Botani haul!

Well, welcome to my first product haul post. I grabbed a whole lot of Botani products after my troublesome skin has recently gone from combination, to quite dry, yet still blemish prone! Who knew skin could be this difficult?


Anyway, I'll stop whinging and get on with the product reviews.


The first Botani product that was brought to my attention was the Olivene Balm which I first saw on this post by Miss Sensuous. One of the main things that I have really been struggling with is dry lips. I'm talking intense, cracking, flaking, even bleeding occasionally! So I was looking for something extremely moisturising. Miss Sensuous had said that she did use this multi purpose balm on her lips so I decided I would try it.

It comes in a 50g tub for $24.95 which, to broke students such as myself, seems a little steep but a little of this balm really does go a long way. I bought mine at Priceline which had a large portion of the Botani range which I loved because I could see all the other products that might help me and is also the reason I ended up coming home with three products instead of just the one. Well played, Priceline, well played.

 
In her post, Miss Sensuous commented on the rich colour of it and I really love that aspect of it too. It's got a beautifully smooth texture as well and you just instantly feel like you are using something that is really good for your skin. It also has no petroleum jelly which supposedly protects but doesn't moisturise. But, for me, one of my favourite lip balms contains petroleum jelly (post to come) so each to their own.


What I found about this balm was that it worked best when it was left on undisturbed for a long time - so I tend to use it before bed so that I'm not eating and drinking and effectively washing it off for hours. I always wake up with super soft lips the next day. Win! However, for during the day, its staying power isn't great and I have to reapply a lot. I also found it works better to maintain moisturized lips rather than repair dry ones. 


I definitely think it is designed for body and skin more than as lip care. It is in the body section of the Botani website after all. It worked amazingly on dry skin elsewhere and was an absolute lifesaver when I got a terrible cold and I applied it to my red, sore nose after it had been assaulted by too many tissues!


When I was in Priceline I also picked up the Botani Healing Lip Balm, just to see how the two balms compared. It's $11.95 which, with so many natural ingredients, I was actually fine with paying.

I found this had a similar effect to the Botani Olivene Balm. Great when used overnight. It seems to have a lighter texture than the Olivene balm but I actually preferred the texture of the Olivene, to me it felt more nourishing. Again, I think this balm would be great if you don't suffer from chronic dry lips, just want to keep your lips soft and supple and want a balm with natural ingredients. If you do suffer from chronic dry lips, it still works really really well when applied just before you go to sleep.


Funnily enough, both balms have a faint scent reminiscent of play-doh. It didn't really bother me I just thought it was funny and not quite my favourite scent.


The last Botani product I bought was the Soothing Facial Mist for $18.50.

I LOVE this. Love love love love love. If I could choose any skincare product to run away with this would be it. It is moisturising but not too heavy, which my skin loved because almost any cream moisturiser I put on suddenly makes my skin feel weighed down and/or results in a breakout. This does not do that. Result! I can't believe how balanced it leaves my skin. It also has a rose scent which I adore. And, anyone with sensitive skin who is concerned about fragrences - like me, most of my products are fragrence free which is no accident - never fear because I have insanely sensitive skin and this has not given me any irritation at all. It lives up to the words on the bottle which says it is for sensitive/dehydrated skin. Surprisingly I also find I don't need to moisturise with a cream or lotion as well. This is enough for my skin.


I think the product could go quite a long way if you don't do what I did and get carried away with excitement about the delicious scent and refreshing feel and spray way too much. I have learnt to control that impulse and I think what is left of the product will last quite a while. As a side note, it's also great to thin out liquid foundation if you just want a really light coverage or if your foundation has dried out a bit. Just a quick spritz onto foundation on your fingers, then blending on your face, gives a really good result in my experience.

So these are the Botani products I bought. I would encourage people to have a look at the range and get more info on their website http://www.botani.com.au/index.html as they do have some really good stuff.


I know this isn't really the point of these product but I actually loved the packaging and the uniform branding of the products - The gorgeous olive green colour and seeming unity of the range just made me feel like I was using really good quality products that a lot of time and good ingredients had been invested into. I felt like I was treating my skin when I was using them. So kudos Botani's branding team!


Hope this review was helpful in some way!


Pale Girl xx