Haircare: Surya Brasil Neutral Henna Powder

Henna has been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years and as you all know, is an extremely popular form of natural hair dye and temporary tattooing techniques however, I must have been the only girl in Ireland not to have dabbled in Henna during their teenage years. That all recently changed however when I was kindly sent a box of Surya Brasil Neutral Henna Powder to try out.

Pixy's Love Potions

I just came across these lovely hampers available from Pixy.ie to celebrate Valentines Day, and well, I just had to share them with you all - you never know you just may have some handsome suitor stalking your browsing history who just may take note and surprise you with a lil something! ;)

Pixy Rose Cleansing Mud

I recently wrote about Ireland's answer to Lush which you can read here; where I reviewed the Pixy Skin So Soft - Softening Body Oil and today I'm going to be showing you the Pixy Rose Cleansing Mud.

A cleansing mud I hear you say, isn't that a bit of an oxy-moron, how can a mud possibly cleanse your skin and make it cleaner?!

Orange You Glad You Met Me?

With the cold snap we're having at the minute, you may find that the cold weather takes its toll on your skin. One area I find that gets affected by the winter wind in particular are my lips, so I always try to carry around a good, nourishing lip balm at all times to keep chapped lips at bay.

So it was with perfect timing that I came across You Organic Skincare - an indie, natural cosmetics company based in Dublin and founded by Ursula Elmes a practicing Acupuncturist and holistic Skin Therapist who decided to start up her own natural skincare company after suffering a dermatological reaction whilst using a well known brands product.

I've been using the signature scented Orange & Mandarin Lip Balm and it has now replaced my normal "go to" Body Shop lip balms.

The You Organic Orange & Mandarin Lip Balm comes in a sturdy little metal tin with a slide off lid.

The Orange & Mandarin scent is deliciously fruity and zesty without being overpowering. It's a lovely pick-me-up first thing in the morning when applying to your lips to leave them soft and smooth.

The tin contains 7mls of product and a little goes a long way as it's concentrated. One thing I really like about this lip balm is the fact that it's not sticky or greasy, so it doesn't leave an oily residue.

INGREDIENTS 

*Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao), *Almond Oil (Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis), *Beeswax (Cera Alba) 

ESSENTIAL OILS: *Mandarin (Citrus Reticulata), *Grapefruit (Citrus Paradisi), *Orange ( Citrus Sinensis), *Lime (Citrus Aurantifolia), *Lavender (Lavendula Augustifolia) *Spearmint (Mentha Spicata).

FREE FROM: SLS, Artificial fragrance, Mineral Oils, Animal Testing

The You Organic Orange & Mandarin Lip Balm is well priced at €5.50 and this includes FREE delivery worldwide - as with all the products available from http://www.youorganicskincare.com

Pixy Skin So Soft - Softening Body Oil

Hi Guys! :)

There's a new contender in the Irish Beauty scene, a brand which I recently came across and instantly fell in love with their ethos and branding. They're called Pixy and they are a natural skincare company based in Ireland, well Cork, to be precise :)

Pixy first came to my attention on the Dragons Den, whilst they made a great pitch and even got offers from two Dragons (Norah Casey and Gavin Duffy) they left without any money - however since then, they have been growing from strength to strength and now have a beautiful, easy to navigate website and a good selection of products on offer.

"Pixy natural skincare product range is made in Ireland for you from pure natural ingredients. Pixy cosmetics is fun and very affordable with fizzing bath bombs, soaps and vibrant shower gels in our soaps, gels and spells and our lotions and potions create sheer indulgence leaving your skin glowing and renewed.

We use nature’s best in all our beauty products including moisturising unrefined shea butter and healing vitamin E oil to leave your skin soft and supple. We use essential oils, for their amazing fragrance some energise you, others bring you back in harmony to calm you and soothe away the stress. On top of all that we’ve made it affordable so everyone can join in!"

I've been trying out their Softening Body Oil for the past week now and I have to say I've been really impressed.

The presentation is fantastic - it comes in a delightfully petite glass bottle with a secure plastic stopper and metal catch. It looks like a real artisan and handcrafted product - very eye catching indeed! It comes in at 40ml and is well priced at just €7.99.

See how intricate and detailed the bottle is? There's even a small handle too! :)

Ingredients:

Softening Jojoba oil, evening primrose oil, apricot oil, borage seed oil, jasmine fragrance, magnolia fragrance, optiphen preservative (phenoxyethanol, caprylyl glycol).

Directions:

Warm one teaspoon of oil in your hands. Gently massage onto skin using soft circular movements. Should irritation occur stop use immediately.

Softening Body Oil penetrates your skin to nourish and protect it and fights against the loss of elasticity with jojoba, apricot and borage seed oils. Sensuous jasmine and magnolia fragrances complete the experience.

The oil smells wonderful - a lovely light, floral scent which isn't overpowering and is very delicate and sensuous.

The oil itself is very light and non-greasy. I hate heavy oils that leave a greasy film after application - who has time to wait around in the mornings before getting dressed to allow oil to fully absorb? This oil sinks into the skin to leave it feeling nourished and moisturised and doesn't feel greasy or sticky.

I've noticed a definite softening effect of my skin since I started using it. You only need a tiny amount - 5ml or thereabouts, so you should in theory, get around 8 uses out of each bottle.

I've also started using this as a cuticle oil and it's been working wonders keeping them from drying out and best of all, it doesn't leave a greasy residue on your hands afterwards either.

I've also found this oil to be great for use as a post-shaving treatment  - it leaves your legs feeling soft and silky smooth.

In addition to all of these beauty treats, I've also been hearing very interesting feedback that this Softening Body Oil is supposed to be very good for those with eczema - which is a skin condition that unfortunately can be very hard to treat and clear up in some cases.

I have a friend who suffers quite badly from eczema so I'll definitely be giving her a bottle of this to try out and see how she gets on. It's not billed as an oil to treat eczema but the feedback I've been getting sounds fantastic, so I can't wait to see how she gets on with it also.

You can get Pixy products from here: http://www.pixy.ie/

They currently offer free shipping in Ireland on all orders over €50, and if you sign up to their newsletter you can also get an additional 10% off your next order!

Alternatively, you can pick up Pixy products from stockists all over the country - see here for more details;

http://www.pixy.ie/pixy-stockist

I've been eyeing up all manner of potions and lotions on their site, everything sounds delicious, almost good enough to eat! This is definitely a brand to keep an eye out for - I would even go as far to say that they are Ireland's answer to Lush - high praise indeed!

Have you tried any Pixy products before? Got any favourites in particular?

EcoTools Collection

Hi all,

So in my quest to bring you the best in makeup brushes the beauty world have to offer, I'm pleased to show you the latest collection of EcoTools.

These are good quality brushes which are very reasonable - and even better they're stocked in Boots around the country, so they're very accessible - no need to order online and having to pay shipping, customs etc... which can really add to the price of your online purchases.

From EcoTools;

"The iconic look of the sleek bamboo, gorgeous recycled aluminum and incredibly soft bristles are only part of what makes EcoTools, EcoTools.

Our cosmetic brushes are beautiful and show respect for the earth. They are 100% cruelty-free, have incredibly soft bristles made of synthetic taklon and have handles made of bamboo and recycled aluminum ferrules."

Earth friendly, good quality, and affordable pricing, what more could you ask for in brushes? Beauty without the guilt! :)