REVIEW: BLOOM AVENUE X SUPERMOOD

Natural beauty can sometimes feel a little overwhelming; as the scene is still not totally mainstream here in the UK, working out where to buy the best skincare can be tricky. Other than coming to the Clean Beauty Co blog (obvs), it can be tough to find a curated and tailored one-stop-shop for the crème de la crème of natural beauty brands.

Enter Bloom Avenue. When Paula and Jo got in touch to introduce their refreshing new online retail experience, that guarantees the best organic and environmentally friendly beauty products for your skin, we were sold. Paula, Bloom Avenue’s co-founder, said “we stock the kind of products you’re unlikely to find in store but that’s not the only thing that makes us different! We also offer a free skin assessment that helps our customers find the products that work especially for them. Because we know every person’s skin is unique.” We totally agree. Here at Clean Beauty Co we are firm believers that skincare should not be one-size-fits-all, everyone’s skin is totally different and often the ‘dry’, ‘sensitive’ and ‘oily’ skin brackets are far too broad to really be effective. So rather than just an online shop, Bloom Avenue offer a skin assessment to help you find the perfect brand and products, plus you can rest assured that their selection of products is top notch. Their commitment to sourcing and selling only the best organic products that carry no parabens, SLSs and are cruelty free is the cornerstone of what they stand for. They’re vigilant in their approach to greenwashed products, refusing to stock them at all (want in? Scroll to the bottom of the review for an exclusive discount code).

Naturally we jumped at the chance to test drive their service. The thorough skin assessment directed both Jennie and Natasha to a ‘normal’ skin type and pointed us in the direction of the Supermood range. When the parcel finally hit our postbox, we were delighted to find the Pure Micellar Foam Toner, the Youth Glo Radiance Oil, the One Minute Facelift Serum and Beauty Sleep Youth Restoring Eye Serum. Read on to find out our thoughts on this range…

Jennie says…

I had the pleasure of trying out the Egoboost One Minute Facelift Serum and the Youth Glo Radiance Oil. They whispered tempting promises of young, luminous skin, but I was jaded. I’ve got to admit, despite complaints of dull skin and my recent love affair with facial oils, when these two landed on my desk, I simply shrugged and plopped them straight into my handbag to be forgotten. After all, don’t most beauty products end up giving the same sort of results anyway?

Turns out, I was. So. Wrong. (Warning: overuse of italics to convey excitement upcoming). This facelift serum is the bomb. I have never felt a serum work so quickly, not since REN’s Keep Young and Beautiful shot – and even this pales in comparison. Seconds after one swipe of this rich yellow gel across my jawline, I could feel my skin tingling as my pores tightened and my skin lifted. A few more swipes later and a sharper visage welcomed me in the mirror. What an ego boost indeed.

The radiance oil didn’t have the same sort of magic tricks up its sleeve, but what it did have was hella fast absorption. I usually have to massage facial oils into my skin for a while until they absorb, but this one soaked into my skin like water into soil. It had me re-reading the bottle to make sure I hadn’t misread a serum for an oil. It contains a mix of rose hip and ligonberry oils, which is perfect for parched skin in need of a good splash of hydration.

Overall, I’m extremely pleased with my two Supermood products. Be right back while I go worship this Chaga mushroom, whatever it is!

Jennie’s verdict: SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!

Natasha says…

So first up, the Egoboost Pure Micellar Toner. The micellar toner contains natural Chaga mushroom (as with all their products in the Egoboost range) which is “fungus that grows on Arctic trees and contains huge amounts of antioxidants,” says Supermood.

To use this all you have to do is put one pump of the toner onto a cotton pad and watch it magically foam out. Two pumps I would say is enough for the whole face, although obviously this depends on how much makeup you have on. I had the usual light layer of foundation, bit of bronzer and concealer, eyeliner and mascara.

It was a little daunting at first as I initially went to take my eye makeup off with the giant foamy blob but, to my surprise, it was not irritating whatsoever. It felt like a fluffy cloud on the skin and was so easy to use and you could instantly see the foundation coming off. Although, I must add that I did still use a cleanser after using this toner to ensure that the whole day’s grime was off my face and I was left pristine clean.

Next we have the Beauty Sleep Youth Restoring Eye Serum which contains Sea Fennel stem cells (crazy, right?). This wild plant is known for its potent effects in reducing redness in the skin and blemishes. It is also rich in vitamins A, C, and E, that moisturise and protect the skin.

I was initially wary of using the eye serum as I have fairly sensitive skin and as the eye area is so delicate it added to my cautiousness, however, I was proven wrong and using this was a dream on the eyes. It was extremely soothing and as soon as I gently dabbed it under my eye area it immediately sunk into the skin and felt a whole lot softer.

I put this on just before I went to bed so it could work its magic overnight and when I woke up it was just as smooth as when I put it on the night before. This eye serum is packed with a range of oils from jojoba seed to pomegranate seed to fight against those nasty free radicals and to give the skin a good ol’ boost.

Natasha’s verdict: toner wise, really unique idea with fantastic ingredients. Eye serum wise, great texture, loved it!

Wanna give Bloom Avenue a whirl? How’s about a 10% discount on your first order? Just use the code bloomcbco at checkout and thank us later.

– Natasha Tailor x Jennie Lim