Venus & Mars haul + Embodyment lip butter (Initial Review)

Sorry if I was not able to post these last few days..I went mountain climbing again with my family this Holy Week :)

Anyways, I already got my Venus & Mars package last week. It came in this packaging. Very "earthy" hehe :)


I got myself the Summer Package #6 of Venus & Mars. It contains Bare It All Emu Cream, Vanilla Spa Milk Salt, CPC+G and Lulur Soap. I also got another tube of their emu oil lip balm coz I used up my first tube already. And since I bought this from a reseller (she lives near my house!), I also got Embodyment lip butter from her. And like with all my organic stuffs, I will give these products at least 2-3 weeks to see if they will work for me or not.


I love the Bare It All Emu Cream! I think this will be a summer staple for me..it keeps my skin cool for around 15 minutes after application..It is also not sticky and absorbs easily into my skin..Since this has no scent (I can't smell anything), my brother doesn't complain so I like that too :)
The Vanilla Spa Milk Salt is very unique in my opinion. It comes in a powder form..it's like a powder milk..the scent is heavenly..I love it very much..I tried it on my body already and it feels like rubbing sugar on my skin..not painful at all! and after I rinse it off with water, my skin feels so smooth and soft..and I smell good too :)

The package also included the CPC+G..it is supposed to be a whitening agent that you will put in any of your creams..you just need to put a few drops (formula: x/30 times 3 or 6) depending on the volume of your cream or lotion and it will become a great whitening cream already..I added this on my Bare It All Emu Cream since I want to even out my skin tone.
I think I've found my favorite organic body soap in V&M's Lulur soap. It is the best I have tried! It's sudsier than others, I can use it directly on my skin, I feel clean afterwards, makes my skin soft and moisturized, I love the ingredients, and the scent is not over powering (though I would like it better if it comes in Vanilla scent too hehe). I hope the effect on my skin after continous use will be great and rewarding :)

This is my first Embodyment product. I was intrigued coz it has tint. I love the tint it gives on my lips. Not that red but not pale. It moisturizes my lips but not as great as my HG lip balm (V&M emu oil lip balm). I'm also not fond of the flavor especially if I accidentally "eat" it when I eat something or lick my lips (one of my mannerism). I'm still thinking if I like this or not hehe :)

Please check out my final review on these products after a couple of weeks. Ciao! :)

REVISIT: Venus&Mars Lip balm

I want to start doing "revisits" on majority of the products I tried and reviewed here on my blog..Why? Because there are many products that works very well at first then after some time it stops working for you..I also got this idea from Nikki of Askmewhats when she did all those revisits on the products she bought before..As a reader of her blog, it helped me a lot in deciding whether I will try those products or not..So I also want to do my share of providing honest reviews on the products I have tried in the last few months :)

I'll start with my current HG lip balm..I'm pretty sure you know what it is hehe..You guessed that right! It's Venus&Mars Lip Detox..You can find my initial review here.

I bought this lip balm last November 2008..I have been using this product for the last more or less 4 months..Here's my take on the product now :)


PROS:
- affordable
- has many product inside the tube..I use this so frequently and I still have some balm until now
- really moisturizes my lips
- healed my chappy, dry lips after 2 weeks of continues use
- very handy..can fit any size of purse and even your pocket
- very cool and minty feel..perfect for summer
- lasting moisturizing effect on the lips (when compared with petroleum based lip products)
- it's ORGANIC!


CONS:
- not really a permanent treatment ..the dryness of my lips came back after I stopped using this for a few weeks (my dad borrowed it for a while and I used another lip balm)
- has a little weird taste..although this doesn't bother me much


WILL I BUY IT AGAIN? Definitely! this is my HG lip balm of all times..fits all my needs and it exceeded my expectation..I love it to bits! :)


*you can buy this balm　at http://venusandmars08.multiply.com

Review: Venus&Mars Lip balm

I have said before that I love Venus and Mars' products..all their products are organic and are made from pure Emu Oil (I so love emu oil..so I tend to buy stuffs as long as it has emu oil in it haha) plus essential oils that are all good for the skin..also, their products are really affordable and the quality are very good..I have bought twice from them already and so far, I haven't had any problems..customer service is really superb and the products arrived in perfect condition..shipping was fast too :)

Well, my last haul from them was last week..I bought a big bar of Minty Geranium Mud Emu Soap (this is my fave from the 3 soaps I have tried before since this has whitening and anti-microbial properties and it doesn't dry my skin like other whitening soaps plus I can use it as a shaving cream so this is really a 3-in-1 product!) and their Lip Balm..I told Jamie that I will give my review after I tried the lip balm for a week so that I could give the product a chance to work for me..and here's my opinion of the product:

Packaging: 5/5 --> I love the tube container coz I won't need to worry about dirty and sticky fingers when applying the lip balm like in cases of lip balms on pots..The balm container is a traditional white plastic container used by different brands like Chapstick and Blistex (same size too)..all you need to do is rotate the bottom part whenever you need to get some product and that's it! no mess and easy to carry in purses.

Price: 4/5 --> this is only P170..although this is a little pricey compared to other lip balms in the market, this is still a good buy coz this has no petroleum and is 100% organic.

Quality of Product: 5/5 --> this worked wonders on my super dry lips..unlike the other lip balms I have tried before, V&M's lip balm did not leave any whitish stuff on my lips (this happens when my lips are dry and flaking then I put any lip product)..this has no waxy feel and is not sticky..I love the minty and cool feeling that it gave my lips everytime I put it..I also love the moisturizing effect it gave my lips :)

Will I buy it again? Definitely! This is one of the few lip balms that I like using..I also hope that V&M could make a tinted version so that I won't need to put tints or lipsticks anymore :)

Emu oil and Organics

I love love Emu Oil...it has so many uses and very effective..it's very widely used medically for its ability to penetrate many layers of the skin..I have tried it in different formulations and here are my reviews :)

1. Pure Emu Oil - I like how it moisturizes and that it really absorbs in the skin..but I'm not fond of the greasy feel I get sometimes..but nevertheless, I didn't break out and it didn't gave me blackheads too...but since this is so expensive here in the Philippines, I asked my Ninong Marvin (he lives in Australia) to get me a tube since Emu birds do originate in their place. But he wasn't able to get me a pure one, instead he got me an Emu Oil in cream form..and I love it better! Thanx ninong!

2. Emu Oil Cream - I know that this is not pure and that this has some parabens whatsoever but when I tried it on my face and skin it feels great..it's very moisturizing, easily absorbed (much faster than the pure one) and super light and no greasy feel and shine...it also makes a very good anti inflammatory and anti itch product for insect bites..really relieves the itchiness and redness fast..Since the original container is quite big, me and my mom and also my titas just transfer a small amount on small (5g) jars to carry with us in case we have some bites or itchiness or if we feel some dryness during the day...love love love this one! I hope the next time my ninong comes back here, he will bring me another big one coz mine is almost half full haha..it smells great too!

3. Emu Oil Rub - this is also bought in Australia by my mom's friend..since she also like my Emu Oil Cream, she asked her friend (who went to Australia for a vacation) to buy her an Emu Oil cream then she'll pay for it here in the Philippines but instead of a lotion type emu oil, her friend brought back a specially formulated emu rub for pain..this has some menthol in it too for soothing and cooling effect...this is really a blessing for us coz this product really works for pain...it was proven by my parents who have arthritis..like last time, my dad had some moderate pain on his soulder and back and my mom put different topical pain relief ointments the whole day but nothing works..but when we got home and before they sleep, my mom massaged a little amount of this emu oil rub on my dad's painful areas..and the morning after, my dad commented that his pain was relieved last night that's why he slept good..so this is very effective..the only con is that it's quite pricey coz this small container cost around $15 (australian)...but you only need to use a small amount every use so this will last a long time for sure.

VENUS and MARS Organic Emu Oil Products

The first time I saw their website http://venusandmars08.multiply.com I already knew that I will be buying their products because of my love for Emu Oil but they have something that made me decide to try it ASAP..all their products are organic..Lately, I'm trying to divert and change all my skincare and haircare to organic products or even natural if organic is not possible..I've read reviews on organic stuffs on girltalk and I was convinced to give it a try coz it might be the solution to my uber sensitive skin that always breakout with commercialized products..I already am using Mineral Makeup for more than 2 years so why not do the same healthier option for my skin and hair right? so it's really a "no-brainer" as I told myself hehe..when I told my mom I want to get some skincare stuff she shouldered it..Thanx mom! She really is supportive on my skin care (she even bought me Jason's Moisturizing shampoo..organic too... it's a very nice product coz I stopped having breakouts on my forehead after a week of using it)..so what I got from Venus & Mars is the Get It Started Kit so that I would be able to try all 3 soap variants and the lotion for a very affordable price of P370..and I tell you, I was expecting a small size of everything but when I got the package I told myself that this would last me for 1-2 months for the soap and maybe 2 weeks for the lotion if I use them everyday...the packaging is simple too and this made me think that they really put a lot of budget for the quality of the product instead of the packaging :)

Here's what I got yesterday...Jamie (owner of Venus and Mars) is so sweet and thoughtful..she gave me a sample of the minty geranium mud soap (I told her I want to give my bf a sample of this soap coz it might be good for his shaving..he has very sensitive skin too) and a note on the receipt...aww, this is the first time ever that I got a sweet simple note from a seller..so thanx Jamie! I really appreciate it so much :)

Coffee Fame - this is the emu soap specifically made to help people who have pimple problem or those who want to detoxify their skin..I tried it once last night and it smells good(though it doesn't smell like coffee even with the coffee beans on the soap hehe)..it didn't made my skin dry and I did not have the tight felling that I got everytime I wash my face with my Aveeno Clear Complexion Cleansing Bar...No itchiness or breakout so far but I'm still reserving my judgment..I'll definitely post a review again after 2 weeks or 1 month..but my initial reaction was "This is good" :D
Minty Geranium Mud - this is compatible for us who shave..according to the description, it will make your shaving area smooth and fair (it has papain) plus it also has antibacterial properties that will lessen the irritation if we nick our selves during the shaving...this can also be used as a regular bath soap...and I will definitely use this everyday coz I love the smell and this can replace my whitening soap too..Isn't it a great product? shaving cream, whitening, antibacterial, moisturizing and smoothening all in one? will definitely get a regular sized bar when I finished my sample up :)

Poppy Plush - this is made for those people who have very very sensitive skin...I gave this to my sister who has skin asthma so I don't have any review for this..will ask my sister for a review after she used it for at least a week to check for any reactions to the product :)

Emu Lotion (melon scent) - I don't have an individual picture..it's the small white bottle with the receipt...gosh, this product is heaven haha...relaxing scent and very moisturizing..at first when I tried it I thought it's sticky coz it's very thick in consistency but after a few seconds and it was already absorbed by my skin, I was convinced to get a full size too haha..the scent lasted for a couple of hours too so it's a plus..this emu lotion has 2 variations..I got the melon one for the added whitening effect coz I want to make my skin a little brighter (I'm naturally fair).

Lip Detox - this is my wish list...according to their website, this lipbalm doesn't contain any petroleum based ingredients and this will relieve dry and chapped lips..that's my problem eversince..since I get easily dehydrated, my lips are always dry..and whenever I put lippies (lipstick, lipgloss and even lipbalm) on my lips, my lips will peel and will look like i have a dried saliva on my lips eek!...I hope this can product can help me :)

so there! you can check out their website for more information on their products at http://venusandmars08.multiply.com or you can click the link on my "link list" on the right side of your screen..I'm not selling their product..I'm just a VERY SATISFIED CUSTOMER of Venus and Mars..good quality product and outstanding customer service :)