There is nothing like a great face mask that really makes a visible difference to your skin after you wash it off. That’s 100% Pure’s Pineapple Enzyme Facial Peel for me. It’s been my go-to skin brightener for years now.

The vegan brand stays true to its name, using only pure ingredients free of chemicals, synthetics and dyes as we’ve seen in 100% Pure’s cleanser and tinted moisturizer. This mask comes in a powder form, which I love for two reasons: (1) It has a longer shelf life and won’t go bad for a long, long time; (2) you only use a tablespoon per use so it will last you forever. I’ve had mine for years and still have half a tub left!

The directions say to mix powder with either water, tea, fruit juice, or plain yogurt. I always use a tablespoon powder with a teaspoon of water. After mixing to a pastey consistency, I apply to my face and then leave it on for about 10 minutes or until it dries and films over.

It contains nourishing kaolin clay, which is also in Teava products, has shown to heal blemishes, remove debris from the pores, and bring about a healthy glow. It is also said to create a slight tightening effect in your skin.

This mask also contains pineapple and papaya fruit enzymes, a gentler alternative to alpha-hydroxy acids for exfoliation and brightening. Finally, it contains lemon juice which sloughs off dead skin, promotes skin elasticity, and enables new skin cell growth.

And for only $17, this takes you a long way — here’s to a brighter future.

Ingredients

Kaolin clay, bromelain (pineapple enzyme), papain (papaya enzyme), pineapple juice, vitamin c (calcium ascorbate), lemon juice.

Exotic ingredients are no strangers to luxe cosmetic lines, so upon reading that Amala’s Purify collection (we have used and reviewed Amala’s Rejuvenating line) uses the rare Blue lotus as the common thread in each of its seven facial skincare products (Rejuvenating products major in on antioxidant cocoa), it seemed like high time to give the beautiful botanical a second glance.

Blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) and its cousin the Sacred Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) are native to Africa and parts of Southern Asia. The sacred flower was celebrated in ancient Egyptian times as a perfume, health tonic and possible aid for sexual stimulation; its blossoms were even found scattered over Tutankhaman’s body when the pharaoh’s tomb was opened in 1922. In cosmetics, the ingredient can be found in cleansers, moisturizers and exfoliants, functioning as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent. However, it is also rich in phytosterols, cholesterol-like molecules found in plants that can make skin sensitive to light.

Amala’s paraben-free, organic products aim to restore balance, clarity and radiance to oily and acnegenic skin types by infusing the skin with all-natural vitamins, minerals and amino acids found in Blue lotus. According to studies, the ingredient does contain bioflavonoids such as quercetin and rutin, which have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Combined with the other ingredients such as sweet almond oil (a skin brightener, emollient and moisturizer) and willow bark extract (which possesses antimicrobial capabilities and is often used for sebum control), it could very well do the deed. As a sufferer of this type of skin myself, we’ll be testing the Amala Purify clay mask ($58), toner ($30) and moisturizer ($68) in the near future to see just how well this rare ingredient works.

When I was asked to take a look at eye cream called Pack Your Bags They’re Leaving ($39.95) from a company called Simply Divine Botanicals, my first thought was this is cool, a natural cosmetic company with a quirky sense of humor. Ok so, so the web site’s tag line -  “merging science with energy and love” – was a bit New Agey, but what the heck. Then I looked at the ingredients for Pack Your Bags. The first item was “unconditional love and gratitude”. Definitely New Age. Then I looked again, something was a bit fishy.

As I dug around, I found myself brushing up against the paranormal, tele-evangelists and visions from God that led to humanity-saving soap. Honestly, you can’t make this stuff up.

But let’s start where I did with the full ingredients list for Pack Your Bags: Unconditional Love and Gratitude, Cucumber, 24 kt Gold, Seaweed, Sea Buckthorn oil, Watermelon seed oil, Essential oils of Frankincense, Myrrh, Tangerine and Lemongrass, Vitamin E. Now it is conceivable that the essential oils provide the base for the other ingredients, but then they struck me as incompletely explained; cucumber what? Extract? And these days, seaweed is usually identified by its type. I decided to take a look around the Simply Divine Botanicals website.

We are told that of the over 400 varieties of seaweed available,  the one used by SDB “is seldom if ever used in skincare as it is so costly, taking 1,000 pounds of only the center vein to make 1 pound of extract.”. We are never told what variety this actually is.

I then took a look at the cleanser and the fun really started.

I was most intrigued by an ingredient that I had never heard of before called eloptic. An online search on eloptic threw up some extremely interesting characters and the discovery that – I wonder how I have gone on so long without knowing this – God is a formulator.

Eloptic energy was apparently coined by a Dr. Thomas Galen Hieronymus. He is described as “familiar with psionics (the study of the paranormal) as Nixon is to politics”. Searching a bit more on “eloptic” I found something called Miracle II soap, which looked a lot like Simply Divine’s cleanser – which is called Outer Body Experience (perhaps in tribute to Dr Hieronymus and his work).

Miracle II soaps were invented by Clayton Tedeton, who hails from Calhoun, Louisiana. Whilst ill in bed, he was cured by a tele-evangelist and shortly thereafter spoke with God who gave him the formula for Miracle II soap. Apparently it cleans babies and oil spills.

Back to Pack Your Bags, the eye cream that sent me down this rabbit hole. K (whose name has been withheld to protect the gullible) tells me it feels really nice and soft. K, just tell me one thing – you will never, ever buy the Outer Body Experience cleanser.

Ingredients in Miracle ll Moisturizing Soap

Energized stabilized oxygenated water, Dehydrabiethylanmine (substitute name for proprietary ingredient), Ash of Dedecly solution, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Foaming Agent (Coconut extracted). Plus Oils of Avocado, Almond, Olive, Coconut, Vitamin E

Ingredients in Simply Divine Botanicals Outer Body

Unconditional Love and Gratitude, Organic Whole-Leaf Aloe Vera, Eloptic, Energized and Oxygenated Water, MSM, Ash of Dedecyl Dehydrabiethyamine (coconut derived), Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Oils of Avocado, Almond, Olive, Coconut, Vitamin E and Essentail Oils.

Sometimes, perfectly good brands fall off my radar. Take Arcona. This company makes antiaging cosmetics that use powerful ingredients, doesn’t charge the earth, and does no evil. But for some reason I completely forgot about them until I saw the Arcona Berry Fruit Bar (proving that the maligned soap bar has cleaned up its act) and was reminded that I had once liked the peptide-packed Peptide Firming Complex Regenerate. So I set out to investigate some of the other products in the Arcona range.

I decided to start with a potion called Magic White Ice ($38). When I tried it out, memories came flooding back to me and they weren’t necessarily good ones. Like the Peptide Firming Complex, Magic White Ice has a strong smell and is a little sticky. In this case, it has pleasant lemony undertones, but there is a much more pungent pong that is sort of musty and medicinal. Eventually, I worked this out. It is actually apple (malus fruit extract) and what I am getting is both a nice, fresh apple scent and a strong rotting fruit smell. The other thing I don’t much like is the tacky feeling that remains for quite a long while.

I would like to get past these relatively superficial issues as the ingredients are good. The aforementioned apple has a high amount of polyphenols that are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. Cranberry, aloe and tea join forces on the antioxidant front and hyaluronic acid and glycerin ensure the skin feels moisturized.

Wondering how Arcona gets away with no preservative? Actually, there is one: totara extract. Totarol is a natural preservative derived from the totara trees of New Zealand, which are known to grow for over 1,000 years. Their longevity is thought to be extended by the antibacterial properties of the wood.

I’d love to know what others think of Arcona and I have two samples to share: an exfoliant called Golden Grain Gommage (2oz) and Gentle Solution Repair (0.5oz), a night cream that is designed to repair sun damage while you sleep. Leave a comment if you’d like to give them a try. As always, there are no free lunches at TIA and we’ll be looking forward to giving us your candid review of these products.

Ingredients in Gentle Solution

Agua (Distilled Water), Hamamelis Virginiana Extract (Witch Hazel), Hydrolyzed Soy Extract, Glycerine, Glycolic Acid Polymer, Lactic Acid Polymer, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Prunus Armeniaca Kernel Oil (Apricot), Glycogen, Beta Fructan, Glucosamine HCl, Chlorophyll, Guava Extract (Psidium Guajava), Grapefruit Seed Extract (Citrus Grandis)

Ingredients in Golden Grain

Agua (Distilled Water), Corn Meal, Oatmeal, Glycolic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum Peel Oil (Lemon), Retinol, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond), Allantoin, Fruit Enzymes, Plant Enzymes, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Lecithin, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Extract, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Extract (Carrot)

Ingredients in Magic White Ice

Agua (Distilled Water), Hamamelis Virginiana Extract (Witch Hazel), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerin, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract (Cranberry), Camellia Sinensis Extract (White Tea), Totara Extract, Pyrus Malus Fruit Extract (Apple), Allantoin, Beta Carotene (Vitamin A), Panthenol (Vitamin B-5), Ascorbic Acid Ester (Vitamin C), Tocotrienols (Vitamin E), Grapefruit Seed Extract (Citrus Grandis)

This post is dedicated to Kim for putting me on to 100% Pure and Synergie who is partial to foam in her cleansers and we can only imagine how bitter her disappointment that one of my recent finds, Nutra-Lift Nonsoap has nothing soapy about it. 100% Pure Organic Cranberry Facial Cleansing Foam has more froth than a vat of Guinness.

For me, this cleanser passes the no moisturizer test. I hate that tight feeling that some cleansers leave you with until you slather on some moisturizers. I was able to wash my face in the evening and add nothing before going to bed in perfect comfort. Or perhaps that should be porefect comfort. My pores are closed after using 100% Pure’s cleanser and my skin free of direct and grease.

The cleansing/foaming part is provided by coco betaine, a gentle surfactant derived from coconut. The rest of the formula is loaded with botanical antioxidants. Tea and berries are well known as such, but even thyme and rosemary have proven antixodant properties and golden seal boosts the immune system.

Ingredients
Organic White Tea, Organic Earl Grey Tea, Organic Rose Hydrosol, Extracts of Organic Cranberry, Organic Raspberry, Organic Blackberry, Organic Cherry, Organic Pomegranate, Organic Blueberry, Organic Grapefruit Seed, Organic Rosemary, Organic Thyme, Organic Oregano, Organic Goldenseal, Organic Cinnamon and Organic Blood Orange, Organic Tangerine Essential Oil, Coconut Cleanser (coco betaine), Citric Acid, Witch Hazel, Japanese Honeysuckle Extract

The cold weather has wreaked havoc on my skin. For starters, my mid-20s skin is a bit schizo – it can be excessively dry in the colder months, way too oily in the warmer ones, sometimes acne prone, and mildly sensitive at best. Coming up with a skin regimen has been a bit of a trial-and-error and I have yet to find my holy grail product.

So, it’s nice to quite serendipitously come across a face wash that is actually cooperating with my skin. I was given a sample of Italian brand Dermophysiologique’s Cleansing Milk ($38 for a full size) to try. With not much info on the sample bottle, I decided to use it as an alternative to my current acne face wash which was proving to be way too drying for the winter. The first thing I noticed was that the creamy liquid was soft and non-foaming, but seemed to be way more moisturizing than my regular wash.

I began using it regularly without really “looking” for something to happen. After about a week mark though, I noticed my face seemed brighter and my complexion a little more even. I had to stop to think what I was doing different, without even realizing that the only thing that I changed in my daily routine was using Dermophysiologique’s face wash. It’s been two weeks now and my skin doesn’t have that ‘stripped’ feeling after cleansing, which I love.

I did some reading up on the ingredients. It contains prunus dulcis or sweet almond oil which is not only moisturizing, but said to even out your skin complexion. It also contains hydrating olive fruit oil which was heaven to my parched skin. I did get a small zit on my chin after I started using it, so I began alternating between Dermophysiologique and my own acne wash to contain it. This may have been caused by sodium benzotriazlyn butylphenol sulfate. This helps protect ingredients from UV light and can cause slight irritation. But I’m so pleased with the brighter effects so far!

Ingredients:

Water, zea mays (corn oil), glycerin, cetyl alchol, prunus dulcis (sweet almond oil), steareth-2, stearic acid, polyquaternium-7, capryloyl glycine, triethanolamine, polysorbate-20, steareth-21, parfum olea europea (olive fruit oil), hexamidine diisethionate, helichrysum italicum (helichrysum italicum extract), ginko biloba (ginkobiolba extract), malva sylvestris (mallow extract), vaccinium myrtillus (vaccinium myrtillus extract), sodium benzotriazlyn butylphenol sulfate, buteth-3, tributyl cirate, lecithin, tocopherol, ascorbyl palmite, citric acid.

Due to popular demand, we have expanded the range of Nutra-Lift products in the Truth In Aging store.

You can now find the newly reformulated Herbal Nonsoap cleanser ($24.09 for 8oz), which is now an aloe-based gel. This has rapidly become my favorite cleanser as it not only cleanses gently and effectively, but also delivers some great antioxidants to my skin right at the get go of my daily regimen. If you look at the comments on my review of Nutra-Lift NonSoap, you’ll see that the TIA community likes it too.

Nutra-Lift launched Lash Reneu, its eyelash growth product, this year and although I am planning to test it, I have not so far. My policy is not put products in the store that I – or members of the Truth In Aging community – haven’t used and recommend. I am making an exception now because all the ingredients here are safe. It doesn’t have a prostaglandin. It doesn’t even have a nasty preservative. The actives are peptides and B vitamins. We haven’t yet been disappointed by Nutra-Lift. And I wanted to give my readers the opportunity to try it. It is selling for $49.09. If anyone has or does, please comment – for better or worse. I’ll be reviewing it in March.

I only recently started using Nutra-Lift One Step Body  Scrub ($18.09), which is more of a shower gel that scrubs and it has already become a favorite. Nutra-Lift claims that delivers up to 100 times more moisture than your average shower gel. I have made it a key part of my regime to battle dry winter legs.

I recently stumbled across the Glacial Facial, a face mask made by the Alaskan Mud Company and was struck by the cute name and was rather tickled by the whole idea of an Alaskan beauty company.  No ordinary mud mask, it is a pot of melted Alaskan glacier. In our era of global warming, I can only imagine that the Alaskan Mud Company will have an ongoing supply for a couple of decades at least.

Hailing from the Copper River region, the mud has no less than 60 trace elements to promote healthy skin turnover. The mask is a kind of greenish brown and you don’t want to be seen wearing it by the mail man. However, in the privacy of your own home you’ll want to keep it on for at least 15 minutes – I have worn it for up to 45 minutes. And without that horrible dry, tight feeling that masks can give you. Rinse off and your complexion will have the healthy glow of someone who leads a virtuous and outdoor life (like most Alaskans, I assume). More importantly, at least in my case, open pores miraculously close. As in, they are gone.

I was so pleased by this mask, that I got it into the TIA shop as soon as I could, where it is selling for $33.69.

Antiaging is boosted by kelp, nettle, horsetail, elderflower, yarrow, antioxidant cranberry, blueberry and vitamins E and B5. Interestingly, nettle, horsetail and yarrow are also in my new fave cleanser, Nutra-Lift’s Herbal NonSoap. Although yarrow is a staple of natural haircare products, it is also great for calming irritated skin and is an anti-inflammatory.

The preservative of choice here is tropolone. It can be an irritant, but only at 100% concentrations and otherwise I have found nothing concerning about it.

Ingredients

Alaska glacial mud, purified water, glycerin, emulsifying wax nf, natural kaolin, safflower seed oil, vitamin b5, glyceryl stearate se, extracts of yarrow, horsetail, elderflower, blueberry, cranberry and kelp; vitamin e, natural xanthan gum, bisabolol, preservatives of 1,2 hexanediol, caprylyl glycol, tropolone; titanium dioxide.

Posted by Sal

I have been using Olive’s Organic Botanicals Pomegranate Facial Replenisher Cleanser (available at the TIA store for $57.49)for the last month and I love it! The cleanser is housed in an old fashioned amber apothecary bottle with a dropper to dispense. The smell of the product is innocuous but hints of an oil of some sort are evident.

The ingredients of the cleanser are: organic saponified olive oil, organic coconut oil, organic jojoba oil, organic aloe vera, organic rosemary extract, and 100% pure, organic cold pressed/unrefined oil from certified organic pomegranate seeds. I like this wash because my face feels and looks “really” clean after I use it.

The instructions on the charming bottle read that you should first massage a small amount of product all over. I used it on my face, neck, and chest, then allowed it to sit for one minute. I then lathered, washed with warm water, and rinsed the creamy solution away.

I am often outside and worry about sun, so every morning I use moisturizer, sunscreen, a loose powder with additional sunscreen in it, and some blush-on to top it all off. I sometimes feel that I have a lot on my face but the combination of products seems to fill my needs…Anyway,  Olive’s Organic Botanicals Cleanser fits right into my regime. The cleansing action really works and I believe it is due to that “let it sit for a minute” step which is unique to me in a cleanser!

There are tiny pieces of pomegranate seeds that you can feel a bit of in the cleanser and I believe that this too contributes to the great “cleansing” job of the product. My face feels so good and clear of all previous products that were on my skin before it. I know I want to buy more of this delightful, organic, natural product in the charming “throw back” bottle!

Ingredients:

Organic pomegranate seed oil, organic extra virgin olive oil, organic pure filtered beeswax, organic coconut oil, organic hemp seed oil.

Nutra-Lift has reformulated its Herbal Nonsoap cleanser ($16) as an aloe-based gel. As I never got to try the old version, I can’t offer a comparison. However, I can say that I like this cleanser a lot as it not only cleanses gently and effectively, but also delivers some great antioxidants to my skin right at the get go of my daily regimen.

Nutra-Lift recommends rubbing Herbal Nonsoap onto dry skin and leaving it for 30 seconds before rinsing. I tend to leave it on for a minimum of two minutes whilst I clean my teeth and tidy the bathroom, hoping to get the maximum benefit from the antioxidant complex that includes organic botanicals such as rose hips, olive leaf and green tea.

There are a couple of vitamin Bs, vitamin A, E and C. Red clover also contains the antioxidant tocopherol, which is a form of vitamin E. Research from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) confirms that red clover extract contains four anti-tumor compounds.

The non-soap soapy stuff is provided by potassium coconate (saponified coconut oil), sodium coco sulfate and wheat germate.

The only thing to note is that although ethoxydiglycol, a solvent, is considered to have a very low order of toxicity, it ultimately contains ether, and therefore can be linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergic reactions and endocrine disruptions.

I have no idea why colloidal sulphur is included (unless as an antibacterial), but I did read somewhere that low concentrations protect against radiation. So pack this cleanser next time you travel in the vicinity of Chernobyl.

Ingredients:

Certified organic aloe vera* gel, cocamide betaine,
potassium coconate, wheat germate, sodium coco-sulfate,
anti-oxidant complex 14 (rosemary*, rose hips*, oregano*, sage*,
olive leaf*, green tea*) HEC, vegetable glycerin, ascorbyl glucosamine
(vitamin C), vegetable sodium pca, hyaluronic acid, xantium gum,
grapefruit seed extract, natural mixed tocopheryls (vitamin E),
ethoxydiglycol, coltsfoot extract, calcium pantothenate, birch sap
extract, horsetail* extract, nettle* extract, red clover*, extract, sage*
extract, peppermint* extract, orange flower* extract, yarrow* extract,
inositol, colloidal sulphur, rosemary* extract, witch hazel, wheat germ
extract, retinyl palmiitate (vitamin A), niaciamide, thiamine, hcl,
collodial minerals *Certified Organically Grown Ingredient