For someone who eschews mainstream beauty brands for green beauty, it’s no secret I have to look for products online. However in the past year, I’m overjoyed to see more green beauty brands landing upon our shores. Antipodes is one of them. To me, this signals the growing market for enlightened consumers. People are starting to be aware of the additives and chemicals in the products they religiously slather on their bodies every day, and are considering more natural options. Which is why I’m glad to have started this blog, in the hope of making the transition from ‘dirty’ to ‘clean’ products easier.
Sherrie, the distributor of Antipodes in Singapore very kindly sent me two products for review; the Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser and Hosanna H20 Intensive Skin-plumping Serum, both of which I’ll be covering today.
Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser
I’ve always been more inclined to use gel cleansers (more suitable for my oily skin) than cream cleansers, so the Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser is a first for me! Formulated for sensitive skin conditions, this soothing cream cleanser works to clear impurities and remove makeup gracefully (hence it’s name!) from your skin. I like to double cleanse, so I cannot comment on it’s makeup removing properties. I started off using this cleanser in the morning, but found it a little too heavy and decided to switch it to night use. After my first oil cleanse, I spread a pea-sized amount all over my face and massage it in. I tend not to like cream based cleansers because of the filmy deposit they leave on your skin, but the Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser goes on super smooth, washing off easily with warm water. Anti-inflammatory ingredients such as lavender and grapeseed extract leave my face free of redness, except for a healthy, pink-ish glow (could also be attributed to my face massage abilities!).
The product does have a very strong smell, which took me awhile to get used to. I am adverse to the smell of almond jelly, and this reminds me of that. I’m guessing it could probably be the inclusion of Naticide, which is known to lend a perfumed note of almond and vanilla to products. However, after using it for over four months, I don’t even notice it anymore. The smell doesn’t stay on my skin for long after it’s been washed off, so that helps too! Other than how the product smells–which is really more of a personal preference–this cream cleanser has been a great introduction for me to cream cleansers in general. If you’ve got sensitive skin and are allergic to sulfates (a story for another day), you’ll want to give the Grace Gentle Cream Cleanser a shot. This retails at SGD63 for a 120 ml metal tube, find it at Skintegral.
Ingredients
Aqua (water), glycerin, sclerotium gum (amigel), lavandula angustifolia (lavender) distillate*, buxus chinesis (jojoba) oil*, persea gratissima (avocado) oil*, macademia ternifolia (macadamia nut) oil*, glyceryl stearate, vitis vinifera (Vinanza Oxifend® red grapeseed) extract, tocopherol (Vitamin E), cetearyl alcohol, naticide (natural preservative).
* Organic
Hosanna H20 Intensive Skin-Plumping Serum
I love my serums, no lie. I have quite a few of them on my top shelf, all with different purposes. The Hosanna H20 Intensive Skin-Plumping Serum is a water-charged (Waiwera® artesian water to be exact!), oil-free bioactive serum said to immediately quench thirsty skin and put the bouncy, youthful feel back in your visage over time. First impression? I wasn’t exactly impressed with the brown, watery slightly alcoholic smell emanating from the puddle in my hand. From my experience, serums were supposed to be thicker concentrates of super potent ingredients, and I pondered it’s effectiveness. I decided to put it to the test, applying it all over my face, concentrating on those areas with visible expression lines. I am an animated speaker, so I do give my facial muscles quite a bit of an exercise while conversing, hence the three horizontal wrinkles on my forehead. After application, I immediately saw a smoothening in this area which I totally wasn’t expecting but was very pleased about. Those three lines that annoy me endlessly were almost gone. It’s no Botox, but that’s good enough for me. Guess I shouldn’t judge a book (or in this case a serum!) by it’s cover.
The Hosanna H20 Intensive Skin-Plumping Serum does have a distinctly herbal smell which I am attributing to the mamaku black fern leaf extract. A national symbol of New Zealand representing regeneration, new life, and new beginnings, the Māori (indigenous people of New Zealand) traditionally used it to rejuvenate, cool, and hydrate the skin. I now understand why. Since this serum is so light and easily absorbed, I usually layer another moisturizer over to really lock in the hydration. However if you have super oily skin, feel free to wear it on it’s own! It dries really quick and doesn’t leave any residue, so you won’t have to wait as long for your skincare to sink in before you move on to makeup. It does fill a little stingy on recently popped pimples or cutaneous irritations, but only for a few seconds. The product is recommended for all skin types, specifically dehydrated skins, but I would recommend this to those with oily skin. Because oily skin really is dehydrated underneath, this will provide much needed moisture without having to use thicker serums that might cause a breakout. This retails at SGD63 for a 25 ml dropper bottle, find it at Skintegral or Bud Cosmetics.
Ingredients
Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) distillate*, aqua (Waiwera® artesian water), cyathia medullaris (mamaku black fern leaf) extract, vitis vinifera (Vinanza Oxifend® red grapeseed) extract, naticide (natural preservative), caprylic/capric triglyceride, xanthum gum, essential oil fragrances of French rose oil & cardamon: benzyl benzoate**, cinnamyl alcohol**, citral**, citronella**, d-limonene**, eugenol**, farnesol**, geraniol**, linanool**.
* Organic
** Component of essential oil
Disclosure: The above products were generously provided by Antipodes for review, I do not receive any compensation. The opinions expressed herein are mine and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Antipodes.
