World Vegan Month - Lavera Cleanser and Toner Review

You know me, I love a good cleanser and toner combo and what better way to celebrate World Vegan Month this November than with a Vegan Society registered skincare routine from online eco retailer, Big Green Smile.

The Lavera Gentle Cleansing Milk is a creamy cleanser but it isn't thick - just thick enough to stay put on a cotton pad.  It is a very mild cleanser so is suitable for sensitive skins; I've found it effective at removing the general grime of the day from my face but I've yet to give it the challenge of a full face of make-up.  The active, soothing ingredients include organic almond milk and organic mallow flower.  I like it, its everything I look for in a cleanser and, combined with the Lavera toner, makes a perfect first step in my daily cleansing routine. This cleanser currently costs £7.50 at Big Green Smile for a 125ml bottle.

The Lavera Purifying Facial Toner is intended for oily to combination skin but I think it is gentle enough to use on most skin types.  This toner is packed full of ingredients known for their soothing and cleansing properties - ginkgo bilbao, witch hazel, aloe, grape and calendula.  It has a soft, planty scent and leaves my skin feeling gorgeous afterwards.  A great toner like this always leaves your skin feeling a little tighter than normal after its astringent properties (probably the witch hazel in this case)  closes down the pores to protect against dirt. Lavera Purifying Toner currently costs £7.90 for a 125ml bottle at Big Green Smile.

If you are looking for vegan-friendly skincare products then Big Green Smile have a whole host of products from moisturisers and make up through to toothpaste and deodorant.  There are also lots of cleaning products in the Vegan Society registered range of products that includes soap, laundry detergent and dishwasher powder.

Madara Cleansing Milk and Clarifying Toner Review - from MyPure #bbloggers #naturalbeauty #organic #review

Long time readers of Mellow Mummy will know quite how strongly I believe in my daily ritual of cleansing, toning and moisturising.  To me, a good cleansing milk and matching toner are two beauty staples that every mellow mummy should have in their armoury of beauty products.  And, likewise, loyal readers probably know that when it comes to skincare products I like to sing the praises of brands that (a) actually work and (b) offer a natural or organic alternative to the big high street names.  Madara skincare products tick both of these boxes for me.

Madara Clarifying Toner and Madara Cleansing Milk

Madara cosmetics are entirely natural cosmetics certified by ECOCERT. ECOCERT prohibits the use of synthetic perfumes and preservatives like parabens, mineral oil and propylene glycol. We have used Madara baby shampoo in the past and loved it but thanks to Mypure, this is my first opportunity to try out the facial skinscare range from Madara for adults.

Madara Cleansing Milk

I love this cleanser!

This Madara Cleansing Milk left my skin feeling fabulous after use.  It is thick, but not so thick it feels gloppy - it comes in a pump dispenser which worked well (often they don't!).  I applied the cleanser with my fingers and wiped off using cotton pads and I found it worked particularly well when finished off with the toner and my skin felt fabulously clean.

The active ingredients of the Madara cleansing milk include oat kernel extract and linden flower extract which are both known for their soothing properties and calendula which is not only soothing but cleansing too.  I thought the scent was gentle and refreshing which adds to the feeling of cleanliness.

The Madara Cleansing Milk costs £15 for 200ml at Mypure.

Madara Clarifying Toner and Madara Cleansing Milk

Madara Clarifying Toner

To me, a good toner has to be refreshing and zingy yet soothing - it has to leave my skin feeling clean and ready for action. The Madara clarifying toner is a nice and gentle lotion that definitely achieves my"refreshing" and "soothing" goals.

I found the product easy to dispense onto a cotton pad but it smelled a bit too much like witch hazel to me to meet my "zingy" expectations.  Interestingly the ingredients don't seem to include witch hazel but instead has active ingredients such as rose flower water, cucumber extract and oak bark.  Admittedly, I had to look the ingredients up online on the Mypure website as the text on the bottle was printed in the same colour as the green lotion inside so I couldn't read it!!!

The Madara Clarifying Toner costs £12 for 200ml at Mypure.

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Liz Earle Instant Boost Tonic and Skin Repair Light Review

  

Last month I fell in love with the Liz Earle Naturally Active Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. This month I decided to try out the next two steps of the Liz Earle Daily Essentials routine – The Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Skin Repair Light Moisturiser. Would I be as equally won over?

The Liz Earle Natutally Active Instant Boost Skin Tonic is a toning lotion designed for use after cleansing. It is made using Liz Earle's interesting mix of science and nature (and approach to skincare that works wonderfully well for my Mellow lifestyle), with aloe vera, calendula, geranium, cucumber and vitamin E as the naturally active ingredients.

The Instant Boost Tonic has a really innovative bottle top that twists to provide a small opening out of which to dispense the lotion. I find the dispenser REALLY effective for putting the lotion onto round cotton pads. The smell of the Instant Boost Skin Toner is heavenly. Much more floral than the other Liz Earle products I have tried. The smell reminds me of baby powder or baby shampoo (which is weird because Lara and I have tried about 2 million baby shampoos and almost none of them smell this stereotypical!)

I know that lots of people dispense with the 'toner' stage of their daily cleaning routine, but for me, I've always found it essential. My face doesn't ever really feel clean until I've cleared off all the remaining bits of cleanser with a really light, fresh toner. The Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic doesn;t disappoint... it leaves my skin feeling clean and tight but with no lasting tingling. Exactly what I look for in a toner. It is gentle and alcohol-free (it's the alcohol which causes the tingling).

The Liz Earle Naturally Active Instant Boost Skin Tonic costs £11.75 for a 200ml bottle.

I'm finishing my current skincare regime with the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skin Repair Light Moisturiser. It has an autumny, earthy scent that I put down to the primary active ingredient – borage. Other naturally active ingredients include avocado oil, echinacea, beta-carotene and vitamin E.

The Skin Repair Light Moisturiser is suitable for combination or oily skin (which is my face, to the the T). It is a very light formulation so that it doesn't encourage the skin to produce too much of it's natural oils (thus causing greasiness).

My Skin Repair Light Moisturiser comes in a nifty pump (although the do also sell it in tubes). The pump is very effective (if you've read past reviews of mine, you'll know that I get easily stressed with useless dispensers!). Although I'm underwhelmed by the Skin Repair Light moisturiser in general, I have to say that it does seem to help my skin balance. I don't think I'd describe my skin as feeling 'moist' or 'young' but after using this moisturiser for a few weeks I have DEFINITELY stopped using the word 'greasy' to describe my skin... it seems to really have helped to balance my skin.

The Liz Earle Naturally Active Skin Repair Light Moisturiser for combination/oily skin costs £17.60 for a 50ml pump.