The beauty of boreal algae (AD/PR)

Posted in Beauty, Skincare by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

Polåar Polar Night Revitalizing Elixir and Body Milk

Ok, let me start explaining the title: for a few weeks now I have been using the gorgeous Polaar Polar Night Revitalizing Elixir and indeed it is a beaut. It’s main ingredient? Boreal algae.

Polåar Polar Night Revitalizing Elixir dripping from pipette

The oil is very light and applies really well to the skin, sinking in in seconds and leaving no greasy feeling. It smells divine (I mean, DIVINE) and after using for 3-4 weeks my skin has felt consistently hydrated and plump in the morning. A real gem.

Polåar Polar Night Revitalizing Elixir back of bottle

It’s main ingredient is boreal algae (Rhodhiménia Boréalia) which is rich in nocturnal cell regeneration booster phyto-melatonin. This enzyme is similar to melatonin, a hormone secreted at night by the brain, which activates all the biological mechanisms that cause cell regeneration at night.

It also contains another regeneration supporting ingredient, organic criste marine bio which contains minerals that also help feed the skin, and organic red micro-algae which’s beta carotene and fatty acids help protect skin moisture and restore suppleness. The ingredients are 99% natural.

All that in a mostly recyclable, simple but lovely packaging – glass and paper box.

Polåar Polar Night Moisturizing Body Milk

I have also been using the Polaar Night Moisturizing Body Milk and what a delight it is. It feels so silky on the skin and body feels amazing upon application and in the morning, with lasting hydration. It is 98% natural.

Polåar Polar Night Moisturizing Body Milk back of package

Polaar is a lovely brand with a beautiful Arctic exploration story to boot, so well worth checking them out. Their passion for pure, exclusive ingredients and protecting the environment those come from is really second to none.

They have a fabulous range of products covering many skin needs and concerns. I really like their Lapland cream range with Arctic berries – it is so beautiful on the skin, a light and supple thirst quencher suitable for sensitive skin. Currently in a great value Polaar Lapaland set Christmas cofret, hurry, it’s £45 but you get £66 worth of products!

It is not my first time trying Polaar: I am a MASSIVE fan of their best-selling Icy Magic range. The eye cream and patches are truly amazing!

Dermatologically tested, all natural ingredients, with no parabens, alcohol, phenoxyethanol or mineral oil, vegan, cruelty free and made in France, it’s available in the UK via Look Fantastic with free delivery over £25: the Revitalizing Elixir costs £39 (30ml) and the Body Milk £32 for 200ml.

You know the drill, but I’ll say anyway: this post contains PR samples as products were sent to me free of charge, with no obligation to post. Opinions are honest and my own.

25Apr2018

Ayurvedic botanicals for your skin

Posted in Beauty by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

A while ago, I got my hands on the Samaya Ayurvedic Skincare Kapha Anti-ageing Treatment Oil, but it took me a while to fall for it.

The weather was warmer and being the rich oil it is, it didn’t quite work for my skin. However, when the winter came I decided to give it another go, and I now understand why this oil has rave reviews.

All natural, its main ingredients are fine high-performance Ayurvedic infusions such as ashwagandha root extract, sandalwood, vetivert and frankincense oils which have anti-ageing properties as well as a calming and soothing scent, helping bring tranquility.

It also contains high quality almond, turmeric root, apricot kernel and got kola oils, paracress flower extract, so overall a mix of antiflammatory, healing, balancing, cleansing, antioxidant properties to pamper the skin.

And the senses! As it is based on Ayrvedic principles, it helps restore balance – the brand name combines two Sanskrit words: sama, ‘balance’ and alaya, ‘place’ to create a ‘place of balance.

I felt my skin calmer, especially on the breakout front. It also felt nourished and replenished in the morning (I only use it at night, alone).

In the summer, I am going to mix a drop or two with a moisturiser at night, and see how it works for me, as I really loved using it.

It does retail for £79 for 30ml, but I can assure a little goes a reaaaally long way.

You can get the Samaya Ayurvedic Skincare Kapha Anti-ageing Treatment Oil from the Samaya website and also selected retailers such a Whole Foods and Fenwick.

You can also browse all the range, including the other doshas Vata and Pita – you can even do a test on their site to discover which one is your dominant!

written by Dani

You know the drill, but I’ll say again: this post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

5Oct2016

All natural, Naked Beauty (oil)

Posted in Beauty, Skincare by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

skin-tonic-naked-beauty-oil-review-1 Now, I’ve had my eyes on Skin & Tonic London for a while and was thrilled to try their new product: the Naked Beauty Oil.

Yes, it’s an oil (although they call it a serum), so it’s more than halfway to winning my heart. More than that, its British produced, organic and from a company well worth knowing, they are really good people.

Starting with the deep reddish orange colour, this luscious oil applies and sinks well on the skin.

I love using oils overnight, and with this my skin wakes up plump and radiant.

With rosehip, apricot, pumpkin and raspberry oils, all containing vitamins A, C & E and omegas 3 & 6, this oil has healing, refining, soothing and hydrating properties for dry skin.

skin-tonic-naked-beauty-oil-review-2 It is perfect for the colder season just coming in and at £25 for 30ml, it is a real bargain.

The Skin & Tonic London Naked Beauty Oil is available from their website and from shops like Selfridges, Anthropologie, Whole Foods Market and Fabled by Marie Claire. It is certified organic (99%), 100% natural, unscented, suitable for vegans and , non GMO and not tested on animals, so it’s all round goodness for you and your skin.

Remember when I said they are really good people? Skin & Tonic London use a maximum of 7 ingredients and they are organically certified.

Their small batches are hand crafted and they support small, local producers in the UK and France, as well as fair trade cooperatives in Ghana and Sri Lanka, and give 10% of their profits to charity:water.

signature1

You know the drill, but I’ll say anyway: this post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

18Aug2016

Makeup for the new season

Posted in Beauty, Make Up, Skincare by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

gosh-aw16 - 1 Mentioned many times before, but always worth reiterating: every season, GOSH launches something that stays it me until the next season. Fact.

This time is no different. Over dinner at the beautiful Sea Containers at one of my favourite London hotels, the Mondrian, GOSH unveiled their AW16 collection and they have a fabulous lot, which is already available to buy!

The new collection focuses on the Nordic/Danish raw beauty of nature. Key ingredients include bladderwrack seaweed, a brown algae that grows along the Danish coast and boast healing and regenerative properties.

Not long ago, I talked about the makeup/skincare hybrid trend, which is growing in the beauty industry; GOSH AW16 really invests heavily on this.

gosh-aw16 - 6 I’ll start with my favourite product in the collection, the Overnight Primer Oil Essence. It won my heart just for being an oil. However, it is an addition to the massive selection of primers that GOSH offers.

It is meant to prime your skin overnight, by regenerating it to receive makeup in the morning. This oil is packed with antioxidants, fatty acids and caring oils, including French lavender, blackcurrant seed, argan and jojoba oils.

Great for using alone or combined with our your favourite moisturiser, it’s light and applies so well, being absorbed by the skin in seconds.

In the morning, skin is plump and radiant; repeated use has anti-ageing properties and help strengthen the skin. And the price is fantastic: only £14.99 for 30ml.

gosh-aw16 - 8 Still on the makeup/skincare territory, comes the Foundation Plus+. With a dewy coverage, this foundation and concealer in one also provide nourishment from liquid sea minerals, hyaluronic acid and bladderwrack seaweed.

The coverage is excellent, but the result is very light and natural; it blends really well. Durability wise, it will take you through a work day, and it contains SPF 15 for extra protection.

It comes in five shades and costs£9.99 for 30ml.

gosh-aw16 - 9 Also for the face, there is the super practical Contour’n Strobe Kit. A massive disc with a pretty highlighter, a soft blusher, a pretty bronzer and a great contour shade, for only 12.99.

Comes in two colours and it has everything for a sculpted look. The pigmentation is great, the consistency too; blending is easy-peasy.

gosh-aw16 - 5 Moving on from skin, I have to talk about the Giant Pro Liner. This chubby eyeliner might seem impractical, but it’s a blessing for thicker lines – the way I like mine. The tip is just thin enough o produce a decent flick.

Colour wise is super black and lasts very well – no smudging or melting.

gosh-aw16 - 4 (1) More on eyes, the Lash Sculpting Fibre Mascara contains fibres in its formula that attach to the lashes, offering super volume and length.

The brush is shaped to aid that by lifting, curling and lengthening the lashes. The formula is creamy, non-drying and does not smudge.

It sells for £9.99 and also contains their star ingredient bladderwrack seaweed.

gosh-aw16 - 3 What about brows? Covered! Also with fibres, the Brow sculpting Fibre Gel is a all-in-one brow product, offering colour, filling, setting and boosting.

The little brush is great to shape and the final result is natural and full. Comes in two shades and costs £6.49.

gosh-aw16 - 2 Of course, their superb Velvet Touch lipstick range gets some autumnal matt additions: Cinnamon, Cranberry, Grape and Purple.

All very wearable and I cannot say enough how much I love the Velvet Touch range, a superb value at £6.99. I’m not stranger to this range; you can read my full review here; they are always with me!

Always worth mentioning that, apart from the lipsticks (which contain beeswax), all the products are vegan, and most do not contain perfumes or parabens.

You can get the whole new collection, and much more from GOSH at Superdrug, online and in selected stores.

signature1

This post contains PR samples. This review, however, is based on my experience with the product and reflects my honest opinion on them.

3Nov2015

Discovering Dr Jackson’s natural products

Posted in Beauty, Skincare by Dani - So Many Lovely Things

How many times have I started an article with “I love oils”? Probably more than you’d be comfortable with, but the truth is, oils really changed my skin.

Being the lucky girl I am, I was invited to iconic London store Liberty to hear from Dr Jackson, or Simon, as he prefers to be called, for a showcase of his fabulous products.

And yes, I brought home the Dr Jackson’s 03 Face Oil.

This wonder oil is luscious and thick, but spreads divinely and is extremely well absorbed by the skin. The smell is rather herbal but not too overpowering.

Skin immediately feels soft and nourished, and when I wake up in the morning it looks supple and radiant, with a fabulous texture.

As part of my skincare routine it helped minimise breakouts at that time of the month, which are a certain for me. Well, much less this time.

The oil is 100 % natural and contains the goodness of a unique blend of oleic and linoleic acids, baobab (see the little seed on my pics?) and marula oils, calendula and arnica.

The blend of ingredients has anti-inflamatory properties and works on improving skin tone and elasticity, minimising scarring, deeply moisturising, reducing redness and healing – read damaged tissue repair. The result is a visibly smoother, re-texurised complexion.

I left the event inspired. By beauty, of course, by nature, by science and human nature. Simon is fascinating, and his work, not only the science bit (which is mesmerising, by the way), is just wonderful.

Dr Jackson is a pharmacognosist, so he is and expert on the active chemical components of medicinal plants.

He fell in love with regional indigenous plants’ medicinal properties and traditional medicine early in life and went on to study them.

His travels got him exposed to different cultures and uses of plants as healing agents, and introduced new plants to his life. Amongst his studies, he came across beautifying properties in certain plants, and ran with it, creating a fantastic natural skincare range which was four years in the making.

He will only use carefully selected ingredients of the best quality that can be found int he world, extracted the closest way they would at source, pure and at the right concentration to be efficient, while also supporting the communities which grow them.

Now, wouldn’t you trust your skin to this man? Well, you should.

They now have a whole concession at Liberty London and there are also treatments available.

The fantastic Dr Jackson’s 03 Face Oil costs £55 for 50ml and £30 for 25ml and is available at Liberty London, and online.