Zoya Professional Lacquer in Stacy - Review

Free from harmful chemicals and toxins, Zoya products are truly the way forward. Their products are formulated without any of the top five synthetic nasties which are, Toluene, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, DBP (Phthalates) and Camphor. There are over 500 irresistible colours to choose from, ranging from classic to ultra-cool, plus seasonal collections to look forward to. Zoya colours also come in a range of brilliant finishes from lustrous crème through matte to glitter, from Satin to Pixie Dust. Zoya is the leading name in natural nail products and all of their products are vegan-friendly, cruelty-free and safe to use during pregnancy.

Stacy by Zoya can be best described as a deep wine cream with purple and raspberry undertones. A dark-but-not-black, vintage vampy shade.

I kindly received this lovely nail lacquer for Christmas after eagerly writing it down on my Christmas list! My favourite colours to wear on my nails are pinks, reds, oranges and anything in between those colours. Over the years I've experimented with different colours such as blues and greens but I've always felt that those colours have never really suited me. Since going, vegan I understood that I needed to update my nail colour collection to a much more vegan-friendly collection. I already had a lot of Barry M polishes, so I kept those and ended up giving the rest away! So far 'Stacy' is the only colour that I have from Zoya's huge collection, but I definitely have my eye on a few more colours that I'd like to try. I love the brush that this bottle provides, it's quite thin and very flat, but it's the best one I've come across so far. The brush covers my nails in just a few strokes and for me, this colour doesn't even need a second coat! I'd describe the colour as a very deep raspberry shade which I find very flattering. The formula is very quick drying and I can wear the colour on my toenails for a week without it getting chipped and I'd say at least five days maximum on my fingernails. Overall I will definitely be buying a few (a lot) more of Zoya's colours in the near future due to loving the great quality of their range.  

£11.70 from Zoya

Greenfrog Botanic Geranium & Peppermint Body Wash & Neroli & Lime Hand Wash - Review*

In Greenfrog products you will only find plant-based derivatives. And what you won't find are petrochemical derivatives, sulphates, parabens, palm oil or any harmful chemicals. This is because Greenfrog cares about the goodness of the products that they produce and also want to ensure that there's a minimum impact on the Planet when creating their products! The range is made from certified organic soapberries (Sapindus Mukorrossi) harvested by farmers in the Himalayas, shipped from India by boat to Europe, from which they extract the natural soap (Saponin). They then simply mix it with certified organic aloe vera, a few plant-derived foaming agents, surfactants and essential oils of the best quality. Their products are 98% natural and the ingredients are all very quickly biodegradable. Their products are also registered by the Vegetarian and The Vegan Society, are cruelty-free and are also in the process of getting the Leaping Bunny Logo as well as the Ethical Buyer Certification for their products.

Green Frog Botanic was kindly looking for bloggers to review their products and after looking at the products on their website, I asked whether it would be possible to review them. They kindly agreed and these were what they sent me, the Geranium & Peppermint Body Wash and the Neroli & Lime Hand Wash.

Geranium and Peppermint Body Wash 

Condition your skin with the magical qualities of certified organic soapberries. Our soap from nature is grown in Himalayan mountains and is extremely gentle and respects the pH of your skin. The combination of moisturising aloe vera, calming geranium and cooling peppering oil in this body wash acts as a deep conditioner for your skin, leaving it hydrated, nourished and full of antioxidants.

I found this body wash to have quite a manly scent due to the peppermint, but it's not overpowering like you think it might be and it doesn't linger on your skin afterwards. I found that the body wash lathered up well and it left my skin feeling clean and soft afterwards.

Neroli and Lime Hand Wash

Spoil your hands with the magical qualities of certified organic soapberries. Our soap from nature is grown in Himalayan mountains and is extremely gentle and respects the pH of your skin. The combination of moisturising aloe vera, rejuvenating neroli and purifying, antibacterial lime in this hand wash will gently nourish and moisturise dry hands and raise your spirits.

This was my favourite product out of the two. I really like the fresh citrus smell it gives off and because of this, it leaves your hands feeling and smelling very clean. It lathers up well and doesn't dry out your hands afterwards. Overall I'll be keeping the fresh smelling hand wash in mind when I need to repurchase hand soap again.

Body Wash £8.95 from Greenfrog Botanic 

Hand Wash £7.95 from Greenfrog Botanic

This product was sent to me to review, all views are my own.

Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Oil - Review*

We think honesty and clarity are important when it comes to ingredients. We are equally vigilant about what we avoid using in our formulations and have set our standard through our Balance Me Promise. We clearly state the natural percentage of each product on the front of the pack and those below 100% are preserved with an Ecocert approved nature identical complex that contains Benzyl Alcohol and Dehydroacetic Acid. Balance Me is free from parabens, DEA, mineral oils, sulphates, pegs, petroleum, silicones, propylene glycol, microbeads, artificial fragrances and colours. And we never test on animals.

Balance Me’s Super Moisturising Body Oil is nut-free and a firm favourite with women during pregnancy. Jojoba Oil is bursting with essential fatty acids and vitamins to keep the skin elastic and supple. Rosehip oil works to rejuvenate lack-lustre skin and helps fade stretch marks and scars, whilst Neroli oil deeply hydrates and plumps parched skin.

The other product that I chose to review this month from MyPure, was the interesting Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Oil. After reading the description of this vegan and cruelty-free body oil I was immediately drawn to it. I've been searching for an alternative to what I'm currently using now, after finding out that the ingredients are quite harsh to my skin. I was worried about this because I've read that what you put on your skin ends up sinking in and going into your bloodstream! So I decided to look for more natural body oil and this is what I happily came across. The oil itself is designed to help eliminate stretch marks and to help keep your skin elastic and is great to use all over the body. And over time this oil will eliminate stretch marks or any scars that you may have. I really like the smell of this oil, it smells of roses but it's not overpowering and it leaves a very soft smell afterwards when it has been applied to the skin. The only problem with this product is that the bottle is quite difficult to use because of its design. The lid is a push-down lid which pops up on the other side where the oil then pours out, because of this the oil then drips down the side of the lid afterwards causing a mess. A better option would be to have a screw top lid with a small hole in the top of the bottle so the oil doesn't end up going everywhere. Other than that one problem I really like the body oil itself and I will continue to use it because of this. Overall I can see myself buying this body oil again as it smells great and does its job well.

£24.50 from Balance Me

This product was sent to me to review, all views are my own.

Hurraw! Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm - Review*

Hurraw! Balm started out of pure intent; a personal obsession to create the perfect balm: all natural, vegan, made from premium raw, organic and fair trade ingredients, complete with a bunch of natural and fun flavour options. They source honest, fair trade, organic, vegan and raw ingredients from reputable suppliers and are thrilled to share the labours with other balm lovin' individuals. Your purchase also supports legit fair trade, organic farmers and suppliers in the States and around the World. They're also gluten free, soy free and shea free, as well as containing no petroleum, parabens, preservatives, artificial flavours or colours. And with a wide range of flavours from Orange to Earl Grey and Lemon to Chai Spice, you're bound to find a flavour that you'll love.

A deep wildcrafted alkanet infusion gives our Black Cherry Balm a deep red sheer tint. An all natural organic black cherry flavour makes it... tart and yum! The tint of the Black Cherry Balm can vary in colour due to the Alkanet root, Hurraw infuse with almond oil with. Hurraw craft each batch with precision and aim to make every balm the same, please note that plant infusion strengths will vary based on seasonal growing fluctuations & is somewhat expected when using 100% natural ingredients.

One of the products that I chose to review this month from MyPure, was the wonderful Tinted Hurraw! Lip Balm in Black Cherry. I've always been into red lipsticks, but as I've gotten older I've grown out of them and I've realised that I never really found a red that suited me. I've been eyeing up the Hurraw! Black Cherry Tinted Lip Balm for quite some time now, but I never had the courage to buy it. To my surprise I fell in love with it, the colour it gives my lips and the scent that it gives off is just perfect. The lip balm has a lovely strong scent of black cherries and it also tints your lips a lovely red colour, this can be worn soft or you can build it up for a more darker red coloured look. I really like Hurraw! lip balms as they glide perfectly over my lips leaving them super soft and non-sticky and they always smell so good enough to eat! I'll definitely be repurchasing this product again as I really love the colour that it fills my lips with and it smells really really great.

£4.99 from MyPure

This product was sent to me to review, all views are my own.