Thursday, April 26, 2012

One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm (Birchbox Sample Review!)


Last month I received a sample in my Birchbox from One Love Organics. It was their Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm. I love the idea of a free-of-fillers, chemicals, synthetics, parabens, dyes, fragrances; and natural/organic beauty products. However, they can be iffy at times and I’m pretty peculiar about what I put on my body, especially my face, considering that’s what people see all the time and my skin is also temperamental. It tends to be very dry in the winter and very oily during the summer and I'm very prone to breakouts two weeks out of the month. 


Birchbox describes this as a “makeup remover, cleanser, and head-to-toe moisturizer” all rolled into one. Okay, tracking. One Love Organics describes being able to use it as “…head-to-toe cleansing, moisturizing, conditioning, smoothing and massaging.” Even better! But that’s where I got skeptical. It’s been my experience that with these alleged all-in-one products, there is always something missing, making them not so much “all-in-one”. Kind of like the one size does NOT fit all. I’ll take you through my whole experience.

As you can see on the outside of their container, two of the things stated are the fact that they handcraft all products in small batches and they are cruelty free! Now, I know it has a pic of the cute little bunny, but I can imagine it goes for all furry critters too J Both of these facts are important to me. Small batches at a time cut down on excessiveness and wasting. As for the cruelty-free aspect, I find it contradictory for an “organic” line to test on animals. It makes me wonder what else they are contradictory about, if that makes sense.


 One of the things One LoveOrganics talked about was how a little goes a long way. My thought was "I sure hope so!", considering it’s only half an ounce in the sample container. However, these pics were taken today and I’ve been using this product almost every day for the last 2 weeks and you can see how much I’ve used. I haven’t even touched the bottom yet! The full-size product retails for 68.00 USD for 3.5 ounces, however, with the very small amount needed when using this balm, I think it is well worth the money.



The first thing I noticed when I opened the jar was the smell. It smells ah-mazing! It has a light, tropical-like scent to it that I love. Secondly, when I ran the tip of my finger across the top, I found it was in fact, quite “balmy” and rather stiff. I was skeptical once more. This could have went wrong. Very wrong. First of all, I’m a fan of my cleanser creating a good lather. You can just see the little bubbles getting into your pores, so I was stand-offish for that reason. Second of all, considering the fact that it is “balmy”, I was concerned about the possibility of greasiness.  Come to find out, I didn’t have to be concerned for too long.  One Love Organics nailed it! You can see below where I was able to “whip” it up slightly. By adding just a little more pressure into the balm, the heat and friction will break it down to a very spreadable consistency. Which is why you don't have to use much. 





 Now Birchbox and OLO both recommended using the product as a cleanser with the OLO My BFF Shammy, which is their microfiber cleansing cloth that is effective up to 200 washes and reduces the amount of cleanser you have to use (which, seriously, if I have to use any less balm, I’m buying stock!). However, seeing as how Birchbox did not send me one of these (come on, Birchbox!) then I had to make due with a regular ol’ washcloth L To use this product as a cleanser, you take a little of the balm and massage it into your face. Seeing as how you can’t exactly splash water to rinse it off, you have to use a warm washcloth (or the BFF shammy) to wipe your face clean. I used a white washcloth so I could really see what it was pulling away. I was very surprised. I wear moderate makeup with heavier eye makeup and it took it all right off with no problems. It leaves your face feeling very moisturized afterwards as well. So unless you have very dry skin, I doubt you’d have to follow up with a moisturizer. And if you do, here’s the beauty of it: just add a little more balm to your face because it’s a moisturizer as well! This time of year, my face isn't either too dry or too oily, but I have been having some dryness between my eyebrows. So I did go back and spot moisturize with it a few times. Not greasy at all! It actually can be used head-to-toe as a moisturizer, conditioner, or to massage with!  On the One Love Organics website it even tells you how you can use it with your favorite mineral powder to create a custom treatment foundation or as a hair pomade.  Very cool, if you ask me.

So all of this is great, but what is in it is what makes it incredible. Because let’s face it, there are awesome products out there, but at the end of the day, if you are smearing chemicals all over yourself, then what’s it really worth to you then? This balm is made with cold-pressed plant oils (like pure virgin coconut and sweet soy) to break down and remove dirt and makeup, while the other plant-based oils, (like mango butter seeds) boost the formula’s hydrating power. If it looks like I’m sold, it’s because I am. J It's not just because it's been an incredible product, it's left my skin unbelievably soft, and it's so simple it looks hard; But also, after looking over this company and reading their manifesto (Seriously, check this out!), they just may be my new beauty crush!! I highly recommend checking this one out. If I end up trying more of their products, I’ll definitely let you in on those as well!

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If you are interested in signing up for Birchbox, which is a monthly beauty subscription of samples delivered to your door for 10 dollars, then check them out here------->>>Birchbox.com





10 comments:

  1. Wow what a great review, Erika!! I used it the other day like you told me to remove my makeup - I put it on a cotton ball. It worked great!!!
    I might have to start using it as a moisturizer. I think it's crazy how many things it can do !!!
    GREAT REVIEW!!!!!!! :)

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    1. I'm so glad you tried it again! Like I said, I think it can be intimidating and confusing it at first, but once you get into it, it's awesome!

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  2. I can't wait to start these!! I am hoping someone does it for my birthday since I keep hinting about it!!!

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  3. Ok I meant for that to say my name= that last anonymous is from Mindy

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    1. I had a sneaking suspicion that may have been you, Mindy! ;) I hope you get a subscription! I think you'll love it! If not this one, then Beauty Army is awesome too. I enjoy being able to pick from them. But the surprise from Birchbox is part of the fun :)

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  4. I love how you added the your web address to your photos. I thought about that when I wrote my last post, but I didn't have time to mess with it. It definitely makes it look more professional. Yay for BBC tips!! :)

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  5. I love natural beauty products, they smell soooo good. This sounds amazing, a balm that's not greasy? Wow! Will defo have to check it out :)

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  6. thank you very much for this review (:. I got it in my box a couple months ago & i wasn't sure of it either! my face hasn't started breaking out or anything, it just got "out of shape" as in it is really dry & oily at the same time & it has become bumpy. it is something i haven't experienced before with my skin. it almost feels and looks like I have a sun burn or something so I am going to try this stuff out! lets hope this works!

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  7. and yes it smells amazing! like fresh squeezed orange juice!

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  8. I recieved this through Birchbox as well. When I opened mine it had mold on top. OOOhh gross !!

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