Sister & Co True Cleanse

There's something quite special about an oil cleanse and this offering from cult brand Sister & Co Skin Food is no exception. Sister & Co are well known for their 100% natural line of skin, body, hair and oral health products and are hugely popular with green beauty fans in particular. They first grabbed my attention with the release of their Raw Coconut & Activated Charcoal Tooth Whitening Polish and since then I've kept one beady eye on the brand to see what they come up with next. Their newest release is True Cleanse Oil, which, you guessed it, is a rather beautiful cleansing oil. Suitable for all skin types, True Cleanse is a decadent blend of cold pressed organic Jojoba, Apricot and Grapeseed oils and is infused with Rose Otto and Frankincense. The oil has a very delicate scent and is designed to be massaged onto a dry face and then removed with the supplied organic muslin cloth. By cleansing the skin this way, make up and general muck is removed and you get a nice physical exfoliation as well, so it's a two-for-one job really.

I don't generally wear a lot of makeup day to day but I recently went out to celebrate my sister's birthday so I did have a full face of slap to remove at the end of the evening. This was a great opportunity to try True Cleanse's make up removing abilities and it did not disappoint. Unlike a lot of cleansing balms and oils, True Cleanse does not emulsify when water is added, so you really do need to use the supplied muslin or a flannel if you prefer, to properly remove the oil. I love oil cleansers and enjoy using ones that rinse away easily just as much as oils like this one, where you need to put a bit of effort in with a damp muslin. I did this using True Cleanse with my full face of makeup and felt a smug sort of satisfaction to see all the remnants of foundation, eyeshadow and highlighter on the muslin cloth. I had been wearing a smudge-proof Bobbi Brown mascara that day and that took a little bit of patience but True Cleanse did remove it, which was pretty great because I don't like faffing with my eye area for too long. And let's be real; a separate eye makeup remover just feels like too much effort sometimes! Swiping over my face with a cotton pad with toner is always a good indicator of how well I've cleaned my face-the less muck on the cotton pad, the better job the cleanser has done. True Cleanse had all but obliterated every bit of makeup as the cotton pad was virtually filth-free. I did go in with a second pump but this oil really did do a brilliant job with just the one go.
It's worth noting that the oil comes with a screw cap and is supplied with a pump as well as the aforementioned muslin cloth.

Sister and Co only use exceptionally high quality oils and at £30 the price point reflects this. If you like your skincare 'clean' and appreciate natural and organic ingredients, then True Cleanse would be a great addition to your stash. You can find True Cleanse and other Sister & Co products online at Sister & Co,  ASOS, Liberty, Fenwick, Selfridges and Anthropologie.

True Cleanse Ingredients:
Ingredients: Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil*, Vitis vinifera (Grapeseed) Seed Oil*, Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Boswellia carterii (Frankincense) Oil, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Rosa damascena (Rose) flower extract, Limonene**, Linalool ** *certified organic ingredient **natural constituent of essential oil.

Diptyque Philosykos Perfume Oil Roll-On

Ever since I had the pleasure of owning the (heartbreakingly) limited edition L'Occitane Figuier & Osmanthus fragrance three summer's ago, I've been hooked on fig scents. In fact, I was so disappointed when I learned that it was limited edition and sold out, that I emailed L'Occitane HQ in the vain hope that they had a few bottles stashed away somewhere that I could secretly purchase (they didn't).

You know how scent has that amazing ability to take you back and remind you of certain places, events and people? For me, that figgy fragrance from L'Occitane will forever remind me of the week I spent in Alghero with my boyfriend for my 30th. Partly because I sprayed it liberally over the duration of our stay (before I realised the precious juice was limited edition!) and partly because the outdoor eating area where we enjoyed breakfast everyday was lined with fig trees with huge, ripe fruit hanging from the branches. Sigh.
Anyway, believe it or not, this post isn't about that scent, but my latest fragrance purchased recently in an effort to curb my olfactory appetite for all things fig.

Diptyque Philosykos is pretty much a cult perfume, and for very good reason. It's rich and woody with the tiniest hint of fruitiness and basically smells exactly like those fig trees in Alghero. According to Diptyque, the scent of Philosokos is: woody raw materials: fig leaves, fig tree sap, fig tree wood and black pepper which is a pretty spot on description really. It's not a gourmand by any stretch but to me it still manages to have precisely the right amount of fruity sweetness. I have the roll on oil version of the fragrance for three reasons - it's very travel friendly, it's easiest on the purse strings and because it's oil based it's perfect for clear summer days when alcohol based fragrances might irritate the skin a little when the sun hits it.

In terms of longevity and heaviness, i find it to be surprisingly light for such a woody-based scent and though it does linger on the skin, I think of it as a fragrance i wear for myself to enjoy rather than for others to catch a whiff of, if that makes any sense at all? The size of a chunky pen, the heavy glass 7.5ml perfume roll on comes complete with a suedette pouch emblazoned with Diptyque for an extra special touch. I'll be wearing this all summer while imagining I'm lounging in the sun somewhere in the Mediterranean when in reality I'll probably be nursing a teething baby.
You can find it online at Diptyque and stockists including Space NK for £35.

Sol de Janeiro Ipanema Sunset Glow Oil

I'm currently writing this post in 28 degree heat in my backyard in Greater London (during the hottest early May bank holiday on record I might add) but honestly the scent currently radiating from my skin is making me feel like I'm somewhere much more exotic!
I'm sitting here slathered in a mixture of 50 + suncream and Sol de Janeiro's latest UK release, Ipanema Sunset Glow Oil and I am, in fact, glowing. And sort of shimmering quite a bit too.

The skin-softening dry oil is the newest release from the creators of the iconic Bum Bum Cream and is one of two oils designed to quite literally highlight your best bits as the days get longer and shorts get shorter. Designed for use on the body as well as on the face, both oils are a mixture of skin-beautifying ingredients spiked with shimmer and finished off with beautiful scents. The other oil, Copacabana Bronze features a gentle bronze tint with gold shimmer and is infused with the brand's signature Cheirosa '62 fragrance (the same as the Bum Bum Cream) with notes of salted caramel and pistachio. I went with Ipanema Sunset mainly because I was interested to try the new, more tropical scent, Cheirosa '77. At first sniff I actually couldn't really tell the difference but as I actually applied the oil to my skin, the notes of fig, citrusy pomelo and gardenia crept through, making it a less sugary and more floral scent than the famous Bum Bum Cream's fragrance. Featuring a translucent champagne shimmer, in the bottle Ipanema Sunset looks a little like shimmering molten caramel and is even ever so slightly intimidating when first poured on the skin. But once it's rubbed in and blended it gives a slight wash of colour shot through with a pretty shimmer.

The oil features Sol de Janeiro's signature Brazilian Beauty Blend which is a fusion of skin softening and nourishing ingredients including Cupaçu Butter, Coconut Oil and Acai Oil.
Now, glittering body oils are obviously not a new invention and at £35 there are more affordable options out there but I think what makes Ipanema Sunset truly special is the unique scent. I really hope they release more products with the Cheirosa '77 fragrance because I find it to be a little less sweet and a touch more exotic then Cheirosa '66. I feel like a non-shimmering version would be good too because not everyone is a fan of glitter and shimmer. That said, beautifully perfumed dry body oils make summer holidays abroad and British backyard blogging sessions just that little bit more special, whether they're shimmery or not. You can find Ipanema Sunset Glow Oil and the rest of the Sol de Janeiro range at a range of retailers. 

*Edit: This particular shade of Glow Oil seems to be discontinued but there are different shades with the same scent and glow available at Look Fantastic.