Green People Organic Formula Gentle Cleanse Product Review

Green People make a load of eco-friendly stuff for men and women. We’ve looked at their Itch Away Shampoo before but they kindly sent us some of their Organic Formulas Gentle Cleanse to test. It contains 93% certified organically grown ingredients, is an alcohol-free, moisture-binding cleanser rich in essential fatty acids. While it’s also vegan and not tested on animals. I once again had my friend Claire to try and she gave it a thorough testing.

“I found it very quick and convenient to use, as you don’t have to rinse your face before you apply it, it just goes straight onto your dry skin. And you have the option of either rinsing it off or wiping away with a cotton pad.

“It’s an effective makeup remover, my skin felt clean and refreshed after using it, also quite calming to the skin. I didn’t notice the ‘beautiful scent of fairly traded rose geranium’ but a pleasant scent isn’t what I look for when choosing cleansers. I also didn’t notice any of the anti-ageing benefits, but maybe others did - do I look 22 years old again?

“What I look for in a cleanser is that it gets rid of the impurities and oils in my skin without drying it out too much, and I found that this cleanser did both of those. No excess oiliness or dryness after using this product for a few days. Again, I don’t necessarily go out of my way to buy organic products, I usually go for names that I know and trust, and am often very sceptical of organic products, and they are also more expensive than non-organic brands, but I found this product mild yet effective.”

Green People Organic Formula Gentle Cleanse costs £12.99 for 200ml, £7.99 for 50ml and £3 for a 10ml trial size.

Beyond Organic Hydrating Body Oil Eco Product Review

Following on our look at some of the Beyond Organic Skincare products is the Hydrating Body Oil. Part of their Sensual Massage Gift Pack which costs £29.92, it can also be bought separately for £14.50.

Once again I roped in Claire who looked at the Firming Eye Cream and asked her about this 60ml bottle of body oil which contains a host of ‘good for you’ ingredients such as horse chestnut, fennel, cornflower, green tea, sea buckthorn and macadamia nut.

Do you use a different product normally?
My skin tends to get neglected during winter because it’s always covered in layers of clothing. During the summer I usually use a self-tanning moisturiser. But during winter my legs become very dry and itchy.

How does this compare to that one or nothing at all?
Big improvement to nothing at all. After applying the oil, my skin stayed hydrated for a couple of days, they soaked up the oil and felt nice and smooth and looked really good. No flakyness, no itching.

It claims to ‘deeply nourish and tone the skin, leaving it with a lovely silky feel. Great for bare arms and legs, giving skin a warm glow’ - any good?
Yep, my legs looked and felt soft and hydrated. Once it was rubbed in my skin felt firm and and did have a nice glow to it.

It says it’s not slippery and easy to rub in - was it?
Rubbed in as easily as any moisturiser. It is quite runny though, slips between you fingers and drips on the floor when your trying to get it out of the bottle and onto your arms or legs. I was able to put my clothes on straight after applying it.

What was the smell like?
When I first opened the bottle I didn’t really like the smell, I found it very overpowering. But I found when I rubbed it into my skin, it was still quite strong but it became quite pleasant and relaxing.

It contains… ‘Horse Chestnut helps to increase circulation. Fennel is said to be good for cellulite. Cornflower is very emollient and nourishing. Green tea is detoxifying. The synergy of these herbs and flowers make this an excellent toning and firming body oil. The Macadamia nut oil base is high in Oleic fatty acid which has an affinity with the skin’ - did it do any of that sort of thing?
No. Didn’t really notice any of those amazing effects. I never really look for those kinds of things in an oil or moisturiser, because none of them actually work. I just want my skin to be hydrated and look healthy and have a glow, and it did that.

It says you can put a teaspoon in your bath - did you give that a go?
No. I don’t have a bath.

How would it be to use as a massage oil?
It has a similar feel to massage oil, gives the skin the same sort of ‘oiled up’ feeling (can’t believe I just said that), but also absorbs into the skin easily. And the smell is quite relaxing.

Beyond Organic Hydrating Body Oil is available to buy here.

Ethical Baby Clothes - How Cute?

Now I’m not normally a big fan of kids, but when I saw this, I thought it was very cute - a poncho-style bathrobe for kids from Ethical Babe. It’s organic and so on, but look at the floppy ears! I wish they did adult sizes of these things, rather than up to four years old. I reckon I could squeeze into it.

Ethical Babe is an online store offering an organic and natural alternative to baby products. They have a great little Why ethical? page explaining the reasons behind it, and Life Goggles will be reviewing some of their products soon in the Eco Reviews section.

Beyond Organic Firming Eye Cream Eco Product Review

Beyond Organic Skincare kindly sent Life Goggles a few of their products to test, including their Weekender pack and Sensual Massage Gift Pack. The Firming Eye Cream costs is part of the massage pack which is £29.92 or can be bought separately for £6.20.

As I don’t have much experience in eye creams, I gave the 7ml pot to Claire (who, as it turns out, doesn’t really either) and she dutifully tested it out for us. After a couple of weeks I asked her how she found it:

Do you use a different eye cream normally?
No I’ve never really used an eye cream before because I’ve never really noticed bags under my eyes. I’ve never really bothered with lots of fancy beauty products, just basic facial moisturiser.

How does this compare to that one or nothing at all?
I was quite pleased with the results. It made my eyes look more awake after a late night, I get ‘tired eyes’ really easily so I found there was a noticeable difference when I compared it to my eyes with no product. It brightened the skin around my eyes and helped to ‘open them up’.

It says it has a ‘gentle firming action with eyebright to reduce puffiness around the eyes and to both sooth and moisturise the delicate skin around the eyes’ - does it?
It did reduce the puffiness of tired my eyes. The skin around my eyes feels firmer and hydrated and the small lines I’ve noticed under my eyes are less visible. I do tend to get dark circles on the inside corners of my eyes. The cream didn’t really do anything for that. But by applying the cream and a bit of make up to the dark bits, my eyes and the skin around them appeared brighter and open and well rested. (Wow, I swear I didn’t just take all that from an ad)

Did it rub in easily?
Yeah rubbed in really easily, just a few dabs with my ring finger and it left a nice shimmer to the skin. A really light cream.

How was the smell?
No overpowering smell, only when you put your nose up to the tub do you really smell anything. I may have noticed it the first couple of times I used it, but now I really can’t remember the smell.

How long would a tub last?
I’d say maybe three to five months. You only need a dab about the size of a grain of rice for each eye.

It’s organic - does that make you more likely to use it?
Ordinarily when I’m buying beauty products I don’t factor in whether or not products are organic. I usually go for brands that I recognise and have used before and I trust. I’ve never really believed that organic products would be very effective, but I was really pleased with the results of these products.

In keeping with all of the Beyond Organic Skincare range, the Firming Eye Cream is all natural, totally organic, free from parabens, petrochemicals, GM materials and all artificial colours and fragrances and certified fully organic by the Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA).

Beyond Organic Weekender Pack Eco Product Review

We’ve tested quite a few products for men on Life Goggles, so it’s about time we did some for women. Beyond Organic Skin Care is a family company based in England - the wonderfully-titled Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall to be exact. It offers a unique range of omega and vitamin rich skin care products and sent us their Trial/Weekender package to rejuvenate tired skin after a hard week’s work. Not my skin though, I passed it on to my girlfriend.

Before we get to the products, a bit more background: 90% of the ingredients of their skincare products are sourced from the West Country in the UK and all their ingredients are certified organic by the Biodynamic Agricultural Association (BDAA).

The kit included 7ml of Moisturising Day Cream, 7ml of Regenerating Night Cream, 10ml of Rejuvenating Serum and 7ml of Rescue Salve. I gave them to my girlfriend to test so let’s go through them one by one.

Rescue Salve
“This was great – I think! Could have been a coincidence or have a placebo effect but it seemed like a little pot of loveliness. This seems to have calmed spots, red patches, dry and sore skin and shaving rash so it’s definitely got something about it! It’s a bit more expensive than the others if you buy it separately but only a little is needed at a time so would last a while.”

Rescue Salve features Calendula and Propolis, along with soothing chamomile in a rich oil base containing Sea Buckthorn is perfect for aiding skin irritations, eczema and psoriasis.

Moisturising Day Cream
“This is light and clean smelling – very different to any scent I’ve smelt really so hard to describe. The texture is also unusual, almost watery but applies well. It rubs in nicely and leaves skin feeling cool and fresh which is nice. At times I did find it a bit oily but I have normal to oily skin and it does say it’s for good to dry and mature skin – could be perfect for someone else.”

Moisturising Day Cream contains Rosehip and Almond oil, containing protein minerals, fatty acids and vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and E, creating a soothing and revitalising cream that can be used under make up.

Regenerating Night Cream“Unlike the day cream, this has a very pungent smell! Out of a very, very small survey of four, all of us found it not a particularly nice smell. It’s certainly not horrible but I’d guess it has the ‘Marmite effect’.

“Love it or hate it though, it does feel thick and fresh on the skin. Heavier and oilier than the day cream (as intended), it too rubs in well and actually the smell fades soonish, which is good for me.

“Although I haven’t noticed any wrinkle reducing or skin rebuilding, something about the cream did make me feel like it was feeding my skin as I slept. Maybe using it over a longer period of time or someone a bit older would visibly notice the difference.”

Regenerating Night Cream contains Cocoa and Mallow, mixed with Rosehip, Sea Buckthorn and Macademia to create an extremely rich cream with superb ability to penetrate, rebuild and replenish tired skin.

Rejuvenating Serum
“This was a bit difficult to get out of the mini bottle, not enough to put me off using it, but it really was hard and the ‘lid-valve’ needs reviewing. An interesting product with a light, pleasant scent. I don’t use a face/oil serum usually so this was a first for me.

“I did find it very oily but this would suit someone else who likes that feeling on their skin. It soaks in fairly quickly and I didn’t find any unsightly marks on the pillow afterwards. I found it moisturising but not really regenerating as it says but that may come with more prolonged use.”

Rejuvenating Serum is a highly concentrated serum comprised of Beyond Organic Skin Care’s signature ingredient Sea Buckthorn (an exceptional oil renowned in the Far East for its skin cell regeneration and anti-ageing properties) and Rosehip, which is also known for its ability to replenish and rebuild skin tissue.

Overall
“The whole range is attractively packaged and presented, although I’m not sure of the environmental credentials of the glass containers. I like the idea that this is organic and the fact it’s around the same price as similar non-organic items I would recommend this and encourage consumers to buy it. I would like a little more information on how they’re organic and I think that would encourage others too.

The Trial/Weekender range is priced at £20.40 or one item for £6.00.

And finally as I bang on about packaging quite often, I just wanted to point out that although the cardboard and glass didn’t seem to be recycled, the bubble envelope was quite nifty and could easily be reused and also taken apart to recycle the paper and reuse the bubblewrap separately.

Could You Live Without Toilet Paper?

Once again the BBC have an interesting article on a family in New York trying to live without toilet paper, shampoo or other toiletries.

No Impact Man, or Colin Beavan as he’s known, is trying to reduce the amount of toiletries his family uses as part of the latest stage of his involvement in environmentally friendly or sustainable projects around the city.

The first stage of the one-year experiment was to reduce rubbish. The family buys only second-hand goods and takes a hamper to the market. Food is bought every other day from the nearby farmers’ market on Union Square, and put in the hamper without wrapping. The family then stopped using all carbon-producing transport, so they now walk or cycle. They then shut down electricity in the flat - no more dishwasher, fridge or washing machine.

Now they are trying to reduce the amount of water they use, from the 80-100 gallons (303-379 litres) a day used by the average American, down to seven!! The average European uses about 150 litres or water a day, not because they wash less(!) but due to having smaller gardens, small bathrooms, smaller washing machines and so on.

Not everyone wants to go to these extremes, but could you manage it? I’m not sure I could…

Organic Vending Machines

YoZone by YoNaturals is a vending machine dedicated to organic products. Based in San Diego, USA, YoNaturals offers an alternative to vending machines that are typically stocked with food that isn’t particularly good for you.

YoNaturals offers a wide range of items, from fresh fruit to products by apparently well-known brands like Tazo (tea), Clif Bar (energy bars), Vitamin (beverages) and Horizon Organic (dairy). Operators and location managers can choose from more than 150 natural and organic foods and beverages, order through an online ordering system, and have the products delivered in less than three days. YoNaturals is actively seeking locations such as schools, shopping centres, offices, hospitals and fitness centres for placement of YoZone machines, seeking to cater to consumers on the go who are interested in healthier food options.

According to the USDA, sales of organic foods in the U.S. have been increasing 20-25% annually since 1990. Mark Trotter of YoNaturals explains: “We’ve studied the business models of Whole Foods, Wild Oats and many other healthy retailers, which have demonstrated that consumers are willing to pay two or three times for brands that they want, and believes that a similar healthy foods program can be developed for the automated vending space.”

[Via: The excellent Springwise]

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