Overall Posh-ville rating: ***½~ (3.5/5)

Price: £9.99, $16.00 (Canada), $9.99

Weight/Quantity: 74g

Availability: Burt’s bees, US/Canada Drugstores

Ingredients: water (aqua, eau), simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) butter, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, glycerin, beeswax (cera alba, cire d’abeille), stearic acid, theobroma grandiflorum (cupuacu) seed butter, macadamia ternifolia (macadamia) seed oil, glucose, fragrance (parfum), sodium borate, xanthan gum, sucrose stearate, helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed oil, honey (mel, miel), rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, tocopherol, beta carotene, glucose oxidase, lactoperoxidase

• Packaging: ****~ (4/5)
• Ease of use: ****~ (4/5)
• Durability: ***½~ (3.5/5)
• Design and Delivery: ****~ (4/5)
• Pricing: ****~ (4/5)
• Value for money: ***½~ (3.5/5)

Comments: 99% natural, great hand cream, moisturising, smells lovely and perfect delivery system. The downside to this is that it is not as portable as other Burt’s Bees hand products because of its height and it doesn’t last as long as I’d like it to after applying, so I find myself reapplying often. It is a bit strange when applying, it rubs easily and then goes stiff all of a sudden (very weird but it is not a problem).

Stay beautiful…

Disclaimer: I bought it

Overall Posh-ville rating: ****½ (4.5/5)

Quantity: 30 ml

Availability: US $52.95 saffronrouge.com, UK Amarya.co.uk, Naturismo £25.00-32.00, €19.90 Santaverde

Use: Day and night face cream

Market: Organic beauty

Ingredients: Aloe Vera Juice CO, Composition of Coco and Palm Oil, Sesame Oil CO, Grape Seed Oil, Avocado Oil CO, Plant Fatty Alcohol, Plant Glycerol, Shea Butter CO, Sea Buckthorn Extract CO, Alcohol, Sodium Lactate, Plant Glycerol Fatty Acid Ester, Vervain Extract CO, Kukuinut Oil, Plant Emulsifier, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E, Vitamin C Palmitate, Sodium Phytate from Rice, Essential Oils.

• Packaging: ****~ (4/5)
• Ease of use: ****~ (4/5)
• Durability: ***** (5/5)
• Design and Delivery: ****~ (4/5)
• Pricing: ****~ (4/5)
• Value for money: ***** (5/5)

Comments: Santa Verde is an organic skin care brand based on pure Aloe Vera juice. The unique thing about this brand, unlike other aloe based brands, is that they use no water at all in their products. It is pure juice from aloe vera grown in their own ‘finca’ in Spain, where everything is cultivated manually. I had the pleasure of listening to Sabine Beer, the MD and co-founder of SantaVerde talk about the line and her passion at in-cosmetics Munich 2009 and it was just mind blowing. You can even visit the finca in Spain and see the stuff being made or get fresh aloe vera from the ground! I knew I had to try it.

Now we all know aloe vera is very soothing and moisturising but ever since I tried this face cream, I have never looked back. My face feels like a baby’s bottom literally. I’ve been using this for about 4 months now and it is amazing stuff. It is also very affordable (at €19.90) for such a good organic product. You can buy this in light, medium or rich depending on how dry/oily your skin is. There is also a choice of fragranced or not. I am struggling to find something bad to say about this. My only complaint would be the shipping charges if you live outside Spain/Germany. These charges translate to a higher cost in other countries.

I certainly recommend this to anyone who has problems with their skin. You may want to get the pure aloe vera gel instead if you feel your skin is overly sensitive.

Disclaimer: I bought it

Overall Posh-ville rating: ****~ (4/5)

Price: £12.75

Weight/Quantity: 50g

Availability: Herbfarmacy, Amarya.co.uk,

Ingredients: Aqua, *Aloe barbadensis (Aloe vera), *Helianthus annuus (Sunflower oil), *Macadamia tetraphylla (Macadamia nut oil), *Oenothera biennis (Evening primrose oil), sodium stearoyl lactylate (vegetable emulsifier), *Prunus armeniaca (Apricot kernel oil), *Stellaria media (Chickweed) extract, glycerine, glyceryl stearate (vegetable emulsifier), *Cera alba (Beeswax), cetyl alcohol (vegetable emulsifier), *Althaea officinalis (Marshmallow) extract, *ethanol (ethyl alcohol), tocopherol (Vitamin E oil), lactic acid, *Symphytum sp. (Comfrey), *Calendula officinalis, *Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary extract), *Lavendula angustifolia (Lavender essential oil), *Mentha piperita (Peppermint essential oil), *Litsea cubeba (May chang essential oil), phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate (Mild preservative system), *d-limonene, *geraniol, *linalool (Last 3 essential oils ingredients). Contains nut oils. Made with 74% organically grown/produced ingredients (asterisked)

• Packaging: ****~ (4/5)
• Ease of use: ****~ (4/5)
• Durability: ****~ (4/5)
• Design and Delivery: ***½~ (3.5/5)
• Pricing: ***½~ (3.5/5)
• Value for money: ****~ (4/5)

Comments: I’m falling in love with Herbfarmacy. I have awful hands because I bite them always and they feel really rough but this hand cream is just perfect. It has a minty feel, you can feel it ‘working’ as soon as you apply it and it gives off a lovely scent. My hands feel quite soft afterwards but I have found that I have to apply a lot, often. It’s not as moisturising as some other hand creams I’ve tried, but when it is on it does the job!

Disclaimer: Free sample with purchase

Price: £3.85

Weight: 6 grams

Availability: Herbfarmacy, Amarya

Ingredients: Helianthus annuus (Sunflower oil), Cera alba (beeswax), Theobroma cacao (Cocoa butter), Althaea officinalis (Marshmallow root), Vanilla planifolia (Vanilla), Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary extract). 100% Organic.

Overall HRP rating: ****½ (4.5/5)

• Packaging: ****~ (4/5)
• Ease of use: ***** (5/5)
• Durability: ***** (5/5)
• Design and Delivery: ****~ (4/5)
• Pricing: ****½ (4.5/5)
• Value for money: ****½ (4.5/5)

Comments: Herbfarmacy is a brand that has been on my radar for a while and I was happy to get hold of this lip conditioner. The brand is owned by a botanist, who has been growing organic herbs for 25 years. It is a certified organic brand by the Soil Association. They grow and make their products on the same farm, which is as organic and efficient as it can get really.

This lip balm is unparalleled in its conditioning and softening ability and it has an amazing flavour (not taste). I am in love with it, it makes my lips feel so lush, perfect solution to this winter lip damnation. 6g is quite a lot considering the tiny amount you need to moisturise. It does not dry out and is perfectly packaged to fit in any purse/bag. Even though it is valid for up to 2 years post production, my main issue with it is that it is very easy to contaminate because of the way it is packaged- you have to repeatedly dip a finger in it. Also my product is a little bit hard (I blame it on the cold weather).

I would certainly recommend this lip balm and look forward to trying out other Herbfarmacy products.

Stay beautiful…

Disclaimer: This product was sent to me as a free sample with a purchase.

]]> http://posh-ville.com/skincare/herbfarmacy-organic-skin-care-lip-conditioner-review/feed/ 0 http://posh-ville.com/skincare/amarya-com-certified-organic-beauty-store-review/ http://posh-ville.com/skincare/amarya-com-certified-organic-beauty-store-review/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:34:06 +0000 Her Royal Poshness http://posh-ville.com/?p=19 Type: Website- UK based online store
Products/Services- Certified organic beauty products
Shipping- UK/EU/International
Relationship with Brand: None

Rating:

Ease of use: ****~ (4/5)

Product pricing: ***~~ (3/5)

Shipping cost: ****½ (4.5/5)

Packaging and delivery: ****~ (4/5)

Overall rating: ****~ (4/5)

Do we recommend it: Yes!

Details:
Finally there is a 100% certified organic beauty store in UK! Amarya is an online store that sells certified organic beauty products. They also have a store and salon in London, where they offer therapeutic services. I took advantage of a promotion which I saw on facebook and purchased a few products from them.

I had been searching for a particular lotion from Santa Verde for a very long time and was excited at discovering they stocked it. I don’t have to pay €15.50 for shipping from Germany any more.
They have a wide variety of brands and I was very impressed with how my products arrived in 2 days, especially as I didn’t pay a dime for shipping.This store offers free shipping on all UK orders and 28 days money back guarantee.

The downside of course is the cost of the products. Certified organic products tend to be more expensive than regular ones anyway. The Santa Verde Medium Aloe Vera cream cost €19.90 (£18.10) from SV and £28.00 from Amarya. It is still cheaper than buying from SV and paying the cost of shipping though. The cost may be justified by the purity of what you are buying. You know that extra care was taken when that product was being made and it has gone through a certification process and passed.

If you are a natural beauty freak I would certainly recommend you visit this store. Right now they are offering free gift wrapping services and a free gift when you spend £35.00 or more. Perfect timing for the festive season.

On the side: In my part of the world- Amarya means first time bride. It is a word associated with innocence

Stay beautiful…