Beauty Finds: Frank Body, Blossom Jeju and Olivarriel, Controlling Cystic Acne and is Hyaluronic Acid Vegan?

Welcome back to another Beauty Finds! This edition I tried and tested, Frank Body Creamy Face Scrub and Anti-Make Up Cleansing Oil, Blossom Jeju Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Vitamin Radiance Booster and Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Essence Facial Oil and Olivarriel Skin Barrier Emollient Cleansing Bar. 

As always I look for cruelty free, vegan if possible, natural, clean ingredients. I eat honey so depending on the product and if I think the honey source is good I use some products with honey in. Another other animal derived ingredient is out and that now includes hyualauric acid (see Blossom Jeju Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Vitamin Radiance Booster review). I do my best to avoid palm oil as I prefer orangutans, petrochemicals and their aliases (3rd or 4th gerneration derivates maybe), parabens, phtalates, SLS, silicones and other nasty ingredients. With skincare it’s a lot easier. With make up I go for cruelty free products. My skin type is oily, sensitive, acne and now anti aging. 

Frank Body Creamy Face Scrub Now Original Face Scrub*

For babes that have one minute to get their glow on, I’m the guy for the job. I’m a targeted exfoliator that cleans pores, buffs away dry skin, and keeps skin clear thanks to my blend of coffee, bamboo, and walnut. Your skin will look glowing and even from the moment you rinse me off. For best results use me 2-3 times a week after cleansing. Acne and blemishes don’t stand a chance.

The ingredient list on this scrub I like. No nasties and all natural. It’s not vegan as it contains honey, but I eat honey (from good sources) so sometimes depending on the brand I’ll buy products with it in. My skin felt smooth afterwards but it wasn’t a scrub I reached for often. This could be because I prefer Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening and Exfoliating Mask. It’s quite liquidly and the walnut granules take some time to rinse off. I found it better to rinse off in the shower with a face cloth than just the sink and face cloth. If I’m honest as I use Frank Body body scrubs if I haven’t used the Kora Organics exfoliating mask before showering I’ll the use the body scrub on my face as I feel I get better results. Would I buy again. No. I’d prefer to just use sugar in my face cleanser or Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening and Exfoliating Mask.

Frank Body Anti-Make Up Cleansing Oil*

I’m a natural cleansing oil that takes your second face off. My combination of coffee, grapeseed oil and vitamin E dissolve dirt, helps acne, makeup and all your attempts at winged-eyeliner. It’s a wipe-free makeup remover that starts oily then evolves into a creamy, milky liquid when mixed with water. Leaves your skin clear, bright and panda-eye free.

Again I liked the ingredient list as it’s all natural however I felt it just didn’t remove make up especially eye make well or leave my skin feeling cleansed even with a foam cleanser afterwards. I also didn’t like the packaging. Way too much plastic used. Would I repurchase? No.

* The only Frank Body products I use now are their body scrubs. I stopped drinking coffee a few years ago switching to hot lemon in the mornings and more green tea. After a month I noticed a huge change in my acne or rather cystic acne. I was however still using until last year Frank Body Caffeinated Face Moisturiser which has coffee in. When I stopped using it while I had still had at that time of the month mild cystic acne, I noticed after switching to products not containing any coffee my acne improved especially that time of the month cystic acne. I know cystic acne is also hormone related, but since I’ve stopped using coffee products on my face I rarely get any now, only when a little stressed.

Blossom Jeju Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Vitamin Radiance Booster

Prefect for all skin types, this daily gel type moisturiser provide lasting hydration thanks to hyaluronic acid, which helps attract and seal in moisture, moisture-retaining vitamin B3 and B5 that help deliver moisture where it’s needed most. The skin-softening formula is further enriched with soothing camellia water, nourishing camellia seed oil, calming green tea extract, and antioxidant rich betain extract. Online description different.

This edition of Beauty Finds there wasn’t one product I’d repurchase. Again the ingredient list is clean and okay the packaging drew me in. It came in a beautiful pink glass bottle which I sadly threw away. The bottles and jars have a 60’s vibe and are glass. The line also uses camellia oil which Koreans and Japanese ladies have used for years for perfect skin. The sales assistance said it’s more like a toner essence than a moisturiser. It was a product I really wanted to work, but just didn’t get on with. My skin felt dry and I didn’t get any radiance. The ingredient list on the packaging and online is slightly different too. Maybe I have an older bottle as I purchased it around early 2019. Would I repurchase? No. I think it’s better suited to drier skin types.  Miin Cosmetics

**I’ve also recently found out that hyaluronic acid most of the time isn’t from a vegan natural source. It’s natural, some types produced mostly rooster combs (the red bit on top of their heads). The hyaluronic acid is generally obtained from mammal tissue or bacteria grown in mammal guts (some from a strain of horse flu!). Other sources say it’s now obtained from plant sources. Nothing on line is clear when looking for what is it made from now in 2020. A few of my products contain hyaluronic acid and I’m gradually either phasing them out or stopping completely using them. I don’t want to be part of that. I only looked into hyaluronic acid after wanting to read an Honest Beauty product ingredient list (douglas.es doesn’t always list them). Noticing they now a have a vegan skincare line I checked to see if the Honest Beauty products I’m using were vegan. All I did was click on a random ingredient Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate which lead me down a rabbit hole. There was no mention in the product free from description if its vegan which got me searching. After some research, as it’s too confusing unless I contact the brand directly asking what their hyaluronic source is I’m going to opt out of hyaluronic acid products. I also find most products with it in my skin never feels hydrated like the claims.

Blossom Jeju Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Essence Facial Oil 

Pink Camellia Soombi Blooming Essence Oil is a precious blend of 9 oils – camellia seed, grapeseed, meadowfoam, rose hip, olive, babasu, coconut, canola and soya bean – packed with nourishing omegas to preserve a youthful appearance. The lightweight formula absorbs quickly for a boost of vital moisture. 

I really liked the ingredient list; all natural, the glass bottle; less plastic and the price. I wanted to find an overnight facial oil at a cheaper price point than Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil. I thought this would be an great replacement. Sadly as much as I wanted it to work after 2-3 weeks I wasn’t seeing the results I get from Kora Organics Noni Glow Face Oil. I think it’s better suited to dry skin than oily skin. The scent is lovely, the texture is nice, but it just didn’t do anything for my skin. Would I repurchase? No. Miin Cosmetics.

Olivarrier Skin Barrier Emollient Cleansing Bar

Soap free, Fragrance free, Dehydration free. A slightly acidic mild cleansing bar makes the skin supple and moist by strengthen soothing and moisture barrier in sensitive skin and dry skin by damaging skin barrier. I think some translation was lost.

One thing I like about  Olivarrier products is the minimal clean ingredient list. I double cleanse as always on a look out for oil cleansing bar that works to reduce plastic. Sadly this didn’t clean my face as well Urang Cleansing Oil. I use cleansing oil to also remove eye make-up and this one stung my eyes no matter how careful I was not to get it in my eyes. It can also be used as body soap, so it got used up as a regular hand soap bar. It’s a little oily as a hand soap however it does the job. It also came in plastic wrapping. Would I repurchase? No. Yesstyle

Have you tried any of these products? What’s your view on hyaluronic acid? How do you treat cystic acne if you suffer from it? Please share in the comments below!