Skinfood sent me these goodies to review. I know. How lucky am I?
Backing up the bus a little, 2016 has been, unintentionally, the year of using mainly natural-based skincare. I’ve been unashamedly flirting with a bunch of different brands and I’m loving it. Why? I’m delighted with how my skin has responded and, big claim: I reckon the aging clock has slowed down. So, with this reasonably new-found love of natural-based skincare, when Skinfood asked me if I’d like to review some of their products, I replied with GUSTO. “Yes please!!!!!” I said (bloody extroverts and their exclamation marks).
If you are a Skinfood virgin, here’s the deets:
- They’re a Kiwi company.
- No new kid on the block, Skinfood has been around since 2003 and their products are natural-based.
- Their range is packed full of essential oils, natural extracts.
- Their products are suitable for a broad range of skin types. The fussiest of skins should be able to handle Skinfood’s products.
- There’s no ‘baddies’ like parabens, sulphates and artificial colours. Nor are there any ingredients that I can’t pronounce (Is anyone else increasingly thinking “If I can’t say it, I shouldn’t put it on my skin?”)
- No Thumpers, Mickeys or Bambis are harmed in Skinfood’s testing process either.
- The range is certified organic and vegetarian approved.
- The packaging is fully recyclable.
For me, the clean and green, as well as simple branding represents what this range stands for: Unfussy, pure and good. BIG UPS.
Price? Yeah boi! You know what a cheapskate I can be. All products absolutely fall into the cheap as chips category. Most of the range is around the NZ$15 mark. Here’s the best bit: You can sling it in your grocery shop at Countdown or New World (Aussie’s: Visit Priceline). I do love it when you can ‘hide’ a beauty purchase.
So far: Big ticks from Lou Lou. But do the products work?
Here’s my breakdown, by each product. As always, I’ve been thorough in my road test: Most products have been used as part of my skincare routine, er, regime, for the past 4-5 weeks. For clarity, I’m not being paid to write this blogpost. Yes, these products were gifted to me, but these thoughts are entirely mine. Regular readers of my blog will know that if I don’t like something, I say so.
Disclaimer: Remember my skin type is oily. If you have different skin from me, take note. What works for me, might not if you have dry skin! There is no ‘one size fits all’ with skincare, just like your LBD might not suit your best mate.
Cleans All Cleanser
I’m not a fan of cream cleanser, generally I favour a gel-based cleanser. Being the dumb-arse, big-mouth dork I am, I said that to the Skinfood team, right before they sent the products to me. Well, I eat my hat. It took me a few days to get used to a total change in formula, then I was away laughing. Cleans All is LOVELY. It’s a super gentle cleanser, which should be sweet as on the fussiest of skins. I’m currently using it morning and night. Ingredients wise, this is enriched with Manuka honey, kiwifruit and lime flower extracts, sunflower oil and aloe vera.
Simply wet your face, apply a pea-sized amount to your fingers and massage it in. Remove with a flannel.
One thing to note, if, like me, you wear a full-face of makeup, pre-cleanse first (I use coconut oil) or simply remove all of your make-up prior to cleansing. Otherwise a double cleanse will probably be necessary to remove your game face.
Price: NZ$14.99
Would I repurchase? Even though, deep down, l still prefer a gel-based cleanser. This has won me over, big time. I’ve already bought a replacement tube!
Light Moisturiser
This’ll be quick, I raved about this in my November Faves blogpost. I already had this moisturiser (albeit in the back of the cupboard because I had other stuff to try out) before Skinfood sent it to me. Yes, I was already a fan.
Road-testing it all over again reminded me how much I love it. On my oily skin it’s No1 on the top of my list of day moisturisers. It feels thickish and creamy when you apply it but dries to a matt finish. It is beautiful under makeup, I’ve noticed a definite reduction in shine later in the day (I usually ‘glisten’ by about 3pm). I’ve actually been using it on makeup clients (before applying primer), they’ve all commented how nice it is. Oh, I adore the light orange oil fragrance: Scent is important to me! Hubby also gives it a thumbs up. Cons? There’s no SPF in it . I’m being really anal with that comment: We all know we should wear a dedicated sunscreen anyway. Good news though, Skinfood do another day moisturiser that has SPF. Boom.
Price: NZ$14.99
Would I repurchase? Heck, YES.
Exfoliating Scrub
Keeping it simple, there’s two ways to exfoliate. With a scrub with bits in it. Or, with AHAs BHAs or a physical scrub, like Skinfood’s exfoliator with bits in it. This blogpost will be too long if I explain the difference. I’m no bloody skincare expert anyway. So, to be safe, check out what Caroline Hirons has to say on the matter. Wait! Who is Caroline? No, she IS a skincare expert. Read this post I wrote yonks ago (Note, I now use different products to what’s stated in the post now, but my routine hasn’t changed).
I’m a fan of exfoliating using AHAs or BHAs. So this scrub didn’t tick my box. However, if I was a ‘scrubber’ (bahaha) this would be mint. There’s lots of grains in there, I got no reaction whatsoever and my skin was left glowing. Hubby is a ‘scrubber’. He said it’s good “It’s got lots of bits eh?”. So there.
Price: NZ$14.99
Repurchase: Yes, for hubby. He’s a scrubber.
Mud Masque
A few years ago this Mud Masque was all over my Facebook feed. Every beauty lover was raving about it. I tried to buy it at the time, but it was sold out for weeks so I bought another brand’s masque (it was shit). Then I forgot about it. So I was stoked to get a chance to see what the hype was all about for Skinfood’s Mud Maque.
Guess what? It is made with Rotorua mud! This makes me excited (I live in Rotorua, aka RotoVegas). Now, in case you missed the memo, our local mud is well known for its ability to heal skin conditions. Other ingredients include spirulina, apricot oil, aloe vera and jojoba oil.
I whack this masque on all over my face and leave it to dry. Drying takes about 7 minutes. After I wash it off my skin feels a little tight so a good moisturiser afterwards is required. There’s been no breakouts experienced, just skin that’s left feeling soft, super clean and soft.
I’m feeling like a broken record: This product is great. The hype was deserved. Even the little girls I babysat on Friday last week loved it: No issue with their delicate skin either. That said, if you have dry skin, I don’t think this would be one for you.
Price: NZ$14.99. Un-blinking-believable.
Repurchase: Yes. Why the hell is this only $14.99?!
Certified Organic Coco+Nut Oil
This best-seller is an organic cold pressed coconut oil, with sweet almond oil, macadamia nut oil, apricot kernel oil and vitamin E. Consequently, it smells fabulous. Skinfood say this is “like a cocktail” for your skin, delivering instant hydration without leaving skin oily (it’s fast absorbing). Application wise, the cute little bottle comes with a dropper, you only need 2-3 drops.
Firstly, I’m a massive shouter from the rooftop to include some sort of facial oil in your routine. Given Skinfood had sold out of this (online) at the time of writing, it would seem there’s a heap of people out there that agree with me. Alas, I prefer other oils on my face, but I am enjoying using this on: My boobs, hands, feet and cuticles.
Price: NZ$23.99
Repurchase? Probably not.
Cleansing Body Bar
Uh oh, I thought. Soap. I’m not a fan of soap, it, um… Gives me a rude itch “down there”. So I was cautious. Turns out this isn’t a soap, it’s a cleansing bar and, importantly, there’s nothing in there that’ll get me scratching at my fanny. Containing a balance of Manuka honey, avocado oil and lime there’s, surprisingly, no scent. You are just left with clean skin. Even the fussiest skins should respond well to this. Gentle enough for babies and your nether regions. (NB: Skinfood do a range for babies , it’s called Little Skinfood. Awwww).
Price: $3.99. Hell, get two.
Repurchase: There’s a theme emerging. I ALREADY HAVE bought this again.
Exec Summary on Skinfood Review
Suffice to say I’m a ‘bit’ of a Skinfood convert. There’s only good things for me to say, bit like Skinfood in general really: It’s all good for you!
Get in next time you are at the supermarket. Or shop online here.
Thank you to Charlotte and the team at Skinfood for generously giving me these products to try out. Keep doing what you are doing!
