active Gel Nutrient Serum is a light serum that's equal parts gentle and effective, and I think it would suit a lot of different skin types.  

Ingredients: aloe barbadensis leaf juice*, glycerin*, camellia sinensis (white tea) extract*, calendula officinalis extract*, hydrolyzed rice protein, oat beta glucan, leuconostoc/arundinaria gigantea ferment filtrate, niacinamide (vitamin B3), sclerotium rolfsii gum, hydrolyzed oats, hyaluronic acid, proprietary blend of essential oils*.  
[*certified organic ingredient]