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Forest Essentials Facial Essentials Kit

Forest Essentials Facial Essentials Review

Beauty, General, Reviews, Skincare

Forest Essentials Facial Essentials Review

Last month, I went on holiday to India and honestly it was a nice break  from not having to worry about work and getting everything else done.

Speaking of work, I’ve got a new job! 🙂 Which is why I didn’t have enough time to blog this month – thankfully, I’ve got the hang of juggling everything now.

As I was coming back from holiday, I found this facial set by Forest Essentials at Delhi Airport – after spending the entire trip looking for the brand in Punjab. I’d actually heard about the Forest Essentials before but I never got round to buying their products – which is why I’m so excited to share this review with you all.

Scroll on down to read my review!

A little about Forest Essentials…

Forest Essentials is an authentic, traditional skin care brand, with its foundations in the ancient science of Ayurveda. A pioneer in the luxury Ayurvedic segment, today it has become the quintessential Indian Beauty Brand where secrets of ancient beauty rituals for skin and hair care have been made available to modern-day customers.

Forest Essentials cater to four major categories i.e. Facial Care, Body Care, Hair Care and Wellness. Each handmade product uses traditional methods in its making and adheres to the highest standards of purity, authenticity and quality. Forest Essentials extracts the best from nature’s vast repertoire and recreates fresh seasonal formulations using organic cold pressed oils, rare plant extracts, herb infusions and steam-distilled pure essential oils and best of all they’re cruelty-free and vegan.

The Facial Essentials set:

The Facial Essentials set is the perfect to keep with you on the go while you travel or to give as a gift. Inside the box are four travel size handmade items worth 1,625 INR (which works out to be between £17-£18, depending on the exchange rate;  the Luscious Lip Balm Sugared Rose Petal 4g, Facial Cleanser Honey Lemon Rosewater 50ml, Sunscreen Lotion Aloe Vera & Sandalwood 50ml, Refining Facial Scrub Kashmiri Walnut Gel 15g.

Review

Luscious Lip Balm Sugared Rose Petal

This Sugared Rose Petal Lip Balm is uniquely designed to replenish and soften dry, chapped lips. The lip balm is a lot thinner than I expected than I’m used to, and you can definitely smell the rose petal. I’ve used it a lot lately, and it definitely helps keep the lips soft. It reminds me a lot of the Rose Salve Lip Balm.

Refining Facial Scrub Kashmiri Walnut Gel


This Revitalising Kashmiri Walnut Gel Scrub has been formulated with a distinctive combination of high quality Kashmiri Walnuts with selected herbs like Agneemanth and Kachoor. At first, I only used a tiny amount and I was quite surprised at how such a small amount helped polish and smoothen my skin. I’ll definitely be ordering the full size scrub after I’m done using this one.

Facial Cleanser Honey Lemon Rosewater


This Wild Honey, Steam distilled Rosewater & fresh lemon Cleanser gently cleanses your face to remove surface toxins and exfoliates dead skin cells making it clean and fresh. For a gentle cleanser it sure managed to brighten the look of my skin. I do feel that the fragrance of the rosewater was a little much, but it did the job so I can’t complain too much.

Sunscreen Lotion Aloe Vera & Sandalwood

I was admittedly a little scared to use this, mainly because I’ve had quite a bad reaction to products with aloe vera in it. The lotion was pretty soothing on my skin and the sandalwood oil in the lotion helped to maintain balance of my skintone. If you never tried anything with sandalwood oil, you should seriously consider trying it, this oil is known for bringing out your natural glow by reducing the look of dark circles and patches.

Generally, I’m so glad that I finally managed to come across this brand and try it out. The quality of the brand is brilliant, and so affordable considering that it’s mostly handmade. I always love supporting Ayurveda brands, especially ones that people may not have heard much of, I feel like Ayurveda doesn’t get enough credit for pioneering organic beauty.

I hope you all enjoyed my Forest Essentials Facial Essentials review.

Click here to try out Forest Essentials.

Don’t forget to comment, subscribe and share ♥

– Sonam x

 

P.S: For more skincare reviews click here. 

Alchemy Oils Amla Hair Remedy Review

Bath & Body, General, Hair Care, Reviews

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of the self-care kit that I got from Alchemy Oils on Instagram. Since I got the kit, I was trying everything out, and decided to write a review on the Alchemy Oils Amla Hair Remedy. Last year, I did a couple of reviews on the Alchemy Oils products and was generally impressed with the quality of their oils and this year Alchemy Oils have redesigned the packaging of their products.

(If you haven’t already – follow me on instagram! @kindcultureuk)

A little about Alchemy Oils

Alchemy Oils specialises in creating effective, natural hair care solutions and hair oil. Combining the age-old Ayurvedic practice of hair oiling from India; where they use oils in scalp massage (which increases blood flow to the scalp) for a deep conditioning treatment, with Western hair styling sensibilities (oil/serum hybrids to smooth fly aways, add shine and heat protect). The brand also caters for all hair types that includes afro hair.

All of the products are do not contain any parabens, PEGS, phthalates, sulphates, silicones, mineral oil, glycols, DEA or TEA. Alchemy Oils are registered with the Vegan Society and also certified by Peta as cruelty-free.

Alchemy Oils Amla Hair Remedy

Made with a combination of Amla, Coconut, Avocado, and Argan oils topped off with a splash of Lemon Essential Oil to naturally cleanse. These all work in sync to fight premature greying, promote growth and impart a lustrous shine.

Amla, Indian Gooseberry, is a powerful hair tonic known to stimulate the hair follicle to encourage growth. It nourishes the hair shaft, adding strength and sheen, and cleanses the scalp to prevent dandruff, providing a perfect environment for long and healthy hair. Featuring a number of essential fatty acids, Amla oil is known to strengthen the hair follicles and condition the hair. Amla oil penetrates the scalp and can help treat dry, itchy scalp and along with vitamin C, Amla is also very rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants carry anti-ageing mechanisms which can prevent hair from premature greying.

The Amla Hair Remedy is £38 for 50ml, and is available to buy online on the Alchemy Oils website and through many other stockists.

Review

I love the redesign, the new drop bottles are much easier to open, meaning that I won’t have to worry about accidentally spilling oil. In the past, I used amla oil that left a pungent smell that really lingered. Thankfully, I couldn’t smell the amla in this hair remedy, it actually has more of a citrus smell, the combinations of the oils has such a calming effect. The oil does feel quite thick & rich.

Initially, I massaged the oil on my scalp and hair, leaving it to soak in before washing it. I left the oil for about 2-3 hours in my hair. While washing my hair, I noticed that the oil is quite rich and I may have put too much oil on my hair so I washed it out twice.

After washing my hair and drying my hair, my hair was visibly more shiny, and healthy looking. It felt so much more smoother. Even after a couple of days had passed, my hair was still quite smooth. It leaves my hair nourished and has the same high-quality finish as the grapefruit hair remedy. ✨

Thank you the amazing Alchemy Oils team for sending me the Amla Hair Remedy (and the self-care set).

Click here to buy the hair remedy online. I hope you all enjoyed my Alchemy Oils Amla Hair Remedy review.

Don’t forget to comment, share and follow.

 

– Sonam x

P.S: Read my Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Remedy review here. 

Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy Review

Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy Review

I’d like to share another Alchemy Oils product with you all today. Those of you that read my blog regularly will know that I did a review on the Grapfruit Hair Remedy earlier this year and I was so pleased with the hair oil, in fact I still use it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Alchemy Oils, they are an all natural cruelty-free and vegan brand that make their products based on the practices of Ayurveda and Western hair styling sensibilities.

About the product

With a blend of 5 different oils; Coconut, Argan, Avocado, Rosehip and of course Peppermint Essential oil, the Peppermint Brow Remedy helps stimulate growth and thicken your brows.  It’s best to use the remedy overnight by just placing your index finger over the bottle top of the bottle, tipping it upside down and rubbing the oil that’s on your finger into your brows. When you’re doing this please do make sure that you don’t put too much oil on your brows as the peppermint oil can be quite strong for your eyes.

Review

My first thoughts when using the remedy were mainly about how refreshing the oil smells, it smells pretty much like Polo Mints. After using it overnight for the first time, I was quite surprised at how quickly the look of my brows had thickened. Since then, I’ve been using the Brow remedy for every night for a week and I can see a difference in the growth of my eyebrows.

Before I started using the remedy, I had gaps and uneven hairs in between my eyebrows. The main problem that I had with my eyebrows were the lack of growth of hairs on the right arch of my brow, which were so thin that they were hardly visible. (In the main picture it looks like the problem is with my left arch, but I had to flip the image so that you can read the bottle, so it’s actually the right arch 🙂 )

Honestly, I tend to shy away from using makeup on my eyebrows as I can never get the look right – I either put on too much makeup or my brows look uneven. Within the space of a week, the thinner hairs have become thicker and overall my brows look fuller without having to use makeup – so in short I would without doubt recommend the Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy.

Thank you to RebKan PR for sending me the Peppermint Brow Remedy. I hope you all enjoyed my Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy review.

To read my review on the Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy, click here. Buy the Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy here.

Himalaya Herbals Neem Scrub + Wash Review

Beauty, General, Reviews, Skincare

Today I wanted to share another Neem post with you all, since I know that you all love my posts on Ayurveda.

What is Ayurveda?

For those of you that are new to my blog (welcome!), you can check out my previous Ayurvedic posts by clicking on the images below:

  

To quickly define what Ayurveda is; it is a traditional medical science that was created by the Vedas in India which covers a broad spectrum of health and well being (from beauty to yoga and so on). Today the remedies that are provided by Ayurveda are well established in the field of beauty and alternative medicine​, in fact, a lot of the foundations of modern-day mindfulness and holistic lifestyles are influenced by Ayurveda. Those of you that have been following my blog will be more than aware of my love of Ayurvedic Beauty products and how passionate I am to show you all​ brands that are ​both cruelty free and ​well established in the field of Ayurveda.

Are Himalaya Herbals cruelty free?

Himalaya Herbals are a cruelty free brand based in India that are committed to creating natural herbal products based on the ancient traditions of Ayurveda. The company create a variety of products from haircare, beauty, bath and body products to toiletries – they even have a baby care range.

To check the cruelty free status of Himalaya Herbals you can check by typing out ‘Organique by Himalaya’ on the Leaping Bunny product search by Cruelty free International. You can also check the back of the Himalaya Herbals products for the No Animal Testing/Cruelty Free logo.

Purifying Neem Scrub Review

The Purifying Neem Scrub is made with a blend of Neem as well as Apricot which has quite a cool and gentle touch to it. The Apricot is used to scrub away blackheads and dead skin while the Neem is used for its natural anti-bacterial properties, leaving the skin clean and smooth. When using the scrub I noticed that the little scrub granules are not at all harsh on the skin, so it generally works well for someone that has quite soft skin.

Purifying Neem Face Wash Review


The Neem Face Wash is a gel that’s made using Neem & Tumeric and I must say it was surprisingly gentle on my skin, considering how strong both the main ingredients can be (also, it looks like Flubber to me haha). The Tumeric works to naturally control acne and pimple outbreaks and again the Neem is used for its natural anti-bacterial properties. After using the face wash the skin is left with a natural glow and the skin stays quite soft during the day.
Overall, both products work well for my sensitive skin, but I would recommend those with extremely sensitive skin to consult a dermatologist before trying Neem products.​ Whenever I use these products, I end up using them together – but you can use them individually.
Good news for all of my readers based in U.K, most of the Himalaya Herbals range is available to buy at Beauty Base. The Purifying Neem Scrub costs £2.59 and the Purifying Neem Face Wash costs £2.99 at Beauty Base.
I hope you all enjoyed my Himalaya Herbals Neem Scrub + Wash review.
Don’t forget to comment, share & follow.
– Sonam x

Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy Review

Hi guys! ♥

How has your week been going so far?

Today I’d like to share something that’s perfect for everyone during this harsh winter weather – Grapefruit Hair Remedy by Alchemy Oils.

About Alchemy Oils

The Grapefruit Hair Remedy is made with a blend of 5 oils to improve the condition of your hair by strengthening your hair with coconut, avocado, almond and castor oils. These oils are combined to promote growth, thicken hair and impart a lustrous shine as well as work in harmony with the grapefruit oil, which is used to fight dandruff and keep your scalp healthy.

Alchemy Oils have made it very clear on their FAQ page of their website that they have pledged not to sell products in China until the mandatory law is lifted, they are also PETA Certified and Vegan. A quick tip for any of you that are new to the world of the cruelty free and vegan way of life, you can always verify the cruelty free and vegan status of products via the PETA cruelty free brand checker, Beauty without Bunnies (they also have an app), as well as The Vegan Society Trademark search.

On the side of the label on the bottle (see below), it says that for dry hair you can begin by massaging the oil into your scalp and then apply to your roots. For people that are using the hair remedy with damp hair it says to only use a few drops on your hair all round and to apply to your roots. The recommended amount of time that you can leave it on for is a minimum of 20 minutes, if you’re not used to using hair oil then I would suggest that you stick to the recommendation because of the amount of oils already blended in with the hair remedy. If your hair is generally quite dry and damaged, then it would be best to leave it on for longer depending on how long you can have it on for – some people leave oil on for 1 to 2 hours, others leave it on overnight so it’s really up to you!

Review

As someone who constantly uses different types of natural hair oil, I couldn’t recommend this more! I’ve never used hair oil that’s been blended with 5 other oils, so I was quite surprised at how quickly it nourished my hair and it had a fresh, lush citrus smell of grapefruit. The only thing that I would personally say that I was disappointed by is the fact that there is no grapefruit shampoo and conditioner to go with the oil, because it would work amazingly together. 🙁

So far Alchemy Oils only sell hair oils, but I would love to see them expand their hair care range to go with the oils.

Where to get the Grapefruit Hair Remedy

The Grapefruit Hair Remedy is currently priced at £24 for 100ml on the Alchemy Oils website or, alternatively, you could buy a travel size bottle with 30ml for £8 if you’d like to test it out or take it with you on the go. Not to forget you can get a 10% discount code when you subscribe to their newsletter!

Thank you to RebKan PR for sending me the lovely Grapefruit Hair Remedy. ☺

I hope you guys liked this review!

You can now buy the Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy from Amazon Prime.

Read more hair care reviews here. 

Lotus Herbals Apriscrub Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, Reviews, Skincare

I had to take a break from blogging because of my final exams, but I am so glad that my final year is finally over. If anyone that has gone through this phase in their life tells you that university is a breeze, they are either a horrible liar, or extremely lazy – this last year was a real challenge and words cannot accurately describe how relieved I am that it is over.

During my revision and exam time I had pretty much neglected taking care of myself I like normally would do, and had pretty much turned into a slob, but one product that I had been continuously using was the apricot face scrub called Apriscrub by Lotus Herbals that I had bought from India. Despite the fact that I was under a lot of stress during this period I have to admit that I hardly broke out with any spots, in fact it kept my skin relatively clear.

About the brand

Apriscrub is made for all skin types and it’s specifically made to remove dead skin and keep your skin looking fresh, from my experience it has significantly reduced the amount of oil that I get on my T-zone (the forehead and nose). The best thing about this particular scrub is that its made with an ingredient that people are familiar with, as naturally people can become a little apprehensive when using trying different ayurvedic products and it also does not leave a lasting smell. It actually smells like a nice blend of apricot and musk.

Lotus Herbals leaping bunny and vegetarian logos.

Lotus Herbals is an Indian herbal cosmetic company that pride themselves in their innovative use of ayurvedic ingredients and their ongoing scientific research – they even have a make up range. What makes them even better is that they are a cruelty free company, and they actually have the leaping bunny logo and green dot logo to verify that they are both cruelty free and have vegetarian origins. One thing that I have noticed about ayurvedic and herbal cosmetic companies in general is that they do not test on animals but the only problem that I have with some of these companies is that they do not always verify this, which can make consumers sceptical of them. The companies seem to make the assumption that we would automatically understand that the products are not tested on animals but I personally think that they tend to forget that being cruelty free and organic is not mutually exclusive.

Are Lotus Herbals cruelty free?

Compulsory brown and green dots on packaging

In India, it is still legal to test on animals but in the past few years there have been active steps in the right direction to make changes to the law. Before I had mentioned that the Apriscrub packaging had a green dot on the back of it; for those of you who are not familiar with products made in India it was made mandatory by the Indian government in 2014 to have a green dot on the packaging of cosmetic products, food and household items to signify that the product has been made with vegetarian origins for the majority vegetarian population. For products that have been made from non-vegetarian origins there will be a brown dot, or in some cases red dot, which will make consumers aware of what type of product they are purchasing.

Where to get Apriscrub

I bought the scrub for 245 rupees for 180ml in India, which works out for roughly £2.48. However, I am not sure if it sold in any stores in the U.K but you can order it from Amazon for £5.48 with free delivery, which is a positive thing considering that it is £3 more than the price that I had originally paid for but it is  definitely worth buying.

I would love to know your thoughts on this piece, and whether you all think that I should continue to write more about Ayurvedic beauty. I hope you all enjoyed my Lotus Herbals Apriscrub review.

Click here to read more skincare reviews. 

Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review

Generally speaking, Ayurveda is widely regarded as a traditional medical science which originated from the Vedas in India but it covers a much broader spectrum of health and well being from beauty to yoga and so on. Today the remedies that are provided by Ayurveda are well established in the field of beauty and alternative medicine. It is definitely something that I have been quite keen in learning more about, those of you that have been following my blog for quite some time will be aware of my interest in Ayurveda, I’ve even blogged about an Ayurvedic beauty product before (Ayurvedic Beauty: Neem Mask ).

Amla Hair Oil Review

The Amla hair oil is produced by the company Patanjali, which specialise in Ayurvedic products and also sell food that are produced by people in the rural areas of India. Amla, also known as Indian gooseberry, are typically used in hair care products and is used specifically for the purpose of strengthening the roots and thus preventing hair fall. On the packaging it also states that it can also be used to prevent split ends and the inevitable graying of hair; I assume that for you to actually see the results you would have to use it over a long period like most herbal products.

 

From my experience the best way to actually put the oil on is by taking a little bit of oil at a time, massage it on your scalp and then gradually work on the rest of your hair. It is recommended to keep the oil on for at least half an hour before washing it out, but this could depend on your hair length and type, I have left the oil in my hair for roughly 2 hours but it’s entirely up to you! I particularly like the texture of the Amla hair oil as it doesn’t seem to stick to your hands, but I must admit that it has quite a strong smell, so it’s definitely best to use on a day off.

The only real problem that I would say that I have with the product is the flimsy cap, I had to put quite a lot of cello tape around the cap just to secure it when I was travelling back from India to the U.K. In India, I had bought the 100ml bottle of the hair oil for 40 rupees, which works out to be just over 40p. Unfortunately, on Amazon it is sold for a little bit more than what it is in India but I guess that is expected, online it is sold for £4.60. Although that may seem to be quite a bit for a 100ml bottle of hair oil, it is actually worth buying as the oil itself works quite well in small quantities, so I would definitely recommend it to you all!

It would be great to know what your thoughts are on this post, and whether any of you have tried Amla hair oil before. I hope you all enjoyed my Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review. 🙂

Click here to read my hair care review. 

Hesh Pharma Neem Mask Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Hesh Pharma Neem Mask Review

Today I thought that I should share a completely different kind of cruelty free product from India called Neem. The scientific name for Neem leaves are Azadirachta Indica and it’s quite a popular ingredient in Ayurvedic Beauty. Neem trees can be found across South Asia and even parts of the Middle East. For those of you who are not familiar with Ayurveda in general, it is a 6,000 year old science, or tradition, that originated from the Vedas in India. Ayurveda predominantly involves herbal remedies and medicines as well as yoga; there are many different branches of Ayurveda but it’s beauty and medicine are more established across South Asia. This particular product that I have shown is produced in India by a company called Hesh Pharma and can be bought online or in supermarkets like Tesco. The box that I bought was £1.20 for 100g at my local Tesco.

Hesh Pharma Neem Powder

The Neem leaves powder has natural antiseptic and antibacterial properties so it can be used on both the face and hair. When it is used as a face mask it reduces excessive oil and can be used as a hair mask for dandruff problems. The powder only requires a little water to be made into a paste and is best to wash off with cold water approximately after 10-15 minutes. When the powder is mixed it does look and smell a bit like mehndi/henna but please be assured that it will not stain your face or hair, the only thing you have to worry about is cleaning your sink after washing the mask off.

The rest of the powder needs to be stored in a cool place (or wherever you want to keep it). One thing that I personally find particularly useful about this product is that when I make the paste myself it is quite fresh compared to some of the other ready made face masks that I have bought. On the box it is advised to test this on your skin a day before using it on your face or hair to avoid any reactions you may have.

Indian Cruelty Free Logo

Hesh Pharma produce Ayurvedic products which means that all of their products are made from natural herbal ingredients and they also have a cruelty free logo to show that they do not test any of their products on animals. Unfortunately, there are companies that do test on animals in India so if you do decide that you want to purchase any other kind of Ayurvedic Beauty product do try to look out for the Indian cruelty free logo, it is normally found on the side of products like the picture above.

I hope you all enjoyed my Hesh Pharma Neem Mask review. Click here to buy the Hesh Pharma Neem Mask Powder from Amazon.

Read more skincare reviews here. 

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