Organic Wednesday - Organic Surge, the return

I'm delighted that another of my very favourite bloggers, Helen from the lovely Just Nice Things site has offered to guest blog for me this week. If you're interested in nails - and other cosmetics! - then you simply have to make Just Nice Things a port of call on the internets!  Helen won my first ever blog giveaway way back in November last year, and she's reviewing on the prizes I gave her, Organic Surge Eye Gel.

Take it away, Helen:

Isn’t it strange the way that wonderful ageing issues that suddenly become a factor when you hit 30-something? Like the fact that the extra half stone you put on every Christmas just doesn’t shift? Or the fact that you still have the marks on your face left by the seams of your pillow at 9am because your skin hasn’t sprung back? Puffy eyes? Well, not only do I have to contend with all these concerns, I am also blessed by having chronic psoriasis.

For those of you who don’t know, psoriasis is a non-contagious skin condition that affects approximately one in every one hundred people. No-one knows what causes it, but we do know that it is essentially the same as having super efficient skin that just renews too quickly, pushing the old skin cells to the surface, where they gather and flake off. This can be incredibly painful, itchy and sore, not to mention unsightly. I’ve lost count of the number of people that have gone “Eurrrgghhh! What’s wrong with you?” to me, or people who haven’t wanted to shake my hand because of it.

What this also means is that I have to be extremely careful with what I put onto and into my skin. I don’t smoke (any more), I drink plenty of water. I have found out, over many years, what the triggers are. Fizzy white wine, chillies, strawberries and tomatoes are likely to have me clawing at my skin in agony. The same goes for beauty products. Anything containing sodium laureth / lauryl sulphate, perfume, or parabens is anathema to me. I don’t wear foundation, and I can’t get overly excited by the Sleek palettes that everyone loves, because they contain parabens. Once a week or so is fine but if I were to use something daily that contained any of the above ingredients, I know I’d be flaring, itchy and irritable. I haven’t narrowed it down precisely – for example, despite all their claims to be nasty-free and hypoallergenic, I can’t use either Jergens or Simple products. Don’t know why, I just know they hurt like hell when I apply them.

Similarly, I was a bit scared to try Organic Surge. Usually the only skincare I use is Liz Earle as I know from trial and error that it doesn’t have any sinister effects on me. I had an Organic Surge handcream a while ago and I don’t know what was in it but it set my psoriasis ridden paws on fire. However, the lure of a free lipstick is too much for any beauty blogger to deny, and so I entered one of Luce’s Get Lippie reader competitions, and won! I couldn’t believe it. The only thing I’d ever won before this was the odd £10 on the lottery, and a very classy silver plated after dinner mint tray at a school fete once. The Get Lippie prize bag contained several Organic Surge products, and so, with some trepidation, I reached for the eye gel.

I love eye gel. I used to nick my mum’s elderflower and vitamin E eye gel when I was little (and certainly in no need of it). I remember liking the way it felt on my skin and immediately made me feel brighter and more awake. So, I couldn’t resist trying this one out. I usually approach new products with a cynical “what reaction is this going to get then?” , so imagine my glee when it did….nothing. As in, I had no reaction at all. Brilliant. No stinging, no itching, just that lovely tightening and smooth feeling. Fantastic. I haven’t been over egging it and using this daily as I know my skin can sometimes get fed up with certain items, but I’ve been using this eye gel a couple of times a week since Christmas with no ill effects.

 
OK, so it doesn’t banish the dark circles (perhaps I need to look into drinking less wine…but then again, nah) but it does make the skin around my eyes feel smoother, look brighter and generally feel zingy. A little goes a long way here, hence the reason that this little 15 ml pot has lasted me since December. So as far as I am concerned, it’s a hit. It makes me feel nice and just perks me up a bit. And anything that can do that without rendering me like the Elephant Man deserves to score highly in my book.

Oh and I apologise for the slightly soft focus Wheel of Fortune “modeling the prize” photos. As you can tell from the product shots, I’m a nail blogger and you don’t get to see my face all that often. Mainly because it’s usually covered in creases from my pillow…

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Thanks, Helen!

The Great Giveaway Unveiling!

Many apologies for the craptacular photography, but I just wanted to post this quickly! I'm giving away the following:

a complete set of Organic Surge skincare (face wash, eye gel and moisturiser)
a set of Demeter shower gel and body lotion in Fig Leaf,
a tube of Balm Balm in rose geranium (love, love, love this stuff, it's like Eight Hour Cream, only better smelling!),
plus I've thrown in:
a mystery Ruby & Millie lipstick and
a mystery Sleek eyeshadow palette!

For a chance to win, (and because I've nearly left the house twice this week without mascara and realised I simply look all wrong without it!) all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me which single beauty or cosmetic product you simply can't live without. Oh, and you must be a follower! If you want to mention it to other people, that's great, it's not compulsory - but I will be grateful!  Winner will be drawn at random on November 19th, and is open to international entrants.

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

L
x

EDIT: Because this has been so popular, I've now added a second set of goodies to the giveaway - not identical, but very similar! - so you now have double the chance of winning.  Good luck!

PS Items in this competition were all provided by myself and have not been supplied as freebies by any of the companies mentioned, or any PR firms.

Organic Wednesday - Organic Surge

The Background:

A couple of weeks ago, I was one of the lucky winners of a competition run by the lovely people at Organic Surge.  The prize was a girly night out at an exclusive screening of Sex and the City, and, alongside plying us with wine and popcorn, we also all received a goody bag filled with their range of skincare treats.

The Blurb:

I had a great time, it was lovely to meet some of the people behind the brand, and chat to them about how excited and positive they are about the company and what they're trying to do.  The competition was to celebrate Organic Surge's nationwide launch at Boots, which they're very happy about, rather unsurprisingly!   Founder Alan McKenzie told us that it was his dream to produce a range of ethical skincare products untouched by "harmful" chemicals at an affordable price, and that for every product sold a proportion of the proceeds are used to support the Kenya Children's Home and Watoto charities.

What really interested me was that this is a budget range, and yet every product is free of

• Parabens, SLS, sulphates
• Synthetic perfume
• Chemical antioxidants mineral oils, petroleum, propylene glycol
• Aggressive foaming agents

All of which is more than good enough for me to introduce them as my first review for my Organic Wednesday review!  And yes, I know it's not Wednesday, but there have been some refurbishment issues here at Lippie HQ ...

 

The Review:

In my goody bag, I received (full size!) samples of their Eye Gel and Daily Cleansing Wash alongside a jar of their Blissful Daily Moisturiser for Normal skin, which is what I'll be reviewing today.

For what is basically a cheaper brand, the packing of all their products is surprisingly sturdy, the moisturiser comes in a decent size glass jar, which was a pleasant surprise.  Once you open it up, you're greeted with the cheery and uplifting smells of rosemary and lemon oils which is a nice way to start your day.

The cream, in the pot, appears thick and rich, but on application it's actually pleasantly light and is very easily absorbed (in my case, possibly a little too easily absorbed, about which more later).  It disappears readily into the skin, and doesn't leave an oily residue, which is nice.  I also found it had a slight mattifying effect on my skin which I think will be welcomed by some oilier skinned people.  The scent doesn't linger too long after application, which is good, there's not a lot worse than being able to smell your skin care products all day.

The Rating: 7/10 

It's cheap (currently £7.99 at Boots), does what it says it will, and smells lovely.  As a basic moisturiser, albeit one without SPF, it's a very nice one.  I have quite dry and sensitive skin, so I found that it wasn't quite moisturising enough for me, but I'd very happily buy the Super-Intensive Daily Moisturiser version of it instead.  I've been using it now for three weeks, and haven't had any issues with sensitivity or spots, so I'm sold!

Face of the Week

I'm a very lazy person, and i appear to be addicted to routine at the moment, so whatever makeup I find myself wearing on a Monday is what I tend to find myself wearing for the next few days! Here's the products I've been wearing this week, it's very plain and simple, but quick, and pretty.







Organic Surge Blissful Daily Moisturiser (which I'm trialling for a blog post later this week)
Benefit Bluffdust - which I love for dealing with my red patches!
L'Oreal Studio Secrets foundation in Gold Ivory
Chanel blusher in Rose Defile
Urban Decay Primer Potion (depotted)
Bare Escentuals Glimpse e/s in Bravo
MAC kohl pencil in Feline (inner upper eyelid only - have I mentioned how much I love that look, and this eyeliner? Well, I do!)
Lancome Hypnose Drama in Black (of course!)
and the look is finished off with a tiny slick of Bare Escentuals Buxom lipgloss in Brandi.

Pictures of the finished look will appear tomorrow ...

Organics - A new series

Long gone are the days where I could slap just any old thing on my skin and pay no heed to the consequences.  Too many years of recklessly painting myself with the most chemical-laden and powerfully-perfumed old muck - then using the equivalent of paint stripper to take it off - has left me with a face that breaks out and flares up into welts and red scaly patches if I so much as look at certain skin care ranges these days.

I pay a lot of attention to the labels on my products now, and, chances are, if the label states it contains parabens (particularly in eye creams) or SLS (lauryl or laureth) then it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to give that product the time of day.   Cleansers in particular have been a mine-field, foaming ones burn my face and make me red and scaly, and creamy ones make me break out really, really badly. That's why I'm really happy at the moment that organic ranges of skin care are becoming a lot easier to find - and, as the organic revolution moves on, they're becoming a lot more affordable too.

With websites like Puresha making the more high end "cult" lines such as Pure and True or Pai (they are also the exclusive suppliers of Cargo's Plant Love range of organic make up - which is beautiful, and funkily packaged!) easier to get hold of, alongside a  proliferation of affordable ranges such as Organic Surge coming to the high street it's never been a better time to be a sensitive skinned soul.  So I'm planning on trying out a few products, and bringing you my reviews of them over the next couple of months.  Some of the brands you will have heard of, but some of them might be new to you, but it'll be fun trying them out, and letting you know what I think.  I've already written about Dr Bronner, which I adore, here

Since I moved to using more natural products, my skin has never been better. Instead of spots being a weekly (and multiple) occurrence, I now get maybe two or three a year. Them being more rare never stops it being a drama when they do pop up though, I have to say! And I only get red, scaly, itchy skin when I know I've been really neglecting my routine.  Welts are no longer a fact of life.  Of course, a large part of this is because I'm actually better at taking my make up off before I go to bed now, but, it can't be denied that when I go back to using the - expensive - ranges I was using before, my skin simply isn't as well-behaved as it is when I'm avoiding products with packed with cheap chemical fillers and heavy perfumes.

What are some organic products that you've used, and which really work for you?