MyPure Choice – Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Day and Night Cream

Natural Being is a new range of affordable natural skin care from New Zealand. Natural Being uses only natural ingredients and each product in the range has been certified natural by BDIH. There are 9 natural skin care products to choose from, these include cleansers, face cream, eye cream & body cream. They feature some great active natural ingredients including manuka oil & manuka honey. As with all the brands they stock at MypPure Natural Being is not tested on animals.

This is the brand description from the MyPure website.

I liked it, so I decided to give Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Day and Night Cream a go.

Both creams are:

• A natural product
• A vegetarian product
• Not tested on animals

Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Day Cream – Normal to dry skin

What to expect: Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Day Cream is a nourishing cream which prevents dehydration and roughness, while enhancing suppleness and clarity. A highly effective blend of botanical oils and Vit E gently enriches the skin and fights free radical damage to keep the first signs of ageing at bay.

Ingredients: Aqua (water), Cetearyl olivate, Sorbitan olivate, Cetyl palmitate, Sorbitan palmitate, Glycerin (vegetable glycerin), Simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil**, Vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter**, Squalane, Glucose, Mel (manuka honey), fragrance (natural essential oils), Xanthan gum, Glucose oxidase, Lactoperoxidase, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) oil, Citronellol*, Eugenol*, Limonene*, Linalool

Packaging: The cream comes in a tube like container with a security seal on the opening, so you can be sure it is new and never opened before. It is packed in the box containing all the relevant information including: name and description of the product, instructions on how to use it, full ingredients list, manufacturer details and use by date.

In use: The day cream is very light, despite being called rich. It spreads with ease and leaves my skin smooth and well moisturised. It doesn’t leave me with that “heavy” feeling some “rich” creams do. It is white in colour and has quite a light and runny texture. The fragrance was a nice surprise. Most of the natural products I have tried do not have the best of fragrance out there; however Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Day Cream actually smells very nice. It is very gentle and almost none existent but it is there. I was wondering if after some time the fragrance would change, but it didn’t.

Final thoughts: Fantastic day cream which will not break your bank balance. With a RRP of £12 it is a great buy. It leaves my skin soft and it doesn’t cause any irritations. It absorbs well without being greasy or leaving oily patches. Well worth it and I have no objection in recommending it.

Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Night Cream – Normal to dry skin

What to expect: Natural Being Manuka Honey Rich Night Cream is a deeply nourishing cream formulated to replenish moisture lost during the day. Enriched with Active Manuka Honey, anti-microbial Manuka Oil and botanical emollients, it works while you sleep to improve suppleness and help the skin repair and renew itself.

Ingredients: Aqua (water), Cetearyl olivate, Sorbitan olivate, Persea gratissima (avocado) oil, Vitis Vinifera (grape) seed oil, Cetyl palmitate, Sorbitan palmitate, Glycerin (vegetable glycerin), Squalane, Cetearyl alcohol, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter, Daucus carota (carrot) extract, Glucose, Mel (manuka honey), fragrance (natural essential oils), Sclerotium gum, Glucose oxidase, Lactoperoxidase, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Liptospermum scoparium (manuka) oil, Citronellol*, Eugenol*, Limonene*, Linalool*

Packaging: Same as the day cream, the night version comes in a tube like container with a security seal on the opening, so you can be sure it is new and never been opened before. It is packed in the box containing all the relevant information including: name and description of the product, instructions on how to use it, full ingredients list, manufacturer details and use by date.

In use: The night cream is a bit thicker than the day cream version. It is also a bit more yellowy in colour. These are the only two differences I can spot really. Again, it absorbs well and it nourishes my skin during the night. After a week or so, I’ve notice that the dry flaky skin on my forehead going away – I am not sure if it was the night cream that did it or the day cream or a combination of the two. It also has the same gentle fragrance as the day cream.

Final thoughts: I am not able to fault it in any way. With an RRP of £14 it is still a great buy and I would be happy to purchase it again.

There are more products in the Natural Being range. I think that an eye cream would be a perfect addition to my current routine… and a cleanser and a tonic gel… oh well… it looks like I will have to buy them all 🙂

Have you ever used any of the Natural Being products or any other manuka honey based skin care?

*From natural essential oils
**Certified organic

Products featured in this post were provided for free by MyPure for review purpose.

MyPure Choice – Rich Day Cream by Living Nature

This month MyPure Choice was a Rich Day Cream by Living Nature, something I really wanted to try for a quite some time now.

Living Nature is a New Zealand brand, who have been making natural products for over 25 years. My Rich Day Cream is certified natural and it ONLY contains ingredients created by nature and it is both synthesis and animal free. From the packaging: This cream combines Active Manuka Honey to draw in moisture, botanical emollients for deep nourishment and native Totara Extract to help neutralise skin-aging free radicals. This Rich Day Cream by Living Nature is perfect for both dry and mature skin.

In case you are interested and can understand it better than me… here is the full ingredients list:  Aqua (water), Persea gratissima (avocado) oil, Cetearyl olivate (from olive oil), Sorbitan olivate (from olive oil), Macadamia ternifolia seed oil, Squalane (vegetable squalane), Jojoba esters (from jojoba oil), Triticum vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter**, Caryocar brasiliense (pequi) fruit oil, Glucose (plant sugar), Mel (manuka honey), Orbignya oleifera (babassu) seed oil**, Theobroma cacao (cocoa) butter, Parfum (natural fragrance)*, Sclerotium gum, Rosa canina (rosehip) fruit oil**, Olea europaea (olive) leaf extract, Glucose oxidase (from milk), Lactoperoxidase (from milk), Tocopherol (vitamin E), Totarol (totara extract), Leptospermum scoparium (manuka) oil, Benzyl benzoate*, Benzyl salicylate*, Citronellol*, Geraniol*, Limonene*, Linalool* * From natural essential oils ** Certified organic

Rich Day Cream by Living Nature comes in a 50ml tube and is priced at £32. It might seem like a lot, but is it really? You are getting natural, an organic certified and cruelty free product, which is good for vegetarian too 😉 Considering this I don’t think that the price tag is too high.

The outer packaging a.k.a. the box contains all your basic information; everything you might need and want to know about the product is there: the name, who is it for, what it does, how to use it, ingredients list, how to store it, manufacturer details as well as the use by date. I don’t think they missed a thing.

The tube itself doesn’t contain all the information but you get the basics, which is more than efficient. Rich Day Cream by Living Nature comes securely sealed with a metal “cap”; once opened it should be used within 6 months (tick tock, tick tock…)

Now let’s talk about the cream itself.

Rich Day Cream by Living Nature like most creams is white / white-ish in colour. It has the texture of a thick cream, I would say. It spreads extremely easily and it goes a long way. When I opened it the first time I squeezed my standard amount out… it was way too much… I’ve had enough to “cream” my face, neck, bust line and both palms… it really does go a long way. After use feeling – first thing which comes to mind is softness. It really leaves your skin feeling amazing… soft and smooth. It is not greasy and it doesn’t give you that heavy feeling…. but… hey ho there is always a “but” with me… it has a strong herbal smell. For someone who likes my creams fragrant free this was quite a shock when I first used it. The fragrance is not subtle, it is strong, you can’t miss it and it is in your face – hey, look at me… I am here! I really thought that the initial try will be the last one for me, but something strange happened… this strong, one would say quite overpowering smell, is very soothing. After a few minutes despite it still being there, it didn’t bother me any longer. I wish I could tell you what it smells like but I really can’t put my finger on it. I studied the ingredients list but I can’t pick the “smelly” one out of the list. Maybe it isn’t just the one… maybe it is a combination of them all or some of them… not sure about that one.

Rich Day Cream by Living Nature is supposed to work on wrinkles. To be honest I didn’t notice any improvement but in fairness I have only been using it for the last 10 days so maybe it needs more time.

In general I am very pleased with my choice. I think if you have dry skin and are on the wrong side of your teen years this cream might be a perfect choice for you.

Pluses:

• Good price for the quality of product
• Nice texture and easy application
• Very nourishing
• Very moisturising
• Very absorbent
• Extremely efficient
• Leaves your skin soft and smooth
• Not greasy

Minuses:

• Strong, overpowering herbal fragrant… but you just get used to it 🙂

Did you ever use any of the Living Nature products?

What’s your opinion about them?

* Product featured in this post was provided for free by MyPure for review purpose.

Infographic – Manuka Honey – How to buy a real deal

Following on from my last year post about Manuka honey, that many of you seem to love, I came across this wonderful infographic from GreenBay that I wanted to share with you. It gives a no nonsense outline of what officially makes a honey a Manuka honey.

Educate yourselves so you don’t fall prey to the cynical marketing companies approach that if the jar of honey passed a Manuka plant on the way to the shops it must be a Manuka honey!

It is not cheap, so if you’re going to spend your life savings to buy a pot and reap the benefits of the medicinal properties of this glorious honey then make sure you are getting the authentic article.

MyPure Choice – Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner

This month MyPure choice was Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner by Grahams.

They are suitable for normal to dry hair but particularly developed for those with a sensitive skin. A gentle blend of organic and natural ingredients it is supposed to relieve and protect a dry and sensitive scalp.

Both, shampoo and conditioner are hypo-allergenic, sodium lauryl sulphate and propolene glycol free and they both contain no petrochemicals or mineral oils. They come in a 250ml / 8.4 Fl oz bottle and are manufactured in Australia.

Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner can be purchased from MyPure at a cost of £14.99 each.

I do not suffer from dry hair. I would classify my hair as normal, but I do suffer from dry skin. Sometimes, especially close to the hairline it’s getting extremely dry to the point of flaking (no it is not dandruff if you are wondering). I chose this product as I wanted to test if they can help with this problem and to my pleasant surprise they did… a bit too fast if you ask me as I wasn’t able to take any pictures of my dry hairline before I used the product… I just wasn’t expecting that they would clear it up after just two uses.

Both shampoo and conditioner are green in colour; the conditioner being a bit thicker as you would expect. They both have a wonderful coconut scent, which is not overpowering but you are not able to miss it.

So how are these products in use?

Hmmm, they are different to your standard shop bought shampoo and conditioner. If I was to compare them to most superstore shampoos they wouldn’t get a great review but I shouldn’t really do this as Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner are not your standard superstore products, so I will just tell you about my feeling whilst using them.

First step: shampoo… as per directions: massage into the hair and scalp working into a lather… and here is where I hit the wall… no matter how much and how long I was working it in it didn’t want to lather on the first wash, it wasn’t budging at all… on the second wash it lathers, a little. I hear that this is a good sign as too much lathering isn’t really needed. However the point is it is not so easy to get it to lather at all. After you rinse thoroughly your hair is left feeling soft but messy… at this point I couldn’t imagine not using a conditioner or I would never get a comb through it.

Step two: conditioner… as per instructions: massage well through scalp and hair ends; leave for 1 minute; rinse thoroughly. No problems here. I am able to follow all instructions without hitting the wall, but… after I rinse it thoroughly my hair aren’t left smooth and silky… they are still a tangled mess… I am still feeling like a need a conditioner to finish the process, but apparently I have already used it 😦

So you see, this is why I stated that they shouldn’t be compared to a supermarket product. Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner will take care of your problem (aka dry scalp) but they might just leave you in a bit of a disappointed state as to the final condition of your hair.

I resolved this problem by applying a leave in conditioner afterwards.

Will I repurchase this product?

I would, but only because Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner took care of my flaky dry skin on the hairline. I have struggled for a long time to find a product which will “cure” it. I have tried using a cream to make my skin moisturized but this just made my hair look greasy, I have tried several shampoos and conditioners for dry hair but they didn’t seem to work either… Grahams Manuka Honey Shampoo and Conditioner did the job, and did the job well.

I did find something which doesn’t match up and it is bothering me… the box states that the product is suitable for all hair types whilst the bottle itself states “for normal to dry hair”… so which one is it? Or it doesn’t really make any difference?

Do you have any hair must haves product, you would recommend?

*Products featured in this post were provided for free by MyPure for review purpose.

What’s Cooking – Homemade Chocolate Honeycomb #ComvitaRecipeComp

Our Homemade Chocolate Honeycomb

We have all had moments when all that we want, is something sweet and tasty… and all too often when that moment comes sods law there is nothing in the kitchen except for empty cupboards, or worse biscuit tins full off empty chocolate wrappers… Lately Mark has developed a taste for home made sweets. He is perfecting homemade chocolates, truffles, toffee, marshmallows and his latest “invention” chocolate covered honeycomb 🙂

We all know that sweets in quantity are not good for you, but… if they are homemade we can at least make them taste so good that you can forget about the inches pilling on, at least till you have finished the batch. Using quality ingredients is the key for how to recreate that old fashioned taste of sweets we all remember. Honeycomb is easy to make and if made right really taste like a small pieces of heaven, with a sharp crack as you bite into it followed by the crumble in your mouth as you chew your whole mouth will fill with the taste of fresh cooked honeycomb. Commercial sweets tend to be made from processed ingredients, purified to the point of having no deviation in taste, ever. Add to that that they were made probably weeks ago and shipped all over the world, and you cannot help that your end product has a different taste. Fresh cooked, just like bread, is when honeycomb is at its absolute more-ish peak.

All you need are a few ingredients and about 40 minutes of free time… oh and an absolute must – A sugar thermometer, as without it the chances of success are remote unless you have years of experience.

So, this is list of ingredients needed:

• 375g caster sugar
• 125g good quality honey, we used Comvita Wildlands Honey, which contains 25% Comvita Manuka Honey 🙂
• 100g golden syrup
• 125ml water
• 15g of bicarbonate of soda
• 200g melted chocolate, we used a milk one

You will also need:

• Medium size saucepan, ideally with heavy bottom for heat distribution
• Greased with butter and lined tray, a silicone one is ideal about 9” x 9” X 2”
• A 2^nd tray for cooling and Icing sugar for dusting
• Sugar thermometer
• A sauce whisk, or any small whisk

And now the cooking instructions, which are really quite straightforward:

Place your 2^nd cooling tray in the freezer to chill.

Combine sugar, honey, golden syrup and water in your saucepan. Place over low heat and cook gently, stirring continuously. Occasionally brush down the side of the pan and your spoon with a pastry brush dipped in boiling water to remove any sugar crystals. After around 5-7 minutes the sugars should have dissolved, stop stirring. Increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring until the syrup reaches 145°C on a sugar thermometer. Remove from heat and immediately add the bi-carbonate of soda and whisk like made for 10 seconds to incorporate it. Your mixture will bubble and foam violently, don’t worry this is good, now quickly pour the mixture into the tray and set aside to cool completely. Ideally somewhere high up, out of sight and reach.

When cool turn the honeycomb out onto a clean surface. Break into desired pieces.

Retrieve your 2^nd cooling tray from the freezer.

In a double boiler melt your chocolate till it is smooth and glossy. Line a tray with a good dusting of icing sugar. Drop the honey comb into the chocolate and with a fork turn the pieces till they are fully coated. Fish out the pieces one at a time with a fork to allow excess chocolate to drain away and drop onto the ice cold cooling tray. Again set aside to cool for an hour at room temperature.

If you want to be super posh you can now melt some white chocolate and drizzle it over the covered honeycomb pieces to get the “posh choc look” and put aside to finally set. Store in an airtight container, do not refrigerate as honeycomb really hates the cold and will go soft very quickly.

Enjoy!

This recipe is my entry into Comvita bloggers’ recipe competition.

Manuka Honey – How to buy a real deal and not some snake oil

On Sunday 25th August 2013 The Sunday Times published a very interesting article about manuka honey. Did you know that statistics show that we actually bought significantly more manuka honey than it was in fact harvested? Around 1,700 tons of manuka honey is produced every year and UK consumers alone bought 1,800 tons of it, this number worldwide reaches 10,000 tons.

This information was published in The Sunday Times on 25-08-2013

So how is it possible?

The answer is quite simple – mislabelling of other types of honey and passing it off as manuka honey.

This doesn’t sound very honest but like with all things… where additional money can be made by exploiting a loophole; people will find a way to make it, even if this means cheating and defrauding others.

What is Manuka Honey?

Simply put it is honey that comes from bees visiting the flowers of the manuka plant (or tree), a native species of New Zealand AND NO OTHER flower. Some of this honey (important to note it is not all the same, hence the importance of UMF unique manuka factor mark) has been found to contain extra antibacterial properties, over and above the benefits from other honeys. It is a natural product (and hence the natural variation) that actually has some modern science and research supporting it.

What’s so special about Manuka Honey?

Manuka Honey is a unique honey that is native to New Zealand.

As a natural remedy, Manuka honey is one that actually has some proper academic research to support it. If referring to the correct grade of honey that is.

There are plenty of anecdotal evidence and success stories on its usage. Helping with digestive disorders, peptic ulcers, wound treatment, and leg ulcers are some of its regular uses.

Manuka honey can work and can aid you in several areas, but bear in mind it is not a magic cure for everything.

So what is it that makes some manuka honey special? All honeys have a level of hydrogen peroxide, which provides some level of activity from the actions of the enzyme glucose oxidase that is also found in honey. But this can be adversely affected by other enzymes found in wound fluids and body tissue.  It is also not stable, and reduces over time.

However, some manuka honey (and only some) also contains a non-peroxide antibacterial property, what has been named  the ‘unique manuka factor’ (UMF). It is the UMF that creates the special properties, including the extra antibacterial and antibiotic properties, that is found in only some manuka honey, as the UMF is not affected by the other enzymes, and is much more stable and active in a variety of conditions. To find the existence of UMF in manuka honey, it needs to be tested for its level of non-peroxide antibacterial activity. This test should be done by an independent laboratory for each batch of honey.

How to make sure you get what you are paying for?

Look for the UMF mark on the jar; this mark acts as a total quality standard for consumers.

To carry the UMF brand, the manufacturer or owner of the brand must hold a current UMF license with UMFHA (Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association).  In addition, genuine UMF Manuka Honey complies with all five of the following criteria:

• UMF is clearly stated on the front label.
• It is packed into jars and labelled in New Zealand.
• It is from a New Zealand company licensed by UMFHA to use the name UMF.
• It has the UMF licensee’s name on the front label.
• It has a rating of UMF 5+ or more.

Don’t get tempted by low price and other advertised gimmicks like “active” as this word is not under control and everyone can put it on. But if you really want to be sure that you are getting a real deal  the only advice which comes to mind is to buy from reputable source like The New Zealand Honey Shop.

We can check the labels in our everyday supermarket in search of an “authentic” manuka honey but as we now know these labels cannot be trusted. If you are really going to spend £45 for 500g of manuka honey, there is no better way to be sure like getting it from the source.

Funny thing is that manuka honey is everywhere. I just did a google search for it and I can get it from my local supermarket for £8.99 per 250g – advertised as 100% pure Active Manuka Honey or from “reputable” UK health web shop – £15.67 for 500g jar labelled as Active 12+ Manuka Honey.

If you aren’t sure if your manuka honey is a real deal check the UMF honey association.  A few names which can be trusted are for example Comvita, Commell’s Honey Limited or Natural Solution East Cape.

Do you use Manuka Honey?

***

Related articles

• Manuka Honey Fraud: Action should have been Taken Earlier, says Association – TopNews New Zealand (manukahoneycosmetics.wordpress.com)
• Manuka honey in focus – Waikato Times (manukahoneycosmetics.wordpress.com)
• Mystifying Manuka ratings? (happyvalleynz.wordpress.com)
• Guidelines needed for manuka honey labels (nzherald.co.nz)
• Honey industry leaders define what manuka honey is (radionz.co.nz)
• Industry knew of manuka ‘fake’ risks (stuff.co.nz)