Green beauty and eco lifestyle blog
Hello Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here ???
How are all of you, I hope you are well? Today I am coming at you with a short and sweet review of Gallinee haircare. About three weeks ago Love Lula asked me if I would like to try some of their stuff for a review and I was like “sure!”. I put them immediately to the test and now I am ready to share my thoughts with you. Continue reading “Gallinee Prebiotic Probiotic Haircare Review [AD]”
Hello Lovelies,
Welcome back! And Welcome if you are new here ???
How are all of You, I hope You are well? Today I am coming at you with a post on natural and organic products that won’t break the bank – all available at one place, no less! Please step forward Love Lula! I have been meaning to do this post for a while now and I got requested to do so via Love Lula Natural Beauty Club on Facebook, so this post is for you, my lovely readers. Shall we get started?
Clean and natural beauty is the place to be, there’s no question on that, but at the same time it might be overwhelming place, and with so many new brands focusing on “luxe natural” (read = more expensive) products these days, one might make a quick assumption that green beauty is all expensive and out of reach for those of us on a budget. I certainly remember feeling this way at the start of my switch over a decade ago, when there were no online stores to order from (hard to believe, I know – even Love Lula didn’t exist back then) and the only organic face balm cleanser I could find had a price tag of more than 50€. Thankfully we all came a long way since, and I am here to help you find all the best natural stuff – without the hefty price tags! I have had a good long thinking session about it and here are my picks in all areas. Trust me, natural products can be done well even on a budget.
Bloomtown is a brand I discovered when I tested/judged for The Beauty Shortlist Awards last year and it was so good I had to come back and blog about it (here). Practically all the items in the range are well under 10£ and that price point pleases me so much. No palm oil and scents sooo good you just want to use this stuff over anything else you own. Contains perfume though, so it depends on your level of purity. I have a very sensitive skin and I’ve experienced no problems.
Another great budget brand to come to Love Lula recently(ish) is Ayumi – I wanted to know more as soon as I saw the products & I wrote my thoughts here and here. Not everything is at purist level natural, so I skipped skincare and went mainly for products that I can wash off – shampoos, scrubs, which the whole family enjoyed and have repurchased or oils, which are clean. And good. I will continue to use the line and trying new products, want to try Sandalwood body oil next.
Alteya Organics is a brand that hails from Thracian Kings Valley in Bulgaria, they grow their own roses and produce not only essential oils but also natural products infused with them. I loved what I have tried so far and I can definitely recommend. As this is a post on a budget products, I would go for their certified organic floral waters, my favourite are rose and chamomile ones (reviewed here) but there’s more to choose from and also their rosehip or jojoba face oils, again, certified organic – but without hefty price tag! Both really really good.
There was the time that I was absolutely dying to try Natura Siberica because I knew they used extracts of wildcrafted plants, so I was hoping they were budget ISUN skincare, but they are not. Most of the stuff is way too fragranced for me to handle, so now I only go for shampoos, washes and body scrubs, but if you have no issues with fragrance, please feel free to sample the whole range, practically everything is budget priced, with some exceptions of targeted skincare.
Neals Yard Remedies is a brand that has my respect for years, I have been a customer for the last five years if not more. Really good quality products with highly organic percentages, and the company does everything right in my mind. Anything that can be sustainable, is, anything that can be organic, is, anything that can be carbon free, is. I could go on, they were one of the firsts in the field, looong before it was trendy to care for the plants or the earth. While most of the products are not budget at all, I will admit to that, but may I bring your attention to their baby range, which is affordable and pure? And grab their hand cream while you are at it, I find them really good for the day time.
They do lots of different pure and organic single ingredient oils, hydrosols, butters and some ready made products too. All Ecocert certified, no less. Perfect if you are a purist – a lot of their products are under 10£, just pick and choose what you want or need. Another brand you might want to check out is Balm Balm?
Organii was launched as a personal care brand by Pravera, one of the UK’s leading distributors in the natural and organic skincare & cosmetics sector. The brand has a collection of 30+ products now including cream soaps, liquid soaps, shower gels, plasters, mouthwash, sun care, hand care, skin care and health care! Each product within the range is certified natural and organic; all the soaps and shower gels are ECOCERT1 certified, whilst the plasters carry the ICEA² logo. All products other than the plasters are also Certified Vegan. See full review here.
These seem to be the most cost effective ranges from Love Lula. I think that you can do a nice make up look with cheap cosmetics, taking care of the skin is way more important – so I would skimp on make up and spend on skincare. While I am yet to try loads from Benecos myself, my blogger friend Evelyn from We Were Raised By Wolves just reviewed their make up, see it here. I have a review on Lavera make up – see it here. My own personal make up is a right mix of higher end and budget products. Higher price does not necessarily mean good product, so pick from all price ranges and stick with what works. I am yet to trade my Alverde brow products for something more pricy, because it works and why would I pay more, right? Same with lip liners, but I am yet to find cheapie mascara that would work for me, I keep trying but I can’t win on this front for some strange reason.
Here’s what I would choose if I had to repurchase my stash all over again on a budget:
Body wash – Ayumi Sandalwood & Jojoba Soap 100g – £2.49
Body scrub – Ayumi Sandalwood Body Scrub 200ml – £6.99
Body oil –Bloomtown The Hedgerow Nourishing Dry Oil 100ml – £10
Body cream – Benecos Sea Buckthorn & Orange 150ml – £5.95
Shampoo – Ayumi Argan & Sandalwood Hair Shampoo 250ml – £6.99
Conditioner – sorry, no recs, I use hair oils instead.
Hair Oil – Ayumi Bio Active Growth Hair Oil 150ml – £8.99
Deodorant (sans soda) – Elsa’s Organic Skin Foods 45g – £12
Lip Balm – Hurraw Moon Balm 4.3g – £4.99
Face cream – choose according to your skin type please. My own skin is uber sensitive and dermatitis prone, so understandably I am too afraid to switch my skincare, especially knowing from experience I react to 95% of other products when I do. It takes weeks weeks to heal an outbreak, so please excuse me if I won’t embark on this journey much further. Heard good things about Laidbare though?
Face oil – Alteya Certified Organic Cold Pressed Rosehip Seed Oil 20ml – £8.75
Face/ Hair Mist – Alteya Organics Certified Organic Rose Water 100ml – £7.20
Perfume – Walden roll ons or Bloomtown roll ons 10ml – 4.80£
Etc – Organii Organic Cotton Patches (from 2.95£), Lyons Cotton Face Cloth (only 1.99£), Preserve Razors ( 9.95£),
*A few thoughts after posting – You can also collect points to get ££ off your next purchase, so make sure to create an account with them if you haven’t already. Also, watch the deals like a hawk (I know I do, it pays to follow me, lol!) as well as checking out their sale section frequently. They often have good sales on more expensive beauty products, but once they are gone, they are gone, so grab something you fancy fast. Another thing I would recommend you do is keeping an eye on this section here – you can get past beauty boxes for far much cheaper than the products are worth individually (with an added bonus of seeing what actually comes in the box), but once again, they go fast. Also remember Love Lula ships for free worldwide for all orders 15£ plus – so easily done!
And last, but least of my tips – maybe, just maybe you might want to subscribe to Love Lula Beauty Box? It is perfect if you love surprises and want to try lots of clean products at a fraction of the cost! I have been getting the boxes for the last two years and I can vouch for it, amazing value guaranteed on a consistent basis – July’s box is worth whopping 101£ – no kidding! The lowest I have seen is 49.95£ and they are working hard at making the selection the best possible, you can expect everything from skincare, body care, hair care, less frequently make up. You know those flimsy one use sachet samples? Not here! Well, very rarely – you are almost guaranteed 3-4 full size products every month. Want a sneak preview on many boxes to date? Check my posts on All Things Love Lula here 🙂
That’s it for today, thanks for reading! Please like and share my posts on social media, it really helps to get the green beauty word out – and you will forever have my gratitude!
Enjoy my content? A tip into my PayPal Tip Jar - will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to.
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome, if you are new here
How are you, I hope you are well? If you are looking for a Bloomtown products review, you are in the right place, let’s get started 🙂 Continue reading “Love Lula Picks & Reviews – June 2019 [AD]”
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
Continue reading “Ayan Review – Body Butter & Organic Rose Water [AD]”
Hello Lovelies,
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome xoxo
Continue reading “Chobs Review – Organic K-Beauty Korean Skincare [AD]”
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
How are all of you? I hope you are well? First of all, I want to say Thank You Love Lula – you must have read my mind and fulfilled my wishes before I even asked! Continue reading “Love Lula Picks & Reviews – May 2019 [AD]”
Hello Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED.
Now, if you follow me for at least a couple of months, you might remember me ordering Joy roller in my Love Lula blogger order back in February here, and putting all of the products into my Pinterest wishlist here – and guess what? The Universe has a strange ways of working, but I am happy to say that Amy reached out to me not too long after and asked if I would like some more products to try. Not only that, but she offered to pick the products for me by dowsing (don’t ask me, she is the expert). I was like “does one legged duck swim in circles? Yes please!”
So long story short, Amy picked the products she thought I need at this time based on my energy field – and boy, did she get it right! I am not an expert when it comes to all things aura/ energy field / flower and gemstone essences/ aura sprays, etc, but I am a believer – I think there’s not only our physical body, but also spiritual one and it is just as important to take care of both. It took me a very long time to realize this, but let’s leave it for another time and come back to the wonderful Nature’s Wish products. Let me just say that while all these products you see here were sent to me, I have full intentions to repurchase them with my own money. Not only that, I am sharing them with you – yep, there will be a mini giveaway at the end of this review, and this time it is international!
A bit about the brand and it’s founder:
Nature’s Wish is an award winning wellbeing and skincare company, offering a range of high quality products that are rich in vitamins, essential oils, flower and crystal essences. Each product is handmade in small batches to retain the quality and integrity of the essences.
Inspired by the profound effects that flower essences can have on a persons wellbeing, Amy Murphy-Watts founded Nature’s Wish in Hampshire in 2010. She is passionate about flower essences and their remarkable ability to be absorbed into your energetic system, as such she only uses natural and organic ingredients. Amy is a trained Bach flower practitioner and through her extensive learning and experience she now makes all her own flower essences. She places a lot of love, care and hard work into what she does and considers flower essences to hold a key part in helping to rebalance our own vibrational energy. Each of her combination essences have a particular purpose.
Combining the essences into sprays and beauty products enables you to get the benefits of the essences in many ways, Amy blends them into Face Oils, Roller Balls, Energy Sprays, Lip Balms and Body Oils. All the flower essences are made from plants grown in Amy’s garden or gathered on local walks in Hampshire, thus preserving the highest quality distinct imprint of the flowers. None of the products contain any chemicals, petroleum, palm oil, parabens or additives and is never tested on animals.
Stay tuned and let’s look at each of the products individually, shall we?
This wonderful product is probably my favourite from the whole lot – don’t ask me how it works, but it has the ability to silence my monkey brain within seconds! It is a blend of floral waters, essential oils, flower, crystal and environmental essences to cleanse and revitalise your natural energy field.
BENEFITS: A soothing blend to help calm when you are feeling overwhelmed or under pressure. Provides grounding and protection allowing you to feel strong and safe, enabling your aura energy to have a sense of inner peace. FLOWER ESSENCES: The Peace blend of Angel’s Trumpet, Daisy and Walnut. ESSENTIAL OILS: Palmarosa, Rose Otto and Grapefruit. FLORAL WATER: Rose Bulgarian.
I always have this within reach and am spraying it multiple times per day – and I make sure to take it with me to work on the weekends too. It comes in the 100ml glass bottle and I hope it never runs out!
Ingredients: Rose Floral Water Palmarosa Rose Grapefruit Angel's Trumpet flower essence in Brandy and Water Daisy flower essence in Brandy and Water Walnut flower essence in Brandy and Water
The description says it is a luxurious combination of natural and organic oils that are rich in vitamins, essential oils, flower essences and crystal essences.
BENEFITS: A relaxing blend to provide a feeling of calm in times of stress. Helps to centre and rebalance the mind and body. Aids connection of thoughts and information with patience and sensitivity. FLOWER ESSENCES: The Tranquility blend of Daisy, Impatiens, Lavender and Walnut. ESSENTIAL OILS: Neroli, Mandarin and Rose Otto.
This product is also very enjoyable to use and I don’t want to run out of it too! I find 100ml bottle gives me around 10 full body applications – and I am very generous when applying body oils, I am obsessed with them for the last year or so! I wish the scent was a bit stronger, but I appreciate that is is all natural and natural essential oils do not give you that in-your-face aroma some of you might want. I have to say I am yet to use it as a bath oil, I don’t want to waste it, so I keep using it as a body oil.
Ingredients: Grape Seed Oil Thistle Org Avocado Org Sunflower Oil Org Castor Oil Org Vitamin E Neroli Rose Mandarin Daisy flower essence in olive oil Impatiens flower essence in olive oil Lavender flower essence in olive oil Walnut flower essence in olive oil
Now, at this point I should probably tell you that all of the Nature’s Wish products are available on Love Lula* (sadly no more) except for the essences (this link above will take you directly to their website. No affiliation or sponsorship, purely for your convenience) As far as essences go, I haven’t tried too much, so I don’t have an extensive experience with them. I also didn’t know what I was going to get, so I wasn’t able to go and look up the product beforehand and get some preconceived thoughts about it, so when I did get the product, I decided to take the essence without looking at the description and to see where it goes. I have to say I was taken by surprise – my normal state of stress-head was instantly mellowed when I took this product, and the problems that seemed huge before definitely did seem on a lesser and more manageable degree. So this made me a believer – this is something you have to experience for yourself as flower and crystal essences are still outcast as the “witchy” “hippy” stuff, sadly so. This Tranquility essence is a mix of a few flower essences and is designed to help us ground back to the earth, bring calm to work the situation out, feel patient and connect with the inner self. It is also a great enabler in meditation.
Ingredients / Essences: Daisy: Helps to bring together scattered thoughts and information. It creates clarity and a calm mind. Enables us to connect our thoughts and information into a coherent patter. Very good as an aid with study to help focus the mind. Impatiens: For impatient and impulsive people. For those who like working their way, at their speed and are often critical of others who don't. Sudden temper outbursts, impatiens, irritability. By taking impatiens it brings a calmer nature, more patient and sensitive to others. Lavender: For those who over stretch themselves emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. Helps us to connect to our higher self, bringing spirituality into everyday life. It brings clarity, enabling us to hear our inner guidance. It relaxes those who over stimulate themselves. It also helps to protect those who absorb too much spiritual energy which can often result in difficulties in the head, neck and shoulders Walnut: For those who find it difficult to adapt to change. Very useful for major-life changes, teething, puberty, pregnancy, divorce, moving home or school, changing job, bereavement etc. For those who feel affected by other's influences and personality. It is also a good grounding essence and an all round protector.
Roller balls are a mix of different essences and essential oils in some type of carrier oil. They are convenient to carry around and apply on the pulse points as needed, you are meant to inhale them after application. The smell is faint but pleasant (again, this is not a perfume) and I find if used regularly, this centers my thoughts and makes me less stressed, so I guess you can say it gives me some joy if you will.
Ingredients: Flower Essences: Angel's Trumpet, Willow, Sweet Pea Crystal Essences: Rose Quartz Essential Oils: Bergamot, Lemon, Rose Geranium, Roman Chamomile, Ylang Ylang
Breakdown of what each of the ingredient and what it does:
Essential Oils:
Bergamot: Psychologically Bergamot has soothing, balancing and reviving qualities. It is a sunny essential oil, connected to the heart chakra, helping to relieve sadness, depression and grief.
The Bergamot we use is Bergapten-free – so less likely to be phototoxic and less likely to be a skin sensitiser.
Lemon: Lemon is uplifting, refreshing, reviving and stimulant. It helps to bring clarity to the mind and prevent emotional outbursts. As well as clearing the mind it can help to open the heart.
Rose Geranium: It helps to gently uplift and balance. It creates a feeling of security by helping to calm anxiety and bring about a sense of balance. Good to steady out moody swings.
Roman Chamomile: This is a deeply calming and balancing essential oil. It helps to create a feeling of relaxation.
Ylang Ylang: This is a very pleasant smelling oil with a delicate fragrance. It works as an antidepressant, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic and aphrodisiac.
Flower Essences:
Sweet Pea: For grounding in over crowded places, families or situations. To bring our thoughts back to the here and now, for those who escape to fantasy. Helps us to form connections with home and communities, for anti-social behaviour. To create a sense of belonging and connection with others. Good for those moving around.
Angels Trumpet: Heralding and welcoming in the angels. To break down inhibitions and self doubt. Good for those on spiritual journeys to connect to inner self and the angels. To feel inner peace, balance and calm. A beautiful essence.
Willow: For resentment and bitterness. For those blaming others and feeling hard done by ‘poor me’. Helps us to take responsibility and not blame others. Allows us to be more open and less resentful.
Crystal Essences:
Rose Quartz: Helps to release emotional stress, and helps with emotional problems such as negative self-image.
And now for the (mini) giveaway, the part you have been waiting for! If you want to win Nature’s Wish roller ball in Joy, all you have to do is to leave me a comment here – anything you want to say, simple “want” will do 🙂
The giveaway is open worldwide for one week, closing date is May 16 2019 and the winner will be live drawn in my Insta stories on 17 May.
That’s all for now, see you here next Tuesday 🙂
Enjoy my content? A tip into my PayPal Tip Jar - will get You my eternal gratitude and more awesome green beauty reviews Your way! I weed out all the greenwashing products so You won't have to.
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
Firstly, let me just say that Love Lula is the only subscription box I am getting, and I am really happy with it! I’ve been getting it for around a year and a half maybe, and I have to say they do a very good job at including a good variety of products, apart of a few tiny missteps of too many scrubs or face oils in a row, other products were a delight to discover, and I have to say I am looking forward to each new month in anticipation to what’s to come – Christmas or Birthday present for yourself each month, anyone? They ship worldwide, and the price is 14.95£ monthly recurring for UK customers, and for us international gals there are two options of three months (52.50£) or a year (210£) including post and packaging. Green beauty boxes are a great way to discover new items you might have missed otherwise, and I love that anything coming from LoveLula is cruelty free and guaranteed not to have any toxic ingredients – they have very strict criteria for any product they accept, and that is taking the guesswork off your shoulders. International boxes sometimes differ from the UK ones due to Love Lula not being able to ship nail polishes or perfumes.
Continue reading “Love Lula Beauty Box April 2019 & A (mini) Giveaway! [AD]”
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome if you are new here xoxo
How are you keeping? I hope you are all well?
If you follow me for any amount of time, you would know that Love Lula (sadly no more) is one of my absolutely favourite online shops – and for a good reason! Thousands and thousands of clean beauty products to choose from, natural skincare, hair care, body care, tools, make up – they have everything! I have been a satisfied customer for years and years before being accepted into their blogger family, and I am so happy to report that my experiences as customer Renata and blogger Renata are equally good! I always got what I ordered without a single mistake ever, all my queries were answered promptly and clearly, happy to say they have the best customer service ever and they treat everyone with respect. Continue reading “Love Lula Picks & Reviews – Hurraw, Alteya Organics, Kimberly Sayer, Natura Siberica, Organii [April 2019]”
Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And if you are new here, welcome xoxo
How are you doing? I hope life is treating you well?
Today’s post is going to be short and sweet, all about a lip balm I love. Please step forward, Bali Balms*! If you follow me for some time or any time at all, you know I am a proper lip balm addict! As you could imagine, I have tested dozens and dozens of them, but it does not mean I like every single one of them – far from it! It is one area where it takes a lot to impress me, formulating a good lip balm is much harder than you think. Most brands just melt some oils, waxes and butters together, and while it is a correct formula for a lip balm, it does not mean it is any good. What I want from my lip balm is for it to have all natural ingredients (obviously!), be nourishing and also protecting my lips from elements, and perhaps most important factor for me is that it should STAY on the lips for good amount of time, and that is exactly where most of the brands fail. I don’t want to reapply my lip balm every five minutes, thank you very much! So long story short, there are just a handful of lip balms I consider good ones, and it is even tougher for them to end up in my Holy Grail Products list.
![Gallinee Prebiotic Probiotic Haircare Review [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/galinee-haircare-1200x1200.jpg)
![Love Lula Picks & Reviews – June 2019 [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/bloomtown-collage-1200x1200.jpg)
![Ayan Review – Body Butter & Organic Rose Water [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/ayan3-1200x1200.jpg)
![Chobs Review – Organic K-Beauty Korean Skincare [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/chobs-collage-1200x1200.jpg)
![Love Lula Picks & Reviews – May 2019 [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/ayumi-1-1200x1200.jpg)
![Love Lula Beauty Box April 2019 & A (mini) Giveaway! [AD]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ll-box-april-1200x1200.jpg)
![Love Lula Picks & Reviews – Hurraw, Alteya Organics, Kimberly Sayer, Natura Siberica, Organii [April 2019]](https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ll-april-1200x1233.jpg)
