Irish Brand: Green Angel

 If you know your Irish bands then Green Angel should be top of your list, along with the other greats. For those of you who are your new round here, then let me tell you I am a massive buy Irish fan and when I find a brand I love, I just have to tell everyone. Being honest I was well aware of this brand growing up, the mammy and granny always had a few pots of potions and lotions in their bedrooms. The type that you'd be smacked into next week if you touched - ah, Irish mammies, how we love them! 

But it wasn't until recently that I took a second look at Green Angel and realised that not only are they amazing all round, but they can be for younger skin as well as older skin. This isn't just for my mammy or granny anymore! They have a great range of products and gift sets to choose from and if I'm not going to get shot over it - I have my eye on a few things that would be perfect Christmas presents. (I know, I know! Not  even September yet.) I can't get over how gorgeous the presentation of the products are and the quality of the ingredients list. This brand is what I would call luxury.  

The first thing that I hesitantly tried was the Green Angel seaweed daily moisture face cream*. I never use face moisturisers as my skin is on the oily side of combination and it just makes my makeup slide off my face 10 minutes after I apply everything. But since I started swimming I've noticed my skin dry, tight and a little sore which I put down to the harsh chlorine. This was the first pot I reached for, just to see if it helped at all and it really smells divine, so it was a pleasure to use. I only needed the smallest fingertip of cream as it spreads out really well over the skin. With a consistency like that, I would say this 50ml jar would last you for ages even with daily use. Over the past few weeks I have seen a huge improvement in my skin, its not sore or tight anymore when I get out of the pool and its never dry either. The one thing I would suggest is really only using a little at a time and then building up the product if you feel your skin needs more as it is so rich and thick, so it can be hard to settle into your skin if too much is put on at once.

'The invigorating, beneficial and tension-relieving properties of seaweed have been documented from ancient times. Seaweed contains an even concentration of nutrient, vitamins and active natural resources that along with the high quality essential oils we use in our Green Angel Daily Moisture Face Cream, will visibly replenish the skin. This leaves the skin re-energized and invigorated with an improved sensation of radiance and energy.'

It is packed with vitamin E, seaweed from the west coast of Ireland, jasmine and neroli essential oils to name a few things. Its not tested on animals, paraben free and also says its biodegradable. Apart from how amazing this product is, the packaging is just as impressive. The lovely but really heavy green jar comes in a sturdy box that has all the information on it that you could want. I'm a big fan of sturdy packaging as a lot of things can just fall apart or not stand to the challenge of travelling. I wouldn't hesitate to throw this into my suitcase and not have a second though. This is about €25 which is a pinch but considering how long this will last me, how rich it is and that its supporting an Irish business, I think this is worth forking out a little extra for. 

Much like the moisturiser, the Green Angel seaweed body lotion* has a lot of the same traits. This contains some similar ingredients of neroli, seaweed, essential oils and a few others like  lavender and chamomile. Unlike the moisturiser though, it has quite a watery consistency so when using this I had to make sure only a little came out at a time or otherwise it would go everywhere. It has the same lovely scent as the other product, which would make me think that perhaps all the Green Angel line has that trade mark scent. If you pass by one of them in a shop, make sure to have a sniff as I'm awful at describing smells and I'm certain you don't regret it!

Another thing that I noticed about this lotion is that the bottle isn't as sturdy as the pot of cream above. The plastic isn't very thick and I doubt I would bring this anywhere with me as I feel it could break or easily open, which is a pity. However it is really a treat to use, it sinks into the skin well and the scent lasts all day. This isn't what I would call a heavy duty cream for the likes of sandpaper elbows or knees, but for everyday use its perfect and light. 

'Green Angel Seaweed Body Lotion is enriched with natural essential oils. It will nourish and soothe - condition and tone leaving the skin soft and silky'

This bottle is about €15 and although it is really lovely to use and I am in love with the smell, I think its too much money to hand over for 200ml. If the packaging was stronger I honestly think I would be more inclined to buy it as it does leave my skin soft and sinks in so well. 

Have you heard of this brand before? 

Would you try it?

*I did not pay for this item, it was a PR gift.  Please see my disclaimer here

Love Lettuce LUSH Face Mask

I haven't been feeling 100% calm recently which means my spots flare up quite badly with any stress. It always seems to happen and it can be awful trying to get my skin under control again. So I couldn't think of a better way to give myself a bit of a cheering up then with a trip to my favorite Lush as I had gathered up 5 empty black pots. For those of you who aren't aware, Lush offers any of their fresh face masks when you return 5 empty and clean black pots so they can be melted down and reused again! Recycling  and a free pot of happiness? Well don't mind if I do! If you scroll down to the end of this post you can watch a little video about the recycling of the pots, its full of information!

I'm not going to lie, I sat online for about 40 minutes deciding between all the masks, it was hard let me tell you that. I haven't used one of their fresh masks in a long time, always going for the spot busting Cupcake but longingly looking at the other magic coloured goos on offer. What really lures me in are all the different little silver bowls of colour and wonderful smelling masks scattered around in the ice for you to see.And they put in real roses or pieces of fruit on the side to make it unbelievably eye-catching, bless their little consumer marketing socks! Am I the only one who has a hard time resisting the urge to not poke a finger into the masks and smear it all over my face?

I settled on the Love Lettuce. I love seaweed, it tastes great and works like witch craft on the skin - as does the much loved sea salt. As this was my first time using it I wasn't sure what to expect but it smelt pleasant (we'v all had a mask on your face that smells awful!)  It contains honey and a seaweed gel which give a softening effect with some olive oil to regenerate the skin. Kaolin, lavender and ground almonds are also in there for a gentle exfoliation when it comes time to wash off your mask. Perhaps the one downside is that because all the masks are fresh you have to keep them in your fridge and use them within two weeks of purchase.

Like all masks you spread it all over your face, wait until it drys and then use some warm water to wash it all off. This was a lovely treat for my skin. I can't say there has been a big improvement with reducing my spots from using it, but I can certainly feel my skin a lot softer after washing it off and there is no irritation from using it either which is a big plus in my book considering my skin can be very easily irritated. My skin also looks brighter and more refreshed feeling after using some too. I will be happily using the rest of my my little black pot. Thinking about it I really want to get away from my regular buys at Lush and try lots of their other products, so on my next trip I have a feeling BB Seaweed (seaweed I know!) will be coming home with me!