PHB Ethical Beauty

I've blogged previously about PHB Ethical Beauty's Moisturiser and Skins Restore Gel.  A few months ago I purchased their Extra Mild and Unscented Bath Salts and Gentle Face Mask.

The company is a family run business, which is great because it means you can send them an e-mail or tweet with your concern or skin type and they can respond telling you which products can help.

This is the bath salts. I've never used bath salts before and didn't really know what to expect. They obviously don't bubble up, and since they're unscented I assumed I just wouldn't even know they were there.  This wasn't true, as they made the bath feel oddly conditioning? I can't explain very well what I mean, but I could tell I wasn't just in plain water, and when I came out my skin felt all smooth, and not dry like it often does after a hot bath. I've also used the salts when my muscles are achy after working out, and they seemed to help my muscles relax and stop hurting much sooner than a bubble bath. I'm very impressed with these salts!

 

As with all PHB products, they're vegan, cruelty free, halal, handmade, and organic!!

I expected the face mask to smell like acovado, but it smelt very faintly of camellia and that's all. Still, I cleansed my face and smoothed it on. It felt lovely and cool, with a nice soft muddy texture. After 15 minutes it hadn't gone all hard or strange (I hate face masks that do, they feel so drying!) and came of with little effort and a warm flannel.  I use this about once a week, and it isn't drying on my skin or at all harsh.  The only thing you have to remember about face masks is that they draw out impurities, so it's not recommended to use one as a treat a day or two before an event, as you will very likely get one or two spots come up.  The great thing is with regular use you can see your skin becoming clearer, and the spots don't last long at all.

 You can see the nice smooth texture here, and the mask lasts ages as well without any need to store it safely in the fridge like some I've used.

Couldn't resist a quick mirror selfie to show you!

So there we go. PHB is one of the only brands who's products are yet to let me down.  Not only do they never irritate my skin, they actually do improve it! I know that sounds strange, but so many products just clean my skin without making it worse or better. Have you tried any of their range?

ScruffyChops and SpaMagik

Having recently acquired a new puppy, I went on the hunt for some cruelty free dog shampoo! ScruffyChops saw my plight on twitter, and were kind enough to send me some samples :)

 

Rhubarbarking mad shampoo, and muddy marvelous conditioner! Excuse the poor quality photos by the way, my camera battery died and I had to use my phone!

 Here is little Ned.  He's had an upset tummy and so was in need of a little bath!!! Poor chap. He wasn't smelling his best and his little coat had started to get a bit sticky and matted after a warm weekend playing in the garden. So we popped him in the tub and gave him a spring clean.

 Tah-dah! One clean dog, and he now smells amazing. The shampoo smells like rhubarb sweets and the conditioner smells like wonderful coconut. My boyfriend is extremely tempted to use them on his own hair, and I've never had dog shampoo that smells so great. I know it's good for him because it didn't irritate or dry out my hands as I washed him, and his coat is ridiculously fluffy and soft now!! He also smells like a sweet.

He of course set his lasers from 'stun' to 'kill' post bath...

But even he found himself good enough to eat! I wasn't worried at all about any residue being on his coat, as these cruelty free delights are 98% natural. Peace of mind for all dog owners who's little Scruffy ones need a bath from time to time!!

As for me, I've been using this little number from Dead Sea Spa Magik - the same company who make ScruffyChops!

 

I had used this product one summer as a child. I was really excited to find it again a few weeks ago. It smells so fresh and clean, although I can't compare the smell to anything else I know of, and it's packed with dead sea minerals!  My mum purchased one for us and one for my gran all those years ago, which was good as she suffered from psoriasis and this was the only shampoo I saw her use from then on.  

I myself suffer from non-fungal dandruff (sounds gross - basically, actual dandruff is a fungal infection that requires a medical scalp treatment. However, many of us just suffer from an irritated or  sensitive scalp) and this has basically cured it! My scalp feels fine and my hair is so soft. I haven't even used conditioner with it. I washed it a few hours before Ned's bath so you can see how clean it leaves your hair in that photo above, there's never any residue, on the contrary I find it quite a clarifying shampoo, but it's so soft and gentle I don't think you'd classify it as such. Plus for the first time in a while I can now wash my hair every two days instead of every other day, which is great news for my hair as it shouldn't actually be washed that often.

Does what it says on the tin...bottle... anyway, I highly recommend both products. Even though the dog shampoo was sent to me for free, I stand by what I say - I love both the people and puppy shampoos and I will certainly be purchasing more of both. 

I highly recommend the Dead Sea Magik Shampoo (also sold on Debanhams, John Lewis, Amazon...) for anyone with sensitive skin, greasy hair or scalp, or even normal or dry hair to be honest. Plus, I have bleached hair that's then been dyed brown with purple streaks underneath, and I can testify that this is fine for colour treated hair as far as I'm concerned :) Thumbs up all round (oops, sorry Ned. Paws up!)

Estelle & Thild Bergamot Body Wash - Gentle, limited chemicals

I purchased this a couple of months ago, for £13.80. I got mine off the lovelulawebsite.  I really wanted to try this, because it was created in Sweden by a woman who wanted gentle and organic hair and skin care for her daughters. The blurb says:

“They believe in gentle ingredients with proven positive effects and they always strive to use simple, pure compounds. Estelle & Thild avoid combining too many plant extracts to limit the risk of skin irritation. Their gentle products protect the skin’s natural balance and can be used even by people with extremely sensitive skin.”
 

Sounds exciting, and the packaging is gorgeous! 

Lovely packaging! 

 
However, I am a little bit disappointed.   The scent of this reminded me of Ciff - the stuff you use to clean your bathroom.  That’s not to say it’s not nice; I like it. It’s just not what I was expecting.  Then, the instructions say to use a little bit of it for a full body wash.  In my mind, this is a little bit:

Drop about the size of a 5p
I may as well just use water if that’s what I’m going to use, because I will get hardly any scent or foam.  You need to put quite a bit, and keep in mind it is pretty expensive, to get any kind of lather so that you feel as if you’re actually cleaning yourself with it. I’ve used it without a sponge and that worked even worse.  

On the whole, I don’t think I will be purchasing this again.  However, it didn’t irritate my skin and actually seemed quite mild and gentle as promised, so I might venture one day to try a couple of other stuff from their collection.  They do non-scented and children’s washes, so those with very sensitive skin may benefit from checking it out.

Have you tried any estelle & thild products? Let me know your thoughts!

Skin Blossom - organic and vegan :)

Reviewing Skin Blossom body wash

I’ve always had skin that becomes weirdly sensitive when it’s hot. Showers and baths can become irritating, so I’ve always tried to use nice, moisturising products.  Recently, I’ve become aware that my skin responds better the less chemicals I use!

Scouring (cleaning-themed pun!) the internet, I discovered skin blossom’s organic skin and hair care! www.skinblossom.co.uk

I purchased the “cleanse & nourish body wash” and it arrived today.

As you see, it’s also vegan friendly. Now, as well as being manly free from synthetic ingredients, it also doesn’t contain lavender!! Everything natural/organic I’ve tried so far has lavender in it, and it gives me a headache. That bottles’s unexpectedly large by the way, which was a nice surprise, and I love the pump-action. 

For me, smell and bubbles are my main look-out when I’m buying body wash. This one smells of oranges, with a hint of aloe vera. Citrus is supposed to be stimulating, so it’s a good one for the morning shower. The smell was a little unusual, I think because it’s not just a plain synthetic soapy-smell, but I didn’t dis-like it! The more I used it the more I enjoyed it.

My bubble test (What? All 24 year old women have bubble tests, don’t they?!) is to put some on a damp sponge and squeeze. After one pump, which delivers a pretty small drop, here are the bubbles:

Success! Luxurious bubbles that make you feel properly clean! What more could I ask for! 

Edit: Cris from Skin Blossom has been in touch! The orange smell was a little weaker then expected due to the oranges being organic. They have now made it a little stronger, so in the next few months there should be even more orangey goodness. Have you had a chance to try it yet?