Naturalla Beauty

It's taken me a couple weeks to get to it, but I was tagged by Nicole of EcoChicBeautyDiva to do the Green Beauty Characters Tag, originally created by Sonya of Life in Blush.  Here goes nothing!

Photo courtesy of NatuRia Beauty

1. On my nightstand you’ll find: I'm not using a nightstand right now, so these things are scattered around my room instead, but if I were, it would have a mug of water, lip balm, a couple essential oils, hand cream, and rosehip seed oil (which I like to mix into the hand cream.)


2. The literary character I’m most like is (take this quiz and share your answer!): Hermione from Harry Potter, apparently.  "You are smart, witty, and love a challenge. You use rationality and reason in all things. You are measured and stable and you don't let people push you around."


3. I’m currently obsessed with: Holiday shopping, finding the perfect bronzer, figuring out life things.


4. My favourite superhero is: Wolverine!  You can't really go wrong with Hugh Jackman, can you?


5. Favourite beauty product of 2013: It's a toss up between Une's Skin Glow Pencil and my beloved face oils.


6. If I could have dinner with anyone dead or alive it would be: I'm drawing a blank here, so I'm going to pass.  Will have to update this when I think of someone!


7. Winter is coming – how do you prep your skin for battle? I've been slathering on extra oils and topping it off with a cream moisturizer or balm when necessary.  I've also been extra diligent about dry brushing pre-shower.  


8. My perfect date night makeup consists of: Some kind of shimmery neutral eye and a soft (sheer) red lip.


9. My go-to skin-beautifying snack/drink is: Staying hydrated in general, but more specifically drinking coconut water.  My skin is visibly glowier when I drink it regularly!


10. My TV boyfriend is: Not sure anyone more recent qualifies, so let's stick with an oldie but a goodie: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


11. If my evening clutch could only hold one beauty item it would be: Either lip balm or whatever else is on my lips.


12. One beauty tip I would pass on to my real/fictional daughter: Good skin comes from the inside out.  Do the basics: stay healthy, eat well, drink lots of water, etc. and your skin will reap the benefits.


13. The most nostalgic item from my childhood: I still have a couple dresses from when I was small.  Just because.


14. My favourite TV show of the moment is: This one is harder than it should be!  There are a few shows I keep up with, but I'm not really LOVING any of them just now.  


15. My favourite quote is: I'm really struggling over all the absolutes in this tag! I don't know if this is my most favorite quote ever, but it's one I like: 

Instead of tagging anyone specific, I'll just leave this open to anyone who wants to join in.  If you do, make sure to link your post in the comments so I can read it!

Nürish Organics is a local-to-me skincare line, based right here in Toronto.  The line was created to provide effective skincare that could perform deep restoration on damaged, sensitive skin and the company's formulations use natural (and mainly organic) ingredients to encourage and enhance the body's own healing mechanisms.  I've been trying out a few products from the line and I'm eager to share them with you, starting with the scrub.  Scrubs are probably my favorite skincare item, so you can imagine my excitement at trying a product named Best Scrub Ever.



Best Scrub Ever looks like an unimposing cream, but it's made with alumina oxide crystals - the same crystals that are used in clinical microdermabrasion treatments.  The crystals are completely smooth, which eliminates the risk of scratches or microtears that can occur with many other manual exfoliants.  Adrianne, Nürish's founder, cautioned me against overusing the scrub - in terms of frequency and hardness of scrubbing - and both have proven to be apt advice.  The microdermabrasion crystals are super fine and even though the scrub feels gentle as you're using it, once washed off, it's clear just how intense of an exfoliation treatment Best Scrub Ever really is.  My skin can be sensitive and I imagine it would be easy to overdo it, so I've been limiting my use of the scrub to about once a week.  I'm also careful how much pressure I use when massaging the product on my face.

Considering its intensity, it's worth noting that I've experienced absolutely no irritation since I've been using this product.  Other scrubs can sometimes leave my face feeling stripped or even raw, but that's never been the case here.  Best Scrub Ever is packed with nourishing ingredients like soothing shea and cupuacu butters and healing tamanu and avocado oils, and it really does achieve that perfect balance between efficacy and comfort.  It also smells fresh and minty and leaves your skin with a slight tingle, even after rinsing the product off.   


Bottom Line
Best Scrub Ever definitely has me impressed!  It's a beautifully formulated scrub that's effective but never harsh and I'm confident it would suit almost all skin types.  If you like more intense exfoliation or scrubs that you can tell are really working, this is definitely a product worth looking into!

Have you used anything from Nürish Organics?  Stay tuned over the next couple weeks for my thoughts on a couple other products I've been trying out.

Where to Buy: $53 from Nürish/Saffron Rouge.  

Ingredients: Purified Water, Alumina Oxide Crystals, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Cetearyl Olivate (and) Sorbitan Olivate*, Theobroma Grandiflorum (Cupuacu) Butter*, Soy Lecithin, Ricinus Communis (Castor) Oil*, Tocopherol, Calophyllum Inophyllum (Tamanu) Oil*, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil*, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Seed Oil*, Rubus Fruticosus (Blackberry) Seed Oil*, Sclerotium Gum, Mentha Arvensis (Cornmint) Oil*, Hedychium Spicatum (Ginger Lily) Oil*, Copaifera Officinalis (Copaiba) Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid. (*Denotes Organic Ingredient)



Disclosure: Product provided for review.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review in return for free product, nor was I compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.

With so many amazing products out there, it can sometimes be nice to try a sample before committing to a full-size.  That's why I was so excited to realize that Fresh Faced has started selling samples!  (Or maybe they've always sold them and I just never noticed?)  While doing some late night gift shopping, I decided to pick up a few tiny goodies for myself as well.


Here's what I chose:
Kahina Antioxidant Mask
May Lindstrom The Problem Solver 
May Lindstrom The Clean Dirt
Stark Green Tea Mask
Yarok Styling Whip
One Love Organics Vitamin B Cleansing Oil
One Love Organics Vitamin E Eye Balm
One Love Organics Morning Glory Brightening Complexion Booster
One Love Organics Supercritical Chia Oil
Ilia Lipstick in In My Room
Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner in Nobody's Baby
Vapour Lipstick in Possess

Fresh Faced also generously threw in a few extra samples (not pictured):
Rahua Shampoo & Conditioner
Kahina Eye Serum
Kahina FEZ Body Serum

A lot of new-to-me brands in this pile and I'm excited to get to try everything out.  I've been really into face masks lately, so it'll be fun to test out a couple new ones.  I'm also extra stoked to try the Kahina samples, as I've already fallen hard for their cleanser (more on that very soon!)  

Have you used any of these products?  Do you like samples or are you more of a straight-to-the-full-size kind of person?  

Acure's shampoos and conditioners have gotten a lot of hype in the green beauty community, but one product that I haven't seen talked about all that much is their Leave-In Conditioner.  Fellow curly girls will especially understand just how much of a bane second day hair can be - no matter how perfect my hair is when it's freshly washed, by the next day, after sleeping on it, it's nowhere near the same.  Brushing it only makes it worse and it's just not practical to re-wet my entire head, but I haven't found a product that actually works to refresh second day curls.  Until now...



Spraying the conditioner directly onto my hair does very little, so I prefer to spritz it into my hand and then re-scrunch my (dry) hair.  Used this way, my curls are redefined with minimal frizz, and my hair look ALMOST as good as day one, freshly washed hair.  The spray is not at all heavy or oily like some other leave-ins.  Instead, it just imparts a very light dose of moisture.  If you're looking for something heavier, this might not be the product for you, but I like that you can go to town, use a good amount of product, and not have to worry about ending up looking like a total greaseball. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that my first impressions of this product were not very favourable.  I used it once or twice without noticing any difference, hated the smell, and despondently added it to my small pile of products to give away.  As it turns out, I couldn't quite bring myself to get rid of it, and many months later I pulled it out and decided to give it another try.  For round two, I figured out how to make the product work in my hair, but the smell is still not a favorite.  It's a lot heavier and more herbal than the bright lemongrass scents I'm used to, and I just don't love it.  It also lingers, so I'll catch fairly strong whiffs of it throughout the day.  It's kind of a hit-or-miss thing for me - some days I'm okay with the smell, while others it drives me crazy and I can't wait to jump in the shower and wash it out.  Bear in mind that if you're less sensitive (and/or fussy) about smells, this may be a moot point.

The Bottom Line
I love how well Acure's Leave-in Conditioner works as a curl-refresher, but I wish it smelled different! As it stands now, the smell takes this product from something I'd use daily and happily repurchase to something I cautiously use on occasion and likely would not buy again.

Where to Buy: $7.73 from Vitacost, 8.62 from iherb, $9.99 from Acure.

How much does smell factor in when you're choosing products?  And, if you have any amazing tips for second-day hair, I'd love to hear them too!



Disclosure: Post contains affiliate links.

In addition to the Hydrating Cream Cleanser, I've also been trying out Amala's Brightening Toning Essence over the last several weeks.  Toner is often an underrated step, but it's one that I've found can make a big difference to your skin.  Formulated with narcissus, algae extract from Norwegian kelp, and seven alpine herbs, Amala's toner is packed with active ingredients to balance the skin's pH and refresh and revive dull skin, while simultaneously improving and brightening uneven skin tone.  Narcissus and algae extract have been shown to slow down melanin production, helping to prevent future dark spots, while the seven alpine herbs (mallow, peppermint, cowslip, lady's mantle, veronica, yarrow, and melissa) work together to diminish the appearance of any dark spots or discoloration that you may already have.  

The toning essence comes in a pretty glass spray bottle, giving you the option to either spray it onto a cotton pad or directly onto your face.  It has a subtle scent of rosewater, but it's light enough that, even with my usual aversion towards florals, I'm not bothered in the slightest.  With glycerin as the second ingredient,  I was initially concerned my face would be left feeling sticky, but that isn't the case at all.  The toner is very light in texture and leaves my skin feeling refreshed, smooth, and ready for the next step in my routine.  

The brightening effect is immediate and my skin is visibly more radiant throughout the day.  I have a few dark spots left over from old acne breakouts and I've also noticed they are slightly lighter since incorporating the toner into my routine.  I imagine you could further boost its efficacy, in this regard, by using it in combination with other products from Amala's Brightening line. The Intensive Brightening Mask, Advanced Brightening Emulsion and Brightening Corrective Concentrate all use similar herbs and active ingredients, in what I would expect to be more concentrated formulations.  

Where to Buy: $56 from Spirit Beauty Lounge/Amala

Ingredients: Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Water*, Zinc PCA, Alcohol*, Narcissus Tazetta Extract*, Narcissus Tazetta Bulb Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum (Brown Alga) Extract, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Extract*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract*, Primula Veris (Cowslip) Extract*, Alchemilla Vulgaris (Lady's Mantle) Extract*, Veronica Officinalis (Heath Speedwell) Extract*, Melissa Officinalis (Lemon Balm) Leaf Extract*, Achillea Millefolium (Yarrow) Extract*, Hydrolyzed Wheat Flour, Bellis Perennis (Daisy) Flower Extract*,  Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Ribes Rubrum (Currant) Juice*, Buddleja Davidii (Summer Lilac) Extract*, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Extract*, Xanthan Gum, Fragrance (Parfum), Rosa Damascena Flower Oil*, Helichrysum Italicum Extract*, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool   (*Ingredient Produced By Organic Farming)


Disclosure: Product provided for review.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review in return for free product, nor was I compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.  Post contains affiliate links.