Keeping Skin Summer Fresh with MBeze!

Here in Denver, we have had one of the hottest, stickiest summers I can remember.  Keeping my skin hydrated and fresh-smelling without the heavy, waxy residue left over from most lotions has been tough... that is, until I found MBeze!
MBeze is a natural skin care and cosmetics company that has a great line-up of everything you could need to keep skin fresh and soft, like body and facial oils, fragrances, and deodorants.

Once Bitten Natural Body Oil

This natural body oil is incredibly lightweight and absorbs immediately - so no sticky residue!  It also smells amazing, with apple blossom, vanilla and a hint of lime, it smells really fresh and not overly sweet; perfect for summer!  On top of all that, it has Vitamins A, B, C, D, and E in a natural oil base to help soften and protect skin.  According to MBeze:

"Each hand-poured blend contains oils that are full of vitamins and known for their ability to break up scar tissue, reduce & prevent stretchmarks, regenerate skin cells, and moisturize to maintain a soft and healthy glow."

Wow!  That is one hard-working body oil!  I love applying this oil after showering; it leaves my skin soft and smooth all day with gorgeous scent that really lasts.  It also works great any time my skin needed a little pick-me-up or some additional glow.

Ife Natural Perfume

The Ife Natural Perfume smells sweet and is kind of... addictive.  This pthalate-free fragrance comes in a coconut and jojoba oil base, and it smells mainly like strawberry, with musk and sandalwood to make it a bit more grown up.  It layers really nicely and comes in a small roll-on, perfect for touching up throughout the day.  Berry scents don't normally smell good on me, but this perfume smelled really natural and made me feel like I'd been running through a field of strawberries!  Even as it wears down, it leaves the softest hint of strawberry on the skin.  So pretty!!

MBeze has several different fragrance options to choose from, and also offers a non-scented option in the body oil for those of us that prefer our own scent.  Check them out and tell me what you think!

Juara Skincare Review

Juara is a vegan skin care line based on historical Indonesian herbal and botanical treatments.  Using traditional Indonesian botanical remedies like healing teas, sandalwood, turmeric, tamarind and rice, combined with western science, these products have an east-meets-west attitude towards anti-aging and skin health.
Juara was kind enough to send me some samples of their daily skin care regimen of cleansing, toning and moisturizing.  Here's what I found:

Rice Facial Cleanser

This foaming, suflate-free cleanser leaves skin soft and hydrated, removing all traces of dirt, oil and makeup.  With rice starch as the active ingredient, known for its soothing and softening properties, as well as its ability to decrease moisture loss, this cleanser works great for all skin types.  

I found this cleanser to have an amazingly pleasant smell, almost like slipping into a tropical vacation - with sweet citrus and warm coconut scents, it's a great way to wake up the senses in the morning.

I especially liked using this cleanser with my Clarisonic - it left my skin feeling super clean and soft!  The only thing I didn't love is that it left my skin feeling a little too "squeaky clean," probably due to the foaming or fragrance ingredients, but after using the toner (reviewed next), my skin felt perfectly soft and supple.

Ingredients:
Water, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Rice (Oryza sativa) Starch, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Glycol Stearate, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glycerin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Phenypropanol, Fragrance.

Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner

Juara describes this product as a "toner serum", and I completely get why.  This toner is super hydrating, just as the name implies, with a slightly thicker consistency than most toners.  It comes out of the bottle with a brownish tinge, which threw me off a bit, but it disappears perfectly into the skin, leaving it soft and glowing.  The oil-free liquid contains all kinds of skin-loving ingredients, like black, green and white teas for a super antioxidant boost, and tamarind extract to boost hydration and sooth skin.  It also contains rice bran extract to minimize irritation and de-stress skin, and hyaluronic acid to further hydrate and plump.
This product has the most impressive ingredient list of them all, with mostly actives in the list:


Water, Pentylene Glycol, Tamarind Seed (Tamarindus indica) Extract, White Tea, Green Tea, Black Tea (Camellia sinensis) Extract, Rice (Oryza sativa) Bran Extract, Honey Extract, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Potassium Sorbate.

I swiped this over my face and neck after cleansing and loved the way my skin felt afterwards!  It left me with a great glow and smooth, softened skin.  It also relieved any tightness or "squeakiness" I felt after cleansing. It definitely feels a bit more conditioning than most toners, which is probably why it is dubbed a "toner serum".  Whatever you call it, it's good stuff!


Sweet Black Tea and Rice Facial Moisturizer
This lightweight moisturizer contains fermented black tea (aka Kombucha) to soften and brighten, and Rice Bran Oil to hydrate as its active ingredients.  Rice Brain Oil is an excellent source of natural fatty acids and Vitamin E, both of which are really important for softening, hydrating and protecting skin.
I found this moisturizer to have a great consistency that soaks right into the skin and leaves it with a hydrated glow.  My skin didn't feel oily or dry all day - it was comfortable and soft, which is a big feat because my skin is pretty bipolar when it comes to its dry and oily zones.
Ingredients:
Water/Eau, Candlenut (Aleurites moluccana) Oil, Emulsifying Wax NF, Avocado (Persea gratissima) Oil Unsaponifiables, Rice Bran (Oryza sativa) Oil, Cyclomethicone, Stearyl Alcohol, Illipe (Shorea stenoptera) Seed Butter, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Squalane, Saccharomyces/Xylinum Black Tea Ferment, Hydroxyethylacrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Polysorbate 60, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Phenypropanol, Fragrance/Parfum. 






Bottom Line: REALLY LIKE!  The products are really unique in their use of Indonesian botanicals and herbs to soften and hydrate skin.  While I don't love the addition of fragrance in the cleanser and moisturizer, and found the cleanser a bit too... cleansing, I did appreciate the texture and feel of all the products, especially the toner.  If you're looking for a good, hydrating line with strong natural antioxidants, this is a great line for you!

Devita Skin Care Review

Devita is a natural cosmeceutical skin care company based out of Arizona. They make all-natural, vegan, paraben-free and PETA certified products for face and body. From my experience, it's hard to find a natural line of skin care that is also effective. Devita, being a cosmeceutical brand, has found the perfect balance between efficacy and remaining natural! They use cutting edge peptide technology and combine it with well-researched vitamins, minerals and botanical extracts for powerful results.

The DeVita product line uses organic Aloe Vera as a natural and dynamic delivery system - allowing their active Vitamins, Botanicals and Peptides to penetrate and get to work within the skin. You'll find Aloe Vera as the first or second ingredient in almost every one of their products. What you won't find in any products are preservatives. I asked DeVita how this was possible, and here's what they said:

Original Sprout - Natural Hair Care: for Babies and up!

Original Sprout is a personal care line out of California that prides itself on creating products that are biodegradable, 100% vegetarian (vegan), free of phytoestrogens, soy, parabens, glutens, dioxanes from sulfates, phthalates and formaldehydes. Whew! While not all of us may know what these ingredients are and why they are harmful (they do share this info on their website for those of us who'd like to know more), what's important is that Original Sprout takes the time to formulate products that are good for the earth and good for even us big babies :) by excluding these potentially carcinogenic ingredients.

Original Sprout is created by Inga Tritt, mother and master stylist, who created the line for her daughter's thick hair and sensitive skin, leaving out the irritating ingredients found in other hair and bath lines. The company was kind enough to send me some of their hair products to try, and I'm happy to share my experience!

Aquafina Hydrating Facial Spray - Two Best-sellers in One

About two years ago, I was out at a local WalMart picking up some household essentials and, of course, ventured into the makeup/skin care section to see what goodies I could find. In a random sale bin, I spotted a bottle of Aquafina Hydrating Facial Spray and thought, "Whatwhatwhat?!?!?" (I get excited easily). I had used Evian's Mineral Water Spray before, but hadn't heard of other drinking water companies dabbling in skin care. The bottle of Aquafina was marked down to $2.50, so I tossed it in my cart, figuring I had nothing to lose. I am SO glad I did! This is now a staple of my kit and of my daily routine, and has been since the first time I used it. This affordable wonder-product combines the best of two industry favorite facial mists in one, and is a superior version of both!

What industry faves am I about to dupe? Evian's Mineral Water Spray and MAC's Fix +. Here's a quick rundown of both:

Evian Mineral Water Spray

Product Description: This is a cooling hydrating mist comprised simply of Evian mineral water that is propelled by nitrogen for a cooling, soothing effect. It's great for refreshing the skin throughout the day, and for adding hydration before applying skin care or makeup. It comes in a metal cylinder and sprays in a fine, cool mist. It is available in a 5 oz size for $10, and in a 1.7 oz size for $6 (both at sephora.com).
The simple ingredient list means it won't irritate even the most sensitive skins, but because it's just water, it can dehydrate the skin once it evaporates.
MAC Fix +

Product Description: A hydrating, vitamin and mineral infused spritz that calms the skin with green tea, chamomile, and cucumber, with a light refreshing scent. It is also great for hydrating the skin and setting/refreshing makeup, and is ideal for spritzing on brushes before any loose pigment application to increase pigmentation and allow the makeup to adhere to the skin. It is available in a 3.4 oz size for $19.

Ingredients: Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, Cucumis Sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf extract, tocopheryl acetate, caffeine, panthenol, arginine, ethylhexylglycerin, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil, Ppg-26-Buteth-26, fragrance, disodium Edta, dehydroacetic acid, phenoxyethanol, benzoic acid
Fix + has a lot more going on than the Evian - it contains humectants and soothing vitamins and botanicals, but it also contains potential irritants like fragrance and preservatives. The scent isn't overpowering though, and it does feel refreshing on the skin when used sparingly. If too much is used, it can leave a kind of sticky residue from the high level of glycerin.

And now for the dupe. Prepare to meet your new best friend:

Boots Organics Review

My skin has been the definition of bipolar lately. One second, it's happy and glowing with not a blemish in site, and the next it's dry and flaky, covered in blackheads and blemishes. Argh!! I was experiencing the latter while in my local Target the other day, perusing the skin care aisles for a miracle product to save my face when I landed on the Boots Organics line. I couldn't argue with the price point (all under $15!) and after a quick review of the ingredients in the Organic Hydrating Face Cream, I tossed a jar in my cart along with a tube of the face scrub, body wash and body cream from the same line. One week later, I am in LOVE!

The Organic Hydrating Face Cream has saved my life... ok, maybe not my life, but at least my face! I used it the same night I got it and woke up to visibly calmer, smoother skin. Not wanting to get too excited over the immediate results, I stuck with it for the next few days and nights, and my skin has continued to get better. I've even noticed a reduction in blackheads!