Shea Terra Organics Mango Whipped Shea Butter

This is such a delicious little hand and body treatment that I received from the lovely people at Amorganica. There are several scents available and I have the mango scent. Now, I'm not really a fan of artificial mango flavours in food and only like it fresh, so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this cream. But oh my lord, is it an amazing scent! I can only describe it as mouth-watering! Fresh and juicy and sweet. Just like a mango.

Aside from smelling amazing and basically being in danger of being eaten, this cream actually does a pretty decent job at hydrating my skin! I like to keep it on my bedside table and apply as a hand and elbow cream at night before I go to sleep. It is quite thick and has an almost solid butter-like texture but once it has warmed up a little on your skin, it is very easy to spread and massage into your hands.

A little goes a long way! It absorbs quite quickly and doesn't leave a greasy residue - perfect for when I apply it and want to sit up and read for a little while (no oily pages for my books!). When I use it regularly, my hands are softer and my nails and cuticles are so much healthier, to the point where I've even braved painting them again after a six week break because of how much they were splitting and peeling.

These creams contain 30% organic shea butter (wow!) so they are quite long-lasting once applied as the shea butter forms a sort of water-proof barrier on your skin. Other ingredients include spring water, natural emulsifying wax, mango extract (mmm!), and natural preservatives. I love products with such minimal ingredients - I feel much safer using a product where I know what each ingredient is! The cute little jar packaging also looks great on my bedside table, and I'm not too bothered about hygiene from dipping in and out of the jar because the product is only going on my hands.

There are a few other scents available in the range, including pink guavas and pomegranates, white chocolate, gingered pumpkin, and rooiboos and berries. They all sound just as delicious, and I see myself purchasing a few more for handbag and office purposes.

Price: $8.00 (Amorganica) [$0.28/mL]
Rate: scent, efficacy, ingredients, ease of use, packaging
Hate: nothing!
Verdict: would repurchase (if I ever run out!)

* Product was gifted to me by Amorganica as an inclusion in an order I made, but this has not influenced my opinion on the product and I have given as truthful a review as possible

Kosmea Apple Of My Eye Cream

Kosmea is an Australian brand with a focus on natural skincare and the use of certified organic rosehip oil. This is the first product I have tried from Kosmea and unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment for me. I really love the story behind the Kosmea brand with the foundation of all the products in rosehip oil and to create "skincare as nature intended". Their rosehip oil, by the way, is absolutely fabulous and one of the best I have tried.

The Apple of My Eye Cream promises to combat signs of ageing and leave skin brighter. It promises to brighten dark circles and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Sadly, this eye cream just didn't work out for me. At first, it was great! It is light and easy to smooth around the eye area, absorbing quickly into the skin so it is perfectly fine to use under makeup. It helped to keep the skin around my eyes hydrated and I was looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the first couple of weeks with day and night use.

However, after about eight weeks of use, I found that there was a bit of rough skin appearing under one of my eyes. I also noticed that the eye cream has started to sting when I applied it. I stopped using it right away and gave my skin a couple of days to rest. Within about three days, the rough skin had cleared up so I'm certain it was caused by this eye cream. Sad.

It is one of the better packaged eye creams that I've come across - awesome push down pump applicator and a tall, skinny tube that is easy to find and store in the mess of my skincare products (so much better than the tiny little glass or plastic jars that eye creams usually come in). So hygienic. Thank you, Kosmea. I also love the creamy, yellow colour (it reminds me of the inside of an apple).

The eye cream has a water base and includes organic rosehip oil, ceteareth-20 (a fatty alcohol derived from coconut oil to aid in skin absorbtion), cetearyl alcohol and stearic acid (emulsifiers which, in combination, prevent the water and oil from separating), cetyl esters (to aid in thickening), glycerin (an humectant to aid with hydration), shea butter, glyceryl stearate (another moisturising inclusion), apple cell culture (so-called PhytoCellTec apple stem cells to help combat ageing skin), rosewood oil, soybean oil, carrot root extract, organic white tea extract, beta-carotene (a source of vitamin A), xanthum gum (binder and stabiliser for the formula), potassium sorbate (a preservative, commonly used in food), natural fragrance, and essential oil components.

All sounds pretty good right? I'm not really sure what it was that caused my skin to react like it did, but I will keep an eye (hah) on the ingredients of my future eye creams to see if there are similarities if I get another reaction. My suspicion is the ceteareth-20 may have caused the reaction, as some studies show it is unwise to use on sensitive or damaged skin. I would still recommend this eye cream, as it has a lovely formula, but maybe not so much for sensitive skin types.

Price: $44.95 (Kosmea website) [$3.00/mL]
Rate: packaging, ingredients, lightness of formula, initial results
Hate: unfortunate reaction to it
Verdict: would not repurchase because of my skins reaction :(