Are Yves Rocher telling the truth?

A while back I was approached by someone representing the brand Yves Rocher.   "I thought you might be just the person to work with as I can see that you are interested in natural and free from products - Yves Rocher have a wide range of organic and natural products and pride themselves on their botanical ethos."

I think most people have heard of the brand, it is sucessful in Europe and USA. I could not find the information I was seeking from their website so I asked for clarification on the following.

Do you have Vegetarian or Vegan approval? What is your policy on Animal Testing? I was wondering what your ingredients policy is? For example, do your products contain any of the following

• Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS)
• Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES)
• Parabens – (Methylparaben/Propylparaben/Butylparaben/Ethylparaben)
• Mineral oil and petroleum derived ingredients
• Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
• Artificial Fragrance or Parfum
• DEA or TEA (di- or tri-ethanolamine)
• Formaldehyde ( Formalin/ formal and methyl aldehyde DMDM Hydantoin and Urea-Imidazolidinyl)
• Triclosan
• Phthalates (DBP/DMP/DEP)
• Lanolin

I have been waiting for a reply and completely forgot about it until this week when an email landed in my inbox.  The following has been copied from the email I received.  If it reads a little odds that will be due to French to English translation by the writer.

According to the European directive, "products launched on the cosmetic market cannot damage the human health when they are applied in normal or predictable conditions of use". We study all the raw materials entering into our products composition and we realise series of tests on our finished products before their launch on the market. These tests are realised on cell cultures then on human volunteers to confirm that these products are tolerated well. Moreover, our products are no more tested on animals since 1989. 


All our products are conceived from plants directly: we select among more than 1,100 ingredients from plants origins that are studied by our laboratories, each best adapted to the specific cosmetic profits of every product, while defining their just concentration. Also, we always give priority to components from natural origins in our formulas, as long as the efficiency and specifically the safety - of these natural materials are guaranteed. In case they were not entirely guaranteed, we prefer using synthesis ingredients. Finally, we do not use neither aldehyde, triclosan nor lanolin in the formulation of our products. Only two of our products still contain Diethylphtalate used for alcohol distorting: those products are Eau de toilette Plaisirs Nature flavour "raspberry" and the Perfumed Deodorant of the So Elixir Purple perfume (launch 09/2012). 


So synthetic ingredients are present, but which ones? I was not entirely happy with the answer provided so I did a quick google search. The EWG database (link) came up and it is an interesting read. Straight away I can see that parabens, mineral oil and parfum are listed ingredients for the brand. I found a blog post by skincare junky reviewing one product which contained all sorts of ingredients I chose to avoid.  Take a look at the post and you will see Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Methylparaben, Alcohol Denat, Urea, Parfum (Fragrance).


The purpose of this blog post was not only to expose my findings but to demonstrate that you need to read labels and ask questions.  I do not doubt that Yves Rocher use botanical natural plant extracts but they are padding out their products with synthetic ingredients that are potential allergens for sensitive skins.  I also want to demonstrate that I take my subject matter seriously.  I do my homework not only for the sake of my blog but I can not take the risk with my skin and allergies.


Beware followers and fellow bloggers Yves Rocher is not a brand I will be recommending.  This brand joins the list of others that I classify as "Fake Natural Skincare" (click here to read my previous post on this subject).

On a side note I have been tweeting about Greenwashing.  For those that asked - Greenwashing (Grēn'•wŏsh•ĭng) Practice of making misleading or deceptive claims to demonstrate friendliness toward the environment, often through suggestion of preserving natural resources, preventing pollution or otherwise reducing carbon footprint.(source link)


Updated 31.07.12 - today I learnt this brand has been stripped of the leaping bunny logo (link)


*Logo image was sourced from Yves Rocher website

Parks London Natural Reed Diffuser

When you have allergies room fragrance is difficult to use. Everyone likes their home to smell pleasant and I am no exception to this. Aerosol sprays make it hard to breathe and plug in and candles have potential to burn your house down (dramatic statement but I do worry about these things). I got it into my head that a reed diffuser may be the solution but could I find something natural rather than full of synthetic ingredients? It is possible but they come at a price. The ones I looked at were anywhere between £20 and £30.

I was about to give up on my idea but decided to have a rummage in TK Maxx.  I think the bargain gods were shining on me that day because I found Parks London 100% natural.  I brought a 100ml Pomegranate diffuser for £5.99 (RRP £17.50).  The packaging states the ingredients are "natural alcohol and perfume with essential oils". The fragrance is delightful and not over powering.  I like it so much that I went back and purchased the 200ml size (£7.99 RRP £27)

Parks London also manufacturer candles which (according to website) are made with 100% certified vegan ingredients, eco friendly and natural wax (they do not use petroleum or paraffin).

Do you have a favourite way to fragrance your home? Do synthetic fragrances concern you?  

Peppersmith Mints & Gum

A few weeks ago Peppersmith were offering a free sample via Twitter so I signed up.  I received the Lemon and Eucalyptus mints.  Peppersmith products are free from artificial colours, flavours, preservatives, aspartame, animal derivatives and suitable for Vegetarians and Vegans.

The Eucalyptus mints packed a punch with a strong distinctive flavour.  I personally preferred the Lemon mints.  These are light, refreshing and a little different to other mints I have tried.


Peppersmith also have chewing gum if mints are not your thing. You can order online (link) and I have seen them stocked at Holland & Barrett.

Sunday Catch Up (15) - Wholefoods Market

Wow the weather this week has been amazing.  I trust everyone has been slip slap slopping if unlike me you haven't been stuck in a broom cupboard.  UVA & UVB protection is very important folks so be sensible.

I have not done much shopping this week so I will share with you what I got up to after attending the Allergy & Free From Show last weekend.  The BF and I took a stroll to Kensington High Street to check out Wholefoods Market (link).  I thought it was amazing and they had a big beauty section full of brands I blog about.  We stopped for a late lunch at Saf restaurant which is upstairs in the store (link).  I had a Vietnamese Wrap and my BF picked a Saf Burger.

I also had it in my head to visit Itsu (link) as I had heard about Crispy Seaweed Thins via Twitter.  They were not what I was expecting, I think I thought they would be along lines of rice crackers but instead they were simply seaweed, but still tasty.

I had a retro moment and picked up a Care Bear keyring.  I loved Care Bears when I was little but never had Sunshine bear. Final addiction of the week comes from M&S a rather tasty Quinoa & Edamame Soya Bean Salad with soy and ginger dressing.

Lactose Intolerant or Milk Allergy

This post was inspired by a rant I had on Twitter.  I am getting a bit tired of Companies telling me I need to buy their lactose free products.  Lets just get one thing straight I have a Milk allergy, for me that includes milk from Cows, Goats and Sheep.  Lactose Intolerance and Milk Allergy are two very different things.

Lactose is a sugar in milk.  There is an enzyme in the digestive tract called lactase, this helps breakdown the lactose. As we age the levels of lactase decrease so people have trouble digesting lactose. This often results in bloating, diarrhea and gas. It is very uncomfortable but not life threatening. 

A milk allergy is when the immune system reacts to the proteins in milk. This means you are allergic to the whey or casein (you can be allergic to both). Allergies can be life threatening (anaphylactic shock) or you may experience hives or difficulty breathing.  For me personally, my allergy is not life threatening but I fall into the category of having a sensitivity.  This means I experience hives, eczema, sinus problems, glue ear, asthma, joint pain and gastric distress.  FYI gastric distress is the polite term for saying you get the shits. Think of the worse case of diarrhea you have ever experienced, now times that by a million, add on top of that a pain similar to being kick in the stomach by a donkey, then you'll be pretty close to what I suffer. 


I have had some weird questions over the years about my milk allergy.  The strangest was at a wedding reception where hotel staff asked "Can you have cheese? We were not sure".  Yes folks it happens, incidentally my reply "Last time I checked cheese was made from milk, so NO I can't eat it".  Milk allergy also means no butter, buttermilk, cream, chocolate, ice cream and yoghurts. You also get the odd curve ball product where you wouldn't expect to find milk for example bread and tomato ketchup.


I was ranting about ice lollies on Twitter. Some ice lollies contain milk, Del Monte is one I can name off top of my head. I should add that my allergy to citrus fruits and strawberry do complicate my options, orange is a common flavour or ingredient. 


To the folks that tell me to eat dark chocolate.  Read the labels not all of them are milk free.  The really posh dark chocolates tend to be but I have a sweet tooth and miss white chocolate so that is why I moan.  As for Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda dairy free chocolate it's tasteless and I'd rather go without.

So there you go folks you have learnt something new this afternoon.  FYI to Lactofree - bog off and leave me alone, I can't have your products! 

Copyright (c) 123RF Stock Photos

Solace Aromatherapy Botanical Face Water

You all know that I have recently taken an interest in using toners.  I have already reviewed a couple for you (link & link).  I do like what I have tried but was ultimately trying to find a toner with a particular ingredient (I also need to avoid certain allergens).  I am a massive fan of manuka and searched the web  for hours to find a natural toner containing it.  By pure luck I came across Solace Aromatherapy on Ebay (turns out they also have a website).

Solace Aromatherapy offer a wide variety of toners which are categorised by skin type - sensitive, acne/oily prone, dry/damaged, ageing and normal/combination.  It is worth spending the time reading about each toner and it's ingredients to learn about the benefits.  

In the end I chose to purchase Lavender & Manuka (link) which is described as "A very gentle facial tonic, soothing for sensitive skin, prone to irritations. Laced with Sea Silk, Aloe Vera Juice, Manuka Honey, Oats Extract CO2 and Green Tea Extracts."

I am going to refrain from a detailed review about this product because let's face it we all know what a toner looks like and how to use it.  What I will say is this toner does not feel stripping or drying and I have not suffered any irritation.

Solace Aromatherapy products are cruelty free and do not contain mineral oils, parabens, SLS or artificial fragrance.  The toner does contain alcohol and preservatives and here is what the company says about that -

"Some of our formulations are preservative-free including our Facial Oils, Natural Cleansing Oils etc. We do use preservatives when absolutely essential for product safety. Where natural preservatives are not available, we use relatively low concentrations 0.5% of the highest grade, broad-spectrum preservatives, Phenoxyethanol as advised by our Cosmetic Chemist. It is particularly effective at protecting water-based products, such as moisturisers, from bacterial contamination. It is mild enough to be used safely on the skin."


It is worth checking out the website or ebay store as toners are not the only skincare products available from Solace. Some of you may not wish to use products with preservatives but do not dismiss the Company altogether since it is not in every product. My one criticism is full ingredient listings is not available next to items, so you may need to contact the Company if you have any concerns. I paid £5.99 (plus P&P) for this 100ml bottle of facial toner.


If anyone out there has a Lavender & Manuka toner without preservatives, please let me know.

Ingredients (copied from my bottle) - aqua, aloe barbadensis leaf, mel, avena sativa meal extract, vegetable glycerin, PEG-40 hydrogenated castor oil camelli sinensis, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lavendula angustifolia, romarinus offcinalis, potassium sorbate, xantham gum, lactic acid, dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, alcohol*geraniol linalol limonene *naturally found in essential oils

FreeFrom Skincare Awards 2012

I mentioned the FreeFrom Skincare Awards in my post about the Allergy & Free From Show (link). The awards launched this year and are run by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson editor of FoodsMatter.com (link) and Alex Gazzola, deputy editor of SkinsMatter.com (link) and a health writer specialising in allergies. The idea behind the awards is to encourage and reward manufacturers of free from skincare.

Category Winners 

Body Care and Hair Care Products

Gold award - Spiezia Calendula Ointment

Silver award - Barefoot SOS Face and Body Rescue Cream & Salcura DermaSpray  

Bronze award - Gentle Green Ecz-tend Soothing Cream, Miessence Organic Foaming Hand Soap & Salcura Zeoderm Skin Repair Moisturiser 

Make up

Gold award - Fresh Therapies Eden Natural Nail Polish Remover 

Silver award - Essential Care Eye/Lip Liner 

Bronze award - Bellapierre Mineral Eye Shadow 

Face care Products  

Gold award - Q Silica Remove Make up and Grime Cleansing Gel

Silver award - Antipodes Avocado Pear Nourishing Night Cream & Faith in Nature Intensive Moisturising Cream 

Bronze award - Borealis Organic Skincare Calendula Daily Defence Cream, Inlight Ecz Easy Calendula and Plantago Soothing Balm, Salcura Antiac Acne Clearing Spray & Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream

Q Silica Remove Make up and Grime Cleansing Gel was announced as the Overall Winner.  This is a brand I am not familiar with so I am keen to learn more about this product.  I am delighted to hear that Q Silica is an Australian brand, we all know how much I adore skincare from Down Under.  Q Sillica products are not tested on animals and free from parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals and synthetic additives.  Rather than regurgitate press releases, you can take a look at the entire range by clicking here (link).

I am pleased to see some of my favourite skincare brands winning an award. I have reviewed products from Barefoot SOS,  Salcura,  Borealis  and  Inlight. When people ask me for product recommendations for eczema I always tell them to start with Barefoot SOS and Salcura.   Other brands on the winner list are familiar to me – Antipodes, Faith In Nature, Sukin, Gentle Green, Missence and Spieza.  

Congratulations to all the award winners. I am pleased that Free From Skincare is finally getting the recognition it deserves and I look forward to trying your products for myself.

Disclaimer - I received free samples & press releases, I was not paid/sponsored and links are not affiliated. 

The Allergy & Free From Show 2012

Yesterday I caught a train to London and visited the Allergy & Free From show at Olympia.  I have visited the show before, a couple of years ago, but was tempted back this year by the list of exhibitors.   I was like a kid in a candy store.  It is thrilling to have a day out tasting food that you can eat safely (don’t judge me I can’t understand how you all get excited about IMATS). To be in a room full of people who will not give you a strange look when you question the ingredients, is an amazing feeling.  If you follow me on Twitter you will have seen my excited tweets about dairy free ice cream and vegan cupcakes.

For those of you not in the know my main food allergies are dairy, egg, strawberry, citrus fruits, and mushrooms.  I don’t have a gluten allergy (but my sister does).  For me the highlights of the show did involve my taste buds but I also sampled skincare.  Let me share with you the products which stood out to me. 

Pudology (link)  - dairy, egg and gluten free puddings. I sampled the chocolate and was delighted.  You would never guess it was a free from dessert.  These desserts are also available in Banoffee and Strawberry.

Ms Cupcake (link) “the naughtiest vegan cakes in town” – I only bought one cupcake (what a fool!), once I saw the flavour pumpkin spice I was sold.  I became addicted to everything pumpkin spice from my travels in USA, I really wish we embraced the flavour in the UK.  Anyway, this was simply the most amazing egg and dairy free cake I have ever tasted, it seriously silenced me for a good five minutes whilst I savoured every last crumb.  I am immediately moving to London and taking up residence in the shop especially now I check out the website and discovered they have over 120 flavours.

Inspiral (link) - from what I can tell this is a vegan cafe in London and they also sell their foods online and in outlets across the UK.  I sampled the raw "cheesecakes" which are dairy and egg free (vegan).  I was so impressed I bought a slice of banoffee crème tart. 

Delamere Dairy (link) - this is a brand I have associated with goat cheese and milk, something which I cannot tolerate.  I was pleasantly surprised to see they have launched soya milk and dairy free chocolate puddings (link)  I did not get a chance to sample but can tell you that Asda stocks their soya products.

Clive Pies (link) - I was so happy to see Clive’s Pies, many moons ago I used to buy them from Asda and then they disappeared.  The pies are free from gluten, dairy, egg, soya and vegan.  I bought my favourite Vegetable Chilli along with Mint Chickpea which I sampled (sounds weird but very tasty).

Bessant & Drury Dairy Free Frozen Dessert (link) - coconut ice cream deliciousness, I tasted chocolate and lemon, totally scrummy (take note Booja Booja) and an excellent dupe for the real thing. Getting this back home was not possible (gutted) I would have ended up with coconut soup.

I also stocked up on some firm favourites like Alpro, Naked bars, Nature's Path, Doves Farm, Lazy Day Foods and Sakata.  I had a lovely chat with Amy’s Kitchen. I love their products but they are hard to track down.  A few have crept into Tesco and Sainsburys but only the ones containing cheese (no good for me).  The most disappointing product of the day was Vegusto.  The dairy free cheese is a Free From Award Winner but it did little to impress me.  The taste was a good dupe for the real stuff but the texture was just odd. (link)

After all the excitement of Free From Food obviously the beauty blogger in me was keen to sample skincare.  Skinsmatter.com launched the Free From Skincare Awards at this year’s show.  Alex Gazzola from Skinsmatter.com has given me a bag of samples and press releases for the awards. I am going to do a separate blog post on this.  

There were two beauty products I was keen to seek out and meet the ladies behind them.  I have been tweeting with them for a few months.  I bought Niki’s Organic Lavender & Camomile balm (link) and Eden Fresh Therapies Natural Nail Polish Remover (Gold Award winner link).  These products impressed me at the show and I think they are worthy of separate blog posts so look out for my full review.

My final thoughts of the day

The one element of the show that disappoints is getting home and discovering that the products I sampled are not stocked nearby.  Whilst many have websites with online delivery often you have to buy in bulk and delivery can be costly.  What intrigues me is Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda were all present at the show but the main theme when speaking to exhibitors was how they struggle getting their products into the supermarkets.  My allergies are not a new thing so I have seen the free from market develop.  I have seen brands come and go from supermarket shelves.  My biggest gripe is with Tesco and Sainsburys.  In recent months they both expanded their own brand free from range to the detriment of independent brands.  I think own brand products taste cheap and the quality is appalling.  I am slowly finding that these supermarkets no longer cater for me, for example, none of their free from cakes or biscuits are egg free.  Sadly, my one independent local health food shop is not very local so I have started to free from shop at Waitrose.  They offer a better selection and do not fill the shelves with their own brand.  They appear to allow the competition to compete with them.  I know that some brands might not want to work with the big supermarkets (and I don’t blame them) but I am not sure how else I can buy these products.  I think people with allergies who purchase food online are brave.  I want to see a product and read the labels for myself as I do not trust others to do it for me.  Perhaps I have become greedy.  Years ago I just lived without ice cream and chocolate, now I know I can have a free from alternative I want them in my life but I can’t find them with ease.

I would be interested to hear from other allergy sufferers.  Do you understand where I coming from? Do you agree or disagree with me? Did you visit the Allergy Show? What did you discover?  

Disclaimer - I attended this show as a member of the general public not as a blogger.  No one has sponsored this post, all opinions are 100% my own.

Green People Eye Cream

I have never been someone who buys eye cream on a regular basis. The few I have brought, I either lost interest in them or they caused irritation. My eyes are super sensitive and I can get tiny eczema patches in the outer corner. The other month I looked in the mirror and it suddenly dawned on me that my eyes looked dreadful. I decided it was time to invest in a cream. 

Aside from finding a suitable sensitive formulation I was not willing to spend large amounts of money. Hours of research later I chose to buy Green People eye cream. They do offer the choice between a day and night cream. I decided that using something overnight was the better option for me because my morning routine is always rushed. There is nothing nicer than waking up to beautiful pampered skin. I bought the Soothing Nourishing Night Treat Eye cream from Feelunique. Let me point out that Green People’s website are calling it Rejuvenating Eye Cream so I am guessing they have changed the name. 

Green People have a great ingredient policy. Formulations or products are not tested on animals, products are suitable for Vegetarians and most are registered with the Vegan Society. They are free from parabens, SLS, lanolin, ethyl alcohol, artificial perfumes, petrochemicals, phthalates and colourants. 

I was pleasantly surprised that the cream has a light consistency. I assumed it would heavy since facial night creams tend to be thicker. I think there is very little fragrance but apparently it is scent with geranium. I have not suffered any irritation or breakouts of eczema which is a huge relief. The benefit of using this cream is I do feel as if my skin is plumper. Prior to using, what had prompted my purchase was I felt my eyes had become sunken and the skin dull in colour. 

Overall, I really like this cream, would happily repurchase and recommend to others. With continual use I do believe it can live up to the promise of rejuvenation. Best of all I love the price £7.65 from Feelunique or £8.50 direct from Green People (FYI - 10ml tube size).

Have you tried Green People skincare? What did you think? Do you have a favourite eye cream?

Vegan Rice Crispy (Krispies) Treats

When I was first diagnosed with my allergies my little world fell apart my main concern was no more birthday cake, no more jelly and ice cream.  That is all that matters when you are a kid.  Back then the internet was not a part of every day life so access to allergy free cooking recipes must have been very difficult for my Mum.  I remember she would always cheer me up with Rice Crispy treats as they can be made free of my allergens.

I was poorly over the weekend, not sure if it was bad food or food allergies (the effects are similar).  I decided I needed a little childhood cheer and made rice crispy treats.  Mum always made them with dairy free margarine and golden syrup.  I decided to pimp them out USA style and add peanut butter. I am very lucky not to have a Peanut allergy and I grew up eating peanut butter.  I've visited the USA numerous time and I came to realise that US PB is the best.  So ditch the Sunpat and Supermarket own brands to invest extra pennies into the real stuff.  Skippy is a personal favourite and available in Sainsburys.

Did you know the Peta website had recipes? I did not and it is where I got the idea to add PB to my crispy treats.  I used this recipe as guidance for quantities (link).  I have no idea what corn syrup is so substituted it for golden syrup.  In hindsight leave out the sugar, I've been bouncing off the walls, I am so daft I did not put my brain in gear.  I can feel the cavities forming in my teeth. J

Despite the sugar overload, I am loving my regression back to childhood.  Sometimes its the simple things in life that are the best. What are your comfort foods?  If you have a recipe to share feel free to leave a link below.

Deep Steep Foot Stick

After falling in love with the Deep Steep body mist, I decided to purchase another item from the range. Since my feet are a much neglected part of my body, I brought the Candy Mint Foot Stick. As you can tell from the picture the packaging is similar to that associated with lip balm, only bigger in size. The fragrance is exactly as the name suggests, it does remind me of mint sweets. I do not feel it is overpowering or artificial as Deep Steep use essential oils in this product.

"This super hydrating stick works wonders on heels and cuticles." 

The stick contains shea and cocoa butters which are ingredients that perform well on dry skin. Application of this product is simple and great for targeting specific problem areas. On contact with warm skin this melts into oil. If you have very dry cracked heels then I suggest you use an intensive cream and use the stick in conjunction.  It would work well on days when you have little time to pay full attention to your feet.

Deep Steep products are certified by the 'Cruelty Free Bunny' and free from Parabens, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Mineral Oil, Artificial Fragrances, Chemical Preservatives.

I buy Deep Steep from Feelunique.com and the Foot Stick costs £4.95 (14g)

Sunday Catch Up (14) - Vegetarian Tortilla Lasagne

Do any of you watch the Sorted lads over on YouTube? A while back they made a Vegetarian Tortilla Lasagne (link) and I finally got around to making it.

I made a couple of changes, firstly, I used my dairy free cheese. Since my BF is not allergic to dairy I kept the dairy free cheese to a minimum in the layers and then added more at the end when I served up individual portions.  We just nuked it in the microwave to melt.  The second change was I did not use Passata instead I used a tin of Ratatouille.  We enjoyed it and I would make it again.

Here are some other Sugarpuffish allergy friendly treats for the week (okay yes that was a bit wordy).

Sainsburys replaced all the dairy free chocolate with their own brand (which is yucky) but then these Kinnerton Peppa Pig lollies appeared on the shelves.

I discovered Cranks sandwiches in my local Holland & Barrett

I found this bag of Humdinger Veggie snacks at Tesco 

I purchased the bracelet online at oh so gemz

I discovered I now have a Muji store local to me.  I brought this plastic drawer for storing cleaning products in my bathroom. 

Next weekend I will be heading to London to attend the Allergy & Free From Show (link).  It has been a couple of years since I last went.  There are exhibitors that I am keen to seek out. You can download FREE tickets for the show via the website. For anyone Up North (in Liverpool) there is a show later on in the year (again check the website for information).

My finally shout out goes to a newly launched website www.beaut-e.co.uk.  It is an online market place for handmade skincare.  As word spreads the range of products is growing so it is definitely one to keep an eye on over the coming weeks and months.

Preserve Powered by Yogurt Cups

If you follow Kim from Sunny Mother Nature you may have seen her YouTube video in which she recommended a Preserve recycled plastic toothbrush.  I was intrigued and started to see if we had an equivalent company in the UK. I ended up discovering that Preserve are available here and they were under my nose the whole time.

Picture source - link

Preserve Toothbrushes are made in the USA.  The bristles are new but the handle is made from recycled yoghurt pots.  They are BPA free and recyclable when you are finished with them.  The Company offers a recycling scheme should your local service not accept the plastic. I did wondered how this would work from in the UK but I did some research and there is a scheme over here.

I want to recycle my Preserve toothbrush in the UK? - Our distribution partner in the UK accepts Preserve toothbrushes and packaging for recycling. The address is: Kinetic, PO BOX 64350, London, NW6 9NZ.(link)

Another great fact about the toothbrush is "We consulted closely with dental professionals to create a toothbrush that gets your teeth cleaner but minimizes your impact on the environment."

It would be nice to find a UK company offering a similar toothbrush.  I say this because (and I am guessing) some may argue that the carbon footprint to import this toothbrush probably outweighs the environmental efforts of the Company.

As I mentioned at the start of this post, there are a few UK stockists that crop up in a google search.  I recommend these sites - LoveLula (link) and Lucy Rose (link) where the toothbrushes retail for £2.99. 

I would love to get your comments on this topic, what do you think about recycled toothbrushes?

Antipodes Rejoice Facial Day Cream

The lovely people over at O.N.G (link) asked me if I would like to review a product from the Antipodes skincare range (link). It was a tough choice but I opted for the Rejoice Light Facial Day Cream. 

If you are not familiar with the brand, Antipodes is from New Zealand. It is certified organic, premium natural skincare, approved for Vegetarians with an impressive ingredients policy (link). Products are not tested on animals and do not contain -

• genetically modified (GM) or genetically engineered (GE) ingredients 

• synthetic fillers or silicon derived ingredients 

• artificial colours or artificial fragrances 

• sodium lauryl sulfates 

• mineral oils 

• petrochemicals 

• animal ingredients (except honey and beeswax from living bees) 

• parabens; ethyl-, methyl-, propyl-, butyl-. 

I was attracted to this day cream because it contains my favourite skincare ingredients – manuka, avocado, macadamia and jojoba. These ingredients are packed with nutrients along with moisturising and healing properties.  As you can see this cream is packaged in a tube which is easy to squeeze. This is described as “light and non-oily”. I was very surprised by the consistency it is not what I would typically associate with a light cream, this is thicker than I was initially expecting and I do have to work it into my skin.  That being said I do not find it heavy or greasy and my skin has no trouble absorbing it.

I have not suffered dry patches or irritation whilst using this product. By the way, I would happily use this overnight despite it being intended as a day cream. The fragrance is sweet from almond and vanilla.  For some reason the scent has me imagining cinnamon buns. It is possible not everyone would enjoy the sugary fragrance but my tweet tooth thinks it is delicious.

Overall, I am happy to recommend Antipodes Rejoice Day Cream, it compares to other moisturisers I have reviewed on my blog. Antipodes is a premium brand and this is reflected in the price (£25.99 for 60ml), however it is comparable to brands like Pai, Elemental Herbology or Dr Hauschka.

Have you tried any products from the Antipodes range? What did you think? If you are looking for natural skincare, either Antipodes or others then check out O.N.G's site. (link)

Disclaimer - I was sent this product for review, all opinions are 100% my own, I have not been paid to write about this product or website, none of the links featured are affiliated.

Happy Birthday to Sugarpuffish Blog

I have reached a milestone, my blog is now one year old.  Thank you to everyone who follows me on GFC, Twitter, Hellocotton, Bloglovin and anywhere else.  I am fortunate to be approached by fabulous  companies and would like to thank them for the opportunity to review their products.  One of my reviews even lead to a business partnership - how awesome is that? 

I thought I would share with you my top favourite skincare products from the past year.  Drum roll please J ..........(the links are to my review posts)

Cleansers

Balm - Suti (link), Lulu & Boo (link)

Hot Cloth - Tropic Pure Plant Skincare (link)

Cream - Savonnaire London (link)

Oil based - 24 Skincare (link)

Moisturisers

Dr Organic (link), Borealis (link), Tropic (link)

Facial Oil/Serum
Myroo (link)


Toner 

Handmade Naturals (link)

Exfoliator

Dr Organic (link), Tropic (link)

Multi Purpose Balm

Pure Papaya (link)

Lip Balm

Savonnaire London (link)

Best Product for Eczema

Balmology (link), Salcura (link)

Body Lotion

Elizabeth's Daughter (link)

Body Butter

Pure Thoughts (link)

Shower Gel/Body Wash

Bodhi (link), Naked (link)

Soap

Miss Polly (link)

Haircare

Giovanni 50/50 conditioner (link)

I look forward to the next year of blogging and your comments.

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