Hello Friends! On the 5th of February 2018, I was invited by Mecca to preview a few items from Grown Alchemist. Grown Alchemist will be available, in Australia, exclusively into Mecca Maxima and online at www.mecca.com.au
我很抱歉。 我没有用中文写我的评论，因为我还没有完全康复。 当我感觉好些时，我会用中文添加我的评论。。
I also had the pleasure of meeting the founders of Grown Alchemist, Jeremy and Keston Muijis, to hear more about the brand.
What is Grown Alchemist?
If you have never heard of Grown Alchemist, here is a bit of background from the press release:
"Founded on the understanding that there is a biological, chemical and physiological connection between beauty and health, brothers and product developers by trade Jeremy and Keston Muijis led a team of specialists to develop a new era of skincare that is Grown Alchemist. Formulated with organic antioxidants and natural peptides, this revolutionary line delivers skin everything it needs to activate your true beauty. Their goal is to improve the health of skin cells to optimize skin function,creating the perfect environment to release your best skin yet. Cleanse. Detox. Activate. Our skincare system of scientifically innovative formulas is the foundation of your beauty routine. Grown Alchemist cleansers, creams, oils, anti-aging serums and moisturisers work synergistically to cleanse and hydrate from within. This is the science of living well."
All Grown Alchemist products are made from 100% organic ingredients, vegan and are cruelty free. Their products do not contain animal ingredients. The packaging is made from recyclable materials.
They currently have a range of 70 products which includes hair care.
I also very much like their philosophy on skincare, the formulation of their skincare, sustainability and the packaging they use. For a more in depth view, please click here which will redirect you to their page.
So why organic and why is organic skincare better?
Well, there is a lot of science behind this and no doubt several research materials in the field of beauty science and chemistry, but I think the following from Grown Alchemist's website sums it up best:
"You may think there is little difference between organic ingredients and non-organic ingredients. Laboratories have compared the antioxidant and nutritional benefits of both, and their clinical research proves that organic ingredients are richer in antioxidants and essential nutrients.
Organic ingredients show a higher count of Antioxidants, Vitamins, Mineral Salts, Essential Fatty and Amino Acids. The presence of these essential nutrients is crucial for skin-cell function and repair. So it stands to reason that optimum organic ingredients will produce an optimum beauty result.
Tests have shown organic ingredients have no traces of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, all of which can be absorbed through the skin and are known to be carcinogenic.
Grown alchemist products are ACO [australian certified organic] certified."
A holistic approach
It was very interesting to listen more about the science of beauty from the founders, Jeremy and Keston Muijis. Basically, your skin condition is a reflection of your physical and mental health. The aspect of mental health really struck a chord with me, as I have treatment resistant depression and anxiety (which sometimes escalate into panic attacks.) To be honest, I felt very emotional when Jeremy Muijis touched on this point. If you have been following me for a while, you know my struggles with depression and anxiety (caused by burning out as a M&A lawyer) which have contributed to those horrible cystic acne on my jawline (a side effect from the medications I am/was on), which in turn negatively affects my self confidence. It is getting better thanks to that other brand about connected beauty. I was glad to learn more about the physiological connection with beauty.
Grown Alchemist Products I've tested
All guests at the press event were lucky to receive a box of Grown Alchemist products to try. In the box I had, I was given the following items:
Hydra-restore Cream Cleanser
Body Treatment Oil Ylang Ylang, Tamuna Omega7
Hand Cream Vanilla & Orange Peel
Hydra-Mist+ Desert Lime, Amino Peptide
Detox Serum Antioxidant +3 Complex
Brightening Serum, Phyto-Complex & Rumex Leaf Extract
Antioxidant + Facial Oil Borago, Rosehip, Buckthorn
Regenerating Night Cream Neuro-peptide, Violet Leaf Extract
Peptide, or peptide related ingredients seem to be a major factor in Grown Alchemist's products and rightly so. I'm not a scientist so a lot of my understanding of peptides comes from my research on the internet.
So in very simple terms, peptides are a necessary component of our body to ensure that our skin remains youthful, firm, toned and supple. I understand that as we age, the amount of peptides our body produces decreases. So that is why peptides or some derivative of peptides like Neuro-peptides are often included in anti-aging beauty products.
One of the other interesting things I learned at the press event was the theory that the skin absorbs organic materials more efficiently than synthetic materials. Hence the fact that Grown Alchemist's formulas are made from 100% organic materials.
First Impressions of Products
As I have only had these products for less than a month, I can only give you my first impressions. If you follow me on Instagram (@teacupofmakeup), I do daily demos of various beauty products on my Instastories and you can watch these in action. You will be able to see the change in my skin from day to day on my Instastories. If you are not yet following me (and you should) click here @teacupofmakeup.
I have tried the Hydra-restore Cream Cleanser and it did not suit my complexion so I won't be talking about that one in this blog post.
The first ones I started with were the Detox Serum Antioxidant +3 Complex (30 ml) and the Brightening Serum, Phyto-Complex & Rumex Leaf Extract (25 ml).
The instructions of use, suggested using roughly about a pea sized amount of both, applied to the face, neck and decolletage.
I found both ,to my surprise, to absorb very quickly into my skin. II usually use these products at night. In the few weeks that I have been using both products, I found that I would wake up to brighter, clearer and firmer looking skin.
These products do have a fragrance due to the natural ingredients in them. There was a very slight scent to the Brightening Serum, it has a slight citrus scent. The Detox Serum smelled like a mix of lavender and olive oil. Both made me feel quite calm.
As you can see from the photo above, the texture of these two serums are like a fairly watery jelly. i suppose I would describe them as gels.
The next two I tried were the Antioxidant + Facial Oil Borago, Rosehip, Buckthorn (25 ml) and the Hydra-Mist+ Desert Lime, Amino Peptide (30 ml).
I really enjoyed these products. The Antioxidant Face Oil was light and absorbed very quickly into my skin. It had a lavender scent along with a slight fruity and herbal scent, all derived from the natural ingredients used. It worked well with my skin (I have combination oily dehydrated skin). I would wake up to a normal complexion. Usually, I wake up to a face of oil.
I just had to include a shot of the Antioxidant Face Oil with its dropper.
The Hydra-Mist+ Desert Lime, Amino Peptide (30 ml) was very refreshing (it does smell of lime). In the bottle, it looks slightly milky. Interestingly, the first ingredient listed for this product is Aloe Vera, this I believe, means it contains more Aloe Vera than water which is the second ingredient listed. Aloe Vera as you might know, is soothing and cooling on the skin. I would mist my face with this in the morning and sometimes in the day to freshen up. The atomiser is well designed and the mist does come out as a very fine mist (not like squirts of product).
The Regenerating Night Cream Neuro-peptide, Violet Leaf Extract (40 ml) is currently my favorite night cream. It does something to my skin fairly quickly that i wake up to brighter, clearer, smoother and firmer looking skin. It contains Neuro-peptides to help with the production of collagen in the skin.
From the Active ingredients list on the Grown Alchemist website, it also contains:
Glycoproteins which assist with skin fibroblast repair.
Boswellic acid from frankincense calms and soothes. rutin and salicylate from violet clear and even out skin tone.
Green tea extract rich in flavonoid and polyphenol Antioxidants which fight free radicals diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Rare omega 7 from sea-buckthorn berry noticeably rejuvenates skin stimulating the natural healing process, fighting off free radicals supporting the skin's elasticity.
Bio-ferment hyaluronic acid provides maximum hydration.
WOW, that's a lot of good ingredients in one cream. My skin definitely felt well moisturized and looked clearer and firmer in the morning.
The cream did look like it would have a heavy consistency when I first opened it. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that whilst it looked thick, it was quite light and absorbed fairly quickly into my skin. My skin did not feel tacky after applying it.
I understand that the Hand Cream Vanilla & Orange Peel (65 ml) is very popular with Grown Alchemist's customers. I can understand why. To be honest, I don't really apply hand creams while I am in Australia. The only times I do, is when I am in another country during the winter season. Most hand creams I have used leave my hands feeling a bit greasy. I do a lot of things with my hands (product photography, photo editing, gardening, working on the computer), so I just do not like the feeling that I am leaving bits of grease on the items I am touching.
This hand cream was different. As with the other Grown Alchemist products I have tried, it absorbed fairly quickly into my skin and my hands and cuticles felt and looked well moisturized. My fingers felt silky rather than tacky/greasy when I touched them together.
The scent of this hand cream is also very pleasing. Yup, it smells like vanilla ice cream with a swirl of orange. Quite yummy indeed.
The packaging that Grown Alchemist uses are all recyclable. The tubes they use are made from non-leeching lined aluminum, to ensure the pure ingredients are not contaminated by air, sunlight or chemicals. So the product is meant to remain as fresh as the day it was made. Honestly, I quite like these aluminum tubes. I find that I can get more product out of them than with conventional plastic ones. I usually cut them in half to scrape out the products.
The last product I tried was the Body Treatment Oil Ylang Ylang, Tamuna Omega7 (100ml). Again, I have to admit, I'm not very consistent with the use of body creams/oils. Hence the fact that I have very dry skin. I do not know how I survive. I guess growing up in a humid tropical environment in South East Asia kind of helped my skin while I was growing up before I migrated to Australia. Admittedly, I have very dry and scaly legs. Dry elbows and the soles of my feet are horrendous to look at. There is just something about body creams/oils that make me feel like I have to take a shower again to wash it off. I am weird, I know.
So I gave this body oil a go. This oil has a slight citrus and herbal scent. I can smell the Ylang Ylang, sandal wood and bergamot in it. It also has jojoba oil, jasmine oil, as well as lavender, rosemary and lemon oils. When I warmed it up in my hands prior to applying the oil, the scent was calming. Not overwhelming but soothing and calming. It made the experience of applying the body oil much more pleasant.
The first thing I noticed about this oil, was its light texture. Basically, it does not have the texture of cooking oil or olive oil. It was light and again like the other Grown Alchemist products, absorbed into my skin fairly quickly. My hands did not feel greasy. The areas where I applied the oil felt silky and I think the scales on my legs are slowly disappearing. My elbows have also noticeably become a lot smoother looking. The soles of my feet seem softer and my heels have less crakes. Suffice to say, I think I will keep using this body oil.
You might find this odd, but I am fascinated by packaging. I suppose I got this from my days in high school where art was a major subject I studied. So I'm going to go on a bit about the packaging. The packaging looks a lot like a similar brand, Aesop, but without the paper wrapping. Both use metal tubes and brown glass bottles. Grown Alchemist's bottles are made from glass and a hardened premium pet material, which keeps the product in a UV protected environment. A brown glass container is typically used to ensures the light sensitive, Antioxidant-rich, organic ingredients are protected from photo decomposition, so they may remain as active and as effective as possible.
In the photo above, you can see that the caps are different. It is interesting to me (and probably only me) that the caps are are not the full round ones but has a slot for the dispenser to stick out. Why that is, I do not know, but I find it unique.
The Journal: Issue 04
Included with our box of products was a newspaper format journal by Grown Alchemist, which you can find online (here). I found this journal very interesting. There were short articles on "The Natural Science of Living"; "The Power of Detox"; "Beauty Sleep". The one on sleep was most intriguing. In summary, that article talks about how your skin is most active during the night, in regenerating, renewal and goes through diverse metabolic processes. The article concludes that with the combination of good skincare and quality sleep, you can wake up to beautiful skin. I think this is quite true. I did wake up to better looking skin after I've had a good night's sleep and applied good skincare.
The article also notes that sugar is a well-known source of inflammation and can weaken the immune system. SO, if you want good skin, best to stay off sugar.
I hope you found this very quick review helpful! Drop me an email (makeupmanic88@gmail.com) or DM me on my Instagram (@teacupofmakeup) and let me know what you would like an in-depth review of. I hope you found this review useful. Yours Truly with Lots of Love, TeacupOfMakeup. 待会见! 可爱的小茶杯!
