A while back a flurry of proudly South African, all natural beauty oils came in, many of them included in a lovely gift box from Wellness Warehouse who’s currently having a big summer sale. I promised I’d share my thoughts after I’d had time to use them so here we go!

First up, we’ve got Argan Green face night serum (R120).

What’s in it?
Grapeseed oil, carrot seed oil, rosehip oil, wheat germ oil, argan oil and lemon essential oil.
What’s it like?
A light to medium-weight oil with a herbaceous, ‘earthy’ scent.
What’s it good for?
While Argan Green does contain antioxidant-rich argan oil, it’s got a lot more carrot seed and rosehip in the mix. While carrot seed doesn’t get as much airtime as argan, it’s best known for being a great source of beta-carotene, a pre-cursor to vitamin A, meaning that it converts to a very mild form of retinol in your skin.
Good to know
Interestingly, rosehip oil is also a beta-carotene bomb.

Elli Night Oil (R284,47)

What’s in it?
Baobab seed oil, marula oil, jojoba seed oil, rosemary extract, lavandin oil, chamomile oil, matricaria flower oil, African mountain sage oil and helichrysum splendidum (an African mountain shrub) oil. (The entire blend is 100% organic.)
What’s it like?
Lightweight and fast-absorbing, Elli has a wonderfully calming lavender scent that makes it great for bedtime.
What’s it good for?
If I had to list the benefits of each oil I’d have to write a thesis but, the bottom line is that Elli’s blend will hydrate while serving up a mix of essential fatty acids and antioxidant vitamins like A, C and E. And here’s a fun fact – ‘Lavandin’ isn’t a typo – it’s an actual plant created via cross-pollination between lavender and spike lavender. What makes lavandin different to lavender is that it’s scent is more pungent, ironically making it smell more like lavender than real lavender does. While it doesn’t share lavender’s burn healing ability it’s got anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties.
Good to know
If you’ve got very sensitive skin that doesn’t play nicely with things like menthol then this might not be the oil for you. Lavandin contains a small amount of camphor.

Royale Pomegranate Oil with Neroli (R230).

What’s in it?
Pomegranate seed oil, rapeseed oil, rosemary extract plus orange flower and ylang-ylang flower oil. (Weirdly, neroli isn’t mentioned in their ingredients list.)
What’s it like?: This is the most viscous of all the oils I’ve mentioned and yep, it’s got a lovely neroli scent but I can pick up on the orange flower notes too. Super, duper pretty!
What’s it good for?
Pomegranate seed oil is a good source of collagen-encouraging, skin brightening antioxidant vitamin C. It also contains a whack of punicic acid, a great anti-inflammatory, and has antibacterial properties.
Good to know
Royale reckons pomegranate seed oil can help improve eczema but, if this is you, they suggest you rather by their plain pomegranate seed oil (not the neroli-scented version) which is the same price.

MIES Hand & Body oil in Rosy Lemon (R120).

What’s in it?
Extra virgin olive oil and rose and lemon essential oils.
What’s it like?
Heavenly! Yes, the formula’s super basic in that it’s essentially fragranced olive oil, but blerrie hell, does it smell great – like a box of Turkish Delight! I also like that it absorbs really fast so you can slap it all over your bod and walk around without feeling like a grease ball.
What’s it good for?
Olive oil is contains essential fatty acids and omegas and is also a decent source of antioxidant collagen-encouraging vitamin E.
Good to know
MIES is created in Cape Town by former Afrikaans girl band Shine 4. Jinne!

See anything you’d like to try yourself?

Love, love

Leigh