Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge - 2 Shiny Pink - A Review For My Pure*

It's been a little while since I reviewed a product from Alva for My Pure but for one of April's reviews I decided to revisit the brand, and try out something that I'm loving at the moment, blusher.

For those of you who are new to Alva or for those you who haven't read of my previous reviews, I'll give you a little introduction. Established in 1988, in Osnabruck, Germany, Alva Naturkosmetik is one of Europe's leading natural brands. They produce a wide range of skin care, body care, hair care and make up all of which are certified organic.

My Pure currently stocks 3 shades of the Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge, but the one I went for was 2 - Shiny Pink. Baked blushers are everywhere at the moment and I have to admit that baked is one of my favourite formulations. Containing natural pigments, this blusher contains a wide variety of natural moisturising and skin care ingredients, including olive squalene, evening primrose oil, sunflower oil and macadamia oil. 99% of the ingredients in this blusher are from a natural origin, and 10.5% of those ingredients are from organic farming.

The packaging of my blush does vary slightly from the one on My Pure but I wouldn't worry too much about that. It's the product inside that counts and this one is well worth a look.

Shiny Pink isn't as pink as what you would think, it's a warm, almost bronze, coral toned pink, with a bit of both shimmer and iridescence. Baked products can go one of two ways but this one is a good one. Some powders can be gritty but this one from Alva is silky smooth, and feels almost weightless on the skin.

The pigmentation as you can see is excellent, and if I'm being honest you need a very light hand to apply it but it blends beautifully into the skin and leaves a warm, healthy flush, that wears well and lasts.

It's a big claim but I think that this could possibly be one of my must have blushers for this summer and for several summers to come. You need such a small amount and the colour is perfect for warming up the face, and creating a healthy glow whether you have a tan or not.  Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Baked Rouge comes in 3 shades and retails at £14.35 from My Pure. What's you favourite blusher or cheek colour for summer? Leave me a comment and let me know x

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Alva Coleur Organic Lipstick - A Review For My Pure*

I've tested a few make up products from Alva Coleur, along my My Pure journey, with differing results. The eyeshadow duo was really impressive, the fluid foundation and the baked foundation slightly less so, but as I've said before a disappointment should never put you off a brand so I decided to give Alva Coleur another go.

Like all of their cosmetic products Alva Coleur Organic Lipstick contains their exclusive Wellmune complex which gives the range anti-ageing properties, and makes it especially suitable for sensitive skins. Their lipsticks also contain Castor Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil, Natural Source Vitamin E and Cocoa Butter to nourish the lips and leave them super moist.

Packaged in a sleek black, and silver bullet, the lipstick comes in 6 shades, the one I chose was 3 Pearl Pink. The name describes the colour perfectly, it's a really pale, shimmery pink. Again though the colour chart on My Pure was slightly off, it was much paler than I was expecting.

It has a slight cocoa butter type fragrance, and taste. The texture is smooth but not overtly creamy, and as a result the lipstick lasted quite a long time on the lips. I have to be honest and say I have used lipsticks that are a lot more moisturising than this one. Maybe it was the pale colour but I did find it a tiny bit drying, and it did tend to cling to the odd dry patch on my lips

I also have to be honest and say that I don't think the colour did an awful lot for me either, my mum implied that I looked as though I was ill, especially when I wore it with dark, smokey eyes, never mind. Would I purchase one of these lipsticks? I have to be honest and say I probably wouldn't, I'll definitely use it up but for the price I really want something with a much better texture, and obviously a more flattering colour. Unfortunately this lipstick shade is no longer available but Alva lipsticks are still available on the My Pure website. If you have questions please leave me a comment x

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Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On - A Review For My Pure

Well over the last week or so it seems as though summer has finally arrived. I have to say I love the sun and the heat it brings to ease my weary muscles, but like all things the increase in heat can have it's downsides. No not sunburn I'm super careful with my SPF's now, I'm talking about sweat, yes it's not one of the most glamorous things or one we even like talking about but it's a fact of life. Due to hair removal and so on my underarms are super sensitive, I tend to buy the same deodorants over and over again without fail previous forays into natural brands have always ended in soreness, itchiness and general disaster. However this month I decided to be brave and pick a deodorant to review for My Pure.

I've tried quite a few products from Alva, before so I thought I'd take the risk and try the Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On. Free from aluminium and alcohol, as well as paraffin and parabens which can often cause allergies, the key ingredients in this roll on are Himalayan Crystal Salt, and Potassium Alum. These natural minerals help to neutralise odours and prevent wetness.

Described as extremely reliable, but at the same time gentle, it comes in a glass bottle, with a typical plastic roller ball.

The product itself is a clear liquid, despite being advertised a unscented it does contain organic extracts of witch hazel, aloe vera, comfrey, and damask rose, which produce a slight aromatherapy, herbal smell.

The product applied easily without dragging on the skin, it was quite a wet feeling so I did need to wait a few minutes before dressing. On the whole this was a pretty effective deodorant, and I definitely didn't experience an odour whilst using it, not only that but I also didn't experience any white marks on my clothing which is always a plus point. Nor did I experience any stinging or itching even when I applied it soon after hair removal. I have to say I don't perspire a lot under my arms so it you do this may not be as effective and obviously everyones skin is different, but I have to say I really like this, oh and if you prefer a deodorant spray, there is also a pump action spray in the same formulation. Alva Naturkosmetik Crystal Deodorant Intensive Roll On retails at £8.25 for 50ml from My Pure. If you have any questions please leave me a comment x

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Alva Naturkosmetik Foot Care Anti-Callous Balsam - A Review For My Pure and A Product Rave!

Unless you've been living under or rock or in case your a recent follower you might have noticed that in January I broke my ankle. Thankfully everything is just about healed now but there was a downside to the months in plaster and in an ankle brace - absolutely hideously dry skin on my right foot. The plaster and the brace helped my ankle to heal but with the constant friction and lack of air my foot turned into something even a hobbit would be ashamed of. I haven't included any pictures of the offending foot so you'll just have to believe when I say it was bad. I tried lots of creams and things on my foot but nothing seemed to do the trick, so for one my April products from My Pure I decided to go for the Alva Naturkosmetik Foot Care Anti Callous Balsam.

The product from German, certified organic company Alva contains ingredients such as Calendula, Tea Tree, Sage, Thyme and Manuka Oil which have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It also includes Vitamin E which helps skin to restore and soften; Other softening ingredients include Vegetable Glycerin, Vegetable Oil, Peanut Oil and Beeswax. It also includes Willow Bark Extract to help with cracked and painful skin.

The product itself comes boxed and in small 30ml brown glass jar in order to protect the essential oils and plant ingredients.

The product itself is described as a balm or balsam so I actually expected it to have a more thicker waxy texture.

 In reality it's more of a cream texture that initially feels quite dense but it does actually spread quite easily, and I found that it absorbed into my feet quite quickly, leaving them with a herbal Tea Tree type smell which was very clean and refreshing.

Alva and My Pure  make a number of big claims for this product claiming that it will smooth cracked and dry skin, and remove pressure points and callouses without the use of pumices and scrubs on not only your feet, but on your hands, elbows and on your knees. They also claim that you should see a 75% reduction in hard calloused skin within 28 days. Do I believe them - as a matter of fact yes I do!

Despite my initial fears that this little point of cream wasn't thick enough to do the trick, this stuff is officially amazing - I've used this cream at least once a day on just my right foot and the difference has been astounding. At the start of the month my foot was still splinted up and was so dry and sore it was untrue - my heel was literally peeling off the skin was so raw and scrubbed. I used this pretty much every night - I just rubbed a small amount into my heel and the balls of my feet. It took a few minutes to soak in and immediately you could feel the difference. On my last hospital appointment on 20th April my feel were in a good enough condition to wear flip flops. My heels look normal, and there is virtually no dryness or soreness anywhere on my foot, in fact I've even had to start treating my left foot to even them up ;) Although you really don't need very much my one tiny complaint is that the jar isn't that big I would prefer a slightly bigger container for the price. Never the less this product has certainly made it onto my April favourites list it has rescued my feet just in time for summer and considering the state of my foot less than 2 months ago it really is (whispers) a miracle product - love, love, love it :) Alva Naturkosmetik Foot Care Anti-Callous Balsam retails at £12.50 for 30ml from My Pure.

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Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Fluid Foundation - A Review For My Pure*

As you know over the past few months in my reviews for My Pure, I've been trying out a few products from natural, organic make up manufacturer Alva, this month I decided to try one of my staple products, a foundation. Alas my skin just isn't good enough to even contemplate going bare faced, so I took the opportunity to try the Alva Naturkosmetik Coleur Fluid Foundation.

Containing all sorts of natural ingredients such as Evening Primrose, Macadamia Nut Oil, Chamomile and Vitamin E, this foundation like all of Alva's other make up products is Paraben Free and is certified Organic

Packaged in quite a stylish black squeezy tube with silver lettering, and a silver tone lid, the product dispenses easily through a long nozzle

The colour I chose after reading the My Pure site was 1 Light

I have to say this is my first issue with this product, it only comes in 2 shades 1 Light and 2 Medium, my skin is pretty pale but not porcelain, and very pink toned, and prone to redness. This foundation as you can see from this swatch is not exactly pale and it's quite yellow and golden in tone

It doesn't have too much of a smell really the only thing I vaguely got was something, maybe oily or nutty. The texture of the foundation also confused me, described as a fluid it's a lot less fluidy than say something like Nars Sheer Glow, in fact it almost has a creamy feel to it. I tried a few ways of applying this product including a damp sponge, and a foundation brush, but I found the best way with to apply it with my fingers like you would apply a tinted moisturiser, I wonder why that worked so well? This is where my next gripe comes in, the coverage, to be honest I found that you needed to use an awful lot to get any form of cover. My Pure describe this as ideal for smoothing the skin and covering irregularities, well not really in my opinion. On my skin it gave much more of a tinted moisturiser feel rather than a true cover foundation, it also didn't leave me with the matte complexion that it promised my skin was actually left looking pretty glowy, and I definitely needed to powder down, and conceal after application. Time for some hideous befores and afters

Before - Bare Skin - lots of redness!! yuck!

Afterwards - just the foundation no concealer or powder

OK I have to admit the after does look a bit better there is certainly less redness but this is after about three squirts of  the foundation. You can also see that my skin doesn't exactly look matte hmm. I have to say though that despite the scary colour in my hand it doesn't look too bad on my face, it's definitely not a winter colour for me though, I may be able to get away with it a bit more in the summer. It does last OK but after a while it did tend to make my pores a little more obvious, this was improved slightly though by using a primer underneath. My big bugbear with this foundation though was the oxidisation - after an hour or so on my skin it tended to turn a bit orange - you can see this on my hand here - the foundation had been on for just over an hour and you can see how orange it's going.

I have to say in case you haven't already guessed I didn't like this foundation at all, the colour was way off, the coverage and texture just didn't work on me and it basically it didn't do what it promised. If you have a more yellow toned complexion, slightly drier skin, or you don't want or need much coverage this might work for you but at £18.85 for 30ml it isn't going to be something I would repurchase. As I say I'll give it a go again in the summer to see if the colour works better then but to be honest the colour range at the moment is just too limited for me. Alva Naturkosmetic Coleur Fluid Foundation now comes in 3 shades and retails at £19.50 for 30ml from My Pure. Any questions please ask x

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Alva Naturkosmetik Dead Sea Salts - A Review For My Pure*

I don't know about you but being by the sea is one of my favourite places to be, whether it's walking along the Northumberland coast, or lazing on a beach in Cyprus. I don't know what it is but the sea air always makes me feel relaxed and invigorated.

As well as just breathing it when I'm on holiday (not in this country I'm not daft) I like nothing more than being in the sea, floating on a airbed, splashing around in the shallows, or swimming with the fishes

Salt water is well known for having amazing health and beauty benefits particularly the salt from the Dead Sea. That's why in need of a boost in December I chose a packet of Alva Dead Sea Salts for one of my December My Pure review products

The Dead Sea is well known as being one of the lowest points in the world as well being a water body with one of the highest salt levels in the whole world, the water is so salty that not only can you float in it, but it contains hardly any plant or animal life.

Because of this the water is packed full of essential minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which can help with a number of skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and acne, and well as aiding muscular conditions such as rheumatism, and arthritis.

The Alva Dead Sea Salts contain 100% pure Dead Sea Salt and are packaged in a plastic bag. For one bath they advise you use about 250g which is about a handful or so. You can also use less to use these in a relaxing hand and foot bath.The product itself just looks exactly like a coarse sea salt

It had no discernible smell, even when you add it to the water but it dissolved easily creating a very slight clouding to the water. I have to say despite the lack of smell which is often so important for relaxation, the bath felt very relaxing and soothing, and I actually felt a lot more relaxed and refreshed when I got out. Surprisingly enough my skin felt fine too and definitely not tight or dry which is what you might think with such a large volume of salt - a definite thumbs up for me

My one gripe with these is the packaging the bag isn't resealable so I just chopped a corner off and poured them out from there, I then found a old Yankee Candle jar which I put them in to keep them dry and airtight, in the bag in the bathroom they do have a tendency to attract the damp and stick together a bit.

 Never the less I really like these, if you wanted a nice smell to your salts you could also mix them with a bit of aromatherapy oil too to make your own scented bath salts. Alva Dead Sea Salts come in a 1kg bag for £10.00, or a 500g bag for £6.50. Any questions please ask

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Alva Coleur Eyeshadow Duo - A Review For My Pure*

OK it's still snowing and now my twitter won't work so why not catch up on some reviews :) This month I chose to to receive a make up items as part of my review items from My Pure. The item I chose was the Alva Coleur Organic Duo Eyeshadow in 04 Gold .You may already know a little bit about the Alva Coleur line from my powder foundation review (click here) but if you don't just a bit of background. A German brand, Alva pride themselves are been fully certified as organic, using their unique Wellmune beta-glucan complex in all their products, they are ideal for anyone with skin sensitivities. Their eye colour products in particular also contain Red Grapevine extract to protect and strengthen the skin around the eyes whilst at the same time protecting from UV damage.

 

The shadow duo comes in pretty non remarkable, basic plastic packaging in clear and black. You get the customary double ended foam applicator, and two squares of coloured shadows.

I chose 04 gold - I have to say the colour representation on the colour chart isn't a 100% accurate but the colours are still good. The chocolate brown shade has good pigmentation and lovely coppery finish, where as the paler shade is a lovely neutral ivory shade, with a gorgeous pink shimmery duo chrome

Both colours are super soft and blend down nicely. They look great together or used on their own, and the longevity is pretty good. Now for an eye look - apologies for the not great pictures the lighting at the moment is awful either too bright or too dark

In these pictures I've used the paler colour all over the lid, and the darker shade in the crease and outer corner and just a touch of mascara x

So pretty and perfect for creating a really natural look - I've used this an awful lot this month and it really has become a make up bag staple I would have no hesitation in recommending these on quality grounds but I do have two gripes which may put me off buying more.

First of all the price £14.00 for just 4g of product is a bit steep but the quality is nice and your getting a natural product, so fair enough, but I have to say the major issue I have with this product is the packaging. OK not everyone buys products for packaging but it is a bit basic and dare I say it not very well made.

I have had this for less than a month and it hasn't even left my house, I like to think I've treat it pretty well and already the paler shade pan had came loose and not only that the entire plastic insert has also come loose :(

A really good product let down by poor packaging for the price which is a great shame - I really hope that this was just a one off :(. The Alva Coleur Organic Eyeshadow Duo is available in 6 shades retailing at £11.95 from My Pure. Any questions please let me know x

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