We are revisiting one of our favourite brands, the award-winning British natural skincare brand, Poppy’s Natural Skincare, to review, their Soothe & Cleanse Face Mask Kit which Poppy very kindly sent to us to try. At The Amazing Blog, we’ve previously reviewed their very special Super Age-Defying Organic Face Oil Bakuchiol and Amla, which you can read about here.
Poppy’s Natural Skincare is a high-performance natural skincare brand founded by Poppy Choudhury. Although raised in England, Poppy was born in Bangladesh and has made frequent trips back and forth where it’s given her the opportunity to learn more about native botanicals and natural remedies. Poppy has sensitive skin and found flare-ups much more manageable in Bangladesh, due to the healing and soothing ingredients derived from neem leaf paste. When Poppy noticed her son had similar skin sensitivities, she decided to research and develop a natural product to minimise their use of topical steroids. Due to her scientific background with studies in Molecular Biology, Cosmetic Formulation and Science in Skincare combined with her knowledge of natural remedies, she created the Neem and Chamomile Balm the first of Poppy’s Natural Skincare products. When Poppy shared the story of her brand, she said, “The beautiful thing is, I can now trace so much of what I want to achieve with Poppy’s Natural Skincare back to those early days of observing plant remedies seamlessly incorporated into people’s everyday medicinal and beauty routine.” Poppy’s Natural Skincare is a range of potent botanicals designed to help repair and protect the skin’s barrier function together with a whole host of other benefits. The product range currently includes face oils, face masks, accessories, body butter, balms, and cleansers. Uniquely formulated, all products are handmade in Poppy’s workshop, located in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire. They use the most potent ingredients that are 100% plant-based, ethically, and for the most part locally sourced, sustainable, cruelty-free (certified with Leaping Bunny), and with 12 out of the 13 being 100% vegan Plus, all products and packaging are 100% recyclable. This brand dedicates itself to helping women and donated 10% of its profits to the Myna Mahila Foundation. This charity aims to break down taboos that surround the topic of menstruation and instead encourage these discussions. It also employs women from urban slums in Mumbai to fabricate and sell sanitary pads to women from their communities to improve menstrual hygiene and overall welfare. Poppy’s Natural Skincare has a dedicated following and has won many awards from Natural Health, Global Green Beauty, FreeFrom Awards, Green Parent Natural Beauty, the Janey Loves Platinum Awards and The Beauty Shortlist.
The Soothe & Cleanse Face Mask is in a powder form, made of 100% natural ingredients of which 93% are organic. The first thing we noticed is that half the ingredients here are food-grade, in fact, it’s 12 out of the total 17 ingredients. These include colloidal oats made by grinding oat grain into a fine powder. Colloidal oats add moisture to the skin and keep it soft to prevent transepidermal water loss; they also possess anti-inflammatory capacities. Others include cacao, coconut milk and aloe vera, all of which have excellent moisturising qualities; the chamomile and calendula officinalis help soothe redness and reduce the appearance of ageing, and antioxidants burdock root extract and centella asiatica (AKA gotu kola), are a good source of amino acids ideal for skin healing and hydration. Arrowroot helps absorb excess oil, and the hibiscus rosa sinensis is rich in vitamin C and promotes collagen production. Finally, there is MSM organic sulphur to help further boost and maintain collagen, and maltodextrin which acts as a binding agent, stabiliser and skin-softener.
The Soothe and Cleanse Face Mask also incorporate other non-food-grade botanical active such as niacinamide, bakuchiol, comfrey root and chickweed. Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that boosts collagen, and hyaluronic acid production reduces enlarged pores and helps fade hyperpigmentation and skin discolouration. The bakuchiol, an extract from the babchi plant, is known as the natural alternative to retinol. Like retinol, bakuchiol increases healthy collagen production in the skin. The comfrey root extract has allantoin, a substance that encourages the new growth of skin cells. Chickweed soothes irritated skin and reduces inflammation and the neem leaf extract has powerful antibacterial properties, it pacifies irritated skin and evens skin tone reducing dark spots and blemishes.
Poppy’s Natural Skincare encourages trying different ingredients to mix with the powder face mask; some of their recommendations include; water, rosewater, honey, buttermilk, yoghurt, apple cider vinegar, or even Poppy’s own face oils. As we have very sensitive skin, we tried the mask first mixed with water and then with yoghurt. Both had a slightly different effect. The water made the mask slightly thinner but more intense, whereas the yoghurt made a thicker paste and gentler. However, the results were the same, skin felt smooth, hydrated and cleansed - they also say it’s exfoliating but the mask was so mild we didn’t feel that. We love the simplicity of Poppy’s natural and organic ingredients here, and how the mask left a rather delicious cacao fragranced finish! We’d recommend using this at least once a week, for us, it nourished skin and cleansed it of city grime. All you need is one teaspoon of the powder mask mixed in a bowl with a few drops of the liquid of your choice, to make a paste - then apply to the face for 8 - 10 minutes before rinsing away. The Soothe & Cleanse Face Mask Kit includes a bowl and spoon, both made from sustainably sourced wood. These masks come in amber glass jars, ideal for prolonging the shelf life of the ingredients; and it’s recommended that this face mask be kept somewhere out of direct sunlight, preferably in a cold, dry place. To purchase The Soothe and Cleanse Face Mask at 60g for £30, see here. Or if you would like to buy it as The Soothe and Cleanse Face Mask Kit, it costs £40 (which includes a 60g face mask, a sustainably sourced wooden bowl and a spoon to match), see here. Poppy’s Natural Skincare is another of our #amazingfinds and one we love to use, because of its performance, brand ethos and natural ingredients.
