The A'kin Instant Radiance Facial Masque - A Review For My Pure

I have to say I love face masks - at least one a week I stick on a mask and have a few minutes pamper time. My favourites are deep cleansing masks, to properly cleanse my face and clean my pores, and brightening masks, to give my skin a real boost when it's feeling dull. That's why I chose a face mask as part of my April review package from My Pure.

The mask I chose was from Australian brand A'kin. I've talked about A'kin a lot on my blog I have to say they are one of my favourite brands I've discovered though My Pure. The mask I chose was the A'kin Multi Fruit & Willow Bark Instant Radiance Facial Mask.

Designed to brighten and improve the skin tone, this mask contains all sorts of things such as Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA), these sound really scary but they are just fruit acids in this case Bilberry, and the also scary sounding Beta Hydroxy Acid which in this case comes from Willow Bark, both of these ingredients help with the removal of dead skin and help with surface skin renewal. The mask also contains ingredients such as Organic Rosehip Oil, Vitamin B3, Pomegranate, and  Hyaluronic Acid to help produce a smoother more radiant complexion.

The product comes boxed and packaged in a a pump action dispenser - I love pump action dispensers as you know and this is a good one the product remains airtight, and it's easy to dispense exactly how much you need

The products itself has a strange but not unpleasant slightly oily herbal fragrance, which thankfully isn' t too strong. The product has a very creamy texture which spreads easily onto the skin.

To use it I applied it all over my face avoiding the area, the mask felt slightly cool on the initial application, and it did feel slightly tingly as time went on, which is normal with this mask. Here we go a scary face shot :)

Unlike most brightening masks which should only be left on for a couple of minutes, you need to leave this one on between 5-10 minutes. The mask doesn't set so you just remove it when your times up. As you would expect with a cream product it was pretty easy to wash off warm water. My skin certainly felt tingly and more alive, but as you can see from this pic it was left looking a tiny bit red.

I didn't notice any improvement in the smoothness or texture of my skin but the tone was certainly brighter and better. If your skin is sensitive I would only use this for 5 minutes maximum but if you want to give your skin a proper boost, maybe after the long winter months or illness, or for a special event this mask is probably worth a try. The A'kin Multi Fruit & Willow Bark Instant Radiance Facial Masque retails at £21.99 for 50ml from My Pure.

A'kin Eucalyptus and Tea Tree Hand Wash - A Review For My Pure

I have to be honest with you my dear readers for one of my February review items from My Pure I chose something I've actually used before. I hope you don't mind that I did that but it was a product I'd used in the past and that I really rated. I just wanted to try it again and see if it was as good as I remembered.
The product in questions was from the Australian brand A'kin, I've reviewed a few of their products so far for My Pure and I have to say it's a brand I've come to really rate, with all of their products certified organic, and sulfate and paraben free.

The product I chose was the A'kin Eucalyptus and Tea Tree Hand Wash, packaged in an interestingly shaped pump action dispenser to make it super hygienic and easy to use, the hand wash is a clear gel like consistency then seems to thin down when it's dispenses

You don't need a lot and it gives a lovely creamy foam, created by botanical ingredients such as Coconut and Palm.

Containing both Australian organically grown Eucalyptus, and Melaleuca Alternifolia Tea Tree which as well as being anti bacterial means it smells super clean and fresh.

 The key things about this hand wash though is that I don't find it at all drying, it just leaves my hands feeling super clean.
I have to say this is as good as I remember it, it cleans the skin well without drying and it smells amazing. I love hand washes they are so much more hygienic than a bar of soap, and yes I know you have to press the pump down but I usually find you can do it with your forearm - nothings perfect lol This would be great either in the bathroom or at the kitchen sink for super clean hands. The A'kin Eucalyptus and Tea Tree Hand Wash comes in a 240ml pump action bottle and retails for £9.99 from My Pure  . Any questions please ask xx

(The A'kin Eucalyptus and Tea Tree Hand Wash Was Provided By My Pure For Review Purposes)

A'kin Hand, Nail & Cuticle Creme - A Review For My Pure

A'kin is a brand I have grown to seriously love over the last few months I love their whole philosophy, organic, paraben, and petrochemical free products, that do the job. It may have escaped your notice or not ;) that it's winter time, and what happens in winter? as well as being cold, our skin dries out, and in particular our handy pandies. That's why I chose a hand cream for one of this months My Pure products.



The A'kin Lavender, Geranium and Jojoba Hand, Nail & Cuticle Creme comes in a cream tube and comes jam packed with moisturising ingredients, such as Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Jojoba and Botanical Glycerin as well as Vitamin E and Vitamin B5. It has a reasonably thick, creamy texture


which spreads easily and absorbs well with hardly any stickiness or residue, leaving your hands softer and more hydrated


Containing a high proportion of essential oils including Lavender, Geranium, Rosemary and Pettigrain, it has quite a strong, albeit natural smell, it isn't unpleasant but some people might find it a little bit overpowering especially since it has a tendency to linger on the skin.


Despite that though I think this is a good hand cream I'm not a 100% sure I would repurchase but it certainly does the trick in a relatively natural way. A'kin Lavender, Geranium & Jojoba Hand, Nail and Cuticle Creme retails at £7.99 for 75ml. Any questions please let me know x

(The A'kin Lavender, Geranium & Jojoba Hand, Nail and Cuticle Creme was provided by My Pure for review purposes)

A'kin Jasmine Body Wash - A Review For My Pure

As soon as I saw this product on My Pure's inventory I knew I had to try it, so I was thrilled when they gave us the chance to select our own products to review :)
As you know I've already reviewed quite a few products from Australian brand A'kin, and I have to say I've generally being impressed, their products are predominantly organic, and both paraben and sulfate free.

The product I chose was the Jasmine Body Wash, I have to say I love the smell of Jasmine some people find it too heady but I love it.

Packaged in the green bottles we've come to expect from A'kin the product dispenses by giving the bottle a gentle squeeze

The product is a clear slightly runny gel, which gently foams when its mixed with water, don't expect huge bubbles with this more a soft creamy foam

As well as in the shower you can use this in the bath too where it produces a nice creamy foam, (see below), and also as a gentle hand wash liquid for your clothes, and as a hand wash by your sink.

Suitable for use on babies, children and those with sensitive skin, it contains botanical based foamers and moisturisers, as well as pure Jasmine extract

Perfect for relaxation and pampering, and known to be a mood improver, Jasmine is a beautiful aroma often used in fine fragrance. Pure Jasmine extract smells amazing where as the synthetic fragrance can often be artificial and heady. You needn't worry thought this is wash contains the purest extract from the Jasmine flower. It's heady but never sickly or too strong. It lingers slightly on the skin but you never feel overpowered by it.

Having tried numerous Jasmine products I have to say that this is one of the best it's a lovely all round body wash, that smells great and leaves your skin soft and not tight or dry, it's definitely made it's way into my November favourites video  If you love the smell of Jasmine I would definitely recommend this product, if you don't several other fragrances are also available in the A'kin range. The A'kin Jasmine Body Wash retails at £7.49 for 225ml from My Pure. Any questions please leave me a comment x

A'kin Jasmine Body Wash was provided by My Pure for review purposes

A'kin Intensive Moisture Vitamin Hair Masque - A Review For My Pure

The last item from my August parcel from My Pure was a hair product - the A'kin Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque. I know I've been reviewing a lot of hair products recently but hair products really are my weakness, ever since school I've mucked around with my hair, colour, heat tools and dare I say it perm solution, I do look after me hair but ever so often particularly after some colour it needs an extra boost, by using a product such as this.

As you'll probably know if you read my blog regularly A'kin is an Australian brand which prides itself on its use of organic ingredients, and the the lack of chemicals such as sulfates and parabens in all their products. This hair masque is typical of an A'kin product containing natural extracts of Jojoba, and Avocado for moisture, Ginkgo Biloba and White Tea for strength and health, and Geranium and Sandalwood for aroma and sensory pleasure

The hair mask comes packaged in a dark green squeezy tube. It squeezes out easily and has a thick creamy texture. It smells quite strongly but pleasantly of Geranium essential oil which does tend to linger on the hair.

To use the product I washed my hair as instructed and towel dried it before applying the mask to my hair. Despite it being quick thick it spread easily on my hair. I then stuck a shower cap on and then I had a bath, after about 20 minutes or so (you can leave it on overnight) I rinsed it out. It rinsed out really easily leaving my hair clean and without any tangles. After drying my hair felt super, super soft, my only complaint is it probably left my hair too soft and a little difficult to style, but this is just a minor complaint, this is a great mask that leaves the hair in fabulous condition, it is a real must for dry and thirsty hair. The A'kin Ginkgo & Jojoba Intensive Moisture Vitamin Masque retails at around £7.49 for 150ml from My Pure

(This product was provided by My Pure for review purposes - this hasn't altered my view in anyway)

A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Light Conditioner - A Review From My Pure

At the end of June I received my second review parcel from the lovely people at
My Pure containing two lovely products to test. I'm a bit late to it this month so I'll try to get both reviews up over the weekend starting here. One of the items in the parcel was the A'kin Jojoba and Lavender Light Conditioner. I've already talked about A'kin in a previous review for My Pure but this fabulous Australian based brand prides itself on using organic, natural predominantly botanical ingredients, free from sulfates, parabens, silicones and other nasties, and that is certainly the case with this conditioner

A clear ingredients listing shows the presence of extracts such as Avocado and Jojoba oils both of which are excellent at providing moisture to improve the condition of your hair and scalp. It also contains lots of aromatherapy based oils and plant extracts such as Lavender, for healing and normalizing hair and skin, Geranium which is again anti-bacterial and also calming, and Rosemary which as well as being anti-inflammatory is also often used to promote shiny hair. Again A'kin have chosen their ingredients carefully for this light shampoo for normal, fine and oily hair

The bottle itself looks quite rustic, and the product dispenses easily from the flip cap with a little bit of pressure. The conditioner itself feels light but creamy

I applied to my hair after washing and lightly towel drying. It applied easily right through my colour treated hair from root to tip (if you have oily hair A'kin advise just to apply the product to the ends). I then left it for a couple of minutes before rinsing

It rinsed out easily leaving my longish hair tangle free, soft and smelling amazing. This product really does have a lovely smell the combination of the floral extracts of lavender, rosemary and geranium are particularly evident. Mummy LouLou also tried this and I have to say even as self confessed conditioner hater she loved it - she said that hair coarse, colour treated, curly hair felt softer and not as though it was coasted in anything (probably due to the lack of silicone in this product, something which is included in a lot of hair conditioners). I think this is a really nice daily conditioner - it smells nice, and does the job whether it would be suitable for very dry hair I'm not convinced you would probably need something a bit thicker but it's nice for use on normal hair, and it's even gentle enough to be used everyday. The A'kin Jojoba & Lavender Light Conditioner is available from My Pure for £7.49 for a generous 225ml

(This product was provided by My Pure for review purposes - this has in no way affected my viewpoint - this is my opinion and mine alone)

A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist -A Review For My Pure

I was thrilled when I opened my recent review parcel from My Pure to receive a facial spray / mist. As you probably know already from my blog I love facial sprays and even use my regular toners in spray bottles - they are great for toning, refreshing the skin and even setting make up. The one sent to me for review was the A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist.I've already tried a few A'kin products before (hand washes) and I've already heard so much about this product from one of my friends who has used it before so I was thrilled to receive it and get the chance to try it out for you x
A'kin was founded in Australia in 2002, and first came to the UK in 2004 - it's a truly natural, vegan range free from all sorts of nasties such as sulfates, silicone's and parabens :).

The first thing you obviously notice about this product is the packaging - it's simple and unfussy - packaged in a cream / grey bottle. It has a natural pump action spray dispenser which I love - no chemicals or gases are involved and they produce a super fine spray

the dispenser on this product is no exception it produces a lovely fine but substantial spray which adds to its usefulness

As I've already said A'kin prides itself on the use of natural ingredients and this product exemplifies that, it contains beautiful flower essences, plant extracts and vitamins to produce a spray to cool and rehydrate your skin.

A'kin have included several extracts which are beneficial for you skin including Aloe Vera. Aloe is one of the most amazing products as well as being anti-bacterial, it also immensely soothing and cooling on burnt or inflamed skin. As well as adding a beautiful but subtle scent the product obviously also contains several varieties of rose - one of the most precious plant extracts rose is especially good again for skin calming, but the smell can also actually induce relaxation. Another one of the key ingredients A'kin have used in this mist is the rather scary sounding sodium hyaluronate - again a naturally occurring product often from soy beans, HA as it's often know is high in antioxidants, and can play a key role in hydrating the skin. These are just some of the ingredients in this mist - it's clear A'kin have thought about every ingredient that has gone into thes product - about what is can do for our skin and or course about what it smells like.

As I said before it has a subtle rose smell, pleasant and refreshing but not overpowering. I have probably used this spray over the last few weeks mostly as a refresher. Like most of us in the UK I probably caught a tiny bit too much sun over the weekend and I used this spray all over my pink tinged face ;) - I have to admit it was a gorgeous - it didn't sting at all, and it felt beautifully cooling and soothing on my skin and my skin certainly didn't feel dry, exactly as A'kin claimed - thank you Aloe Vera content! I've also used this during the hot sticky nights we've had lately to cool the skin on my face and body -gorgeous and so refreshing. You can also use this product as a toner, or over make up or to refresh it and to help to set it, or even to foil eyeshadows :) Mummy LouLou also liked this product on her mature skin - she loved the subtle rose smell, and liked the fact that it absorbed into the skin and left a non-sticky finish. All in all this product has proved a bit of a winner with us - I like the smell,and the feel of it on my skin and I also like the ethos behind the company. I think like most facial sprays it would be a real summer essential - great for those (hopefully) hot days and nights :)
The only thing I have a slight issue with is the price of the product - £12.99 for 125ml which I think is a tad steep but if your into natural products this is a good one to try. You can purchase the A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Mist from My Pure for £12.99.

(As you know I was sent this product for review purposes - this hasn't altered my opinion in anyway - this is my own honest viewpoint yours may be different)

Blogging For My Pure

Like a number of other bloggers I was recently accepted to do some reviews and blogging for My Pure. I thought I'd just do you a quick post explaining more about what I'm going to be doing and what you can expect to see on my blog - just for transparency and to make sure I am being 100% honest with you I guess :)
For those of you haven't heard of them My Pure is a UK based site that specialises in hard to find natural skin, hair, and body care products. I was thrilled to be accepted on to their bloggers panel - I've recently started looking at the ingredients in my products and to say I've been concerned at some of them is an understatement so I am looking forward to trying some new and interesting natural brands. As part of their blogger panel I will be reviewing around three products a month for you - as per usual despite the fact that I am been sent items I can promise I will give you an honest opinion. be it good or bad which is exactly what My Pure have asked for :)
As I said earlier a number of bloggers are going to be doing the same thing - I am lead to believe that the first few parcels we all get will contain the same items but after that we will be getting products tailored to our own skin and hair types. I know a few bloggers have had some concerns about the fact that in the early stages we will all be receiving the same products and there is therefore a risk of overkill or blogger boredom. Whilst I can understand this view (I understand how annoying it is to get 20 different posts in your feed about the same product) Hopefully this won't be an issue I can imagine our reviews will all be slightly different depending on our own experiences with the products and our different ages, hair and skin types,so fingers crossed you won't be reading the same thing too many times, and as with all things on my blog if you don't want to read or your not interested in a post that's fine by me, move on and hopefully you'll enjoy the next post better.
Anyways I am thrilled to be taking part and I received my first parcel on Saturday morning and I have to say it made a lovely surprise on a day of surprises!

Wrapped in lovely tissue paper and recyclable cereal noodles (aren't these so much better than polystyrene) I received two skin care products - the A'kin Pure Rose Hydrating Facial Mist, and the Kosmea Eighth Wonder Revitalising Facial Serum and a haircare product - Lovea's Moroccan Argan Brilliance Shine Shampoo. I'll obviously give you more details on the products when I come to do my reviews but just from reading the ingredients labels and a bit of a blurb on the packaging this is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking to try - paraben, and sulphate, etc. free (look up parabens sometime if your curious). I'll hopefully be integrating these reviews in to my regular postings over the next next few weeks (we have been set a deadline of 7th June to posts our reviews) so hopefully you won't get millions of reviews from different bloggers coming up in your feed at once :) Anyways don't forget to keep an eye out for the posts if natural products are your bag hopefully it will be worth a read xx