Facial and Heaven Skincare by Deborah Mitchell

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare and Facial by Deborah Mitchell

I was super excited when I got an exclusive invite for a special evening with Founder Deborah Mitchell of Heaven Skincare and beauty therapist. Heaven is a luxury British organic skincare brand, founded in 1991, the key ingredient in most of her products is Bee Venom. Deborah came up with this potion in a dream, her sister is a bee keeper, so she knew a lot about bees. She has now patented her 'secret' mix as Abeetoxin, a complicated formulation of bee venom, honey and natural botulinum harvested from bees.

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare Bee Venom Mask - Gold

Deborah's infamous Bee Venom Mask is sold in 3 tiers;
Silver (£7.50-£82) - this contains the lowest amount of Abeetoxin as an introduction to the masks, but also good for those with sensitive skin. It's more like a rich cream than a traditional mask, and appeared to disappear from the surface of my face within minutes of application. It contains essential oils like organic Rose & Lavender, also organic Marshmallow, organic Shea Butter, vitamin E, Beta-Carotene, obviously Bee Venom, Abeetoxin & Honey. It's said to control facial muscles for an immediate tightening & lifting effect, it firms & releases collagen, relaxes muscles, and interestingly can help with pain.You apply a thick layer, leave for 10-20 minutes and then wash off. You can also apply it on top of your usual moisturiser or as your moisturiser, I've not trialled it in this way yet though, but it did feel very hydrating upon application so I can see how it would work. I cannot comment on the anti-ageing effects unfortunately, because even though I'm in my 30's wrinkles are not something that is a concern for me, but a great preventative measure and really nice moisturiser.

Black (£163)- her bestseller and Gold (£352), which you can only buy once, as it uses the Queen Bee Venom and there's only one in each hive. But don't forget this is an organic brand, so Deborah is now a 'Guardian of the Bees', because she donates a percentage of all her profits to bee charities and the way she extracts the venom actually saves the bees lives.

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare

Deborah started out at 17 years old as a mobile therapist, she has been quoted as saying 'when I put my hands on the first person I ever treated, a strange, life-changing feeling came over me.....Now if I don’t do enough treatments, I suffer; it’s therapeutic for me'. Deborah can quote a long list of some very important royal clients and A-list celebrities including Camilla Parker Bowles, Kate Middleton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Junior and Victoria Beckham to name a few. So when I got the chance for her to lay her hands on my face (feet and hands included) I jumped at it, she doesn't only just do facials, but reads your aura/heals while she's at it. In the luxurious setting of the Langham Hotel room, I laid down while Deborah read my aura, I have a lot going on in my head she chimed (she's not wrong there). She cleanse, massaged and treated my face, neck, décolletage, hands and feet, it was a wonderfully relaxing experience and my face felt clean, plump and glowing after.

TheFoundationDirectory; Aallexxy with Deborah Mitchell following Heaven Skincare Facial

I have to say the packaging and overall presentation of the brand is gorgeous, when you expect to see a tub, it's actually a pump, it's clean, sophisticated and luxurious. Deborah has a great down to earth, vivacious bubbly personality, you can tell she really cares about her clients. If you are looking for a great British luxury organic brand with a focus on anti-ageing this is definitely for you, check out the range here.

Mahoghany Naturals Review and Giveaway

TheFoundationDirectory; Mahogany Naturals

 If you follow me on twitter and Instagram you may already be aware that I am now a Brand Ambassador for Mahogany Naturals. Mahoghany Naturals is a brownbeauty owned brand, created by Tope Beesley in 2012, Tope is an award winning curly hair stylist and certified aromatherapist and created this brand to address the needs of Curly and Afro textured hair. The brand has recently gone thorough a re-branding and is expanding it's product range to address hair, face and body with an adult and kids range. This brand creates spa quality natural and organic products that are cruelty free and vegetarian friendly, they are hand made in small batches to maintain freshness.

TheFoundationDirectory; Mahogany Naturals

I was sent my first batch of items from the brand that included the Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo, Brazilian Butter Damage Reverse Treatment and the Luscious Hair Milk. The Damage Reverse Treatment is an amazing strengthening treatment, if your hair loves protein it will love this deep treatment, my hair instantly felt stronger after the first use and it smells absolutely amazing. This treatment is for those with dry, damaged and colour treated hair and it is a pre-shampoo treatment applied on damp hair. It contains an array of Butters including Brazilian Nut Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter to name a few as well as Aloe Vera, Avocado Oil, Emu Oil (see full list of ingredients on the website).

I follow this treatment with the Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo that is full of happy scalp ingredients to gently, but thoroughly cleanse your hair without stripping it, a very difficult combination to achieve. This shampoo will clean your hair, balance your scalp, smooth your cuticle and remove buildup. It contains Apple Cider Vinegar as the first ingredient, which will help maintain the hair and scalps PH level, remove buildup without stripping the hair of it's natural oils.
It also seals the hair cuticle, making hair smoother, softer and shinier helping hair maintain moisture and prevent split ends, it also treats dandruff and itchy scalp, works as a natural detangler and encourages hair growth. Need I say more, if you struggle with the smell of Apple Cider Vinegar, this maybe a great alternative. It also contains Avena Sativa Oats, Shea Butter and Argan Oil to name a few, I was worried this wouldn't lather up, but it creates a beautiful gentle lather, while being sulfate free.

And next is the Luscious Hair Milk a daily leave in conditioner and moisturiser, great for dry damaged hair in need of intense moisture, it reduces breakage, detangles, moisturises and defines curls. It can be applied to damp or dry hair and is great for use before blow drying, which is how I like to use it. It contains Sweet Almond oil, Mango Oil, Vitamin E among other things and also smells great.

This is a great truly organic natural luxury brand, that creates great products that work without all the nasty's we all want to try and avoid. The Damage Reverse Treatment is £40, the Shampoo is £20 and the Luscious Hair Milk is £25 all are 250ml and if you head over to my instagram now, there's a giveaway to win this amazing Apple Cider Vinegar Shampoo. To check out the rest of the range head over to Mahoganynaturals.co.uk, you can also find her products here and here as well as in Xsandy's Hair & Beauty Shop in Lewisham Shopping Center.

Have you tried anything from this brand? Any recommendations of what I should try next?

Trilogy Makeup Be Gone Cleansing Balm!!!

My first foray into the Trilogy brand was through their Rosehip oil Antioxidant+ Facial Oil in 2013. Rosehip Oil is the brands signature ingredient, after New Zealand based sisters and founders of the brand discovered how potent it was, and this is supported by independent clinical studies for the reduction of scars, stretch marks and wrinkles. They wanted to develop a brand that was truly natural and organic, and prove that using natural skincare doesn't mean you have to sacrifice on performance and results. Since it's launch in 2002 the brand has expanded it's skincare range, and one of the more recent additions is the Makeup Be Gone Cleansing Balm*, accompanied by a sustainably produced, organic cotton, unbleached face cloth (of course).

TheFoundationDirectory; Trilogy Makeup Be Gone Cleansing Balm

Cleansing balms are such a staple in my skincare routine, I can no longer remember a time when I wasn't slathering a balm over my face, it's one of the items I will always have in my skincare arsenal. This balm combines a blend of rich plant oils, including Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Mango Seed Butter and Rosehip Seed Oil to name a few. It's been formulated to remove even long-wearing and waterproof formulations of makeup, including foundation, mascara and lipstick. I usually use a micellar solution, wipe and/or eyemakeup remover prior to the use of a balm, but I did put this through it's paces on a full face of makeup. I applied it to my dry made up face, massaged and remove with the included organic cotton face cloth and warm water.

TheFoundationDirectory; Trilogy Makeup Be Gone Cleansing Balm

I have to say MakeUp Be Gone is the perfect name for this, you almost feel as if you can skip double cleansing, but I do then move on to my second cleanse. It leaves my skin clean but not stripped, and there's no residue. I honestly expected this to be more expensive, but it's £19.50 for 80ml and an organic cotton face cloth, if you are in the market for a truly natural and organic cleansing balm you can't go far wrong with this. 

 

You can find Trilogy products at an array of places now, including Trilogyproducts.com, boots.com and feelunique.com. Have you tried anything from the Trilogy brand?

*Pr Sample