Antipodes Organic Avocado oil & Rosehip

As you may know, I think avocados are absolutely amazing for overall health and skin. I included them in my post about food for skin, and my favourite moisturizer is Pai's Avocado and Jojoba cream for normal skin. However, even though avocados contain healthy Omegas, great antioxidant properties and Vitamins A, D and E, it is not that easy to find a skin product based on avocado.

So, I was thrilled to see a lovely natural brand Antipodes have a few avocado-based products. There were very kind to send me a full-sized Avocado oil and Rosehip to try out and review. I was delighted to see a company use the full potential of avocado oil in its pure and unchanged form and have now been using it for over two weeks. Before I go into the details of this product, let's hear a little bit about the company itself. 

Antipodes is a company from New Zealand. They carefully select and use the bioactive native plant extracts for their skincare. Their products are certified organic with AsureQuality Ltd, which is the leading provider of food safety and bio-security in the southern hemisphere. As we know, it is important to know the standards of each certifying body. For a product to be certified organic by AssureQuality, it has to contain 100% natural ingredients, and 70-95% of them have to be organic, with strict criteria on all the remaining ingredients. The thing I was most impressed with in Antipodes products is their ingredients lists. Yes, it is important that they are organic and natural. But what sets it apart from others further is the interesting, exotic and exciting ingredients combinations that the company formulates. For example, the use of avocado oil is present in great many of their products. It is anti-aging, rich in nutrients and antioxidants, and mega-hydrating. They further use interesting and unusual ingredients in their skincare, such as vinanza grape (improves skin elasticity), kiwi seed (tissue repair & hydration), manuka honey (anti-wrinkle), totara (great anti-bacterial activity), kowhai flower (moisturizing), chamomile, carrot seed among many impressive others!

I used the Divine Avocado Oil & Rosehip for about 2 weeks, mostly in the evenings after cleaning my face and before moisturizing, you just need a couple of drops for the whole face. It has been amazing for my normal skin. The oil is light yellow colour, does not have a strong scent. It consists of a combination of pure avocado, macadamia, jojoba, rosehip, jasmine, and orange oils. The combination of these oils is said to be collagen-boosting, helping to reduce appearance of lines, and scars. It is also recommended for blemishes and sun-damage.  Since using the oil my skin appears more fresh and glowing, even when tired. It feels like you are feeding your skin when using this oil. I have noticed that even if blemishes broke out, using the oil made them heal and disapear much quicker. Even though this oil is suitable for all skin types, I think it would also be especially great for dry skin, as it is very moisturizing and nourishing. Overall, I found this a great oil to use in addition to a moisturizer to give the skin that extra nourishment,  particularly great for the coming winter! 

Pai Avocado and Jojoba Moisturizer

 I think I have quite openly declared my love for the UK certified organic brand Pai here, but I wanted to write another post about this lovely moisturizer I have recently started using. I was immediately drawn by its ingredients. What could be better for normal skin than nourishing avocado, and the moisturizing jojoba oil? Avocado oil contains various amino acids needed to keep skin membranes healthy and lock moisture in. Jojoba oil is great for moisturizing the skin and is also said to have great acne-healing properties. 

  The cream comes in a lovely glass bottle and if of beige colour. It absorbs very fast, does not leave any oily or sticky residue and smells divine. When switching to a clean moisturizer I was worried that the cream will be too rich and over-powering for my skin. This was not the case with Pai at all (I have also used and loved their Sensitive skin Rosehip moisturizer). They are incredibly light but very nourishing at the same time, making you feel that your skin is getting everything it needs without being overpowered.

The ingredients list is also super clean, check for yourself:

purified water, geranium water*, avocado oil*, jojoba oil*, coconut and corn derived emulsifier, thistle oil*, shea butter*, natural vitamin e, vegetable glycerine, corn extract, manuka oil*, rosemary antioxidant*, basil extract, lavender oil*, lactic acid, may chang oil*, rosemary oil*

  All Pai products are certified by the UK Soil Association, which is a very strict organization: a product must contain at least 95% organic ingredients to be fully certified organic. A product can still be certified if it contains at least 70% organic ingredients, but the exact percentage has to be stated on the product packaging. It is very important to look for certification of brands, where many call themselves ‘organic’ just because their product contains a couple of organic ingredients. Pai is completely trustworthy in this sense: they have all their products certified. However, apart from certification they also contain some of the most beneficial ingredients for your skin, and are perfect for people with sensitive or allergy-prone skin. I now cannot wait to try their BioAffinity Toners, which seem amazing. I will update you all on those! Has anyone else tried Pai, I would love to hear your thoughts or questions!