Ecosoapia Hand & Body Wash Eco Product Review

Sent to Life Goggles by Male Organics, this handwash promises to be like “sweet liquid magic”. I couldn’t wait to try it out!

Ecosoapia Hand & Body Wash is free from artificial colours, fragrances, synthetic preservatives, parabens, surfactants and is 100% vegan. I was sent the almond scented version and when I first used it thought I was eating a cake as it smelled like marzipan. In fact at first I thought the smell was too strong, but after using it, the smell left on my hands was more subtle and pleasant.

By the way, although the picture shows the almond version as well, the one I have it bright yellow in colour, not clear. I like this though, showing that the recipe varies each time and it isn’t as uniform as non-natural products.

Available from Male Organics, Ecosoapia Hand and Body Wash costs £6.00 for a 295ml bottle.

Method Moisturising Handsoap Eco Product Review

Is there no end to the amount of method products? Not that I’m complaining, in fact I’m quite please the company has something for adults as so far in the UK the only skincare products it’s launched have been for babies and kids.

This moisturising handsoap comes in a cool little square bottle covered in an 80% recycled cardboard sleeve, which you can take off if you like. Containing olive oil and aloe vera and free from things like parabens, this handsoap really does moisturise as promised.

Silky smooth with a lovely scent, my hands felt nice and clean afterwards. The smell is more fresh than anything else, adding to the natural feel of the product. Available from supermarkets, department stores and online at Big Green Smile, Method Moisturising Handsoap costs £3.25.

Tom’s of Maine Long Lasting All Natural Deodorant Eco Product Review

Natural deodorants get bad press in general, mainly because nasty chemicals are needed to stop sweat. But then you read that stopping sweat is actually bad for you and you should just concentrate on making sure you don’t smell. This is where I think natural deodorants can come into their own.

I received the roll-on version of Tom’s of Maine Long Lasting All Natural Deodorant to test from Big Green Smile and have taken a while doing so, mainly because it’s been cold in England. Well it has been winter. I wanted to wait until it was a bit warmer and spring seems to have finally sprung and blossom is in the air.

Applying the deodorant is as easy as ever, it is quite wet but I think that’s because I don’t usually use a roll-on, but leaving it a minute before I put my shirt on meant there were no wet marks before I’d even go going.

I used a fragrance free version, which actually has a slightly sweet and very pleasant smell. It’s not something you end up smelling all day either, it’s quite mild once it’s applied. There’s a calendula scented version too.

My experience of wearing it is mainly successful. On a quiet day it worked well, towards the end of the working day or if going out after work I’d recommend reapplying it just to freshen up, but lasting a good eight-hours is pretty impressive in my book. What it doesn’t do is stop you sweat. As mentioned, it’s hard to do naturally and you need to sweat to cool down so if you’re looking for an anti-perspirant, look elsewhere. It does work as advertised though and stop your sweat smelling.

As strange as it may sound, I’ve enjoyed testing this out and seeing what it can do, The addition of zinc ricinoleate in the ingredients may be to thank for its success, but as with the Tom’s of Maine mouthwash, it’s a great little product which is well worth a try if you’re in the market for a natural deodorant.

Tom’s of Maine Long Lasting All Natural Deodorant costs £4.10 and is available from Big Green Smile.

Aloe Dent Whitening Toothpaste Eco Product Review

I’ve reviewed aloe vera toothpaste before (http://lifegoggles.com/2199/optima-aloe-dent-toothpaste-eco-product-review/) but when Trust William sent me Optima’s AloeDent Whitening Toothpaste I was intrigued to give it a go.

Trust William is a natural healthcare provider which specialises in products for family health and nutrition, and has a lot of products which use aloe vera.

While Optima’s ‘normal’ aloe vera toothpaste says it whitens teeth, this is its specialist toothpaste and has a few different ingredients. In comes silica for whitening and something called PVP for anti-staining. Also in is vitamin K and tea tree oil along with the peppermint and menthol for flavour. It’s hard to know where the aloe vera comes in, it says it’s for ‘soothing’ and it seems to work, the paste is very pleasant.

It tastes quite nice, although it doesn’t give you that totally fresh feeling that mainstream toothpastes tend to give. Although I’ve a feeling that’s one of those artificial things we’re ‘trained’ to believe – fresh taste must mean clean teeth.

I still have concerns about the lack of fluoride in terms of my teeth’s health, but it seems to be working fine. My last dental check-up didn’t highlight any problems so am quietly confident that it’s all good.

As an environmentally-friendly alternative to regular toothpaste I’ve been impressed with Optima’s products. AloeDent Whitening Toothpaste costs £3.49 for 100ml from Trust William.

Aloe Pura Organic Aloe Vera Gel from Trust William Eco Product Review

Healthcare company Trust William sent us some Aloe Pura Organic Aloe Vera Gel for testing and I’ll say straight off, we’re very impressed.

I say ‘we’ as my girlfriend has been hogging it as she likes it so much. More of that later. The gel is 99.9% ‘bio active’ aloe vera gel, which means it contains some other bits and bobs, and is labelled organic although it’s not certified as such. It is certified by the International Aloe Science Council for its ‘aloe content and purity’ though – if that means anything to you.

If you’re wondering what you actually do with the gel, well the simple answer is that it’s for the skin. But that means you can use it as a moisturiser, for scars, stretch marks, sun burn and minor burns. If you’ve ever used an aloe plant to soothe your skin, it does the same thing. My girlfriend particularly likes using it on her newly shaved legs to cool them down and soothe them.

Although unscented, it has the famous aloe smell and feels like it’s going to be sticky but after light massaging it soaks into the skin nicely. As summer is coming around we’ll be using it after being out in the sun to moisturise the skin.

It really is a useful product to have around and can be used on a daily basis or sparingly when the need arises. I’m going to be trying it on my ankle scar after an operation to see if it lessens the redness and itching and will update this review as I do.

Trust William also sell different types of the gel – with added tea tree oil and a antioxidant and vitamin version so it’s worth checking out which you prefer. In the range there’s also shampoos and sun lotions as well.

Aloe Pura Organic Aloe Vera Gel costs £2.99 for 100ml (£4.99 for 200ml) from Trust William.

Monte Bianco Clip Toothbrush Eco Product Review

So Organic recently sent me a toothbrush to review and while I have reviewed one before (the Preserve one here), they’re not the easiest things to review.

Except this Monte Bianco one is so different it’s quite easy to review really. It’s a toothbrush that you keep forever – well the handle at least. When the brushes start to wear out you just buy a replacement head rather that a whole new brush – saving on waste and also using oil to make the plastic for a new brush.

It’s a very good idea and works well. I was afraid to take the head off at first as it was a little bit of a struggle and I was afraid of breaking it. But if they made it too easy it’d come off in your mouth I suppose. So Organic also sells the replacement heads too and at £3.50 for three, it makes economic sense to buy them as well as being green.

The head on my brush has nylon bristles, making it vegan-friendly, but they do make a version with natural bristles too which are made from boar hair. They don’t even hurt the boars, just shear them like sheep.

Brightly coloured, the Monte Bianco Clip is quite a stiff brush and a little shorter than my previous one which took me a little while to get used to. It’s compact size means I’ve been keeping it in my toiletry bag and using when I go away. I like it just as much as the Preserve one but wish they could combine the two – have one made from yoghurt pots but with a removable head.

The Monte Bianco Clip costs £2.60 from So Organic.

Lavera Men Care All-Round Moisturizing Cream Eco Product Review

Despite Lavera being German it seems to spell moisturising, moisturizing, which America likes and my spell-checker doesn’t. Anyway it doesn’t really matter, what does matter is whether Lavera’s All-Round Moisturizing Cream works or not. And it does, but it’s a bit of a longer story than that.

Male Organics sent me the cream which carries Germany’s organic certification BDIH and is good for the hands and face. As I’m not really into moisturising my hands, I’ve been using it after washing my face (with either Bulldog’s face wash or face scrub). And it works well.

It’s quite a thick cream but even with a beard it still rubs in nicely. I like the smell too. Bizarrely is smells of lemons more than Lavera’s shampoo (which may mean the shampoo is actually lime flavoured – I got a bit confused) and there’s only a tiny bit of Limonene natural oil in the cream. It also smells of almonds which is quite nice and better than other creams I’ve used. I would still prefer no scent but at least this is a pleasant smell.

The ingredients list is quite lengthy but seems to be mostly made up of essential oils and other oils and extracts. It’s vegan-friendly too so the ingredients are all good. In fact I’ve been pleasantly surprised how much I like this cream. The only complaint I can have really is that it’s quite a small tube for the price – just 30ml. This is more of a high-end cosmetic, not something I would normally buy. Although the results have been very good, I’m not sure it’s good enough to make me switch from cheaper brands. But if you’re buying expensive cosmetic products anyway, I would certainly suggest this as an alternative.

Lavera Men Care All-Round Moisturizing Cream costs £6.45 from Male Organics.

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