souksouk - Brits do skincare??

Firstly, sorry about the photo quality. I took the photos in my bedroom and they look like I'm trying to use a sepia filter and I wasn't, it was my terrible bedroom lighting.

This is the first time I've ordered from souksouk which sells organic/natural skin care products. I ordered a mix box for normal skin at £20 and I got quite a few products, the majority having a really fresh citrus/rose/herb scent to them.

Conscious skincare body lotion and body wash - made in Britain with a strong scent of grapefruit and cedarwood (because they contain grapefruit and cedarwood essential oils) these products both have a lovely rich texture and the body lotion soaks in quickly leaving your skin smooth and soft.

Sranrom 'Calm Down' hand cream - contains so many strong fragrances it's hard to identify them all ... so I cheated and read the label. A massive mixture including spearmint, lemongrass, licorice and kaffir lime so its full of fragrance and leaves your hands feeling lovely and soft.

Micosalud Mico-Serum - they recommend you use this twice a day but who has the time to do that? There wasn't much information on the small sachets I received but I found this 'The serum contains highly concentrated extracts of organic mushrooms, chosen for their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties' plus extra info about the products here. I'm not sure how I feel about rubbing fungus into my face but if it gets rid of my 'fine lines' it's worth a go!

BalmBalm lip balm - imaginative product title! This is a balm that can be used on your lips or any dry patches. Multi-use products are so in right now ... well we are in a recession! HAHA This company actually sells loads of different products including candles. This is the full size Tea Tree balm containing shea butter, sunflower, beeswax, jojoba, calendula & tea tree essential oil. Smooths onto the lips nicely, good softening feeling and not overly scented.

 Dr Alkaitis Organic soothing gel, eye cream and facial cleanser samples - all three samples have a very woody smell to them which is probably the wild chamomile and other herbs contained in the products. The facial cleanser is a bit on the murky brown side, reminds me of the sea at Great Yarmouth ... yuck. The soothing 'gel' is actually liquid so maybe that needs to go in the fridge to solidify? Currently these aren't hitting high on my rating scale.


Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo and Conditioner - these are both full on scents again with peppermint and rosemary shining through the mix. Apparently these hair products do everything you could ever wish for 'anti-aging, antioxidant, rich, volumising, super smooth, non-frizzy, scalp and hair nourishing with colour protection'! Blimey, if this shampoo and conditioner can do all that I'll pay the £18 each for full sized ones! FYI the travel size (which is what I received) costs £9 each on the Intelligent Nutrients website!

There was another shampoo in the box of goodies but it was such a sh*tty looking half filled tube I won't review it.

Bloom Remedies Daily Balance Face Cream - handmade in Cornwall and contains Sweet Orange, Geranium and Rose. This cream smells gorgeous but then I've always loved the scent of rose water. Gorgeous thick cream which I would probably use as a night cream because the soothing fragrance would make me nod off in no time.

Mel Millis Mist Tonic Neroli Hydrolate - this mist is meant to be used as an energy boost for the face, 'Neroli Has Both A Rejuvenating And Regenerative Effect On The Skin. It Promotes The Generation Of New Cells, Stimulating Those Already Present And Protecting The Epidermis From Extrinsic Factors'. There website is full of technical terms but it all sounds amazing. I'm not sure if it's the mist tonic or the rather forceful spray in the face but it feels fresh.

Freshness of the Morning Antioxidant facial mask - '100% natural exfoliating and detoxifying mask that provides a gentle ex-foliation to reveal a clearer, younger and brighter complexion. Works by targeting age spots and reduces the appearance of fine lines.' I haven't tried this product yet but wanted to add some information about it as they advise you to use the dry powder on wet skin first to exfoliate and then mix some of the powder to make a mask. Very intriguing!

Konjac puff sponge - this is made from natural vegetable fibres and is used wet on your face to cleanse and exfoliate. You can use it with or without cleansing products and it will last for around 3 months. This particular sponge is £7.99 but I'm guessing you can find it cheaper on eBay. It's softly cleansing on the skin and I think a nice addition to your morning/night routine.

I am really happy with the mixed box I ordered from souksouk and I'm amazed that Britain has so many skincare companies ... when did that happen? The quality is high but so are the prices for these organic and natural products. BUT I might just treat myself occasionally to a sample box for £20.

Have you got any organic or natural products you can't live without? It would be great to hear from you so leave a comment below or come say hi on Twitter.

In search of microcrystals

For over fifteen years I have been using St Ives Invigorating scrub daily. It's cheap, you get a large tube which lasts months and it makes my face feel fresh and clean.

So it was a surprise to me when Birchbox sent me a trial size tube of Vasanti Brighten Up Rejuvenator and I LOVED IT! My face felt so smooth, ,so so clean and a very small amount went along way. The only problem with trial sizes is they run out rather quickly and as this particular product is £26 for 120ml I just couldn't justify the expense of purchasing a full size.

I thought I would give other brands a go first so I brought two scrubs and both have been a total fail. Firstly, and quite surprisingly, Embryolisse Creme Exfoliante. I got this along with the Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre using my Birchbox points and was looking forward to using both as they have been so over reviewed recently on YouTube I thought they must be good.

Unfortunately the exfoliante was terrible. It felt like a slightly rough cream, no exfoliating of my skin at all and my skin/makeup looked untouched once I'd removed the cream with a warm flannel. What is so special about  Embryolisse Lait-Creme Concentre?? I really don't get it. I've had far better moisturisers. Apparently it can also be used as a primer, makeup remover and skin irritation reducer after shaving. I guess my skin must be unique as I popped a little on my freshly shaven skin and it irritated the hell out of it!

So I moved on and looked to the High Street for my new facial scrub/exfoliant. I found Superdrugs Naturally Radiant collection and treated myself to the Brightening Micro Polish and the Day Cream. The day cream is great, lovely consistency and nice smooth skin after application. The 'polish' ... meh, I could feel some little scrubby balls but they were few and far between.

Essentially at this point I have spent over £26 trying to find a
cheaper version of Vasanti Rejuvenator (if I hadn't used Birchbox points) yet I can't give up, there MUST be a cheaper version out there. I checked Vasanti's description of the product and it mentions 'microcrystals exfoliant' ... so I am now on the look out for microcrystals! I will let you know if I find any.