Wednesday 3 June 2015

Eco Cosmetic sunscreens: a discussion of my favourite products

Eco Cosmetics produce a wide range of sunscreen products, and I have been using quite a few of them for a year now. I really like the products in general, but I wish they would make some of them less oily, easier to rub in.

Most products leave the skin well nourished, but this is also a problem. My face often looks like I rubbed half a jar of coconut oil on it when I use Eco Cosmetics sunscreens.

The only product that doesn't do this to a high degree is the tinted day cream with SPF 15.

So, onto my review...


I snuck in another sun protection face product: ILIA Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20... It is not a 100% natural cosmetic, as they use silicone in the formulation. 

First from left in this row, the Lip Care stick from Eco Cosmetics, SPF 30. The stick is quite solid and waxy, and leaves a slightly yellowish white layer on the lips. It kind of reminds me of the lip SPF sticks I used to use for skiing. I can see why the stick consistency is the way it is, it needs to stay on the lips to protect, but it just doesn't feel comfortable. It is not especially caring either, and I don't use it regularly. I will not be buying it again.

Second from left is the tinted face cream SPF 15. I really like this product, and am on my second one. I use it almost daily. The only thing is that it takes quite a while to sink into the skin, and I find it leaves the skin a bit tacky. A layer of mineral powder (more sun protection, so that's good) over the top solves this, as well as reduces the shine the cream leaves. The colour blends in well, although it is a little too pink for my complection. I will definitely buy again, this is a great product for every day, especially if you don't have to sit out in the sun and work in an office like I do.

The third product is the facial sun gel, SPF 30. I have a love/hate relationship with this gel. I think it smells nice, and really nourishes the skin, but if you accidentally take too much, you look like a shining oil ball! The product does not sink into the skin very well. I have quite dry skin on my face, and I find this too fatty. When you accidentally get it on your lips, it leaves your lips all warm and strange feeling. I keep this product in my hand bag and take it to work for when we have an al-fresco lunch and I need some sun protection at midday. I initially loved this product, but am on the fence now and will not be rebuying it for the time being.

Finally on the right, the odd one out in this post: ILIA Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20. Although it is technically not a natural product due to the silicone that is added to the formulation, the other ingredients are really nice. After trying a sample of this product I bought it. It goes on smoothly (silicone!) and does not leave the skin dry or greasy. The colour is on the yellow side, but seems to fade into my own skin colour leaving it nice and even. Coverage is light. The consistency of the cream is lotion-like and quite liquid. Due to the silicones that are added to the formulation, I will not rebuy this product, although for face SPF it is the best one that I have used so far.


Below from left above to right below: Eco Cosmetics Sun Gel SPF30, Eco Cosmetics Tinted Face Cream SPF 15, and ILIA Sheer Vivid Tinted Moisturiser SPF 20.



I also bought Eco Cosmetics Compact Foundation SPF30. This product hasn't been in my hands long enough to write a proper review yet, but so far I like it. The product goes on matte and does not leave the face greasy. The colour is a little too pinkish for me, and I need to correct this by applying a dusting of my mineral foundation over the compact foundation. I think this product would be an ideal handbag item, for touch ups during the day before going out in the sun.


Now for the other sun care products. I have four products that I use on my body for sun protection, none lower than SPF 30. I am quite pale skinned and do not tan easily, get sunburn if I don't protect myself, so SPF 30 is really the minimum for me.


First on the left is Eco Cosmetics Sun Lotion SPF 30. I like this product very much. It blends in quite well, and the amount of oiliness and shine left on the skin after applying is within acceptable limits. It is slightly white, but if you blend it in properly it is not noticeable. The fragrance is quite lemony, which leaves me to wonder why many natural sun screen products have citric fragrances when it is well known that citrus oils are photosensitising. It just doesn't seem to make sense to me. So this is also my only reservation that I have about this product. I will use up and then decide what to do. The citrus fragrance does cause me to have concerns.

The second product in the middle is the Eco Cosmetics Sun Lotion Neutral SPF50. This product does not contain fragrance, which is a big plus point. However it is thicker than the SPF30 lotion, and takes a little more work to rub in. It leaves a slightly white sheen, but this does go after a bit. The lotion has quite a thick, oily consistency and leaves me feeling tacky for a long time. It does do a fabulous job though, and I have had no issues when I had to be in the midday sun for longer periods of time whilst wearing this product. Definite rebuy!

Eco Cosmetics Tinted Sun Cream SPF 30 is the last one on the right. This product is fine, but don't wear if you have light clothing on. It leaves unsightly brown stains everywhere you touch your skin that has been covered with this product. The texture is like a rich cream, and thus it leaves you shiny for quite some time. The nice thing about this product is that it is tinted, so you do not get the white problem when applying. It is also the negative point about this product. I think if you wear this on the beach in a bikini it would be fine, for everything else it is impractical. Since I do not care about looking white, as I am already pale,  I will not be rebuying.

From left to right: Eco Cosmetics Sun Lotion SPF30, Eco Cosmetics Sun Lotion Neutral SPF 50, Eco Cosmetics Tinted Sun Cream SPF 30:


Finally, the Eco Cosmetics Sun Oil SPF 30: I love this! It goes on quite oily, but it does sink into my skin well and it feels really nourishing. It leaves the skin with a glow. Nothing much else to add: this is definitely going to be a rebuy!


Since I have so many Eco Cosmetic sun care products, it would be silly to start buying other brands right now. I will finish what I have first and then try out some other brands to compare.


SOTD (Sample Of The Day) for today is:


Melvita Pulpe de Rose Plumping Radiance Serum. Like it said on the back of the sample, I used this on my cleansed face this morning. I like it. The smell is lovely, and the serum felt nourishing. The product goes into the skin fairly quickly and left it nice and soft. I would think that this is a great product as a basis for make up. I do not know if I will buy it. I have a buying stop, so it will have to wait until I run out of all my facial care products!!!

I'm off to Berlin for a long weekend with BF, but since I have a buying stop on natural cosmetics, I think it is most likely that I will not be visiting any specialist shops. It would be too difficult to resist the lure of more potentially amazing products! 

xxx




Tuesday 2 June 2015

Apologies: I keep meaning to post and then life interferes!

I have been contemplating how to get back into the swing of blogging, and nothing seemed to get me going again! We have been spending lots of time in the garden, getting everything ready for summer.
The raised garden bed now has several kinds of radishes, spring onions, kohlrabi, broccoli, endives, cabbage, pumpkin and courgette (zucchini) growing. We also have pots with tomatoes, cucumbers, and aubergines (eggplant) growing. Not to mention the enourmous quantity of herbs! Can´t wait for the harvesting! We did have our first radish harvest, they grow so fast! Next lot is growing fine already...


My mother told me the greens from radishes are great for salads. But when I was told I had thrown the leaves on the compost already!! Next harvest I will definitely make a nice radish salad with the leaves and the bulbs.

I tend to do my household cleaning with baking soda and vinegar mainly but recently I was visiting my family in the Netherlands and was in a local supermarket where I found some environmentally friendly cleaners that I just had to try out. They are by Eco-Friendly cult brand Method, and really smell lovely! I love the packaging too...


This weekend I spent some time really sorting through my natural makeup and personal care collection. Not only have I got too many full sized products, the amount of samples I have is getting ridiculous! So, I am back to testing and reviewing. Summer is coming soon so I will be looking at self tanning lotion from Melvita (I STILL haven´t tested this!!!), a listing of my favourite sunscreen products from Eco Cosmetics and their latest product offering,  and a review of cream deodorants from four different brands (Wolkenseifen, Waldfussel, Ponyhütchen, SoapWalla)..

I am also going to use up and try out and review all the samples that I have collected over the last 12 months... I think I could really write every day if I wanted to, with the amount of stuff that I have bought and collected this last year.

I am now on a natural cosmetics buying ban; first I have to use up what I have before I can shop for more.

We are off to Berlin for a long weekend, and the weather is going to be hot and sunny, so the ideal time to test the sun products. First though I have to exfoliate my legs so I can finally test out the self tanner from Melvita! Review to follow in a couple of days.


xxx