Aubrey Organics RAVE!

I just have to take a moment to rave on how amazing this company "Aubrey Organics" is for a moment.  First of all: SO impressed by their commitment for over 40 years to producing 100% safe products without compromise - they were doing this before it was trendy!  

Secondly: their customer service is outstanding.  This is the type of company I don't hesitate in recommending based on the knowledge of their commitment to quality and true safety of products and on their loyalty to their customers.  

One disclaimer is I do notice they use alcohol in some of their products which can be drying to the skin. This is not a biggie for me but something to be aware of.

I contacted them via their Facebook page recently to enquire about a price change on the Rosa Mosqueta Conditioner. I have been buying it for over a year at the same store for the same price and all of a sudden it went up by $10!  I got a prompt reply that they would look into it and they also asked for my address to send me some more for the inconvenience.  I received a full size Rosa Mosqueta Shampoo and Conditioner, a full size Chia Mousse, Chia Hairspray and Chia Salt Spray along with a selection of skin care products I have reviewed earlier.  I was amazed at the generosity of this company sending me so many full size products for free as they didn't know I have a blog either!  Then when I went to use two of them they had faulty sprays and Aubrey insisted on sending replacement products to ensure I could try those products.  WOW.

The Chia Salt Spray has quite a strong smell but seemed to work well giving the textured salt spray look.  It says 'Protein Rich Color Care' on it and also 'instant volume' stating that it protects natural and color treated hair from heat damage so I imagine this would also be great to use prior to heat styling irons etc for that extra protection too.  The second ingredient listed after water is alcohol denat and lists other things like lemon peel oil, lavender oil and rosemary. For a full ingredient listing check their website. The bottle size is 118ml/ 4 FL OZ and it has a pump spray cap.

The Chia Mousse is very light and not sticky at all to touch and has a lemongrass fragrance.  Since my hair is really long I am probably not the best person to test this as the weight of my hair negates anything the mousse is intended to do. It is listed as 'Smoothing for Medium/Thick hair'.  Like the Salt Spray it is also listed as protecting natural and color treated hair from heat which makes it a great product from those of you using heat styling products.  The mousse is also listed as helping to control frizz and add shine.

The Rosa Mosqueta Shampoo and Conditioner have a really nice light sweet fruity type fragrance. I find they clean decently but like others I've noticed they have thinned out a lot recently and don't seem as good.  According to Aubrey's response on the website I've seen to others they had to make slight changes to the formulations recently in order to get a new organic certification they were wanting.  I'm not sure what they are going to do as they do seem to have a lot of loyal customers, some using the products for over 20 years, that are discontinuing use due to these changes to the products.  I really hope they can get the original formulations back quickly to regain their loyal customer base and continue to add to it because the negative press of disgruntled customers doesn't help.  They are a great company and I hope they can sort this out in a way that works for all.

For me I recommend them as a company, for all they stand for including against animal testing however right now to be really honest I haven't been wowed by any of their products. I really wanted to be as they are so kind sending me the samples etc but I'm open to trying more in the future - particularly if I hear that they bring the old formulations back for sure!

Introducing Neals Yard Organic - now available in the US!

I'm so excited to introduce you to an all organic 100% safe, chemical free brand I have known about for the last 20 years - Neals Yard Organics. I first discovered it myself when I lived in the U.K and was drawn into the gorgeous little store in Oxford where I lived.  It was an amazing experience - with the aromas of essential oils and so many interesting products all in beautiful glass blue bottles.  A friend gave me a gift pack for my birthday and it was an absolute treat. I also tried their deodorant too as I was looking for something safe and found it worked well.  Anyway I left UK and therefore hadn't heard much about Neals Yard until recently when I discovered that they are now in the USA where I am living. They are operating differently here, they are probably not going to have the beautiful stores like they have in UK, they are mostly operating by having representatives called independent consultants who sell their products for them through direct sales.


They had an offer recently that was too good to pass by with $99 for I think it's over 20 products - some of them, like the Frankincense line, being over $100 individually!  I signed up!  So the good news is I now can purchase the products myself with $25 discount! Excited about that! This offer does come up now and then.

Neals Yard Remedies Organic (or NYR Organic) has been around for 30 years committed to organic, high quality pure products.  These products are all handmade by 6 people in the UK.  The more I find out about them the more excited I feel as FINALLY there is a company that actually is organic and safe. I get sick of finding out supposedly organic products have questionable ingredients still in them or having to check ingredients lists in every product in a range because some are safe and some not.  This is not the case with NYR Organic. They are all safe, they are committed to that. Not only are they committed to the non toxic, organic, 100% safe but they also recently scored 100/100 for their ethical standards. Pretty impressive.

Anyway if you would like to have a look feel free to browse the website and check out the products for yourself.  I have linked it throughout or click here. If you have any questions please do ask! These products are luxurious and highly coveted in UK - it's a high end brand that is already established and proven in it's field.  I can also get hold of samples for you if you'd like to try some products too - just let me know.

So excited to share these with you! I'm pretty sure you will love them too!

Review of some Aubrey Cosmetics Skincare Product Samples

I recently got the opportunity to try some Aubrey Cosmetics Skincare Product samples which was completely new to me.  I've been using their Rosa Mosqueta Shampoo and Conditioner for about a year now so that has been the limit of my knowledge of this brand up until now.  The Rosa Mosqueta Shampoo and Conditioner has changed with the latest bottles I've been using so I won't be continuing using it unfortunately. I guess they changed the recipe or something as in particular the conditioner feels very watery now on my hair.

To be honest these skincare samples are just okay for me.  I haven't noticed any dramatic differences in the appearance of my skin during the time I've been using them.  I'm not a fan of the smell, it reminds me of celery or something along those lines.  I probably won't purchase these as full size products however I'm grateful for the opportunity to try them all the same.

I do very much appreciate companies like Aubrey, however, with their commitment to keeping the nasty chemicals and questionable contents out of their products and will continue to try other products of theirs as I have opportunity as I also realize different things work for different people.

Introducing ABEEGO!!!

So I haven't posted in a while - my apologies - however I have a new discovery to share in the non toxic world of essentials and that is: ABEEGO!  Not sure how I found them but Abeego is a company based in Canada that makes food coverings that are completely non toxic - also called beeswax wrap.  They had a sale so I thought I would go ahead and try them and I got the pack with three different sizes.  My first impression is how amazing it smells when you take them out of the packaging - that delightful honey/beeswax smell!!  Love the design of them too.

I've been looking for alternatives to using cling film/wrap for a while but to be honest there's not much that can take it's place for convenience and usability.  Enter Abeego!  I love these wraps!  I haven't got rid of my cling film just yet because I don't have enough Abeegos yet to go 100% but I plan on doing that knowing how bad the cling film is with phthalates in particular.   I read loads of reviews on Abeego and read through their website to ensure I knew how to use it first.

So far I've used it for covering foods - even raw onions and it doesn't pick up the scent! Amazing huh!  I've wrapped fresh bread or baguettes in it and the next day the bread is still soft - which never happens otherwise in my experience.  I wrap the cheese in it once we've opened it and it keeps very well - had no mold growing on the cheese at all while its wrapped in Abeego.  These are just a few of the things I've tried so far and been impressed with the results.

It shapes with the warmth of your hands, so keep in mind if you take something out of the fridge with abeego wrap on it,  and you want to put the abeego on a different shape you will need to press it down to the new shape gently and the warmth of your hands will reform it.

To wash them you need to take care. I just wipe mine down with a clean wet cloth.  They recommend you use an eco dish liquid if you need a bit of soap for them and to treat them like a plate not a piece of fabric - this way they will last a lot longer.

I love these wraps and will continue to buy more as I can as I would love to get cling film free completely.  So glad there's people out there creating safe alternatives!!Also I must add their customer service is amazing!  Keep an eye on their Facebook page as they do deals from time to time that are a great opportunity to try them out for yourself!  I highly recommend them and just for the record I'm not paid by them nor have they given me anything free to say this!

Photos courtesy of Abeego web and Facebook page.