In my day job i spend my life situated right near the shopping capital of Europe……the dreaded Oxford Street. I hate staying at my desk during my lunch hour as i always feel the need to get out into the fresh air and move about a bit. Strangely somehow I end up being magnetically drawn towards the shopping mecca of London and even if I resist going into the shops and spending any money I at least manage to accomplish some serious window shopping. My two favourite places to visit are definitely Selfridges and Liberty’s, the first with its beautiful window displays and sumptuous food hall and the latter due to its heritage and style. Lately however i have found an even better reason to prefer one of these shops to the other…….Liberty’s 70% off sale!!!!
I love the sense of classic ease that you feel when walking around Liberty’s and seeing all the shops architecture that you know has held some of the most beautiful designer goods for centuries. It always feels so different to all the other shops that are chasing their tails to try and be the most modern and the newest and ultimately all end up being the same. Liberties always feels like it moves at its own pace and sets its own rules.
I have to admit though that often i never even make it past the ground floor as this is where all my particular favourite goodies are stored. I love the range of beauty products that they hold in store and could spend hours just walking around and smelling them and seeing what is new. Most of the time i have to resist actually buying anything but as a little treat to myself I decided to take full advantage of the reductions and try out some new purchases. I feel a little ashamed to admit how excited I am by this but as this is my hobby and my favourite thing to spend time doing i decided not to chastise myself too much for this little extravagance.
As i have only just started using these products I will be returning to them to give a full run down of my opinions but for now i’ll just explain what they are and my initial thoughts and feelings in case any of you want to try them out at the same time as me and give me your thoughts later on too! So here goes…….
The description given for this product claims that this aromatherapeutic fragrant spritz will somehow rejuvenate and fortify you emotionally after a very exhausting day or jet lagged from a plane or possibly after a 12 year interstellar mission to mars^^. I am understandably always a little reticent to believe a lot of the fantastical claims and descriptions thrown about in the beauty industry as they always seem to err on the side of magical potions rather than just claim to be nice and relaxing. Supposedly this mist and the entire Therapie range has been developed by world renowned Aromatherapist Michelle Roques O’Neil to act as a self-healing programme restoring energy levels, alleviating stress & helping people rediscover their emotional well-being. I will have to wait until after i have used this in lots of scenarios to ascertain whether it is as wondrously magical a formula as those claims seem to make!
I have just started to use this spray after a nice relaxing doing yoga sessions at home. I used to go to TriYoga classes in Canarby Street which I loved but sadly recently with my busy work schedule I have had to now make attempts to crowbar time for yoga into my diary wherever and whenever it is possible. What I have done is started to make a YouTube playlist of some of the better videos that i can follow when i get the time of differing lengths, difficulties and for different energy level workouts. As the idea of these playlists is something I have just started working on and compiling, once I have got a few playlists that I feel happy with I will share them on my blog for anyone who is interested. For now once I finish my workout I will spray some of this blend and see what happens however it is always difficult to know very scientifically if the mist is having the effect or the aforementioned yoga session!
As i always like to know exactly what is in each product here is the ingredient list for anyone else who is like me and wants to know too. I am never too sure whenever anyone starts talking about crystals but I have heard interesting things about Reiki (more so from the Qigong martial arts healing side of things though) so I will not make any judgements until i know more:
Restore Spray is an aromatherapeutic infusion of essential oils, crystals & Reiki – a highly charged formula, it instantly cleanses & rebuilds your energy field (aura). Formulated with organic Rose & Frankincense water, tropical Basil, cold-pressed Lemon Oil & crystal essences of Rose Quartz & Amethyst.
Kai Body Buffer
I have to admit this is the purchase that has most piqued my interest and I am very excited to both try and also to learn more about. I really hope that it lives up to my expectations as more often than not I always seem to be let down by the product after being whipped into a frenzy by the ubiquitous hype machine. There was the usual slew of celebrity endorsements and this is no surprise seeing as the product was launched from a small Malibu based boutique that had countless celebrity patrons. However it was when I heard Oprah had given it huge plaudits that I became much more wary of this product and its claims to be hunkered in the natural market. As soon as I read this information i was concerned that the venn diagram between these two markets rarely overlaps and often that the claims are unsubstantiated and made more for the sake of sales than for the integrity of the brand. On the plus points the fact that they claim to be paraben free, sulphate free, never tested on animals and sold in recyclable packaging managed to turn me back to their favour a little more!
So the sponge itself is supposed to be used as an exfoliant and is meant to cleanse and moisturise your skin at the same time. The pack contains two sponges that you wet before massaging over your body whilst they release the Kai scented bubbles and do their thing! They standard amount of uses claimed is 30 per sponge so 60 per pack which seems quite a reasonable amount. However as we all know a microwave meal for two barely sates the appetite of one so I will report back with how many uses I actually managed to get out of the two sponges later on. The moisturisation comes from the Palm, Coconut and Olive oils and the fragrance is scented with Gardenia & exotic white flowers: Jasmine, Tuberose & Lily. For anyone who is interested here is the full ingredient list:
Aqua (Water), Glycerin (Palm Oil Derived Glycerin), Sodium Cocoate (Saponified Coconut Oil), Sodium Stearate (Palm Oil Derived Sodium Stearate Soap), Sorbitol (Wheat Derived Sorbitol), Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil (Olive Oil), Stearic Acid (Palm Oil Derived Stearic Acid), Fragrance, Essential Oils.
The last product in today’s post is one that I really like the sound of and am very interested to see how it pans out as from the description I am completely sold on it. My main concern for this product at this initial stage is more focussed on the brand than anything else. The ingredients list and formulation seem very enticing but the branding and packaging design both seem like something my grandparents would have used many moons ago. I am not sure if this is intentional to appeal to a certain demographic but if I had walked past this on a shelf without knowing anything about it then i doubt i would even have looked twice at it.
The Rahua Body Amazon Oil claims to be an ultra concentrated yet light oil which will revive the skin and encourage a healthy, touchable glow. It contains fabulously named things like Ungurahua omega-9 which supposedly revives the skin while another amazingly named ingredient Sacha inchi omega-3 lipids and the now ‘present in everything we are sold from breakfast cereals to blueberries’ antioxidants help reverse the appearance of aging. This all of course results in beautiful, healthy, glowing skin. Once again i will reserve my judgement but from the looks of the ingredients i have a feeling this may work better than most. The next claim is that the oil is enriched with Buriti which is an Amazonian oil containing vegan carotenoid pro-vitamin A. With all of these spectacularly named ingredients i really, really hope that this oil lives up to it’s claims of promoting a luminous tone for all skin types. This is what the press release states:
Use regularly to keep skin youthful, radiant, toned and gorgeous. Amazon Beauty’s line, Rahua (ra-wa), was born out of the Amazon rainforest. It features Rahua oil, a highly potent, restorative oil that brings dry, damaged strands back to life with renewed, bouncy elasticity. The key to Rahua’s outstanding performance is its molecular structure: Unlike other botanical oils that simply coat strands, the extraordinarily small Rahua oil molecule deeply penetrates the hair’s cortex – bonding and repairing it – while simultaneously smoothing the hair’s cuticle. Amazon Beauty is building this earth-friendly, sustainable business in partnership with women from Amazonian nations such as Waorani, Achuar, Quichua, Quechua and Shuar. They share the nations’ reverence for the rainforest and its indigenous cultures. Amazon’s Rahua and ungurahua oils are sourced and processed by these women and men in accordance with the traditional methods that have been passed down for generations.
Sounds great right? It also states that everything is:
- 100% Natural
- Free of all toxins
- Gluten free
- Organic
- Vegan
- Symbiotic
- Rainforest grown
So if they live up to all those claims then I for one am in! Here is the ingredient list for this product.
Capric Caprylic Triglyeride (Coconut Derived), Oenocarpus Bataua (Ungurahua) Oil, Sacha Inchi Oil (Plukenetia Volubilis), Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Mauritia Flexuso (Buriti) Fruit Oil, Bursera Graveolens (Palo Santo) Oil, Punica Garnatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil*, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Fruit Oil*, Lavandula (Lavender) Officinalis Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus Lead Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract* *Denotes organic ingredient
So tell me if you have used any of these items and what your thoughts were. If you decide to go out and buy them to give them a test and a through inspection then get in touch with your findings! I look forward to hearing from you all.
