Herbfarmacy

We are living in the strangest of times. Most of my possessions are made in countries that I have never had the privilege of visiting, by people who I will never meet, using skills that I have no knowledge about. When it comes to skincare, you can imagine how many steps your bottle of oil, or face cream has to go through. Someone has to grow the plants, someone else makes the oils, yet another person mixes is it all together and puts into a bottle (that also had to go through a similar process). "Farm to bottle" is a term used to describe a brand that grows their ingredients and creates their products on the farm, you can imagine how hard and rare that is, especially in skincare.

What always attracted me to organic skincare is the fact that formulas tend to be more concentrated, especially if we are talking about face oils and balms. The potency of the products however does directly depend on the quality and freshness of the ingredients. You can't get much fresher herbs if you are growing your own. Paul Richards, started growing herbs on his farm over 30 years ago, the range of skincare has been designed and created together with his wife Carol and their team. Some of my best cooking tips have come from farmers who grow those vegetables, and I'm inclined to believe that people who grow herbs know a thing or two about how best to use them. Herbfarmacy products are made in small batches in a converted former Goat shed, right their on the farm, all the herbs are handpicked. The farm itself is certified organic, and the beauty range is certified with Soil Association.

Lip Conditioner with Marshmallow & Vanilla*. I'm a huge lip balm hoarder, but if I'm honest I can count my favourites on one hand. Skin on the lips is really thin, so if you are laking hydration it is the first place to show signs. Obviously drinking enough water, and making sure your diet includes healthy fats is what will keep your smoochers soft, yet lipstick can be drying, and the dynamic duo sun+wind are also know to cause some damage, now this is a job for the lip balm. So what makes a great lip balm? For me it has to feel lovely on, be good under lipstick, soothe my lips if they got to the point when they are dry, and smell nice. Scent is pretty important because Lips are right under the nose, so you are forced to be sniffing the product for quiet some time, can't escape from it.

The list of ingredients is short and sweet: sunflower oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, marshmallow extract, vanilla extract, rosemary extract. When we are talking marshmallows in this lip balm, we are not talking sweet treats promoted by the Marshmallow man in Ghost Busters, we are talking about a plant, with furry leaves and delicate pinc flowers. The part used for this extract is the root, it contains soft mucilages which attract and hold moisture in the surface of the skin. The balm feels really silky on my lips, I don't have to use much to get the benefit, and if I'm using it under lipstick I make sure to use it sparingly (otherwise the colour will just slide off). However if I'm using it on its own, I tend to apply liberally. The tube is wider in diameter then most balms in the same type of packaging, so one swipe is all that is needed, I use more to make my lips extra shiny, to give an illusion that I'm wearing lip gloss. It actually stays on the lips for a long time applied this way, so if you need something to protect your kissers from the wind it is a great choice. The scent is very unusual, it is sweet with a smoky woodsy note, I believe this is from rosemary. When it comes to bringing my lips back on form, it does it admirably. Overall I think this lip balm deserves a gold star.

Temple Balm*. I use some sort of aromatherapy products pretty much everyday, mostly to help with releaving stress and staying focused. I do a lot of reading, so certain scents really help when your mind starts wondering off to what's for dinner and not concentrating on the contents of the book. This particular balm contains: spearmint used in aromatherapy to treat fatigue and headaches, hops used to calm the mind, lavender again is meant to be relaxing, ylang ylang is supposed to be helpful with stress and anxiety, chamomile is also calming, and rosemary is supposed to help with memory retantion, staying focused and alert.

The blend overall has a mild sweet fragrance with spearmint giving a fresh but dominant top note. The scent is different to any other aromatherapy balm that I have, it is quiet mild and I find it soothing. My nose is quiet sensitive, so if something is strongly fragranced I don't always enjoy using it, even if it is a pleasant scent. I have been using this temble balm for the past few weeks, and I find a quick temple massage with it is a great help in getting me back on track. I also tend to rub it on pulse points not just temples, it's a great balm to have around when I'm feeling a little overwhelmed.

I have a few skincare products from Herbfamacy that I'm testing now, but I'm not quiet ready to review. Are you guys familiar with this brand? Any favourites? Let me know in the comments.

PR samples, opinion is my own, based on my personal experience with the products. I give these disclaimers for transparency, because honesty and integrity are things that I take seriously. No one writes or researches these posts for me, I never pretend to like something when I don't, what would be the point?