NATURAL SKINCARE TALK

[lyravega]

I don't think we have one of these yet... But, if I'm wrong, please do correct me.

I've been wanting to make this thread for a while now, but as it usually is... Life got and gets in the way. But, better late than never, huh?

I've been enjoying many natural skincare products for the last 15 years or so, on and off ( mainly facial oils and balms, but masks, treatments, and body oils and balms, as well. ) I even used to make my own for years ( years ago ) as good natural skincare products were not a very easy thing to obtain. You'd have to try and hunt down quality ingredients and make stuff yourself most of the time. And, that was quite a task! It makes me happy to see that there is so many wonderful products widely and easily available lately. It makes things so much easier! 🙂

Natural skincare performs better for me personally. I love and enjoy using it. My skin adores it. I love the idea of it and behind it. So, I wanted to make a place for us natural skincare lovers to talk about anything natural skincare as I see there are many others out there that are interested, or already in love with it, as well. So why not have our own little place on here? 🙂 So we can share our experiences ( good and/or bad ), loves, favorite products, favorite brands and their news/new launches, discus things, share our daily routines, talk DIYs if anyone is into that, why not? Anything really.

By "natural" skincare here I'm talking about skincare made mostly or completely of ingredients available in nature, like plant-derived ingredients, minerals... You know, the whole nine. 😉

Anyway - feel free to join in! You don't have to be a natural skincare lover exclusively. Everybody's welcome!

A word of caution... For those who are new to natural skincare, proceed with caution. Inform and educate yourself really well on everything you are interested in trying and putting on your skin. Natural does not mean it won't hurt you! And, it certainly doesn't mean it's safe. Some natural ingredients can be irritating for some people. Go with what's good for you, don't force anything on your skin just because someone said it is good. Do patch tests. Be smart. People prone to allergies should pay careful attention to what they use on their skin.

 P.S. I am not completely and 100% natural, nor I imagine I ever will be as I do love me some other stuff, as well. But mostly, yes.

[lyravega]

Thanks for stopping by with updates, @Mochapj !

I don't know about the mask, but I will have to try that cream! Oh, who am I kidding... I will try them both eventually! 😄

[fatimamummy]

Thank you for follow up review @Mochapj  I'm hoping these two become available by the time I go through my sample stash. Very intriguing!

[fatimamummy]

I am using Mahalo The Balm for last three nights now and I think I am ready to share my thoughts about it or better say sing the praises of this magical product.

Something about my skin. I'm 40 and have oily skin, The only issues I had were hyperpigmentation around my mouth and sides of my forehead. Lately visible pores were added to the mix but other than that I think I can say Amy skin was pretty good for my age.

A while back I tried to incorporate Retinoid in my routine, some of my own mistakes and something that maybe it isn't something for me, I ended up with red itchy spots on my face more heavily around my mouth and chin. After the irritation And redness was gone, I still had kind of dry patches left behind. Hyperpigmentation on the corners of my mouth is considerably increased and there is discolouration left on those dry patches.

I never had a texture or dryness problem before so it was really driving me crazy. Anything I put on my face tend to cling to the dry patches making them look even worst although I was using moisturizer through out the day.

Now the first night I used Mahalo Balm, it felt very nice on skin and for once those dry patches looked well hydrated. Next morning when I washed my face, those patches were still almost soft and non dry. I could feel the texture when I touched my skin but it wasn't visible to the eye. I had to reapply the moisturizer a few times on those spots through the day. Second day was better, and today I woke up with very soft and smooth skin. I can hardly feel any texture on my skin when I touch it. Since dryness is gone so the discolouration doesn't look as bad as I thought it was and since the skin is smooth again, I can dab a bit of concealer to make it even.

I have been thinking to try this Balm for a while as @Mochapj keeps  talking about it here and on IG that how she loves it. I'm happy I decided to try it at a time when my skin was as having a rough time and it rescued it.

The two generous samples I have will last me for a while and I'm ready to buy it once I use up the samples and can safely recommend this to others.

I did get a sample of ML blue cocoon as well so I can compare it with Mahalo Balm but I would love to hear the thought of those who have used both these products, about how these compare. 

[Mochapj]

@fatimamummy glad to hear it is working well for you!

Are you wanting to compare Blue Cocoon with the blue Mahalo balm (Rare Indigo) or the Mahalo Balm (yellow)

For my oily skin I find the blue Rare Indigo Balm from Mahalo to be lighter weight and faster absorbing than ML Blue Cocoon.  Blue Cocoon was something I always had to spend time massaging in, but Rare Indigo melts in right away.  I found both soothing to my skin, but I think I prefer RI.

If you meant the Mahalo Balm (yellow) I can't really compare the 2 because I hated the scent so much the first time I tried it, that I never retried it again 😄

[fatimamummy]

Thanks for comparison @Mochapj Ok now it's funny because whenever I read you mentioning Mahalo Balm, I thought you were referring to the yellow one lol.

 I haven't gotten around to try the indigo one yet but I'll get to it soon.

[Mochapj]

@fatimamummy 😄

Mahalo did make another yellow-y balm that I do love and have talked about a lot on here and on IG (Love+ Cocoa balm) but it was only part of an LE kit they did for Valentines day.  I keep hoping one day they will release it permanently, because I loved it.

Regardless, glad to hear you found something that works for you. 🙂

[fatimamummy]

Oooo I'll keep an eye out for that one as well. For now I'm happy this yellow one solved my most annoying problem ☺

[lyravega]

@fatimamummy The Mahalo Balm ( yellow one ) is very nice. My skin loved it. It is so nourishing and wonderful all around. But I can't use it. It stains my skin for days ( I am very fair ), making me orangey yellow.

Blue Cocoon didn't work for me. It was very harsh and drying for my dry skin, whereas the Mahalo Balm is so very and beautifully nourishing, calming, soothing, healing. BC made my skin dry, tight and flaky. I prefer Mahalo Rare Indigo to it ( it's by far one of my fav balms! ).

[fatimamummy]

@lyravega Indigo Balm is the next in queue to try.

I have a lot of yellow in my skintone and my complexion isn't light so that could be the reason I didn't notice the staining from The Balm 😉

[veronika23]

@fatimamummy  I'm also happy I saw @Mochapj talk about Mahalo! I was pretty happy with some of the products I tried and ended up purchasing a few.  I still want to re-try a few but I have so much in queue right now 😄  I did try MC BC but didn't pay much attention to how it performed since the scent was too strong for me.

[fatimamummy]

@veronika23 I got the sample of BC earlier as well but misplaced it after only 2-3 uses so I am curious about it as well as it was quite a talked about product on BT some time ago.

[veronika23]

@fatimamummy  Oh I hope you find it or maybe it will magically reappear 😉  It was definitely talked about a lot.

[melanito]

I'd also recommend Garden of Wisdom.  They have a great consultation service they offer where they get a pic of you and go over your skin and needs. I buy my passionfruit/maracuja oil from them.  They do have recipes and what not for raw products and some pretty interesting products they create as well

[veronika23]

@melanito  was this comment made for me? As a reply to my post below? Either way I will check it out! Thank you.

[melanito]

Thought i'd post about the vogue birchbox collab for those into natural skincare....there are some makeup products as well but quite an amazing deal. 

https://www.birchbox.com/product/30097

[veronika23]

Can anyone here refer a reliable website where I can learn more about certain raw ingredients and how to use them? Thanks 🙂   @lyravega  @pixiedust2

[lyravega]

@veronika23 Raw ingredients like what? Anyway, I don't think I know of any site like that. I do a lot of googling. Ingredient, by ingredient.

MountainRoseHerbs usually has some useful info with the stuff they sell ( herbs, essential oils, carrier oils, butters, clays, wax, salves, cosmetic salts... and such ). They also have a very nice and useful blog with many recipes and diy's, herbal education... a lot of useful info, really. Definitely check out the blog. You can find a lot of interesting and useful things there. I will PM you the link.

[veronika23]

@lyravega  sorry yes stuff like herbs and oils.  That sounds like a great site. Thank you 🙂

[lyravega]

No prob, @veronika23 . 😉

They are great!

[lyravega]

Another thing I've been testing for almost a week now is Jordan Samuel Plie Cleanser ( on Stephanie Nicole's ( 😉 ) and jemly 's rec ). I am still not sure what I think of this one. I kind of like it. It's a gel to oil cleanser that starts off with a gel like consistency which then turns into a balmy oil. But, it is so. very. oily! It screams "scrub me off with a washcloth!". Which I don't do because my skin hates such shenanigans. ( It does say you can just rinse it clean, or remove with a warm wet washcloth ( which I think is definitely better with this one ) ). It leaves quite an oil slick after I emulsify it first to release impurities, and then rinse it off the best I can. It leaves my skin sooo oily, as if I slapped an oil, and in large quantities, on my soaking wet face. It's kinda scary, I won't lie. 😛 But, by the time I pat my skin dry with a towel, all is good. It doesn't strip, dry or irritate my skin. It's like a layer of nourishing oil/first layer of hydration. I hope it won't clog my pores, either. ( So far so good. )

This cleanser actually works to nourish and hydrate the skin. My skin is dry, so it appreciates the goodness that not only cleans, but nourishes, as well. But, if you have oily skin, you'll definitely want to take it off with a wet warm washcloth.

I even tried to remove my makeup with it, as well. It does work quite well as a makeup remover, but I had to go in with cotton rounds. You can't just wash it off ( as I was hoping. 😛 But, nope. Of course it was not gonna be that easy. 😄 ). And after that, I used it as a cleanser, too, as I didn't quite trust it removed all my makeup. I need to play around with it as a makeup remover more, but so far I think it is a quite nice and affordable cleanser ( for those who use washcloths! ), and/or makeup remover, worth a shot. I think I am going to like and use it more as a makeup remover myself.

[Magrathea]

Thanks for your review, @lyravega ! Glad I stumbled upon it. I've been so curious about this one. I don't mind using a washcloth ( it doesn't irritate my skin or anything ), but I prefer not to. Nevertheless, I think I just might order me this one. It sounds quite lovely. Minus that residue... But, we'll see...