Lavera Men Care All-Round Moisturizing Cream Eco Product Review

Despite Lavera being German it seems to spell moisturising, moisturizing, which America likes and my spell-checker doesn’t. Anyway it doesn’t really matter, what does matter is whether Lavera’s All-Round Moisturizing Cream works or not. And it does, but it’s a bit of a longer story than that.

Male Organics sent me the cream which carries Germany’s organic certification BDIH and is good for the hands and face. As I’m not really into moisturising my hands, I’ve been using it after washing my face (with either Bulldog’s face wash or face scrub). And it works well.

It’s quite a thick cream but even with a beard it still rubs in nicely. I like the smell too. Bizarrely is smells of lemons more than Lavera’s shampoo (which may mean the shampoo is actually lime flavoured – I got a bit confused) and there’s only a tiny bit of Limonene natural oil in the cream. It also smells of almonds which is quite nice and better than other creams I’ve used. I would still prefer no scent but at least this is a pleasant smell.

The ingredients list is quite lengthy but seems to be mostly made up of essential oils and other oils and extracts. It’s vegan-friendly too so the ingredients are all good. In fact I’ve been pleasantly surprised how much I like this cream. The only complaint I can have really is that it’s quite a small tube for the price – just 30ml. This is more of a high-end cosmetic, not something I would normally buy. Although the results have been very good, I’m not sure it’s good enough to make me switch from cheaper brands. But if you’re buying expensive cosmetic products anyway, I would certainly suggest this as an alternative.

Lavera Men Care All-Round Moisturizing Cream costs £6.45 from Male Organics.

Australian Organics Moisturizing Lotion Eco Product Review

They say you learn something new every day, and today I learnt that Australians spell moisturizing the same way as Americans, with a ‘z’. Well, however you spell it, Big Green Smile sent me some of Australian Organics Moisturizing Lotion (Oil Free) for me to review.

I’ve reviewed a lot of moisturisers before so like to think I have some experience and one of the running themes with the others I’ve tested is the thickness of the cream – like the Bulldog moisturiser. This cream bucks the trend and took me by surprise with its thinness, meaning too much came out of the bottle first time around.

Once that was corrected I could concentrate on how well it worked and again it surprised me – it works really well. In fact, the more I use it the more I prefer this lotion. It rubs in really easily and feels smooth and silky as promised on the label. It should last a long time too as you don’t need to use much at a time. A little goes a long way.

Containing green tea extract, natural antioxidants, vitamins a, c and e and of course, aloe vera. It doesn’t seem to certified organic though despite its title but some of the ingredients such as the aloe vera, birch and rose are certified organic.

Available in a 120ml tub, Australian Organics Moisturizing Lotion is available from Big Green Smile for £8.95.

Bentley Organic Revitalising Soap Eco Product Review

As I proved with my review of Simply Soaps’ Tea Tree and Calendula Soap review, it’s not easy writing about a soap. I liked that soap a lot at the time, but after testing this one, it pales in comparison.

While it’s still soap obviously, this Bentley Organic Revitalising Soap is the best I’ve ever used – seriously. I’ll try and describe why. Firstly the smell of cinnamon and orange is lovely. Then there is the size and shape which while it’s quite big, it fits into the hand nicely and lathers up well without being too slippy to hold. And the lather itself is luxurious and silky, it’s a treat to use – honestly! And it cleans well obviously.

Made in England and certified by the Soil Association, you can buy the soap from Male Organics for only £1.87, which I think is a bargain. I’ve never been so animated about soap before, but I love this one and think most people would. If you’re a soap person that is.

Ecover Hand Soap Eco Product Review

I’m not sure whether I’ve succumbed to all the news reports about bacteria or I’m becoming a germaphobe, but I’ve started washing my hands more and more. Actually I rarely just go and wash them, more after I’ve been doing something I’ll feel like they need a wash. So it’s good there’s lots of choice when it comes to finding environmentally friendly hand soap, there are plenty of choices.

We reviewed Method’s Foaming Handwash a while ago but I didn’t try that out, so I was more than happy to give Ecover’s Hand Soap a go sent to me by Big Green Smile.

Lavender and aloe vera ‘flavour’, it says it’s for “naturally clean and soft hands” which indeed it does. Well my hands look and feel clean anyway. The first thing I noticed was the strong smell, which is nice if you like lavender obviously. You may think this is obvious, but the soap was very ‘liquidy’. More so than other hand soaps I’ve used. I find that some won’t spread over your hands without water and then when you switch the tap on the soap goes straight down the sink. This hand soap spreads over your hands well without water and then lathers up nicely when you turn the tap on.

Ecover’s Lavender and Aloe Vera Hand Soap costs £2.75 from Big Green Smile.

Avalon Organics Hand & Body Lotion Eco Product Review

Hand and body lotion is something used by millions of people every day so producing a version that’s kind to the environment is an ridiculously obvious idea, it’s strange we haven’t tested one before. So thanks to Big Green Smile for sending one for us to test.

Avalon Organics or Avalon Natural Cosmetics is a Canadian-based company that makes eco-friendly products, not tested on animals and not containing artificial colours or synthetic preservatives, parabens or mineral oil, and are vegetarian and hypo-allergenic. In addition its Hand & Body Lotion contains “a triple dose of rich lipid sources – certified organic sunflower, flaxseed and coconut oils”.

The lotion itself is lovely. Thick and rich, one pump of the bottle actually gives out a little too much for both hands and it does take a little while to rub in, perhaps because it is so thick. But once rubbed in it does leave your hands feeling soft. I’m not sure about the rest of the body though as I wouldn’t think the bottle would last that long, but at 350ml it is pretty big compared to other hand and body lotions out there.

The one point of difference that makes this stand out has to be the product’s smell. It’s truly unique. It’s strong and actually made my nose tingle the first time I used it. I received the rosemary scented version (enriched with bets glucan, whatever that is), and it’s a lovely smell and makes you want to put your hands over your nose and keep smelling it. I’d advise not using it just before you eat as every time you take a mouthful that’s all you smell, which isn’t that bad a thing really. Maybe using less at a time would be a better idea!

Avalon Organics Hand & Body Lotion is available from Big Green Smile for £6.49 and is available in five different scents and an unscented version.

Green People Organic Homme Stay Cool Deodorant Eco Product Review

We all love to smell nice and keep the sweat away and Male Organics sent me some Green People Organic Homme Stay Cool Deodorant to test, part of the same range as the shaving gel I gave to Jez to test.

It’s free from aluminium, parabens, ethyl alcohol and artificial fragrances and full of essential oils to kill the bacteria that cause body odour, floral waters to restrict bacterial growth and herbal extracts to soothe delicate skin. All very nice and as it’s all natural it’s suitable for people who may be prone to eczema and psoriasis.

I don’t usually use roll on deodorants, I’ve mostly been using the pump spray Bionsen deodorant, but I thought I’d give it a go and it’s not as bad as I thought. The deodorant itself smells exactly the same as the shampoo I mentioned which isn’t a good thing for me as I’m not the biggest fan of that smell.

It works okay, but there’s nothing amazing here to be honest, you’ll still sweat. I got better results with Bionsen and the smell was much better although if you apply the Green People roll on more often it works much better.

Green People Organic Homme Stay Cool Deodorant costs £6.99 for 25ml (2.5 fl oz) from Male Organics.

Bulldog Sensitive Moisturiser Eco Product Review

I’ve reviewed Bulldog’s moisturiser before, the ‘hydrate’ version back in January 2008. This new version is from the ’sensitive’ range and promises to be kind to my skin.

As I mentioned in my previous review I tend to shy away from thick moisturisers as I find they get stuck in my beard, a bit like in the picture below, although that’s actually suntan lotion that wouldn’t rub in. I mean, I have a few grey/gray hairs but that makes me look ridiculous. And the sun’s in my eyes as well but I was told to take my sunglasses off for the photo.

Anyway, despite this moisturiser being quite thick, it rubs in as well as my usual brand and I’ve no complaints on that score. Although it does have quite a strong smell to it. Well certainly stronger than the other version and at first I found it slightly off-putting, especially when I learnt that one ingredient is green algae.

But to be honest I’ve used stuff with worse sounding ingredients and after a while you get used to the smell and a drop of aftershave soon sees to it anyway. So generally I’m very happy with it and it has certainly been kind to my skin so far. I’m about to test another moisturiser too so will let you know if I need to reappraise that opinion.

Bulldog products contain no parabens, no sodium laureth sulfate, no artificial colours or synthetic fragrances. Go to www.meetthebulldog.com to find stockists. A 100ml tub/bottle costs around £6.00.

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