the body shop oils of life

the body shop's take on the rising oil trend is the new oils of life facial skin care line. the line is based on 3 seed oils: black cumin (high concentration of antioxidants), camellia (rich in nutritive oleic acid) and rosehip (rich in omega 3 and 6).

 the main product of the range is of course the intensely revitalising facial oil. the oil can be used by any age or skin type but adult skin benefits from it the most. it nourishes and helps for signs of aging. the formula is quickly absorbing and not greasy. people with normal and dry skin can use it solo or mix it with cream, people with combination and oily skin i recommend to use it as extra moisture in the night. in addition to the 3 seed oils the facial oil has also among other things lavender, rosemary leaf, orange peel and geranium essential oils. price: 36€

my favorite product of the range is the intensely revitalising essence lotion. it's a concentrated mix of water and oil that prepares the skin for the next step's of moisturising. since i have normal skin towards combination i don't necessarily like to use oily or thick products, so this one is perfect for me because it has the moisture of the oil and the freshness of the water. i use the essence lotion morning and evening after cleansing before cream. ingredients include with 3 seed oils e.g. panthenol, sesame- and sunflower seed oil. price: 21,50€

you can choose from 2 creams. intensely revitalising gel cream is lighter in texture and has light reflecting pigments that make skin look radiant. gel cream suits for normal and even combination and oily skin. ingredients include with 3 seed oils e.g. glycerin and olive oil. price: 32,50€

intensely revitalising cream is seemingly far more thicker and nourishing that leaves the skin feeling silky. it suits for customers who have normal to dry skin. addition to the gel cream it has shea butter and soy protein. price: 32,50€ 

the vibe of this range is definitely more luxurious and it shows the direction of the new package design in the body shop. i can find one divisive feature - the scent. some people love herby, natural scent, but for someone it can be too much. in the essence lotion it doesn't come as strongly so i'm able to use it, since i'm not a huge fan of strong scents in facial products.

the body shop spa of the world blissful ritual

this is the third and last chapter of the body shop spa of the world bath&body care collection. you can read about the relaxing ritual here, and the revitalising ritual here.

in this post we will go through the 3 pampering and luxurious products of the blissful ritual.

step 1. nourish: polynesian monoi radiance oil - 170ml, 21,90€
the new version of the monoi oil is a dry oil. for sure some of you are gonna hate the change and some are gonna love (like me). as a person with normal skin i prefer dry oils since (ofc) they dry up faster and they don't leave oily feel. the polynesian monoi radiance oil you can use either for moisturising body or hair. there is many ways to use it in hair care: 1. apply oil to all hair, leave it for the night and wash your hair in the morning, 2. apply small amount to damp hair before blowdrying, 3. apply small amount(!!) to dry hair to make it look healthy and sleek. i think the scent is lovely flowery scent.
ingredients include e.g. tiare flower, coconut-, brazil nut-, almond-, sesame- and sunflower oil.

step 2. nourish: hawaiian kukui cream - 350ml, 28,90€

from the 2 creams of the whole collection, hawaiian kukui cream is more rich than the camellia cream. i actually adore the nutty scent of this product but unfortunately it's too heavy for me. even it is suitable for dry skin it's still more quickly absorbing than the heaviest body butters.
ingredients include e.g. kukui oil, brazil nut seed oil, cacao butter, shea butter, beeswax.

step 3. massage: tahitian orchid massage oil - 170ml, 19,90€
sensuous massage oil with vanilla orchid, ylang ylang and patchouli. probably my favorite massage oil of the three.

the body shop spa of the world revitalising ritual

this is the second chapter of the body shop spa of the world bath&body care collection. you can read about the first chapter - relaxing ritual - here.

in this post we go through the revitalising ritual, that helps to youthen body and soul.

step 1. scrub: dead sea salt scrub - 350ml, 25,90€

renewing scrub that stimulates blood flow. as you can see from the picture, this scrub is more rough (than the ximenia scrub) thanks to the large sea salt crystals. the sea salt is in oil base what makes this scrub suitable also for dry skin. if you like rougher impact use this scrub to damp skin because when the skin is wet the product melts faster. people with normal skin (like me) there is no need to apply cream after since the oil base of the product leaves your skin soft. only thing i don't like is the smell, i think it must be the rosemary extract.
ingredients include e.g. dead sea sea salt, sunflower-, mango seed- and soy oil.

step 2. treat: moroccan rhassoul body clay - 200ml, 21,90€

here i did a comparing of the moroccan rhassoul body clay (top) and himalayan charcoal body clay (bottom).

rhassoul clay is mineral rich clay that has been used by moroccan women to firm the skin. the product helps to remove extra water and fat. apply thin layer with the body mask brush (18€) to areas that need firming such as tummy, thighs.. and let the product dry completely, at least 10 minutes. (as you can see from the picture, the rhassoul clay doesn't dry as fast as the charcoal clay). rinse with cold water to maximize the firming effect. also with this body clay i must remind to scrub the body before, because the removal will be much easier.
ingredients include e.g. coffeine, guarana extract, kaolin, sesame oil.

step 3. massage: thai lemongrass massage oil - 170ml, 19,90€
stimulating and refreshing massage oil that is an enhanced version of the previous thai lemongrass massage oil.
ingredients include e.g. almond-, oil-, soy-, marula-, sesame-, sun flower- and wheat germ oil.

the revitalising ritual products you will recognize from blue color tag.

the body shop spa of the world relaxing ritual

a bit over a week ago here in finland the body shop introduced new luxurious bath & body care collection called spa of the world. this collection consists of 3 spa rituals and i'm going to write individual post of each ritual.

the first one is relaxing ritual that leaves skin luxuriously smooth and mind relaxed. it consists of 5 products.

 step 1. scrub: axfrican ximenia scrub - 350ml, 25,90€

softening cream based body scrub that is good for dry skin. it has lovely light scent. i recommend this scrub for someone who doesn't want super rough scrub. (very similar to the old spa wisdom product).

ingredients include e.g. ximenia oil, shea butter, beeswax and corn starch (the exfoliating ingredient).

step 2. treat: himalayan charcoal body clay - 200ml, 21,90€

purifying body clay mask that cleanses and draws up impurities. apply thin layer with the body mask brush (18€) and let it dry up 5-10 minutes before rinsing. i really recommend the brush for applying - it's much less messier and it helps you to get thin enough layer. another important advice is that you should scrub your body before applying the body mask, otherwise it will get stuck..

ingredients include e.g. charcoal, kaolin and sesame oil.

step 3. relax: egyptian milk & honey bath - 250g, 20€

(of course i forgot this product from the collection picture..)

i haven't tried this product by myself since i don't have a bath tub. it's a powder that you apply to the bath water and it becomes milky texture. after doing all the work (scrub+mask) you can relax in this softening and moisturising bath. only negative thing i would find about this product is that you need to apply 5 spoons of powder to the bath - i think you don't get more than 4-5 baths from the bag.

ingredients include e.g. plant based "milk", honey, olive oil, almond oil, sesame oil, sunflower seed oil and black cumin seed oil.

step 4. nourish: japanese camellia cream - 350ml, 28,90€

here is closer look to african ximenia scrub and japanese camellia cream.

the japanese camellia cream feels so soft and silky, and it literally melts to the skin. the cream has light floral scent from the camellia flowers. the camellia cream is lighter than the kukui cream i'm introducing in the last chapter (if you are comparing and thinking between these two).

ingredients include e.g. camellia seed oil, shea butter and mango seed oil.

step 5. massage: french lavender massage oil - 170ml, 19,90€

relaxing massage oil with lavender and chamomile oil. lavender used in this product is harvested from south france which is famous of the quality of the lavender. if you loved the old lavender massage oil, you are gonna love this one too, since it's an enhanced version.

base oil is mix of almond-, sesame-, and jojoba seed oil.

these products are for more demanding customers who are looking for luxurious products. you are maybe thinking about the price, but actually the litre price is less than in the normal body butters and srubs. a really good idea is to buy some of the products with friends and do spa nights together.
you can of course mix products from different rituals to better suit your needs. the relaxing ritual products you will recognize from the purple color tag.

grey hair: pravana chromasilk vivids "silver"

my journey seeking for grey hair continues. till now we have established that klippoteket silver shampoo and conditioner are good every day products for maintaining cool color in the hair. earlier this year i was longing for pastel violet color so i tried kc professional color mask paint lavender that didn't stuck to my hair at all. my next attempt was wella professionals color fresh silver that made nice platinum effect in the hair but it wasn't what i was looking for.

finally i found something that actually made my hair GREY.

i saw this product on a youtube video and since it didn't cost much i decided to give it a go. i bought 2 tubes (since my hair is long and thick) from ebay and they were around 10€ per tube.

i searched hard until i realised the instructions were on the inside of the box.. so first you wash your hair with shampoo and then you towel dry your hair. i dried my hair with hairdryer to almost dry to get stronger effect. after i applied the color with plastic gloves in my hands (these don't come with the packaging). it says to let it stay in the hair for 20 minutes but i left it for 1 hour since i have history of colors not sticking and i didn't mind for stronger color. after you should rinse, apply conditioner and rinse again, but since i didn't want to lose any color i applied conditioner in the ends of my hair 5 minutes before rinsing.

so here is the result before and after.

as you can see my hair was really light platinum color. with the pravana silver color i achieved exactly what i wanted: dark grey hair. if you don't want so extreme, let it be in your hair less time! i left for holiday after - i'm gonna swim and wash my hair more often so i made it more darker since it's gonna fade.

i lightened my roots week ago so the color obviously stuck more there and they look more blue/purple.

with the packaging came also these sachets that i used in the process.

overall i would say it's a good product if you want grey hair but it's not permanent fix. already with one wash the color has faded a little. i'll keep you posted how long the color lasts.