I won't pretend that I'm at all knowledgeable about beauty and skincare because my routine has always been about as basic as it gets. But even with my limited expertise (and consequently, my limited collection of makeup and all things beauty related), I have been wanting to be more conscious about the products I use. Not only does this come from increasing awareness of the unnecessary cruelty behind far too many well known cosmetic brands, but it is also the result of quite a frightening incident which essentially saw me house bound after an allergic reaction to a certain facial cream last year. My face swelled so severely that I simply did not want to go out in public because I looked so terrible, but it was also incredibly painful.
What I learnt since this particular incident is, first and foremost, it pays to test any product you buy on a patch of skin before you slather it all over your face and or body. It was silly on my part not to, but now I know to never risk it again. Secondly, I realised that the cream that provoked such a harsh reaction had an ingredients list as long as my arm, most of which I couldn't even identify. While other skin care products I used throughout my teens to early adulthood never caused me problems like that one offending product, I felt uneasy that they too were filled with 'unnatural' ingredients. I realised that I no longer wanted to put those nasties on my skin and I vowed to slowly change my routine.
Goodness Natural Beauty Lab is a recent discovery and a brand that I feel ticks all the boxes. Goodness prides itself on using all natural products, with avocado, chia and coconut oils being their star ingredients. I have been using their products for over a month after purchasing their samples kit, and I have loved the experience. The moisturisers, cleanser, chia facial oil and facial scrub all have the same fresh smelling scent and you can tell there's nothing artificial about them at all. The effect they've had on my skin has been positive so far: although breakouts are not likely to ever disappear (unfortunately), the products have helped to brighten up my face and just made it feel healthy and refreshed. As a person with combination skin, the gentle scrub is my personal favourite product, as it has helped with dry and flaky patches.
There's nothing not to love about Goodness as they have taken care to eliminate the negative aspects behind 'mass-produced' skincare brands. Their products don't test on animals, are biodegradable and their packaging, aside from being so darn gorgeous, is recyclable. I think Goodness has nailed it, and for such reasonable prices, I think I will be using the products for a long while.
Products in sample box: every evening cream, every morning moisturiser, every week face scrub, every day cream cleanser, chia seed oil.
