Jumat, 01 Agustus 2014

When Life Gives You Lemon, Grab A Cocoa :)

Hello, yellow!
Who loves chocolate? :D I do! And I believe most of you do, too!
Chocolate comes from cocoa, a 'fruit' first found in America, where Indian used to live, and used by them as beverages.  The real cocoa is bitter, as appears on dark chocolate bars you see.

Cocoa or kakao contains antioxidant, plus phenylhetylamine, a natural chemical compound you get when you're falling in love.  It simply makes you happy! So, there's no reason to avoid chocolate anyway.  Who cares it possibly causes acnes...

Beside as a snack, cocoa is functionally functional as skin remedy! Trust me.  Cocoa butter is great to moisturize your skin, and it protects the barrier.  But, how many cocoa butter-containing products that are served without parabens, additional glycol groups, and so on? Well, not much here.  We could find some clean products in US/UK/Europe, but only a little in Indonesia (not talking about the brand--it's about the distribution). I tried The Body Shop's Chocomania body butter and not very impressed.  The cocoa butter line too, it doesn't attract me--thinking about the preservatives, the price, and the smell.  I like the Chocomania scent, it reminds me of a chocolate drink with...I don't know...hazelnut? Something retro, lah.  Sadly, the ingredients list isn't very handsome.  And it's overly heavy on my skin, I don't know why.  :(

Thankfully, we have Utama Spice.  Made in Bali. And finally opened a store in Bandung my lovely-on-progress hometown.  And it's like truly natural! Sure, I bought some stuff there.  And to stay strict with the context, let's just talk about the Cocoa Love body butter! :D




It is kept in a simple plastic jar, with an interesting label design.  Behind, an ingredients list.  And there, written:

This is a supreme hydrating Cocoa seed butter great for sensitive or sun damaged skin. It's the healing power of love coming to you in chocolate form

Ingredients:
Cocos Nucifera (Virgin Coconut) Oil, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, Vanilla Planifolia (Vanilla) Pod, Cinnamomum Burmani (Cinnamon) Bark. 
Add some flour, whipped cream, and colourful sprinkles and you'll get a cute tart, not a body butter, silly!

Alright.  Sounds yummy? Sounds trustable? No beeswax, which I'm quite happy with, because previously, there's a beeswax inside--I've applied a smaller amount last year, got a sample from Lynn.  It's a little lighter and absorbs into skin better than before.  But I...I don't know why they got rid of the beeswax, while they claimed on the website that 'A base of virgin coconut oil, aloe vera and beeswax, our body butters provide natural hydration for longer lasting protection and moisture retention, a central component of  our aromatherapy skin care ritual. Pleasure your senses and feed your skin.'

Well, perhaps the cocoa butter itself has take a place of beeswax--since they have same profession--protecting the skin.  :D

My overall thought: the scent is naturally yummy, it could help my hunger... the texture is great, it's a little hard maybe, you should melt it first with your palms or on the skin, let your body's higher degree count melt it.  And uhm, yes, it basically moisturizes your skin perfectly without feeling any stickiness.  It will get in your skin! Trust me.  If I sleep with this butter on, I wake up normally with a supple skin.  Thought, not as magical as Aromanaturals' effect.

If you're curious about the other Utama Spice products, please come to their website or offline store in Ubud and Bandung, and I heard that they are available on Jakarta's Guardians too.  :D

And if you need a little help, uhm, this is my review on their body lotion! ;)

 
 Have a great Saturday, fellas :D

One Fine Friday

100% Pure lip & cheek tint in Peach Glow  - lip glaze in Cabernet - lip butter in Cherry

On this one fine Friday, let me show you my favourite lip products from 100% Pure, and yes, let me serve you my version of green tea latté. ;D

It's made of matcha powder (use only a half teaspoon or you'll end up with a bitter taste), honey, sugar (because I run out of honey), and soy milk which I bought from 'penjaja kembang tahu keliling' a.k.a a man who sells some soy products like tofu and beancurd by travelling around the residences. :D

Since I've been obsessed with colourful sprinkles (or chocolate flakes or whatever), I put some cake decoration on the top! :D Yaay!



And, that's all I want to say today. Later, I'll come to you with reviews of a body butter! Guess what body butter is it. :D