Clean Skin with Patyka Spearmint Foaming Cleanser

I’ve mentioned it before and I will say it again – summer is here! It’s triple digits in Arizona already and my skin is feeling it. While I usually only break out around that time-of-the-month, in the summer my skin is especially finicky and tends to look for any excuse to wreak havoc. Enter Patyka.

patyka_foaming-cleanser

I’ve reviewed Patyka before (here and here and here), and have shared my love and joy for this company. Their lotions, body oils, serums are all amazing. So of course when I tried their spearmint and tea tree foaming cleanser and moisturizer, I should have known they would be amazing as well. This review is for the cleanser, I’ll do the moisturizer separate (and soon!).

I’m in love with Patyka’s packaging. The cleanser comes in the same size and shape bottle as their body lotions and body oils – which means you get a lot! A full 8.4 fl oz which is pretty awesome. The bottle is opaque with an iridescent shimmer, as opposed to the clear containers for the body products.

The box it comes in is also similar to other their other products, opening up like a flower with designs, sayings, ingredient information and product/company certifications inside.

The smell of the cleanser is mostly spearmint, although there is a bit of earthiness to it from the tea tree oil. I can smell it when I put my nose to the bottle, but I don’t notice is much when I’m using it.

The texture is liquid, but is a thinner liquid than other facial cleansers I’ve used. With the top being a flip top, it comes out of the container very easily. Almost a little too easy, I have to be careful to not pour too much. The packaging says to use a ‘nut size quantity’, I honestly have no idea how much a nut size is! But I use about a nickle size amount, and it has worked well for me.

For having “foaming” in the title, this actually doesn’t foam all that much. I usually am one for rich, lather-y type cleansers (for face, body or hair). But even with the low foam, this does a remarkable job at cleansing. The cleanser glides over skin really well and leaves my face clean. And it doesn’t leave it squeaky clean to the point that my skin is tight and dry, it just leaves it clean. So I’m sold on not needing foam to clean!

I am especially impressed with how well it removes makeup. I occasionally use a liquid liner that is especially difficult to remove,  I previously thought normal face cleansers just couldn’t remove it. I always had to use eye makeup remover to get it fully off. The first time I used this cleanser with the eyeliner, it was off instantly. No scrubbing, no makeup remover, just cleansing like normal took off all traces. That is pretty darn cool. I’m all for saving a step in my skin care routine!

Now for the ingredients!

Aqua (water), Rubus Idaeus (raspberry) Fruit Extract*, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Propanediol, Sodium Benzoate, Glyceryl Laurate, Citric Acid, Benzoic Acid, Melaleuca Alternifolia (tea Tree) Leaf Oil*, Mentha Viridis (spearmint) Leaf Oil*, Sodium Phytate, Potassium Sorbate, Limonene**, Alcohol.
*Ingredients Coming From Biological Farming
**Biological Essential Oils

99.41% of ingredients are from natural origin and 10.03% of ingredients from organic agriculture. Patkya is also Eco-Cert certified (you can read more on that here).

Right after water is Raspberry extract, which is known for its anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. All 3 of these are definitely things I need in the summer with the heat, sun and break outs! Also included is tea tree oil, a well known anti-microbial which is excellent for acne.

Spearmint as an active ingredient is not something I have researched before. Patyka states that spearmint is a “calming, healing and stimulating essential oil, recommended for combination skin.” From what I have found online, many sources also attest to its properties being great for acne. Since it has worked well for me – I’ll agree with them :o)

Sodium Benzoate and Potassium Sorbate are the preservatives – my 2 favorite ones! From research, they seem to be the least toxic of preservatives (compared to phenoxyethanol, parabens, etc.) So I’m happy to see those in there.

Overall, this is a great cleanser for the summer or those with oily/acne skin year-round. It cleanses well, removes all traces of makeup and leaves your face clean without being too dry. Its ingredients are great for those prone to acne as well. It’s my new summer go-to cleanser!

Disclosure: A sample was provided to me by Patyka to try. Opinions and the choice to review are 100% my own! I’m not compensated for anything I write.

Thick Hair with Surface Awaken Thickening Cream

You know those girls that have beautiful, thick hair? Ya, I hate them too. My hair is not thick. At all. Not even a teensy bit.

If you have thin hair, then you know the problem with most thickening creams: either they don’t work at all or they weigh your hair down. I’ve tried a lot of thickening products, but I have to say Surface’s Awaken Thickening Cream is the first I’ve tried that I  feel actually makes my hair look and feel thicker! And the fact that is uses natural ingredients is amazing!

Surface Hair Thickening Cream Review

I’ve tried a few Surface products before (here and here) and I LOVE them, so I jumped at the chance to try something to help my poor, thin hair.

For reference, my hair is very fine and thin (I guess I have said that already), but I do have a good amount of it. It’s naturally blond and curly, but I straighten it most days. Of course, straightening it also helps show off just how thin it is! At least with curly hair I get body, not so much with straight hair.

The first time I used this, my hair was about shoulder length and was a straight cut, no layers (layers don’t always help us thin-haired ladies). After applying and styling, I was amazed because I could see how my hair actually had thickness towards the ends. Usually when I straighten it, my hair just comes to a point at the ends. But with this, it didn’t – it had actual width at the ends. Like my hair was thicker – it was magical!

I have since cut my hair to chin-length and added some long layers. With this cut, I can see a noticeable difference as well – especially with my layers. It just looks thicker.

Now, when I say it is thicker – it’s not like my hair becomes something the Kardashian’s would envy. BUT, I do think it looks noticeable thicker than my usual (very) thin hair. And it even feels thicker in my hands too.

And here’s the awesome part – it doesn’t weigh my hair down. At the end of the day, my hair doesn’t look all limp and lifeless, it looks like how it did in the morning. I wouldn’t say this provides volume per se, but it definitely doesn’t weigh down hair.

The only negative thing I noticed is this doesn’t help hold curl. I thought for super extra thickness I would use this when I let my hair go curly, but my curls seemed looser and they didn’t hold up as well. So for you curly haired girls, this can be either a good thing or bad thing (maybe you want your curls to be a bit looser?). I don’t really mind as when my hair is curly, it naturally looks thicker, but I did want to mention that it’s not so great for curls.

The smell is also really nice, it’s very invigorating and fresh. I can see why they say Awaken – it definitely has a wake-me-up smell to it: peppermint with almost a touch of eucalyptus.

The texture is thick, as you would image it would be. I use about a pea size amount for my short hair, I used a large pea size amount when my hair was longer. I haven’t experimented with using more, as this amount works well.

So of course – the ingredients! (pardon the typos, I had to type these by hand… argh)

Water, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydrolyzed Amaranth Protein, Lysine, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Lentinus Edodes Extract, Hydroxypropyltrimonium, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Aloe Leaf Juice, Peppermint Oil, Safflower Seed Extract, Menthol, Capsicum Frutescens Fruit Extract, Babassu Seed Oil, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin C, Tourmaline, Ceramide 3, Phospholipids, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Saw Palmetto Extract, Hexylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Glycerin, Cetrimonium Chloride, PG Dicaprylate/Dicaprate, PPG-1-trieceth-6, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Phenoxyethanol, Glycol Stearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Polyquaternium-37.

Woooo, that’s a long list and my fingers are tired. So while there are a ton of ingredients, look at what is within the first half (and therefore the most of): glycerin, proteins, aloe, hydrating oils, vitamins, ceramids, phospholipids – that is pretty awesome! This is like a hair treatment and thickener in one. I’m super impressed with the range of good-for-hair ingredients in this.

There are some chemically-sounding ones on the list, but they are all pretty benign. I searched on EWG’s Skin Deep and all are below 2. The one that is higher on the list, hydroxypropyltrimonium is completely safe at a rating of 0 (0 is good) and is a hair conditioning agent.

So overall, this is another new favorite of mine. It makes my hair look and feel thicker and has great ingredients too. It makes me want to try the rest of the Awaken line!

Disclosure: A sample was provided to me by Surface to try. Opinions and the choice to review are 100% my own! I’m not compensated for anything I write.

Giveaway Time! Enter to win Boscia’s 2 New BB Creams!

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Boscia BB Cream Swatches

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Naked cosmetic swatches

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Recipe_pico-de-gallo

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20% off Integrity Botanicals!

IB

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Bare Body Soap Review - Rosemary Mint

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And the winner is….

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Earth Day Sales!!

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