Inner-Soul Organics

Inner-Soul Organics is one of those brands that I just love from the very first try and the fact they are British with products made right here in the UK makes me want to champion them ever more. Inner-Soul Organics offers luxurious skincare for face, bath, body, anti-aging and maternity, created with fine quality, organic, botanical extracts but what I love more is that they have a service that allows you the customer to have your own unique skincare range designed and created just for you. Inner Soul Organics skincare products are also suitable for use as part of vegan and vegetarian lifestyles and we are against animal testing and you can find out more about them right here.

I was sent two sample pots to try and test and I absolutely loved both of them, especially the Rose and Lemon Tender Cleanse Balm.  I am a real fan of cleansing balms, there is just something really relaxing and satisfying about using them to melt off the days make up, dirt and grime to leave you with a fresh, clean feeling face, particularly for me living here in London.  

To use the Roses and Lemons Tender Cleanse Balm, you apply in light sweeps all over the face and neck and when doing this, I use one of my muslin cloths as I find they work really well with. With this balm you are advised to concentrate on the sides of the nose, the dip of the chin and forehead and then to remove, simply moisten the cloth and remove excess balm. Now as you can imagine, it smells absolutely divine and is packed full of amazing ingredients such as:

• Mango and Virgin Coconut Butters are at the heart of our cleansing balm to gently cleanse away dirt without stripping skin of its natural oil content
• Extracts of organic Kiwi Seed, Aloe, Calendula and Rose Hip de-stress and soothe skin and also deal with fine lines and wrinkles by encouraging production of new collagen cells and quenching skin with vitamin C
• Red Raspberry seed acts to boost skin's natural immunity, protecting against free radicals and irritations
• Squalane, Evening Primrose and Spilanthes Acmella will hydrate and leave a beautiful glow on the skin
• Sublime Rose de Mai and Rose Absolute calm and tighten, smoothing away fine lines, whilst Lemon and Bergamot deeply cleanse and reduce dark spots

The True Balance Day Time Moisturiser is a cream which feels incredibly luxurious on the skin and you only need a small amount because as soon as it comes into contact with the skin it absorbs itself leaving behind soft, smooth and really hydrated feeling skin.  As with the cleansing balm, this cream is packed full of amazing ingredients such as Ylang Ylang which has a soothing effect and its balancing action sorts out over-dry as well as overly-oily skin by balancing the secretion of sebum and there is also the inclusion of Apricot, Lemon and Thistle which moisturise and mattify the skin.

What I found with this cream is that the scent is really long lasting and you can smell it for a good few hours after application and it leaves behind no greasy residue.

These sample pots are a really generous size and have really impressed me into wanting to try a few more products from the range. The Cleansing Balm was my favourite of the two and it is just an absolute delight to use and anything which leaves your skin feeling squeaky clean definitely deserves the thumbs up.

Have you ever tried anything from Inner Soul Organics?

Lush Cup O'Coffee Face and Body Mask

Almost two years ago now I gave up caffeine, I got to the point where I became too dependant upon it to get me through the day and one day decided enough was enough and cut it out. Now instead of needing coffee or tea, I have it as an occasional treat and have instead found new things to try instead. However, I love the smell of coffee, I love coffee flavoured things and when I saw Cup O'Coffee as a Face and Body Mask in Lush, it was in my basket before I had even had a sniff!

Cup O'Coffee is a Face and Body mask and as the name suggests it smells like freshly brewed coffee and is heaven in a black Lush tub, it is intense, it is great and I love it, even if I didn't like it as a mask, I would still love it for the scent. As for smelling like fresh coffee, well it looks quite like coffee too as you can see, it is a Mocha shade, so not overly exciting bright pink with glitter, but it matches it name especially well and it does do an excellent job.

So Cup O'Coffee is best described as being an exfoliating mask for the face and body and the idea is that you slap it onto your face and body, leave it for 15 minutes and then wash off. It is definitely more of a shower product than one for the bath and it is also one you need to use when you have 15 minutes to stand around in your bathroom, but it is also totally worth it. The pot comes in two sizes, 150g and 325g and the one I have is 150g and it lasted for a few uses. Again, depending on where you use it, how much you use and how often you use it depends on how long it is going to last. The first time I used it was on my arms and legs and I used it sparingly, the second time I used it on my face and the third time I managed to do arms, chest and face before running out. Having applied it to my skin in a massaging motion as I would with any other mask, waiting for 15 minutes in and then getting into a warm shower to massage it off my skin, the scent, once it hits the steam of the shower is just divine, honestly it is like standing next to a Barista as he makes your coffee.

As you might have guessed, the main ingredient of Lush Cup O' Coffee is of course coffee and it is called coffee infusion which you can read more about here. The caffeine within this product is rich, awakening and boosts your blood flow and circulation to literally wake everything up, even you! Also included is Kaolin which helps to cleanser and exfoliate the skin, Coriander Seed Oil which not only warms and soothes tired achey muscles but also uplifts and refreshes where states of tension and fatigue exist plus it is naturally antibacterial and there is also Vanilla Absolute which is fresh and uplifting scent as well as having an antibacterial effect on the skin, it is also naturally rich in vitamins which help your skin to feel more balanced and healthy.

Once you have removed the mask from your face and body, which I always have done (am on my third tub) using a muslin cloth, my skin felt just incredible. Wearing thick tights most days, can leave my legs feeling really dry and scaly, even though I moisturise every morning and evening. So to use this mask once a week, literally removes all the dead and dry skin and leaves behind soft, smooth, moisturised and glowing (on the face) skin which smells so amazing. I think this is honestly the best face and body mask I have ever used, well it must be, I am now on my third tub and still love it as much now as I did when I first got one.

This Lush Cup O' Coffee Face and Body Mask costs £6.75/150g and £13.25/325g and can be found online and in stores.