Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Collection Review- The Aloe and Blueberry Juice Curl Moisturizer, The Blueberry and Coconut Hair Milk and The Blueberry and Mint Tea Scalp Treatment

If you have been following my blog since I started years ago. You'd know that I initially was doing a relaxed-hair healthy hair journey. At this stage I loved going to the afro hair care store and testing new products. One of the products I tested and reviewed on my blog (read here) were the Curls Coconut Sublime Conditioner, Curls Curl Souffle and the Curlicious Curls- Cleansing Cream. These were all amazing and smelled like a mix of Coconut and Caramel. For the time it was, I found them to be very innovative with products like the cleansing cream, years before the Co-wash trend kicked off and brands started to realise.

Now onto the new products. They are all new additions to the Curls Blueberry Bliss Curl Collection and consist of a spray hair moisturiser, moisturising milk and scalp oil. All of them have the same scent which I supposed is supposed to be a "blueberry scent"- I love the scent personally but I think they more so smell of sweets or sort of fruity! In my review below, please find direct links to the products within each product title. Here you can view the full ingredient lists.

The Aloe and Blueberry Juice Curl Moisturizer, $13

Description:"Refresh, revive, and rejuvenate 2nd day curls with pure aloe and blueberries. Formulated with certified organic aloe leaf juice (strengthens hair, adds shine, combats frizz) and blueberry extract (repairs damage, prevents breakage, encourages hair growth). NO sulfates, silicones, parabens, artificial oils, or fragrances."

First off is the Aloe and Blueberry Juice Curl Moisturizer which comes in a spray bottle. In addition to moisturising and refreshing your hair I find it to be a good detangler. I currently only wash my hair bi-weekly, so I've used these products as a weekly refresher. I used this spray to re-wet and re-moisturise as well as to detangle it. The ingredient list doesn't disappoint with the second ingredient after water being Aloe Vera Leaf Juice followed by Glycerin.

The Blueberry and Coconut Hair Milk, $15

Description: "Blueberry & Coconut Hair Milk, formulated with certified organic coconut milk and blueberry extract guaranteed to moisturize the driest curl, condition overworked tresses and encourage hair growth all in one step! NO sulfates, silicones, parabens, artificial oils, or fragrances."

The second product I tried out was the The Blueberry and Coconut Hair Milk. Just like the other products, it smells like sweets and I used it as the next step after the Aloe and Blueberry Juice Curl Moisturizer. It is very moisturising but quite light weight. If you have looser curls, these two products might be good for using just after washing your hair. I personally would use products like this to re-moisturise my hair as I need a thicker/creamier product straight after washing my hair.

The Blueberry and Mint Tea Scalp Treatment, $12

Description: "Formulated with certified organic blueberry seed oil, corn mint and coconut oil proven to enhance hair growth, soothe and refresh dry, itchy scalp, and relieve itching. NO sulfates, silicones, parabens, artificial oils, or fragrances."

Last but not least, the Blueberry and Mint Tea Scalp Treatment. The oil comes in a dark glass bottle, which is the best way to store oils as it prevents them from oxidising. Inside there is a actually a dropper, something I haven't seen before for a hair oil. But when using it, it was actually very useful as it's very long and reaches your scalp easily. The only problem with the dropper is that it can spill quite a bit, which is a little bit annoying. Not everyone uses scalp oils but I am personally an avid user of them as I want to prevent scalp dryness and flakiness after shampooing and I always put peppermint oil in my oils mixes to give that tingling/soothing feeling (check out my blog posts on DIY oil mix here). I have tried quite a few scalp oils to review in the past and this is the first one that has actually replaced my home made mix. It is super light, smells of fruits mixed with mint, it gives the tingling feeling that I love as it contains Menthol (a constituent in Peppermint essential oil).

The products are available to buy at www.curls.biz and I have linked each product in the title if you want to have a look and see the full ingredient lists.

Overall I really enjoyed using this range. I am so impressed by the scalp oil- I actually haven't used my own scalp oil mix since I got it. The products all smell yummy and worked really well to re-moisturise my hair. As I mentioned previously, I would recommend these as main moisturisers for looser curls or as a refresher-re-moisturiser for tighter curl types like my own.

Have you tried this range, or the Curls brand in general?

xx

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L.O.G Cosmetics Hair Care Review- Heads Up Shampoo, Hair She Goes Leave in Conditioner & Tickle Tickle Deep Conditioning Pumpkin Spice Puree

L.O.G Cosmetics Hair Care Review- Heads Up Shampoo, Hair She Goes Leave in Conditioner & Tickle Tickle Deep Conditioning Pumpkin Spice Puree

Hi Everyone! I am so excited to share this review of L.O.G Cosmetics hair care products. It's a brand I have been trying out for a few months and I have just posted my video review/demo which you can watch below. If you do, please show some love and like & share the video!


Now, L.O.G Cosmetics is a brand which uses a lot of high quality natural ingredients. They do makeup and hair care products but I will only be reviewing their hair care range today. I mentioned in my video that a lot of the hair care products have Aloe Vera Juice as the first ingredient (the ingredient with the highest concentration) instead of water which definitely shows that they use high quality ingredients.

£16.99 Tickle Tickle Deep Conditioning Pumpkin Spice Puree

"Our Pumpkin Spice Protein Puree is a creamy conditioner that is designed to strengthen weak hair cuticles, prevent damage, and tantalize the senses. It is guaranteed to repair brittle hair textures with its amazing blend of pumpkin extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and organic pumpkin seed oil."

First up is this deep conditioning treatment. I was so impressed by this as a lot of fully natural conditioners tend to have little to no slip (in my experience), and I have tried a lot of products! You can even see in the picture how creamy it is. It has a subtle vanilla scent and contain a lot of amazing ingredients like Aloe Vera Juice, Shea Butter,  Natural extracts (Yucca, Horsetail & Nettle), Natural Oils, Vitamins, Hydrolysed Keratin. I do suggest you watch the video so that you can see  how shiny my hair looked after I had used this and also how easily it spread when I applied it. With any conditioner I always have to use a ton, but I really didn't with this one. It's not a massive jar and despite that, I got 4 uses out of it.

£15.99 Hair She Goes Cocoa Latte Leave in Conditioner  

"Say no to dry brittle hair! HAIR SHE GOES is guaranteed to nourish your curly or dry brittle hair.Its made from coconut milk and moisturizing cocoa butter, very light weight leave-in and promises to rehydrate even the driest of hair types leaving your hair soft and manageable."

Now to the leave in conditioner, called "Hair She Goes". This too contains Aloe Vera Juice as the first ingredient, followed by Coconut Oil then Behentrimonium Methosulfate which is used to give the product more slip. Overall this didn't give me too much slip as in I would use it to detangle, this wasn't a problem though as I applied it onto already detangled hair as you can see in the video. It made my hair soft and I actually blow dried my hair with this in as I was just about to put braids in.

£15.99  Heads Up Shampoo

"Heads up for Our 100% natural shampoo is enriched with a soothing blend of organic peppermint and sweet essence of dark chocolate. Got naturally kinky hair? We’ve got you covered with our 100% natural conditioning shampoo your hair will be cleansed, revitalized and ultimately moisturised."

This actually isn't a shampoo as it doesn't contain any synthetic cleansing agents like Sulfates. It is a castile soap but it is so rich and creamy that I would say it pretty much looks like it could be a conditioner, until it comes in contact with water and starts to lather (if you want to see exactly how much it lathers please check out the video). I guess another way you could describe the formulation is more of a cleansing cream or Co-wash. It reminds me a little bit of the Curls cleansing cream that I used years ago when I was relaxed/transitioning. I way very impressed by this product because it really did cleanse and condition my hair at the same time, if you watch my video review you can see that after I rinsed the product out, my hair actually looked not only conditioned but also had a healthy sheen to it- something I don't see a lot with the bleached parts of my hair. Sometimes I do detangle with Shampoo and you can see in the video that due to this shampoo being so creamy it was very easy to detangle.

These three products can be bought separately and I have included the price and direct link if you want to check them out on the website. You can also buy them in a set called "Itchy Scalp Trio" for £47. Overall I was very impressed by the quality of these products, they are all quite pricey but you literally get what you pay for. I do get quite a few Nigerian ladies on Instagram (@Yolandaas) asking me about natural hair products so I am happy that I finally have some products I can recommend for my naija sisters, as these are available in Nigeria. To purchase in Nigerian you can contact them via telephone 09084991140 or check out their Nigerian Instagram page.

Hope you enjoyed this review guys and if you are interested here is where you can find L.o.g Cosmetics online: 

Website, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Nigerian Instagram


What is your favourite natural hair care products?

xx

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(*) These products were sent to me to review. This is not a sponsored blog post, but it includes a sponsored video.

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Straightening Natural Hair: Frizz Free & Smooth Results Using Chill- A Smooth Operator Oil Serum by Ed Lush

Straightening Natural Hair: Frizz Free & Smooth Results Using Chill- A Smooth Operator Oil Serum by Ed Lush

How to straighten natural afro hair and get long lasting, smooth and frizz free results? I recently straightened my natural hair, and this time I used a product I hadn't used before: Chill Oil Serum by Ed Lush. I received it a while ago to review but I tend to use serums for straightening my hair, as a heat protectant so I wanted to wait until I straightened it. Ingredient wise, it mainly contains silicones as a serum usually does, but for you guys who want to stay away from mineral oil- this isn't for you as it does contain mineral oil. I must say I didn't "notice" it tho, the formula is actually very smooth and quite runny, and absolutely not sticky.

Now I have reviewed quite a few serums on my blog before one from Mixed Chicks, one from Dove and one from John Frieda (all linked) and this is actually my favourite! Firstly, this one smells so nice.. I love it! Especially as I am straightening my hair with it, which tends to make my hair smell a bit burnt lol. 

Check out my video to see how I used this product. The picture above is actually when I re straightened my hair a week later because I forgot to take a picture the first time, so if you check out my initial results at the end of the video below you'll notice how straight and smooth my hair looked! :) I definitely noticed a difference when using this serum from the other times I straightened my hair- my results were also longer lasting!

What do you use when you straighten your hair and what do you think of my results?

xx

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28 Months/ 2 Years and 4 Months Post Relaxer Wash & Go & Texture Shot- Mixed Roots Curl Custard

26 Months/ 2 Years and 2 Months Post Relaxer Wash & Go & Texture Shot- Mixed Roots Curl Custard

I actually posted a picture of this look before on my Instagram, I took the pics when I had just tried out a wash and go using the Mixed Roots Curl Custard- I think the results are great. Also, now that I have done more wash and go's using other products- I must say I think this product gave the best curl definition out of all the products I tried (review coming soon).  Check out my Youtube video when I am using the product here.

Also, here is a little texture shot for those who are interested to know my curl pattern. In my youtube videos I usually say "3c/4a/4b/4c hair" because I have such a mix of curl patterns. In my Instagram selfies (follow me here), you usually see my hair at the front and my curls are looser there. In this picture you can see that they are pretty tight. What would you say my hair type is?

What's your favourite product for a wash and go?

Have you tried Mixed Roots hair products?

xx



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Karamel and Brown Glow Face Crème

Karamel and Brown Glow Face Crème

Here is some info about Karamel & Brown from their website: "The new beauty brand Karamel & Brown brings an innovative dimension to the beauty industry, through introducing a brand new concept aimed at brown skin tones. The revolutionary Glow range enhances the natural beauty of Asian, Black and Mixed Heritage complexions, giving the skin a nourishing, hydrating and long lasting glow. "

 Karamel and Brown Glow Face Creme 200ml, £16.95 (*)- So before I was sent this product to try out, I had never ever tried fake tan before, nor planned on trying it out either.  Fake tan kind of only made me think of the white girl gone orange look and that is not cute. Anyway, Karamel & Brown are a brand who actually are aimed at brown skin tones. The product will give you a tan similar to that you get in the summer, and it can help even out hyper pigmentation or old acne scarring. 

At first glance when you squeeze a little product out of the bottle- it looks pretty thick. However this is a really, really light cream as you can probably tell from the far right pic. Despite being thin it was nourishing enough to use instead of a night cream, and it is light enough to use instead of your day cream as well. If you check out the ingredient list from the first pic you will see that it contains mainly natural ingredients with Aloe Vera and oils like Jojoba Oil. The only "controversial" ingredient I can see is "Propylene Glycol", which unfortunately is pretty far up in the ingredient list. Also, I was really surprised that this product smells super yummy, kind of like a mix of Coconut and Karamel or something! 

Results? I noticed results after the first time I used it, actually so much so that I skipped the next application and used it only once per day, in the evening. It is possible that for people of darker skin tones than me you'd need a few more applications before seeing results and for lighter shades maybe less. My skin went from having always been good my whole life to bad like a year ago and it has just got better, and I do have a little bit of scarring which definitely seemed to be less visible after I had worn this cream for a couple of days. I actually wore no makeup what so ever for a couple of weeks while trying this product. After you have achieved the results (the shade) you like, you can keep up the results by applying it every other day or so, or ever evening. I really enjoyed using this and I can see myself repurchasing it when I run out, if it runs out while it is still winter time that is! If you prefer quality and natural ingredients, this is a great choice as (I am guessing), most commercial fake tan creams probably contain a lot of rubbish ingredients! 

Do you use fake tan?
Have you heard of this brand?

xx



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♥ Natural Skin Care & Makeup Brands

As today is Earthday (read more about it here), lovely LaaLaa from Dolce Vanity had the idea to do a blog collaboration sharing our favourite natural skincare brands. There are quite a few natural brands out there, so we have included brands of different price ranges, natural/organic, non organic and so on. I know we all use natural brands for different reasons, allergies, against animal cruelty, for "safety", or whatever it might be so we have made sure we have stated what type of brands these are. All the brands below are brands I have tried or am currently using myself. I purposely chose pictures which I have taken, so that you can see that these are brands I really like! Here are the other ladies doing the blog collaboration (links to their posts will be up once all post are publishes)

 Sarirah – Pretty Not Included, Grace – All That Slap, Jayne – Jayne’s Kitschen 

Lavera (Skin Care, Hair Care & Makeup)

Organic √ Natural √ Vegan (some) Animal Cruelty Free (√)

"Natural cosmetics that you know under the brand name lavera - a name carefully chosen for its meaning: in Latin lavera means "the truth" - a beautiful translation for the dedication of both philosophy and commitment. We use raw plant materials, as much as possible from certified organic agriculture, our products are 100% free from synthetic perfumes, colourants and preservatives. And of course, we ensure skin compatibility - exclusively through tests with volunteers, together with skin specialists and allergists"

This is one of the first natural skin care brands I used, you can find it in every health store and their prices are quite affordable. Their "Basic Sensitivity" hand cream was a staple of mine for so long. Although £4.45 is a fairly decent price for the 75ml tube of hand cream- I wen't through them way too quickly because I enjoyed them too much. Their products are fragranced, but not heavily and would probably suit sensitive skin.

Find their website here. Find my posts about Lavera here

Burt's Bees (Skin Care)

 Organic (some) Natural √ Vegan (some) Animal Cruelty Free (√)

"Your well-being is affected every single day by the personal care products you use. Our goal is to create and educate people on truly natural products that have a positive effect on both you and the world you live in for the good of your well-being, for the good of the environment and for The Greater Good. Simply put, we strive to make people's lives better every day — naturally."

I'd say this is the second natural skin care brand I tried out. Of course, I'd seen it around in shop but as they are quite expensive I just never tried them. That was until my friend recommended their orange facial cleanser. It is amazing! It is completely natural, with a gel/serum formula with a lot of nourishing oils but it doesn't leave any residue on your skin. 

          Find their website here. Find my posts about Burt's Bees here

 Neal's Yard Remedies (Skin Care, Hair Care & Makeup)

Organic (√) Natural √ Vegan (some) Animal Cruelty Free (√)

At Neal's Yard Remedies, we're driven by the passionate belief that health and beauty should be more natural, less synthetic. This passion, and our firm belief that it's down to all of us to protect our precious planet, is at the heart of everything we do. 

Okey but now you've probably figured out that I subconsciously listed the brands in the order I discovered or tried them out. Next up is NYR. I love this brand because their products are completely natural, and they focus on aromatherapy and essentials oils a lot. Another good thing about them is that they are a UK brand and all their oils and a lot of their products are stored in dark glass bottles which preserves the benefits of the ingredients they contain.

Find their website here Find my posts about Neal's Yard Remedies here

Earthnicity (Makeup)

Free from: Bismuth oxychloride, Talc, Preservatives, Parabens, Mineral oil or any petroleum-derived products, Perfumes, Oils and Fragrances, Alcohol, Dyes, Animal-derived ingredients such as carmine or silk, nano particles.

Earthnicity Minerals is pure mineral makeup - we don't use corn starch or rice powder in our products either. We use a minimal amount of ingredients so as not to irritate sensitive skin and block pores, without sacrificing on the look and quality of the makeup.

This is a UK mineral makeup brand free from all those nasty ingredients mentioned above. I included that list from the website as I cannot find any info regarding it being organic/natural/vegan or not. Their makeup is very good quality and I've been using their mineral foundation every day since I got it. They've got a great deal on their website where you can get samples of makeup for only £5.

Find their website here. Find my posts about Earthnicity makeup here

Crazy Natural Inc (Skin Care and Hair Care)

 Organic (√) Natural √ Vegan (unsure) Animal Cruelty Free (√ I believe so)

Sade Perkins, Founder: "I make 100% all natural and organic products. I pride myself on making multifunctional affordable natural hair and body care products. My target audience is all natural sisters but more specifically new naturals. Women who dont want to be product junkies but want to have a few staple products they can use to create a simple regiment they can easley do everyday. Ive been in business for 9 months now and my top sellers are my Shea coconut deep conditioner, african black soap shampoo. Shea body butter and African black soap beauty bars. I've gotten an overwhelming amount of positive reports on my products. I believe i have a recognizable brand that most naturals naturally gravitate to. I plan to capitalize on my brand recognition, awesome products and affordable prices to make crazy natural inc a house hold name." 

This is a brand I recently discovered, through Instagram actually. The founder is a lovely lady from the US who makes these products herself. If you wan't 100% natural products, this is the brand to try out. Her hair care products are aimed at people of afro textured hair "naturals" but anyone can use them.  I've tried her African black soap, Shea body butter and Hair and Body oil.

                        Find their website here. Find my posts about Crazy Natural Inc here

Have you tried any of these brands?
& what is your favourite natural brand?

xx

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♥ Crazy Natural Inc Shea Butter Body Butter

Crazy Natural Inc Shea Body Butter

"This creamy rich Shea Butter is by far my favorite all purpose product. Made with raw African shea butter, almond oil, olive oil, Apricot oil, Jojoba oil, Vitamin E and a slew of other natural ingredients. Great for dry hair, skin, and scalp this product will leave you feeling moisturised, silky smooth and smelling good." Get it here. ($8/£5)

See my Crazy Natural Inc Hair, Bath & Body Oil here.

Today I will be reviewing my second product from natural skin and hair care brand Crazy Natural Inc. See my first review of their hair and body oil here as well as all of the products I was sent.

This is the Crazy Natural Inc Shea Body Butter. The ingredients are completely natural and preservative free, so this is not a product to just dump in a box and use a year later (but why would you, it is great!). With preservative free products- keep water out of the jar (otherwise it'll spoil immediately), and use within a few months.

So far I have used about 2/3rds and I am really enjoying it. As this is a homemade and fully natural product I was interested to see how this would be different from "any Shea Butter mix" that I can put together myself. However I am happy (or not) to say that this super smooth and creamy and sweet smelling Shea Butter body cream is something I could not have made myself. I believe the quality of Shea Butter is very good.

So initially I just assumed this was for the hair (apparently completely ignoring the label which clearly states the opposite). And it worked, but it was not amazing. The recipe has clearly been made to work on your skin very well- and it does.

How I use it; So of course this is a thick cream. I still recommend it for everyone but if your skin normally isn't very dry- I'd recommend to use it on your feet, knees, elbows or other drier areas. Omg it made my feet so soft? Contrary to ther heavy creams it spreads out so evenly and gets absorbed without being greasy.

Crazy Natural Inc: Online Store | Twitter | Instagram

Have you heard about or tried Crazy Natural Inc products?

X

See my Crazy Natural Inc Hair, Bath & Body Oil here.

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♥ DIY Bentonite Clay, Green Tea & Argan Oil Face Mask

DIY Bentonite Clay, Green Tea & Argan Oil Mud Face Mask

Today I have got an exciting DIY to share with you. I've had this Bentonite Clay lying around for quite some time but after a few failed attempts at using it, I just put it aside. I should probably mention that my failed attempts were most likely due to be mixing the bentonite clay with a metal spoon which is the only thing you shouldn't do because it reacts with the clay which has some kind of electrical charge (lol not sure how that works, google it). 

The most common brand of Bentonite Clay is the Indian Healing Clay which I think is available at stores like Whole foods or online on sites like Amazon. Common uses are:

• As an internal detox (sounds scary though)
• As a mud face masked by mixing Bentonite Clay & Water, and sometimes Apple Cider Vinegar
• As a hair clarifier by using the same recipe as above

 Bentonite Clay in your face is meant to draw all impurities and toxins out of the skin. I got the idea of mixing it with Green Tea after trying out the GlamGlow Youth Mud Mask which contains Green Tea leaves & Green Tea extracts. So I decided to give this clay another try.

Here is my Bentonite Clay, Green Tea & Argan Oil Mud Face Mask Recipe:

• A bowl of water
• Two Green Tea Bags
• A wooden spoon to stir (or anything which is Not metal)
• Bentonite Clay
• An oil/essential Oil, I used Argan Oil

How to?

1.  Add water to a bowl (optional: add 1/4 ACV* to the water, use Rose Water, Use Aloe Vera Juice) || Add a bag of Green Tea and let it brew for a few minutes || Add a few drops of the oil of your choice, I used Argan Oil
2. Pour the leaves of one Green Tea Bag into your mix
3. Stir it with anything that isn't made of metal
4. Add the Bentonite Clay until the mixture has the consistency you want it to have

This is what mine looked like!

My thoughts on this? 

The first time I tried mixing a Bentonite Clay face mask I felt like the clay didn't properly mix with the water, but as I said above- this could be because I used a metal spoon. This time it definitely mixed, but I am guessing it mixes better with the mix if you do Not put oils in your mix. My mix took ages too hardened, I think it was because it wasn't mixed too well nor distributed too well in my face and I also put quite a thick layer in my face. Next time I might try putting a bit more water in my mix.

Results?

Oh my god. Results definitely exceeded my expectations. I knew that your face could get a little bit red from using this, but due to my mud mask taking long to harden, I left it on for like 30 mins while I was showering. My face was soo red. It didn't hurt or anything but I literally had a line in my face where I was red from the mud mask.

Anyway, surprisingly this just left my face suuuupersoft. Like I exfoliated it, which it didn't really because I didn't have any scrubbing beads in it. Maybe my face was so clean that it just felt soft, either way this i definitely a keeper and I will be using this face mask recipe again!

Have you tried a Bentonite Clay face mask?

& do you have any other DIY face mask recipes, if so, link them :) 

xx

Check out my other natural DIY's here, where I've got recipes of Lip Balms, Lip sticks, Deep Conditioners, Protein Treatments, Body Scrubs and much more.

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*Apple Cider Vinegar

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♥ DIY: Lavender Beeswax Salve

DIY: Lavender Beeswax Salve

Check out my other natural DIYs here, to learn how to make your own lip balm, lipstick, whipped Shea Butter, deep conditioner, body scrubs, face masks, facial oils or nail oils.

Another DIY for you guys. This one is a Beeswax Salve with a Lavender scent. You can of course change it to any scent that you prefer, such as Peppermint, Sweet Orange, Rose or Tea Tree Oil. A Salve means a mix of an oil, and a wax.You could say that it is a natural version of Vaseline and also has a similar consistency. Use it on any dry parts like cuticles, knees, elbows, feet or scalp.

What you need..

• Beeswax
• A carrier oil
• A microwave or a stove using a double boiler
• A cosmetic container (You can get my one from Neal's Yard Remedies here)
• A bowl to melt the ingredients in

..Alternatively:

• Shea Butter/Coca Butter
• An essential oil for scent

How to mix it?

So I will write to you the way I personally make it. I have not read any recipes so do not quote me on this, it is all about mixing it until you get it the way you like it. FIY, the hardness of Beeswax on a scale from 1-10 would be a 10, whereas Shea Butter is a 6-7 and Cocoa Butter a 9-10. So for the most simple recipe of an oil and Beeswax, you use a ratio of 1:3 to get a solid, but soft salve. Keep this in mind when you are creating your salve.

1. Fill up the cosmetic container that you will be using according to the guide lines I've written above, i.e for a simple salve of only beeswax and oil, fill a fourth of your container with Beeswax and the rest with oil. If you wan't to add Shea Butter to the mix, the way I would do it is to in your head, divide the container in two parts. For the first half of your container, fill 1/4 with Beeswax and 3/4 with oil. For your second half, since Shea Butter is softer than Beeswax, add 1/3 of Shea Butter and 2/3 oil. This is just the way I do it since I just do it by heart, and I don't measure or follow a recipe.

2. Pour the mix of wax, oil and Shea butter into a bowl. Heat it in the microwave but take it out now and then to stir. Once the whole mix has no bits or chunks in it and just looks like a melted oil, take it out.

3. Pour the mix into your cosmetic container again. Now add your essential oils and/or Vitamin E oil (natural preservative). Leave to harden over night or put in the fridge or freezer if you are impatient.

Done!

Will you try this, 

or have you tried something like this before?

xx

Check out my other natural DIYs here, to learn how to make your own lip balm, lipstick, whipped Shea Butter, deep conditioner, body scrubs, face masks, facial oils or nail oils.

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♥ INIKA Natural Eyeshadow

INIKA Natural Eyeshadow

Guess if I was happy to see a full sized organic makeup item in my #bbloggersxmas goodie bag (here)? I hadn't heard of this brand before but I think the packaging and design looks very nice and pretty expensive. From looking at the website, you can get this for £14.50 from here (link).

As you can see in this swatch, it's very pigmented and pretty smooth in texture.

Not the best look, but I was sort of in a hurry when I did this. Just an example of how you can create a quick look using their eyeshadow and their black organic eyeliner (also from the goodie bag). 

To the left is the shadow non-blended and on the right is the same shadow on its own, and blended.

 This is the packaging, I'd say the ingredients are those of the standard "mineral eyeshadow", so nothing really special.

Has anyone tried this?

What's your favourite organic/natural makeup brand?

xx

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♥ DIY: Luxurious Argan and Rose Facial Oil

 DIY: Luxurious Argan and Rose Facial Oil

Another DIY guys! I have shared another DIY facial oil not so long ago. That one was meant to be very affordable, but still nourishing and effective. I've been using that one ever since I posted it on my blog, but as it just finished- I decided to make a different one this time. Having been curious to try Pure Argan Oil for quite some time, I finally gave in and decided to get it today.

Check out my other Facial Oil DIY here.

Here is my Argan Oil & Rose Oil luxurious facial oil recipe:

• Amber Glass Bottle with dropper- Neal's Yard Remedies £1.50 here
• Roughly 35% Hemp Seed Oil- Good Oil £4.99 for 250 ml. here
• Roughly 65% Argan Oil- Mia Flora £7.99 bought from Holland & Baretts
• 10 drops of pure Rose Absolute essential Oil (*)- Neal's Yard Remedies £16.75 here
• A squeeze of Vitamin E- Holland & Barett Vitamin E Oil £7.65 here

Rose oil is very different to any other essential oil I've tried. Except for being a whopping £16.75, it is a dark orange oil that I am guessing is very thick, since it's quite hard to get out of the bottle. I tried to show you in this picture what it looked like, seeing as I held it with my left hand while pouring it- the pics slightly blurry!

So far I absolutely love this mix. I have to say the Rose scent and the fact that it contains Argan Oil makes it feel soo nice. It's also slightly thinner than my last one which is nice when you use it on your face. Oh, and I got the Rose Oil from the NYR massage event I attended recently, read my post on that here.

Do you use facial oils?

Have you tried Rose Oil before?

xx

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♥ Queen Amina Shea Butter Review

Queen Amina Shea Butter Review

I got this Shea Butter from my lovely Aunty who recently attended a networking event. I think she told the man who sells these products that her niece has a blog, and he offered to give her some Shea Butter that I could review.

It isn't a Shea Butter mix or whipped or anything, so it is just Shea Butter. In the past, I have done a few post on Shea Butter (read my most recent one here), and I have tried a few different brands. This actually really surprised me positively.

I'm not going to review Shea Butter on it's on, you'll have to read my previous post for that. But what I love about this product is that it is very creamy, not sure if he has melted it or anything- but compared to the other Shea Butter I have.. this is soo soft and easy to work with.

There is a mention of this on their facebook page saying: "Queen Amina Organic Shea butter is handmade and the technique used produces a sublime softness creating an experience only royalty can describe and certainly, Queen Amina would have said the same."

I used it on my face this night actually, since my DIY facial oil had just finished! It was greasy when applied, obviously, but when I woke up my face felt very soft!

Where do you get Shea Butter from? 

How do you use it?

xx

Queen Amina Twitter and Facebook

• Dont forget to check out my post on all the benefits of Shea Butter here
• Check out my DIY whipped body cream using Shea Butter here

(*)

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♥ Stress Free and Sleepy

Neal's Yard Remedies Massage WorkShop

I was so excited to get invited to Neal's Yard Remedies massage workshop today.
Why? I love NYR as a brand, I love giving massages (yup full time masseuse, when I was younger for my mum, now for my boyfriend lol) and oils and essentials oils really intrigue me. The event/workshop was held ahead of the National Stress Awareness Day (7th November) which I think was a great idea, especially since I didn't even know about this day and really tend to stress a lot.

We got some goodies with us to put our new talents to the test :) Carrier oil and high quality Rose Essential oil from NYR. The candle below is super relaxing and all natural, smelling it already reminds me of the event.

 A super easy way if you don't have your own scented candle is to use one of these, put a night light candle in one of these burners, put water mixed with a few drops of essential oils at the top.

We learnt Indian head massage, hand massage and back massage and it was all taught by Elaine Tompkins who is their head of massage. For those who don't know Neal's Yard Remedies don't only do organic cosmetics they also teach massage courses and they also offer a variety of Therapies like Aromatherapy, acupuncture etc.

Hereis the info about the course if anyone's interested in trying it.

What do you do to relieve stress? 

& are you interested in massaging or just getting massaged lol :)

x

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♥ DIY Hair Deep Conditioner

DIY HAIR DEEP CONDITIONER This is a super easy DIY for you guys. I have to admit I haven't used a deep conditioner in a long while. Before I used to always use them when I washed my hair, instead of conditioner. But since I found my favourite detangling conditioner from Tresemme I just haven't been bothered. If you are the same as me, you have a favourite affordable conditioner, but would like a deep conditioner once in a while, this is the DIY for you!

What is a deep conditioner? I don't know what it is technically but in my own words I would say that it is a conditioner with extra:

• Nourishment (Oils, Butters Etc.)
• Protein (Silk, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Etc)
• Moisture (Glycerin, Honey)

So what can you add to your own conditioner?

• For nourishment: Oils & Butters like Shea Butter, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil etc. For an itchy scalp add Peppermint Essential Oil
• For protein: Avocado, Egg (If you add egg, don't apply any heat to your head), Mayonnaise
• For moisture: Honey, glycerin (If you have that lying around, I don't lol) 

I didn't have any avocado, mayonnaise at this time and I wanted to apply heat so I didn't use an egg. Instead I used a conditioner containing a lot of protein. For moisture I used honey and for extra nourishment I used Olive Oil. This is not my oil of choice but I had some to finish.

Ps. If you have all the ingredients I listed above the last pic- you can them on your own, just make sure you blend them properly. Check out my DIY Protein Treatment here (using similar ingredients): http://yolandaas.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/diy-protein-avocado-hair-treatment.html

Do you deep condition your hair? What do you use? :)

xx

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