Beauty Products I Am Using At The Moment (pre-reviews)

I'm thinking of making this a regular "series" on my blog and basically what it will be is me sharing some of the natural beauty products I am currently using, including make-up, hair care, skincare, etc and my feeling about them, they will not be full reviews or apart of the regret buying category but they will be just my impressions of the product thus far where I haven't used it enough to do a  full review and have a decisive opinion, but it will provide my experience using the product and it will give an idea to anyone who is interested in buying it, some of my thoughts on the product before the full review.

So this is like a pre-review to the actual reviews, which just shows the direction of where my thoughts and opinions on the products are going.  I hope this will be helpful until actual reviews on these products come :)

1) A'kin hand, nail & cuticle treament 2) acure organics sensitive facial cream 3) triology vital moisturising cream 4) beauty without cruelty leave-in conditioner 5) Burt's bees ultimate care hand cream 

1) A'kin Intensive unscented  hand, nail & cuticle treament hand cream

I didn't get this too long ago and I put it in a haul blog post here. I know that I like this but I don't think I love it and I did expect more from it as it claims to be intensive, so maybe for dry skin but for my extremely dry skin it just doesn't cut it on its own for me. I like that it is unscented, but yeah I'm not impressed and the normal price for this is way more than what it should be!!!

2) Acure Organics argan oil + probiotic sensitive facial cream 

I got this in my May iherb haul here.Not too sure about this recently, sometimes I feel like it doesn't give enough moisture for my skin ,but I do love the texture of it. I don't know if it's maybe because this winter has been the most dry my skin has ever been, so maybe it's more for my dry skin in summer or spring? not too sure. I do like it, I just haven't decided how much I like it yet, I do wish they would have out more of the product in the tube, too be fair you don't need a lot at all, but still they were a bit stingy with the product.

3) Trilogy vital moisturising cream 

I do like this actually a lot, but I think it has phenoxyethanol in it but I didn't know cause I bought it with the antioxidant+ rose hip oil and it was like a free gift, anyway it didn't have the ingredients list on it (which is annoying). I try not to use phenoxyethanol for the most part, I accept it more in hand creams only because my skin is very bad on my hands so I have to make exceptions. Aside from that ingredient the price on the full size is ridiculous, yes you don't have to use it a lot but still it wont last long, it seems too overpriced to me. For my dry skin so far it's pretty good not perfect though, I get better results when I use rosehip oil underneath it. Not sure about the smell, rosey weird smell.

4) BWC  leave- in conditioner

I've actually had this for a while and I just like to use it on damp hair before I dry it cause it is suppose to be a heat protectant but how do you really know if it's working? it smoothes my hair though and tames  frizz a little so I like to use it. Yeah again not to sure, I don't think it is amazing but it is easy to use but visible benefits are minimal so far.

5) Burt's Bees ulitimate care hand cream

I got this from a burt's bees grab bag haul here. This does say it's for extremely dry skin, which is what I have but I'm not convinced it is, I think for dry skin yes but extremely dry not too sure. Again I use this with other products because it isn't enough by itself. I've actually really used a lot of it which is strange considering I haven't had it for very long and it hasn't even been my primary hand cream. I've noticed that a lot of product comes out by accident but it still doesn't do enough even when I use a lot. I mean it's good but it terms of what it's use is for (extremely dry hands) then it just isn't enough and wont last very long either.

6) badger beauty balm 7) nourish nighttime moisturizer 8) Toothsoap in pepperwhip and peppermint gel 9) soapwalla deodorant cream 

6) Badger Company damacus rose beauty balm

This is from my big iherb haul at the start of the year haul here. This was in one of my monthly favourites but I do have some mixed feelings because I have been using it on and off for months and months and I have not noticed any diminish in the appearance of my fine lines underneath my eyes which is very disappointing, so I don't know if it's just not working or maybe it needs more time or maybe I need to use it more often, not sure. As for moisturising it's pretty good. 

7) Nourish Acai berry & seabuckthorn nighttime renewal face moisturizer 

I've actually had this for a long while and I like but again not fully sure about, first thing I love is that it is usda organic and the texture is amazing it's like a moussey light texture, I'm not too sure how to explain it but it feels very luxurious. Anyway it terms of moisture it is good, maybe not as much as I need but close, though the smell isn't bad  it is very, very strong like it really hits you and it stays for a while.

8) Toothsoap (whip & gel)

These are in a few of my iherb hauls/orders because I get 1 or 2 almost every order  (haul here and here). There is no doubt in my mind about how much I love this product and how much I recommend it, I actually really want to try the liquid version of the toothsoap only difference is that it doesn't have coral calcium (which is in the whip version) and Himalayan crystal salt (in the whip and gel version), and I really want to try the liquid to compare and mix it up with the other kinds and just have variety. Seriously I can't wait to do a review on this but basically it will just be a complete rave post because it is amazing and I love it. Pricey yes but worth it, this is the only natural product that I have found that I can honestly say it  is a holy grail and I don't see myself changing brands ever.

9) Soapwalla deodorant

I've been using this since I got it in small haul from  floraorganica.com.au,  haul here. I have been using this for a while but I cannot yet do a review on it because I have some mixed feelings about it as well as I wanted to see how it holds up in summer. So far I would say it is the best natural  deodorant I have tried, it isn't perfect though. I get rashes and irritated underneath my arms if use it too many days in a row (which is a problem) I have to make sure I wash it off otherwise it is really bad for  my underarms. I have to make sure to moisturise my underarms with shea butter to soothe the area, I can go a few days with using it and be fine and then I will notice I feel a little irritated so yes I am undecided so far. I'm trying very hard to make it work cause it isn't a perfect deodorant but it is the best I've found ingredient wise and performance wise in the natural deodorant arena.

iherb haul #4

I know that I have a problem, I buy from iherb way too often and I need to stop so this one will best the last iherb haul for a while, since unfortunately the Australian dollar isn't doing very good so I had to pay quite a bit extra :( Anyhoo on with the haul :)

Some of the products I got from iherb :)

inspiredwellbeing.com haul

Last week I put my first order in to
www.inspiredwellbeing.com, I have been eyeing the website for a while because I have been curious to try couleur caramel which is suppose to be a natural cosmetic brand, to my standards I don't consider them completely natural- I consider them to be a less toxic brand then other brands such as Revlon or L'oreal, so they are absolutely more natural than those kinds of brands but not the best- that's for sure.

So couleur caramel is very expensive here but on the inspierdwellbeing.com website they are much, much cheaper so I ordered a few things to try out as well as a few skin and hair products.

A'kin Unscented Intensive Hand Nail & Cuticle Treatment 75ml x2  $10 each on special 
Well I ordered 2 of these because that was the limit and I go through hand cream so fast and I loved that it was the intensive treatment and unscented, unfortunately I was only given 1 of this and then accidentally they put a different type of A'kin hand treatment in, a lavender one which isn't unscented or intensive. I emailed them about it and they have no more left and said that they cannot send it to me when they get it in for that price. So my options were to send it back, and it sounded like he expected me to pay for shipping and they would refund me the $10, so I would have to pay for their mistake and not even have much money left over from the $10 refund since I was expected to pay for shipping, no thank you, I've decided to keep it and even though I don't like lavender so I hope it's not too strong.



Alchemy Conditioner Macadamia & Wheat Protein Treatment 225ml $10
This was on special too so I wanted to try it, I was interested that the macadamia's were cold pressed and it sounded good. I still haven't found an amazing conditioner so I don't think it exists but maybe it's this?

Top Left: 80 Matt Cocoa  Top Right: 43 Pearly White  Bottom: Concealer sample in "light sandy beige" 

Left to Right; 80 Matt Cocoa, 43 Pearly White and Light Sandy Beige Concealer

Couleur Caramel eyeshadow " 80 Matt Cocoa"  $5.95

 A very warm toned brown, a bit of a purple- red undertone. Nicely pigmented but wouldn't have spent $6 had I known it contained talc, which is same with the pearly ivory and I assume their whole range of eyeshadows. In the picture the matt cocoa shows up more like a burnt orange but in person it isn't, it's more brown with some purple/red to it.

Couleur Caramel Eyeshadow  Sample "43 Pearly Ivory " $2.95

Well I assumed that the sample size would be smaller than the non-sample size but it is not,  I emailed inspiredwellbeing to ask what the difference is and why I paid double for the exact same size? They said the sample and non-sample are the same size but the packaging is different- now maybe I was given the wrong thing but the package to the pearly ivory and matt cocoa are exactly the same, so I might have paid double for no reason or there was a mistake- not sure. I decided not to email back cause to be honest I find it unlikely that I will buy these eyeshadows again since they are claimed to be "natural" by Couleur Caramel  but contain talc which I didn't know when I bought them.

 The colour is a very shimmery off white colour- maybe a pale cream colour, very pretty highlight colour.

Couleur Caramel Concealer Sample "light sandy beige" $4.50

Very yellow toned- which I am not. I might have to add this to my August blog sale. The texture feels ok maybe leaning towards the dry side, not too sure about this.

Top: Eyebrow pencil in blonde      Middle: Beige    Bottom: Chocolate Brown

Sorry about the crappy picture!!!!! from left to right; Beige, Chocolate brown and eyebrow pencil in blonde. Note that the chocolate brown colour in the picture isn't as burnt orange looking.

Couleur Caramel eyebrow pencil $6.95 Blonde 12122
Nice colour, very hard though like the eyeliners, a more neutral-ish cooler toned brow pencil finally since they always seem to be so warm which doesn't suit me. Not sure how this will go though, I might do a review.

Couleur caramel eye & Lip Pencil $5.60 in "12111 Beige"  and " 12110 Chocolate Brown " 

I don't know in what world the "beige" colour would be actually considered as a beige cause to me it looks like a light-medium brown, and looks nothing like the picture on the couleur caramel website so that was very disappointing. The chocolate brown colour has a very warm undertone which I expected but it's very red undertone which I wasn't crazy about. These are very hard though, I don't know if I can use them for my eye because they are very hard and I'm afraid I will hurt myself so to be honest I regret buying them- very disappointing.

Natralia Nourish NatureColour in Almond Blonde 8N + Shampoo 

Natralia Nourish NatureColour Almond Blonde 8N + shampoo $16.95
So I think this brand is discontinued, well at least it was from Priceline according to a lady there.  I saw the colour and thought it was really nice, I've never tried a more natural  hair colour brand. I have a rule not to go blonde at home, I usually go to the hairdressers but I decided to break my own rule and hope that I don't regret it. This could be a very big mistake but I hope it turns out good, I will probably colour my hair in September so after winter, I love that it has an expiry date so that's great.

I might sell the shampoo in my August blog sale because it says it's for golden highlights and I prefer purple shampoos to tone down brassiness.




All in all I am not very happy with this haul, I am disappointed with many things in it, so far I don't really recommend couleur caramel but I will give it a proper go and see, but yeah overpriced in Australia, I can't believe it is so cheap on this website compared to the recommend retail price so if you are interested check out there website.