The Organic Pharmacy -Travel/Starter kit
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free skin care · Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:06 am

I recently bought the Organic Pharmacy's 'Travel/Starter kit'.
The kit contains:
7ml Carrot Butter Cleanser
7ml Double Rose Rejuvenating Cream
7ml Double Rose Ultra Cream
5ml Antioxidant Serum
5ml Antioxidant Gel
30ml Jasmine High Gloss Shampoo
30ml Jasmine High Gloss Conditioner
30ml Neroli Shower Gel
1x Organic Muslin Cloth
In a shiny white makeup bag.

Price:£45 ( Shock

).

Anyway I had heard so many good things about this brand that I thought I'd give it a shot as I had some birthday money left over. I was particularly keen on trying the hair products.
Well I have now tried all the products and here is my initial review.
7ml Carrot Butter Cleanser -
If you like Eve Loms cleanser or Liz Earles Cleanse and Polish - you'll like this. It is WAY better than Eve Loms and not full of nasty petrochemical derived ingredients. It smells lovely, removes all make up and leaves skin soft and clean. Would buy it again - yes if ever anyone could part me from my Dr H (unlikely)this would come a close 2nd to the DR H CC!

7ml Double Rose Rejuvenating
Lovely Lovely Lovely! Smells divine and is a light but nourishing cream. Didn't make me oily even under my SPF, my MMU went on as well as usual and I didn't dehydrate halfway throught the day!. Would I buy again? YES! This is as good as DR H Quince cream but I adore the scent of rose.

7ml Double Rose Ultra
This is a cream similar in texture to Dr H Rose Cream but is slightly easier to spread. I used this as an eyecream as it was a little rich for me (although this may be a replacement for my beloved, but discontinued, RYF Ambrosia cream, in the winter). Would I buy again? Probably - its very nice and again that lovely scent!

5ml Antioxidant Serum&5ml Antioxidant Gel

I LOVE this! I used these at night (as I use a Vit C serum in the day and thought an extra layer would be overkill) mixed together and they are beautiful. (Like Dr H they don't believe in heavy night treatments). The mixture is light sinks straight in and smell heavenly (sort of fresh and orangey). Left my skin glowing. These were my favourite items as although my skin has improved since leaving off night creams I have struggled with nothing at all but a toner on my skin - I couldn't not use at least an eyecream and my skin was a bit flaky. (The Organic Pharmacy actually say that flakyness is sometimes inevitable when switching to a natural range as your skin has been dependant on petrochemicals). This mixture solved my problem, my skin felt comfortable and clean and I didn't wake up oily or puffy. It is also LOTS cheaper (and less scary!) than Dr H's night treament in those dangerous ampoules which are also very good but not quite enough to make my skin comfy.
Would I buy again! Definitely!!! These are on my shopping/wish list! (only issue I had was trying to get the dropper to work on the gel - it wouldn't, I sort of had to scoop it out with the dropper, but that hopefully is just and issue with the mini size).

30ml Jasmine High Gloss Shampoo & 30ml Jasmine High Gloss Conditioner
When I first saw the 30ml bottles I thought I'd be lucky to get more than a couple of trials out of them. However they are very concentrated and I think I could get at least 4 washes out of them. Again these smell divine. The shampoo is low lather and leaves hair squeaky clean which I wasn't sure about. The conditioner is light and rinses clean away. A bit wierd if you're used to coating type products. I was a bit concerned my long straight hair would be tangley and flyaway but to my surprise it combed out easily and was light/clean feeling and shiny. Would I buy again? Well its the nicest organic type shampoo and conditioner I've found so far - but it is expensive (it would be just under £40 for both! Shock

). However it is very concentrated so I will see how many washes I get out of the trial sizes and see how my hair reacts after a few trys with them as the first wash of a new product can make your hair nice just from the change.

30ml Neroli Shower Gel
This smells like orangeflower water and is refreshing and again very concentrated. Left my skin soft and not dry. Would I buy again? - Yes if I wanted to treat myself - again quite pricey but will see how long the trial size lasts!

1x Organic Muslin Cloth - I always use muslin cloths and this is very nice - more 'robust' feeling than my other ones - I feel it gets me cleaner and exfoliates better.

So there you go - sorry its so long!!!
Hope I haven't bored you and you're all still awake! Laughing

Edited for typo's!

free skin care · Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:24 am

So Lucia. You liked it? Laughing

Good to know I'm justified in buying this stuff Wink

free skin care · Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:19 am

Eve, Could you tell!? Laughing

free skin care · Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:15 am

Ok - here's an update I am still loving the skincare and the shower gel. I definitely do prefer my Dr H Cleansing cream to the carrot butter but the Carrot Butter is still very nice.
Haircare - I have been disappointd in though - the first few washes it was fine but as the week wore on (I wash my hair daily as I horse ride and my hair gets icky stuck under my hat!), it started to feel dry and look stringy. Sad

This exactly what happened when I used REN - loved it the first few times but the shampoo seems to over clean my hair if you understand what I mean? Looking at the ingredients they have the same surfactants by the looks of things so that may be why.
The best sulfate free shampoo I have found is MOP C system, but it doesn't match upto Aveda Shampure (not sulfate free) - the good news is that Aveda have brought out a replacement for the Curessence range and the shampoo is sulfate free - I have ordered some trial sizes so I have high hopes!!!
Will post a review when I do.

free skin care · Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:07 am

ah, my head didn't like the MOP C system 'poo & conditioner, I found it made me itch.

free skin care · Mon Mar 20, 2006 5:17 am

Eve, that's weird - wonder what was in it that made you react like that?

Just goes to show I guess - one persons Holy Grail is anothers nightmare! (Unless we're talking Clinique Skincare which seems to be universally hated on here!LOL!)

Can't wait to try the Aveda range!

free skin care · Thu Mar 23, 2006 2:31 am

I dunno, I can't see there is anything in them that I've not used before. Perhaps I'd not rinsed it enough and left some residue on my scalp. Confused

Aveda is nice but not as clean as you'd think.
umm, Ojon from qvc is good but the conditioner smells strong (not a problem for me) & expensive.
Aubrey Organics I really like for doing conditioner only washes.
JASON poos/co's are good but I find them thick and heavy.

free skin care · Thu Mar 23, 2006 3:57 am

Hi Eve, Thanks for the other ideas for haircare - will check them out (except Aubrey - hated their White Cammelia - yuk).
I know Aveda isn't as 'clean' as they would have you believe but so far I've not found anything that is totally clean that actually delivers results! (As an ex hairdresser/Beauty Therapist I am used to the results professional products deliver). The clean/organic skincare seems to have caught up and you can now get good results without using bucket loads of nasties. I don't feel haircare has caught up yet. MOP isn't that 'clean' either sadly.

So while I continue my quest I go for a compromise - the Aveda Damage Remedy is fabulous and sulfate free. I guess I'm too vain to have icky hair just for the sake of the product being 'completely natural'LOL! Laughing

I try to be sensible in my approach - if I can use a product not laced with nasties I will but if I can't get the result I need without the odd paraben etc I will accept that - not ideal but by reducing the 'nasties' everywhere I can the overall reduction is huge. For example, I am very very fair and burn in the UK in the shade in the spring. My father has a history of skincancer so I use Avene 50+ Spf (the orange one that mixes chemical and organic sunscreens) as I figure my risk of skin cancer is much higher than my risk of illness caused by chemicals in my suncare, sadly I find organic sunscreen just doesn't protect my skin as well and isn't as stable. Saying that if I can get a good product without 'nasties' that is my product of choice. I have yet to find a good toothpaste or deodourant that is nasty free and effective!!

Ahh well - its fun trying al the new stuff - I am the eternal optimist!!LOL!

free skin care · Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:40 pm

Lucia - if you're interested in natural haircare I would like to suggest Aubrey Organics. They carry the most effective natural haircare products I have ever used!! Their shampoo and conditioners are fabulous.

free skin care · Thu Jul 20, 2006 10:55 am

Lucia, what was your final conclusion on the hair products? Anyone else used it?
I love my Phyto, but the Jasmine scent of OP is tempting... Wink

free skin care · Thu Jul 20, 2006 1:38 pm

daisylondon - I didn't get on with it - the more I used it the more my hair seemed to dry out and feel tangley. Sad

Shame as it smelt really nice......gone back to my Aveda. Smile

free skin care · Thu Jul 20, 2006 3:03 pm

Thanks Lucia. I saw what you said about Ren and I had the same problem with it. I'll stick with the Phyto - lot cheaper too!

free skin care · Mon Jan 08, 2007 9:44 pm

I was lucky enough to win the starter kit in a competition. The best thing about these products is the smell (which is divine) but there is no way I would buy them again after seeing the price. The carrot cleanser was difficult to get off even using the muslin cloth - I ended up using it as a lip balm. The moisturisers were nice, but nothing special, the eye cream was too greasy for my skin and the shampoos were nothing special, nor was the rose conditioner. The jasmine gloss conditioner did leave my hair a little bit glossier, but no more so than using a cheap silicone based gloss serum I could buy from any chemist. The only product that was any good was the antioxidant serum, but is was difficult getting it all out of the bottle using that annoying pipette.

After looking at all of the ingredients I ended up buying pomegranate and dmae from bulk actives and mixing these into aloe vera gel along with a small amount of lecithin and using this as an all over facial serum (including eye area). Total cost - less than $20 (including shipping to Australia) and I have enough of the dmae and pomegranate to last at least a year.

Conclusion - we are being seduced by the gorgeous fragrance and totally ripped off by the organic angle. There are lots of products that are better value. For comparison notes, I am 43 with normal/combination skin, thread veins since a teenager and a tendency to puffiness around the eyes.

free skin care · Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:02 pm

Congratulations!!luckyluoie
l like their package Very Happy

But the price Confused

free skin care · Tue Jan 09, 2007 3:47 am

Link to another Organic Pharmacy thread for use of people researching
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11909

free skin care · Tue Jan 09, 2007 9:56 am

Thank daisylondon!,i have did the research but can't found it. i am so interesting for this products line.

free skin care · Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:13 am

I LOVE their eye & lip cream. It is solid but has an oily texture, I only need to touch my finger on the jar and it's more than enough, in fact I can't imagine ever getting through a jar I need so little. It works better than every eye cream I have tried for tackling fine/dehydration lines(even better than my old REN cream which has now changed in to 2 products) ...not that it stops me trying other products Very Happy

but I come back to this one.

They are expensive but for me their products work and I don't think they're a rip off, I think that's harsh esp. when we compare something like clinque which plenty of us think is cack.

I will agree not every product suits everyone Wink

free skin care · Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:44 am

I'm currently using the Double Rose Rejuvenating Cream and I find that a tiny amount goes a long way but it's not moisturising enough for me, it's got a strong smell of Rose and looks like yogurt but it doesn't seem to be doing anything to rejuvenate my skin.

I've also got the Monoi Lip Balm which is in a tiny pot (5ml) and difficult to get out if you have long finger nails, probably why I usually go for stick lip balm. It also looks like gloss on the lips. I slathered on loads the other night, I have the flu at the mo and my hubby thought I'd dribbled everywhere!! Nice!

free skin care · Thu Jan 11, 2007 5:51 am

I find the lip and eye cream much too greasy - I have dark circles and need a lot of concealer which just slid right off when I tried using it as a regular eye cream. It makes a terrific eye mask though - I slather it on and leave it for 10 - 15 mins and my eye area feels great afterwards.

free skin care · Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:04 am

I'm interesting in this brand and these products.I want to know much revive of them.
this kit is so good.

free skin care · Thu Jan 11, 2007 12:13 pm

Eve wrote:

They are expensive but for me their products work and I don't think they're a rip off, I think that's harsh esp. when we compare something like clinque which plenty of us think is cack.

I agree on this. There's plenty of stuff that's expensive but doesn't give much results and is made of nasty ingredients.

You use Organic Pharmacy if you want the very best natural ingredients etc. I do think some of their stuff is pricy, for a reason, but for me personally the trade off is not always worth it (for example I compare the bath oils with Ren and whilst I'm sure that OP's ingredients are better, they are hugely more expensive and Ren's pretty good quality). But sometimes it is, the rose face wash may seem really pricey but is fantastic and lasts for ages and ages and ages.

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