Nature's Finest Cosmetics review

I love twitter because sometimes it brings to the fore fabulous new companies that otherwise would have passed totally under my radar. That's what happened last week when I discovered Nature's Finest Cosmetics, who tweet at @naturesfinestco. Even better news was that they were looking for bloggers to review some of their products - perfect !

Before I even got as far as looking at their products online, I loved how enthusiastic Matthew is about the goodies they sell. Something which was easy to understand when I actually investigated their wares - beautiful handmade soap slices to rival those made by Lush, exquisite chocolate-themed Cocoa Butter Melts that look good enough to eat, delicious sounding Shower Butters and Ice Creams (more about those in a minute) and cheekily-named candles (Sex on Fire anyone ?!).

I was asked to pick which products I'd like to try but there was such a huge choice that I kept going "oooh I'll have that ... oh no that one ... oooh that one over there's even better !" so I asked them to choose for me and send something with a "big in-your-face fruity fragrance". They didn't let me down !

A couple of days later, the postman dropped off this lovely parcel that had me and the girls (9-year-old Sophie and 6-year-old Juliette alike) oohing and aahing and sniffing the packages even before we'd unwrapped them ! Julie Andrews sang that "brown paper packages tied up with string" were one of her favourite things - well, I may have to change that to brown-paper packages stuck closed with sticky labels and smelling of raspberries !

The soap on the left is called Jack The Rippler and, as its name suggests (if you have a warped sense of humour, like me and - obviously - the person who comes up with the names of the products !), it smells of raspberry. And not just a little bit. I asked for a big, brash fragrance and this certainly delivers - it's perfect for waking you up first thing in the morning.

The description on the website says : "A potent raspberry blast with a creamy, vanilla base. Swathed in an exfoliating coconut coat, this soap is a killer! With a pure Coconut and Evening Primrose oil to moisturise and condition, this is one stranger you won’t mind meeting in your bathroom." The mixture of raspberry, vanilla and coconut smells good enough to eat and instantly put a smile on my face when I used it in the shower (where you can either lather it up between your hands or on a sponge). When I used it to wash my hands, I couldn't stop discreetly smelling my fingers !

The soap on the right is Red Berry Blast and the girls thought it looked like a licorice allsort ! The website description says : "A strong red berry fragrance will leave you either awake in the morning or will go perfectly with our Bomb Cosmetics Very Berry Tinned Candle to make you sleepy at bed time. Blast the Dark Clouds away with chamomile and lavender essential oils (Mother Nature's weapon of choice). Enjoy a fruity lather which will leave your skin deliciously scented and soft to the touch." I thought that sounded contradictory but it's true, it's great for giving you a real uplifting, energising blast, washing away the cobwebs (or more likely the stress, grumpiness and tiredness) at the end of a long day, while leaving you relaxed and chilled out ready for a night of blissed-out chilling. Again, when I used this to wash my hands, I couldn't stop sniffing them, which got me a few strange looks on the bus, but it works like one of those mood-lifting pulse point oils, as a calming fragrance to sniff throughout the day !

 A bit of investigation reveals that the soap slices are vegan-friendly and are mixed, coloured, poured and fragranced by hand. The website explains that the shapes within each bar are also crafted from soap, twisted, rolled and shaped by hand, to produce a rich, diverse and exciting range. They contain Glycerine which is proven to lock water into the skin, so that the soaps moisturise whilst gently cleansing your skin. They are very mild, having a pH of around 7, which is neutral. They explain that "each soap has a unique blend of pure essential oils, designed specifically to deal with a particular region of the body or skin-type, or to enhance or heighten certain moods and emotions". Some of the soaps contain petals and other botanicals as natural scrub agents, and I love the look of the rather strange-looking wave-shaped soaps (in the photo above) that give you a massage as you wash.

The final product that I received to review was the Raspberry Blower Ice Cream Body Wash. The first thing I love is the packaging, which really does look like an ice cream tub. The website description says : "Bomb Cosmetics Bath Ice Cream is a rich, creamy shower gel that is semi-solid at room temperature. As well as gently cleansing your body, the formulation contains natural Shea Butter to richly moisturise and condition your skin. Raspberry Blower contains Litsea Cubeba and Sweet Orange essential oils."

If you imagine the consistency of soft scoop ice cream or gently melting Haagen Dazs without the coldness, that's about the texture of the Ice Cream Body Wash. You can really feel the shea butter nourishing and moisturising your skin as you smear it over your body, then as you rub it in, it lathers up in a lovely foam with the same intense raspberry fragrance as the soap. It left my skin feeling lovely and soft, moisturised and fragranced so I didn't need to use a body lotion after my shower. The Ice Cream Body Wash also comes in Mint Choc Chip, which I would imagine is a lovely cooling, refreshing fragrance perfect for beating the summer heat.

I was really impressed not only by the quality of the products and their ethical nature but also the incredibly low prices. If you want a gorgeous, natural beaty treat on a budget that will lift your spirits with its fabulous aromatherapy fragrances, you're bound to find something to suit on the Nature's Finest Cosmetics website.

star rating : 5/5

RRP : Shower Ice Cream £6, Handmade Soap Slices £2.50

for more information : http://naturesfinestcosmetics.com/

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