Read-The-Label Organic Skincare from Camden Town - Review

This post is about some ah-mazing natural beauty products I found while strolling through Camden's market stalls last month. I've waited a while to blog about them as I wanted to give them a fair run before posting my thoughts. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while then you will know that all natural beauty products are pretty much right up my alley. In fact, they are 90% of the reason why this blog exists.

I had the hardest time choosing which products to buy and finally ended up with the Face & Hair Balancing Oil and the Microbrasion Face Scrub. Daniel, the owner and manufacturer of all these beauties, was kind enough to throw in a Breath Easy soap bar!

Brands like this, organic, local, truly natural skincare brands, are the ones that should be out there on the shelves and easy to find. Most of the people I talk to have never heard of SLS or parabens, and if they have then they don't really care. My personal belief is that harsh chemicals will definitely harm us one way or another if they are in the bulk of our daily beauty products. I have mentioned this before, but you can watch MissJenFabulous' video on why she avoids parabens HERE. You can also read more about Daniel and his amazing skincare brand HERE.

I truly appreciate what Daniel does (that's him in the above picture) and it is reflected in his brand name: Read The Label. You can check out his online store HERE and you will see why I am in love with his products: 

"A natural safe alternative to:

Petroleum or animal fat based balms

Synthetically preserved deodorants

Paraben and SLS based body scrubs and moisturisers

Soaps containing up to 80% synthetic emulsifiers, surfactants and additives."

This brand is local, genuinely all-natural and affordable. And what's more, this is what brands like Lush and Aveeno market themselves to be when in fact they are full of parabens, sulfates and other nasties. Excuse the pun, but READ THE LABELs people!!

Right, onto the product reviews:

100% Natural Microbrasion Face Scrub 30g

This face scrub truly tightens my pores and I can feel it tingling, especially if I have any spots. 

Here's what it says on the Read The Label website:

Witch hazel constrict's blood vessel's, actively tightening skin and stimulating blood supply to facial tissue. Ultra fine pumice scrub's even the most sensitive skin without discomfort. Natural clay gently removes toxins and skin is further calmed by a soft rose geranium essential oil blend.

APPLICATION : Apply small amount to face and neck using circular movements, leave on for an extra 3 minutes if desired for extra skin purifying as the clay dries on the skin. wash offf with tepid water.

This scrub has such a sweet, calming scent to it thanks to the rose geranium, which also creates a bit of aromatherapy for me as I'm massaging it in. I prefer using it after I have cleansed my face and even better after a hot shower when my pores are still open so it can sink even deeper and clean those babies out. It leaves my skin super tight but also feeling purified. 

Face & Hair Balancing Oil 10ml

This is a teeny weeny purse-friendly bottle of gorgeous face and hair oil. Nevermind MorrocanOil stuffed with all its silicones and chemicals, this is the real deal.

I love using this as a night moisturiser if I feel like my skin really needs some TLC. I was very impressed with how well it absorbs into my skin and doesn't leave my face a gleaming grease ball like Weleda's Almond Oil or even Decleor's Aromessence Iris Oil.

You can see from the picture above that it's a blend of golden jojoba, macadamia nut oil, evening primrose, sweet almond and rice bran. On the other side of the bottle (below picture) it has the expiry date 04/13 which I love. So many beauty products just say 6m or 12m assuming from the day you break the seal. I've always doubted that because surely if something was made in January 2011 and it says 6m on it, would it really be as good if I break the seal June 2012 and use it until December 2012? And if it is, hello chemicals and preservatives!!

It also says use for 10 days and take a break for another 10, meaning don't use this product continuously. This is because if you do, then your skin will get used to not having to make the oils itself and will just rely on you applying them to your skin.

In terms of using it on my hair, it definitely makes my hair smell amazing and feel a lot smoother and softer. The dropper is too thin for shaking out a quantity big enough for my long thick hair so I've been loosening up the plastic top and pouring out a tiny drop onto the palm of my hand, rubbing it between my palms, then distributing onto my hair like any other hair oil. 

Breath Easy Soap Bar

As this was a generous freebie, I wasn't picky about what I was given and I'm so glad it ended up being this! I haven't used a bar of soap to cleanse my body for YEARS. Possibly a decade. Possibly.

I'm sure a lot of you out there are as used to the convenience of shower gels as I was and hadn't really gone back to good ol' soap for ages. I must admit this is the last product I tried out because it took me forever to go out and buy a soap dish to store it in! I found a nice little practical one from Tesco that works a dream in case you were wondering. 

The Breath Easy soap bar is so creamy and feels absolutely gorgeous on the skin! I even used it as shaving cream as it was that creamy.

Here's what it says on the Read The Label website:

(picture is my own, taken at the stall)

Get a little shower Zen. Relax, breathe in and distress with a clearing spicy aromatic blend to clear and help decongest

Made in small batches from the finest nutritional oils and butters, naturally high in antioxidants, vitamin rich and completely 'synthetic free' .

Each soap bar contains Olive oil, organic unrefined shea butter, coconut oil, organic palm oil, sunflower oil, castor oil and Honey (for extra rich foaming and bubbles), grapeseed oil and Vit E (for extra antioxidant). Essential oil

I now much prefer my bar of soap to my shower gel. I highly rate this product and will definitely be trying out more Read The Label soaps in future.

Lastly, I want to include some pictures I took of the Shea Butter, how gorgeous is the presentation? I am SO tempted to pick up a bar of the Shea Butter soap on my next visit, especially as winter is around the corner (hello lizard skin!).

So this is my Read The Label haul. I hope some of you get a chance to try out some of Daniel's amazing all-natural products and reduce the amount of paraben/sulfate/nastychemicals-filled products in your beauty routines. Also, how gorgeous is the packaging? I almost didn't want to unwrap my goodies! 

Xx