I’ve been away helping my mom clean out the apartment for a move, making sure she’s not throwing any of my stuff away! So the thoughts on LoveLula’s February Box comes a bit too late… But better late than never, right?!
DISCLAIMER
I’ve been kindly given a subscription of the LoveLula box as a part of the LoveLula Accredited Blogger Program (LLABP). My thoughts remain my own.
As of late 2022 LoveLula and their brands like Oils of Heaven has closed down.
Mádara | Micellar Water
I got an accidental peep of the box on Instagram, and got very excited to see that the Mádara Micellar Water was in the this months beauty box! I’ve heard many good things about it. However, you who know me, knows that I’ve recently started to avoid some of the natural stuff, like fragrance from both flower waters and essential oils. But I’d like to say that I’m still very flexible, as they these types of ingredients are hard to avoid. And not to forget, K-beauty is filled with “no-no’s” but gets a good rap anyways.
So with that said, though this micellar water contains both rose water and even witch hazel, my skin seems to do just fine. Actually, compared to many other micellar waters, this one leaves the skin really nice and soft without being tacky! I don’t even feel like washing it off like I do with most of the ones I’ve tried so far (this will be my 7th). But I’m still using it in conjunction with a double cleanse.
The fragrance in this is quite mild. And though I’ve in the past had a complicated relationship with skincare containing Witch Hazel, it might have just been some other ingredient in that product? I’d say that the Mádara Micellar Water is generally a nice cleanser and toner in one! And does a great job removing makeup and/or refreshing the face! The plastic bottle is fancy too as it looks like frosted glass!
PHB Ethical Beauty | Brightening Cleanser (Non-UK)
PHB Ethical Beauty is a new brand to me. They sell a wide range of products, all from body and face to makeup. In this February box a full size from their Brightening- line was included, namely the brightening cleanser with Ylang Ylang & Papaya.
Besides water, Coconut, Sunflower oil and Shea Butter makes the base of this cleanser. But I’d say it’s more of a oily milk cleanser. It’s gentle and removes makeup and dirt well without drying the skin out or leaving an oily residue on the skin. It also contains some other great oils like Rosehip, Kukui and Tamanu Oil.
However, I find it being a tad too fragrant for sensitive skin and daily use. But their green colored line of products and most of their makeup seem to be fragrance-free. I’m very interested in trying their Gentle Facial Wash with Rosehip & Chamomile or Gentle Cleanser with Olive & Plum.
Greenfrog | Botanical Body Wash Neroli & Lime
Another unknown brand to me, but that’s what’s great with beauty boxes, you get to discover!
Greenfrog is a Brittish company that makes body and hand washes. What’s special about these washes is that they use soapberries (also referred to as “soap nuts”). The shell of the berry naturally contains soap, which grow on the Sapindus mukorossi (Soap Berry) tree in the Himalayas. They’ve been used in Ayurveda medicine to treat soft, sensitive and dry skin and will leave your body clean without the negative effects washes that SLS give. Soap nuts can be used to wash your skin, hair and even clothing!
The description says it foams, but it’s nothing I’ve discovered it to do. Yet, it still feels like it leaves the skin clean without stripping the skin. It’s more of a milk cleanser and I surprisingly like it a lot, and could definitely see myself purchasing the bigger size or the hand soap!
Weleda | Skin Food
Skin Food is described as a multi-purpose balm to helps nourish, protect and repair parts of your skin that feels dry or rough. It’s a really thick cream that sits rather on top, but without feeling too tacky as it dries. I’m not very fond of Weleda’s fragrance, and while this one isn’t as tangible as their pomegranate hand cream, it still strikes me as distinctive.
Besides my fuss about their fragrance choices, the cream alone is really good and moisturizing. However, it is not vegan, as it contains lanolin. I also see alcohol quite high up on the ingredient list, but I guess together with all the fatty oils, butters and waxes, the alcohol can’t do any damage. I know it’s one of their bestsellers, so there’s not much to point out further.
Ooh! Oils of Heaven | Marula Oil
Besides being excited to try out the Mádara Micellar Water, I got so so happy when I saw Oils of Heaven’s Marula Oil! It was just a week ago or so I was talking with someone about Marula oil. It’s become one of the latest hyped up oil thanks to some drunken elephant and also African Botanicals! However, a little monkey also stated that someone must be drunk to overpay on Marula oil, which I agree upon. And Ooh! offers Marula oil for a decent price tag.
The oil itself is described as a dry oil, but it still dries more viscous compared to rosehip oil and argan oil but without being feeling greasy (unless you take too much). It’s quite high in oleic acid, however I always like to say that there’s more components to an oil than its oleic vs linoleic ratio! But because of this it’s best to recommend it for normal to dry skin types.
But with that said I’ve found many other uses for it than using it on the face. I discovered that it’s an excellent body oil and also great for lips and hair! But mostly, I love it as a body oil. And if you have oily skin and you’re unsure this oil would work for you, you can buy a mini sample like this one! Strike now while LoveLula has 40% off Ooh!
It contains about 16% more antioxidants than argan oil and has a high sterol content which may helps reduce scarring. I’m unsure if you should believe the claims of it containing vitamin C (or that the content may have any effect on the skin) as vitamin C is water soluble. I haven’t come a cross or been able to find any studies that so much as mention that the oil would by any means be rich in vitamin C – it can only be said about the fruit pulp. Nonetheless, it has quickly become one of my favorite oils, and I usually blend it with rosehip oil every other night!
Beyond Marula oil, Ooh! also have Rosehip, Argan, Baobab, Moringa and Cacay Oil. The latter one seems to be one of their special praised one. A few years back I remember the talks about Cacay oil; it’s supposed to have like 3 times more vitamin A than Rosehip oil and 50% more vitamin E than Argan oil? It’s also a dry oil just like Marula. I got super intrigued by the Cacay Oil and ordered their Mini Gift Set to test out all the other ones! You can read about it here!
