Sunday, 20 August 2017

Almost Peggy Face Honey


Almost Peggy is the brainchild of two sisters from Melbourne, Lucy and Clare, and Face Honey is currently their only product. It is a natural exfoliating daily face wash aiming to solve many common skin problems by natural means and using their hero ingredient, honey (obviously!). I was fortunate to win a packet of the gooey stuff in an Instagram giveaway by Wellness by Kels and have been giving it a good test out since.

Face Honey promises to nourish and gently exfoliate the skin. It also promises to promote clear skin and balance oils.

Face Honey is a dark golden, slightly sticky paste packaged in one of those resealable envelope packets that are all the rage for body scrubs. Not going to lie, I hate the packaging. Fortunately, Face Honey's semi-solid state allows you to easily scoop out a chunk to apply to your face. It is recommended that you wet your face before applying so that it is easier to spread the product out (trust me, do not try to apply it to a dry face) so this means that some of the water ends up in the packaging and trying to reseal it with wet hands...nightmare. Actually, trying to reseal these envelopes full stop I struggle - anyone else? I think it would be slightly better in a jar because at least you wouldn't be reaching all the way in for some product and ending up with sticky hands and wrists too. Sadly, the product is way too thick to be packaged in pump-style packaging.


I have been using Face Honey as a second cleanse after removing makeup in the evenings and occasionally as a first cleanse first thing in the morning. It is much easier than I was expecting to spread the product over your face given the stickiness of the honey and the thickness of the formula. It has a slightly gritty texture from the bicarbonate soda included to help with exfoliation. I normally do not enjoy exfoliating scrubs as I prefer acid exfoliation, however I found this gentle enough on my skin to use a couple of times a week. My skin is very soft and smooth after use and the antibiotic properties of the honey have helped to clear up and heal some of my breakouts faster than normal.

To me, Face Honey smells exactly like honeycomb and I really enjoy opening this up just because of the smell alone! Given the first two ingredients are honey and organic bicarbonate soda, this makes a lot of sense. The rest of the ingredients include grapeseed oil, organic agar agar, and essential oils of sweet orange, cedarwood, lime, bergamot, frankincense, ylang ylang, and geranium. It is a really simple, natural formula that relies on the natural preservative effects of the honey but does need to be used up within four to six weeks of opening.


Price: $26.95 (Almost Peggy website) [$0.135/g]
Rate: ingredients, scent, efficacy, Australian-made and owned, cruelty free
Hate: packaging (really)
Verdict: I wouldn't repurchase this, despite enjoying it as a change from acid exfoliation, simply because the packaging is way too fussy, messy and irritating

Sunday, 13 August 2017

Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream



Antipodes is a New Zealand brand focused on natural and organic skincare with scientific backing, to provide a product based in nature with great results. I have tried several products from Antipodes before and have really enjoyed them, in particular the Anti-Ageing Minis (made even better if you can nab them on sale!). I love that they are a natural skincare brand that feels really luxurious and does provide great results on my skin. The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is my current day and night eye cream and has lasted me a helluva long time.

The Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream promises to help moisturise and soften fine lines as well as soothing and cooling the eye area.

Eye creams are one skincare item that I religiously apply both morning and night. Despite that they
are sometimes a thicker cream that might not sit so well under makeup - something that I wish I did not have to wear every day, but, working in an office environment demands it - the area around my eyes always seems to lap it up. The Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream is a great eye cream for the day time, as it is a light lotion texture, so will be perfect for those who do not have quite such a thirsty eye area and it absorbs really well. This tiny little jar is lasting me forever and I have probably been using this for at least a year now, so it is definitely value for money.

I was really hoping this one would smell like fruity kiwi. Does anyone else pick up a skincare item purely based on how they hope it will smell? It is actually more of an herbal, woody scent and perfectly fine, just not what I was hoping for because how good would a kiwi fruit cream smell!

In terms of efficacy, this is great at keeping the eye area hydrated and smooth. I am 25 this year so I do not have too many fine lines to worry about just yet but of course, being obsessed with skincare as I am, I do notice the few that are beginning to appear. I do not find this eye cream to quite as good as one of my favourites Adavanced Night Repair Eye from Estee Lauder in diminishing fines lines however it certainly plays its role in hydrating the area to prevent more appearing, as it promises to do. I have also found this to be a bit of a lifesaver recently, as my eyelids really dried out in a bad reaction to a concealer and this helped to bring them back on track to being smooth and flake free.

This eye cream has a water base and includes some really beautiful ingredients comprising avocado oil, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol (derived from coconut), cetearyl glycosides (derived from wheat straw), glyceryl stearate (an emulsifier which, in combination with the previous two ingredients, prevents the water and oil in the formula from separating), Vitamin E in the form of tocopherol acetate, carrot seed oil, kiwifruit seed oil (obviously), borage oil, gluconolactone (a polyhydroxy acid (PHA), basically a milder acid than an AHA that is better for sensitive skin), sodium benzoate (a salt preservative derived from fruit), and finally grapefruit seed extract (the Antipodes core brand ingredient Vinanza grape seed extract).

Price: $52.99 (Priceline website) [$1.77/mL]
Rate: easily absorbed, vegetarian, hydration benefits
Hate: packaging (I still rate the Kosmea eye cream packaging as one of the best around!)
Verdict: not a repurchase for me at this stage as I have found other eye creams that work better for me, but I would highly recommend if you are after a simple, light eye cream

What is your favourite eye cream that I should try?

Saturday, 5 August 2017

Lush Bath Bombs I

In our move from Perth to Bunbury, one of the things that I was really excited to have in our new rental was a bath! I have not lived in a house with a bath since I was still living at home during school, so I have relished the opportunity to relax and have a bath after a stressful day. This has also meant that I have been able to further indulge my love of Lush and finally experience their famous bath bombs and bubble bars. This is the first wrap up (of many) of the bath bombs I have used lately and features a few bath bombs from the 2017 Valentine's Day range.

Cupid Bath Bomb



Cupid features lime oil, bergamot oil, violet leaf absolute, and fresh raspberry juice. It turns the water the palest, pastel pink colour and has a really delicate, sweet scent. The raspberry is probably the strongest scent and the combination with the lime made this feel almost summery and fruity. I can't say that this is my favourite bath bomb I have tried - it is very simple and sweet and did not feel overly indulgent. If I am going to spend half an hour plus in the bath, I personally want it to be a richer experience. No real bath art to speak of from this one either.

Lovestruck Bubble Bar




Lovestruck contains lime oil, geranium oil, and petitgrain oil. It turns the bath a rather unsettling bright yellow but does produce a lot of bubbles! I used the whole bar in my bath but probably could have only used half and had the same experience (noted for next time), even though it is on the smaller side of Lush bubble bars. This was overwhelmingly citrusy and sweet, a very bright and happy bath. The bar did give the water a slippery feel and was moisturising on the skin. Bonus points for the super cute emoji shape!

Rose Bombshell Bath Bomb




Rose Bombshell features sea salt, yellow rose petals, rose absolute, geranium oil, rose oil, and lemon oil. The bath water starts out with a neon pink tinge but ends dark pink, almost red, with dried rose petals floating on top. It has a very strong floral, jammy scent which lingers on the skin for a good time after the bath, making this bath bomb feel very indulgent. I really enjoyed relaxing with this one and it left my skin feeling nicely moisturised. Something about the rose scent made this feel really romantic, very fitting for a Valentine's Day product, although I didn't really love trying to clean up the leftover rose petals.

What is your favourite Lush bath product?