Brenda Anvari Products

As a rather unknown brand, Brenda Anvari products are probably something I would never have discovered if it weren't for my easy persuasion when reading other blogs. One of my favourite sites,  A Model Recommends (see link below) reviewed the lovely hand made range of skincare by Brenda Anvari and here I am using the Pomegranate Raspberry and Patchouli shower gel and feeling pretty happy about it too.

Before I launch into a flurry of adjectives, I'll tell you about the brand.

The range includes skincare, bodycare, bath products and candles too. The packaging is both simple, almost humble in its handmade charm and yet sophisticated and chic. Created by Brenda Anvari who, after a long career with Elizabeth Arden, opened her own treatment salon, Visage House in Exeter.

Now then, the important bit, what is it like? Well, it lathers like velvety mousse made from the sweet clouds of heaven and the first dawn dew. It's lovely and leaves skin feeling soft and fresh. But the smell is what intrigues me the most, a rather fascinating blend both fruity and musky. It's quite unisex, almost quite a man-type smell, but also floral. Actually it's very masculine, but with a delicate finish. A challenge to describe, what do you think Jilly Goolden?

Jilly? I said, what do you think? 

Intermission while I fetch it from the bathroom and sit here sniffing it...

Nevermind, Jilly...

Curious as to what made this dream-foam, I have researched what is quite a (reassuringly) short ingredients list. The main foaming agent, thankfully, isn't SLS (otherwise I wouldn't go near it with a barge pole! Nor any kind of pole for that matter and certainly not in a shower/bath situation). It is in fact cocoamidylpropyl betaine. This is a common replacement for SLS but isn't quite on the good side of natural. It is derived from coconut oil but is the result of that oil being mixed with another chemical far too long for me to try and type here! It is still a detergent but a much gentler one. That said, those with extreme sensitivity could still see irritation.

On the other hand, it also contains quilaja saponaria which is Soapbark. As you can guess, this is a natural soap (hoorah!) and so I won't let cocoamidylpropyl betaine take all the credit for that lovely lather!

Brenda Anvari say all products are paraben free and many have Soil Association preservatives and organic aromatherapy oils. And none are tested on animals.

All in all I am very satisfied with taking a little leap of faith and testing out something I can't see, smell or touch until it arrives on my doorstep. And I may just do so again!

Brenda Anvari Pomegranate Raspberry and Patchouli Shower Gel £7.95 for 250ml
Available from www.visagehouse.co.uk

My favourite beauty site:
http://www.amodelrecommends.com/

Daniel Galvin Jr Organic Haircare

The haircare issue is one I have found quite hard to get my head around (gah!!). Going natural on moisturisers and shower gels is reasonably easy if you know what to avoid and you shop in the right places. But I have previously been rather underwhelmed with the alternatives to haircare. Many shampoos that avoid the common chemicals found in shampoo and conditioner left my hair feeling a little lack-lustre. OK, but not great. And by the second day, or sometimes even just after washing, my hair often felt too flyaway or static. Now, this may be due to other factors, like central heating and such like, which does cause havoc with my hair, but these days are over. For I have found Daniel Galvin Jr. Amen.

So, what is so good about Daniel Galnvin Jr. Organic Haircare. And what is so bad about conventional shampoos? We're talking about pretty much the same ingredients as skincare, but lets ask Graham (remember Blind Date?) for a quick reminder...

SLS or SLES is a harsh detergent that strips the skin (and hair) of its natural moisture and protective layers, leading to dryness and potentially irritating skin conditions such as eczema. 

Parabens are the oestrogen-mimicking preservatives which can disrupt the natural hormone balance, which has put it under question in relation to breast cancer - excessive oestrogen is a factor in developing breast cancer.. 

Petroleum / mineral oil, can wrap skin, and hair for that matter, in a plastic like film, clogging pores and hair shafts and anything in its wake, upsettig moisture levels and potentially leading to dryness and chapping. 

Synthetic fragrances, something I haven't actually gone into much before but I should. These can be any number of chemicals, mostly undesirable for their carcinogenic properties. As fragrance ingredients are never itemised, this goes unvetted and therefore is completely untrustworthy. In my opinion.

Synthetic colours, again something I haven't banged on about but should. These are often listed as FD & C  followed by a number and they can include numerous carcinogens. 

And another new one which I promise will get its seperate post, Triethanolamine or TEA.This is a biggy. And also includes cousins DEA and MEA. It can be suggested on labels (the very cheek of it!) that this comes from a natural source - coconuts - often listed as cocomide DEA for example. But don't be fooled. As well as possibly causing skin and eye irritation, redness etc. it can combine with another ingredient -amines and form nitrosamines which are highly carcinogenic! Arghhh.

And there is one more to mention, especially relevant to haircare this time (although it blights many skin moisturisers etc.) silicones. Anything ending in -icone is genrally a silicone I believe. These are in conditioners as it gives the sense of silky hair. But your hair isn't silky. The silicone is. This might not bother some and certainly when you research it there are plenty of silicone supporters. But it is interesting that there is a move away from it. Tresemme for one have launched a 'natural' range. I use quotation marks there to highlight my scepticism on that but I will look into it. 

Anyway. That about covers the basics...

So Daniel Galvin Jr. Organic haircare. It avoids all these. I'm using the Hairjuice with honeydew melon extracts, suitable for all hair types. Same for the conditioner too. So it lathers beautifully. Smells delicious and very shampooey. All tropical and fruity. It rinses as you would expect and the conditioner performs in just the same way. Nothing untoward. A normal hairwashing experience. I highlight this because in days gone by, where natural formulations weren't that hot, what you would do for a little bit of lather was unmentionable. This, however is frustration-free. Happy days. And the results are just as satisfying. Clean, happy hair, no frizz, no tangles (at least no more, my hair loves a fight with itself) and a very silky finish. It looks good. Not just nice, not just like hair but lovely hair. If I do say so myself. The best bit. They cost about a fiver. AND you can buy it in the supermarket, at least you can if you shop in Waitrose. The range also includes products for coloured / treated hair and a range called Hangover Hair for sorting out stressed out locks. Thanks Daniel. And while we're here, if you fancy going for luxury level, his sister, Louise does a natural haircare range too...But I haven't tried that yet so we'll see...

Daniel Galvin Jr Organic Hairjuice £3.99 at Daniel Galvin Jr

Also availalbe at Waitrose.

Green and Spring

I just managed to delete a whole post on Green and Spring and now I have to re-write the damn thing. So I will try to write in a calm manner but you will understand if my enthusiasm is blighted by anger and my sentences are short with a general sense of annoyance and impatience for the whole tedious task of repeating myself.

So here goes... 

Ohh, look at the lovely little birds (this isn't how the original went, it was less sarcastic) Aren't they pretty sitting on the lovely packaging... (there was more of this, less flippant)

What a lovely range of natural products. No they really are and I'm not being fair to Green and Spring because they are a lovely company. Let's hear more... 

Green and Spring are a British company where only native plants and herbs are used in the chemical-free, natural formulations. The range is all hand-made and includes your usual bathroom products, skincare, hand and nail care and natural wax candles too. They also only use 100% natural plant material, without parabens, SLS, SLES, petrochemicals, PEGs, glycols, synthetic colours and fragrances. 

Most of the products are available in three fragrance blends, Relaxing with lavender, comfrey and rosemary, Indulging with rose, jasmine, elderflower and red clover, or Revitalising with peppermint, dandelion and fennel.

I have been using the Indulging Shower and Bath Foam which is just gorgeous. A great product, lathers very well, smells incredible, doesn't leave skin tight or dry after showering. 

Along with this I have been enjoying the Relaxing Body Lotion, another amazing fragrance, it's difficult to choose between them all. The lotion is light, easily absorbed and the fresh fragrance lingers a little which is nice so you feel like you've been rolling around in a fresh springtime meadow full of flowers and butterflies. (That wasn't in the original.)

I also have a teeny tiny travel candle also in Relaxing, its burning very happily (it was, I put it out days ago shortly after beginning this post) and although the fragrance isn't immediate I have on very firm recommendation that Green and Spring candles do deliver a good strong aroma. Some natural candles burn more fragrantly as they get lower because the essential oils sink down through the wax during the cooling process. Interesting.

There are also quite a variety of gift sets, including the bumper deluxe wooden birdhouse (nice) complete with 12 fullsize bestsellers nestling inside. All for £275! If you can't quite stretch to that!? there are loads of beautiful little sets that make really lovely gifts which won't require a remortgage or the selling of any organs. On the whole, the range is perhaps a little more than your average brand but it has by no means a super-luxe price tag for the quality and the ethos and the delightful packaging! It all makes a wonderful present or a well deserved treat for yourself in this dull, dreary winter. Roll on (Green and...) Spring! 

Clever.

Green and Spring Indulging Shower and Bath Foam £18 300ml (more in the bottle than your average brand too)

Green and Spring Relaxing Body Lotion £22 300ml

Green and Spring Home Candle £29 Travel Candle sets £18 for 3

All available at www.greenandspring.com and Liberty's

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash

My New Year's resolutions are going quite well. That blanket I told you about now has 1.75 squares ready to patchwork together when that momentous day comes. And I'm currently roasting potatoes. With rosemary and seasalt and crushed garlic. So I'm not doing too badly in all.

So then, naturally that brings me to the REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash!!

I got a lovely set of REN body washes and lotions for Christmas from my sister. I've used these before but for some reason, this time around I love them so much more! The shower gel lathers beautifully, very creamy and nourishing and the smell from those Moroccan roses is gorgeous. After showering, it leaves your skin feeling comfortable, smooth, supple and without the desperate need to replace any moisture with body cream. (One of the very pleasant effects of an SLS-free formula!) However, in the set I have is a lovely Moroccan Rose Otto Body Cream and so I will happily use them together for that extra skin boomf! This is quite souffle-like, it's light, and quickly absorbed with the same delicate rose fragrance. Delicious. Rose Otto is an expensive and treasured essential oil, used in aromatherapy to ward away depression, it also soothes skin and aids deep relaxation.

The REN ethos is 'bio active skincare' and presented is a very interesting range of natural products with a scientific edge. They proudly declare on their packaging 'NO petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances, synthetic colours, TEA, DEA, glycols, silicones, PEGS et al.' Good. You know what your getting here then. High quality, well researched skincare that works. A few of those naughty ingredients I haven't actually mentioned in my list of nasties to avoid but this will be researched and brought to your attention so we can all know why to avoid them and why REN is so good.

And just to mention there are three more fragrances to try out in the body wash range. Neroli and Grapefruit, Seaweed and Sage and Lavender and Bergamot. I know I will be...

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash £17.00 200ml

Available at Ren Skincare

John Lewis and loads of places actually so have a look.

'Big Bad I Said NO!'

This isn't actually about Stop it and Tidy up. It's nothing to do with it. It's about the ingredients in products I generally try to avoid...

There is a lot of information out there on these so if you wish to know a little more do have a dig around. I won't go into too much detail because, in all honesty, I don't actually have a chemistry degree. But it's good to have a little bit to go on...

These are almost in order according to me...