Brand Focus: The Ilex Wood.

This will be a new series on Wellness and Weights- I want to draw attention to some amazing natural skincare brands that are UK owned, with great ethics and products! I have a few more of these in the pipeline and I hope that it will become a long running series!

I was first introduced to The Ilex Wood by the Natural Beauty Box, who featured their amazing Calendula Salve in one of their boxes. I followed them on Instagram shortly after and was truly amazed at the beauty of the products they had available, and how they had built themselves up in such a short space of time. I am a fan of supporting small businesses, especially when they have such beautiful products and I as very keen to try more of their range.

The Calendula Salve is without a doubt one of my favourite natural skincare discoveries so far. I cannot say enough good things about it! It is a revelation! I have since bought more, as I ran out of the one I got in the beauty box, but I simply cannot be without it now! It is an all purpose balm, perfect for summer with it's delicate scent and the light, none greasy texture. It helps to heal almost anything, from insect bites, sunburn, eczema and mild rashes, as well as being really soothing too. I had some mild heat rash on the backs of my hands from when I went to Africa to climb Kilimanjaro earlier this year, and after just a few uses, it cleared right up! Nothing has ever worked that well before! As already mentioned, the formula is light and feels like silk when applied to the skin. It has an RRP of just £8, which is an absolute steal! It is also finished off with some cute calendula petals, which just makes it so pretty to look at!

As I loved this product so much, and was singing it's praises all over social media, I struck up a conversation with Holly, the genius behind these beautiful, all natural wonders. She very kindly offered to send me a couple more of their products to try, and who was I to say no to such a generous offer?

I received the Boo Boo Balm and the Rose and Frankincense Facial Serum.

The Boo Boo Balm comes in the same type of metal tin as the Calendula Salve, and has a similar consistency too. It contains calendula oil and is an all purpose healing balm for abrasions, bumps and bruises. It has a light fragrance and a silky smooth texture that makes it an absolute pleasure to use. I keep them both by my bed for quick application!

The serum was always going to be right up my street, being a skincare addict! And just listen to this list of natural ingredients:

Sweet Almond Oil.

Rose.

Lavender.

Jojoba.

Coconut Oil.

Frankincense.

Absolutely nothing artificial! I have been using this as part of my night time skincare regime and I adore it! I am not just saying that, I really do adore it! It comes in a beautiful glass dropper bottle and the formula is like an oil, so you only need a couple of drops, meaning it will last for ages! It has a lovely floral scent and is heaven to apply- my skin glows after using it, and that carries on into the morning after too!

I thought it would be good for me to include a little about the company itself in this post too, so I headed to their website to get some background information on them. The website can be found here.

Holly, the founder, believes that beauty shouldn't cost the earth, and has had a love of nature since she was a little girl. This is what inspired her to change her beauty routine to be more environmentally friendly. She found that she was spending a lot of money on expensive lotions and potions, with ingredients lists longer than War and Peace, as well as many which she couldn't even pronounce! If she couldn't pronounce them, how did she know what they were doing to her skin, or the impact they were having on the environment? Many brands still test on animals, which many people, like myself and Holly, believe to be unacceptable, and this spurred her on to create The Ilex Wood. She was unable to find any natural products in shops, so she decided to make her own! All products are handmade by Holly herself in Northamptonshire, using no more than 10 ingredients. She is a strong believer in the power of plants and that simplicity is the key when it comes to health and beauty. When she can create such quality products like this, it is very hard to argue with her!

I also think the packaging is very eye catching, without being too fussy. I am a sucker for nice packaging!

Thank you Holly, for sending me some of your gorgeous products to review, and for creating the Ilex Wood! It really has made my transition to all natural products so much easier knowing there are such quality brands around!