So some of you may know, I'm a big fan of skincare. I like to know what I'm putting on my face and try to use products that are as natural as possible as my skin is quite sensitive and can flare up at the smallest thing added to skincare (Estee Lauder and Lancome I'm looking at you!!) So most of you know that I work for bareMinerals and I love love LOVE their skincare but when my friend Melanie asked me if I wanted to be a guinea pig for her new skincare range, I couldn't turn down the offer!! Her concept is to keep her skincare as natural as possible and to keep the ingredients list simple and easy to read. I've had this stuff for a while now to really test it out properly so I can give an honest review rather than a first impressions review.
First up is a set of questions that I sent Melanie in order to give you guys a bit more information on her range and basically give you a FAQ for when I buy skincare:
What made you decide to make your own skincare?
I aim for my life to be as cruelty-free (towards animals) as possible, and I was finding it increasingly hard to determine what skincare brands tested on animals - it is an area that is very 'muddy' and confusing, and can be somewhat dishonest: a brand might claim to be cruelty free (such as MAC, for example), but if they sell in China, they HAVE to test on animals by chinese law, therefore that brand is not indeed cruelty free! So this was a big factor, but also I suffer from psoriasis, which is mostly stress related, but I imagined that ladling my skin with chemicals wasn't helping, and I wanted to "feed" my skin with as many natural ingredients as possible. So what better way to know exactly what is going into my skincare and who it's been trialled on than making it myself?!
What are your brands ethos?
That skincare should be as natural and skin-friendly as possible - and NEVER tested on our furry friends! :)
Do you test on animals?
Never. I test all products that I make, even those not necessarily suited to my particular skin type. Why would I give something to someone that I wasn't willing to try myself?
Do you use preservatives?
I use Sodium Benzoate & Potassium Sorbate in any of my products containing water such as toners or cleansing water (products without water can have an average natural shelf life of over a year, depending on the oils/butters/waxes used), as without this the shelf life of such products would only be a matter of weeks before mould, bacteria and yeast would start growing. Sodium Benzoate & Potassium Sorbate is a skin-friendly preservative derived from from coconut, and is accepted by the Soil Association.
Do I need to use your products within a certain time?
The vast majority of the products will be perfect for many, many months (even over a year in most cases), especially if they contain cocoa butter or Vitamin E, which have very long shelf lives, but I always ensure I label the product with a use-by date, so you know exactly how long you have to enjoy your product! :)
Do you cater for all skin types?
YES!
Where can I get your skincare?
You can see/read about the products on the Facebook page and purchase them through our Etsy shop. If you live in the south-west of scotland, Bee Hair and Beauty Salon, Irvine, are also going to be stocking the products soon - very exciting!
What if I'm not sure what to go for?
Don't be afraid to ask! I love talking about skin care and find it genuinely interesting, and I'm always willing to suggest products or ingredients that might suit your particular skin type or needs.
What if I have an allergic reaction to any of your products?
Please stop using the product immediately, and if the reaction persists, please contact your doctor. To avoid such situations:
- Carry out a patch test before you use any product for the first time if you have particularly sensitive skin. place a small amount of product on the inside of your elbow and wait 48-72 hours. If there is any redness, swelling, itching etc of the skin in that time, do not use the product - simply send us it back and we will provide you with a full refund.
- We make products with very few ingredients, which makes the chance of reactions less likely, and reduces the chance of cross-reactions caused by multiple exposures. We also ensure to list our ingredients in plain and simple english (i.e. Cocoa butter and shea butter, rather than "heobroma cacao" and "Butyrospermum parkii") so you know exactly what is in the product you are using.
Where do you source your ingredients from?
I try to use small, independent businesses for as many of my ingredients as possible, and have also sourced a fabulous online wholesaler (who coincidentally started out in his parent's garage in 2000!) for my packaging and carrier oils etc.
How many people make the skincare at the moment?
Just me at the moment, occasionally assisted by my Fiancé Lee (who is the Chief pot/jar/bottle filler-upper!)
I'm coming up with new products all the time (often at really random times - the other morning I developed a foot balm at 6:30 in the morning!), but I want to expand the Buck Rabbit Range (Men's Skincare), and possibly make some hair/scalp treatments (a mask for itchy/irritated scalps, for example) in the future. I've also dreamed about making my own range of Soy wax candles!
Right, now we all know a little bit more about the company.....on to my review of the products Melanie sent me!
So these are the bits that I was sent: a Massage melt, face oil for combination skin, beauty balm and a comfort cleansing balm (plus flannel but I'd used it and popped it in the wash at this point! Silly me!!)
The Liquid Luxury Facial Oil for Combination Skin unfortunately leaked on it's way to me. Melanie was very apologetic and offered to send me a new one, but there was still loads left in there so I was fine with it! (But it was nice to know that she would've been happy to send a new one out anyway!) I'm not going to lie, I ended up taking the dropper bit out as it seemed to have clogged up on it's way to me so it was difficult to get the product out, but I think this is just something that happened to mine due to the leakage problem. I've not really used facial oils and tend to use this one at night mainly because, working for bareMinerals, means that i use a powder foundation and simply don't have time to let this lovely oil do it's magic when I'm in a rush in the morning! I like the way it feels so nice on my skin in the evening though. The word luxury is definitely something I would use to describe this oil. Having only really put one oil to the test before, I found it sat on my skin and made my face feel sticky, which is not something I've experienced with this at all! I like the way I wake up the next day and my skin feels very soft and smooth after application and it's nice to have something different for my night routine now!
This retails for £6.50.
The Comfort Cleansing Balm comes with a free flannel too, which was a bonus! I'm fairly lazy with my makeup removal at night...I'm a big fan of one step cleansers! This one is definitely a cleanser for nights when I'm not so tired or have done a heavy makeup look. The idea for this one is to take a small amount of cleanser (it's a bit solid in the pot and Melanie recommended warming it before trying to scoop some out, but I found using the back of my nail was fine for me!), warm it in your hands and massage into dry skin. You then take a damp flannel (I personally use hot water on my flannel as I know it helps really cleanse deep into your pores this way) and you gently remove the cleanser. Now then, I was so sure this would leave a weird waxy residue on my face after cleansing but I was completely wrong! It's a really lovely cleanser that left my skin feeling so soft and clean without feeling tight or dry. I was so impressed and would definitely buy this again when it runs out! (which won't be soon as you get so much in there!!)
This retails for £6 for 100g.
The next product I received was a massage melt. Now then, I'm not going to lie, this was the one product that I wasn't quite so sold on. It was really nice after a bath as I was still all warm and it glided on easily and left my skin feeling very soft and hydrated.....but after a quick shower in the morning this was just simply too much of a faff for me! I found that my skin wasn't warm enough to get it to melt quick enough for me when I was in a rush to be honest. I have seen on the etsy store that White Rabbit Skincare now do ones with different scents and I would be more interested in the Twinkle Massage Melt as it has lavender in it and after a relaxing bath in the evening, a nice lavender scented melt would be so relaxing before bed! I think I'll stick to body butters for the morning though as I like to have an extra few minutes in bed rather than bother with fancy body care routines! Haha!
Massage Melts range from £4 to £4.50.
The final product was an all purpose Beauty Balm. I really like the idea of these as they are easy to pop in your handbag as they can be used for so much! I have used this as an over night lip treatment when my lips were horrendously chapped, a dry skin rememdy for my shins when they mysteriously decided to dry out randomly and my Mum has used this on her psoriasis on her elbows. Overall I enjoyed how hydrated my skin felt after using this and will be keeping it in my bedside table as a night essential but I'm not sure it'd become an everyday item or not. Again, you get a lot of product in a small tin which is always nice! If anyone has any other ways I can use a beauty balm I'd welcome the suggestions so I can try them out and see if this becomes a daily essential!
So overall, I genuinely enjoyed using most of the White Rabbit Skincare and really loved the fact that I knew what was in everything, that the labels were easy to read and that you get so much product for your money! I'm really interested in a few other products on their Etsy store (the cleansing waters being the next product I'm going to invest in!)
Have any of you guys tried White Rabbit Skincare? What are your thoughts on natural skincare?
Until next time,
xoxo
All products were sent to me for consideration by White Rabbit Skincare, but as always all opinions are my own and are 100% honest!
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