Pretty Organic Cosmetics - the name says it all!

Loving natural and local products as much as I do, I was excited to recently discover Toronto based Pretty Organic Cosmetics which was created in 2007 by sisters looking for a skincare line that didn't aggravate their sensitive skin and discovering that many brands contain an endless list of synthetic ingredients, even product lines marked as "natural" or "organic."

After years of product research and development, they realized that "less is more" when it comes to skincare. Parallel to their lifestyles, they chose to follow a holistic approach, using only the purest natural ingredients sourced from around the world that are completely biodegradable, organic or derived from sustainably wild-harvested souces. After meeting with physicians, naturopaths, aromatherapists, retailers, and industry experts, the resulting aromatherapeutic blends were created, all with tender loving care.

What they leave out of our products is just as important as what they put into them. You'll find no harsh synthetics, mineral oil, parabens, petrochemicals, silicones, EDTAs, or artificial chemicals. And quality is more important then quantity so all of their products are made in small batches to ensure that only the highest quality standards have been met.

And while I appreciate all the naturalness of organic products - I also require them to look and smell good and Pretty has these requirements covered. The liquids come in glass bottles and everything in packaged in brown cardboard tubes with colourful labels. This is the kind of packaging I look for when searching for gift-worthy products! The smells are also so lovely and botanical.

There is a wide array of Pretty Products for face, body and baby and like any good honest mother, I have my favourites:

Sweet Cocoa Mint Healing Mineral Bath Salts - 50g - $12 - soothes away aches and pains and leaves skin soft and radiant with a delicious blend of chocolately mint epsom salt - and the blend of pure cocoa powder, orange and sweet mint smell good enough to eat! Mineral rich epsom salts reduce inflammation and help to heal sore muscles, while kaolin clay draws out toxins and impurities from your skin. While I absolutely love the scent the only thing I miss with this is bubbles - so I pour a little bubble bath in too so I can have the best of both worlds!

Lavender & Magnolia Nourishing Facial Serum - 13ml - $20, 43ml - $39 - a moisturizing serum for normal, dry or sensitive skin that contains soothing lavender and magnolia oil to calm and relieve dryness. Easily absorbed, this formulation targets areas of dehydration with nutrient rich pomegranate oil and essential oil of vetiver. Leaves skin velvety soft upon application and relieves redness with continued use. I love the smell and this has been so wonderful for my wind chapped cheeks - I avoid putting it on my oily areas though, it's way more moisture than those areas need!

Tea Tree & Rosemary Purifying Beauty Mud - $16 - a deep cleansing mask that contains French Montmorillonite clay to detoxify and draw out impurities from the skin along with antibacterial tea tree and rosemary oils calm and prevent blemishes while nourishing aloe soothes the skin and speeds healing. What's neat is that you actually mix this mask up yourself by adding water so you can make as little or as much as you want with a consistency that's as thick or thin as you prefer!

Comfort Cardamom & Magnolia Triple Use Oil - 90ml - $16 - can be added to bath, applied after showering, or used as a soothing massage oil with the warm, spicy scent of cardamom mixed with sweet magnolia and a hint of lavender -  leaves your skin silky smooth while relaxing your mind and soothing the senses. They don't say it but it also works great in the hair, use the leftovers on your hands from moisturizing and run it over your hair to banish frizzies!

Black Tea & Raw Cocoa Facial Cleansing Grains - $15 - contains pure raw cocoa and black tea powder  which deeply clean by lifting dead skin cells and environmental pollutants while organic oatmeal and kaolin clay draws toxins out of pores and keeps skin blemish free. Steam-distilled essential oils of orange and spearmint tone and invigorate the skin to leave skin clean, clear and radiant. This is another one of the products that you add water to and mix yourself which is great for travel. Don't be put off the name "grains" like I was at first thinking it would be too harsh and abrasive - it does have a little texture to it but it's by no means rough or something you couldn't use daily if you wanted to!

Of course products that work well, look nice and smell great are usually expensive and you would expect this line to be - they look and smell pricey but don't actually break the bank - bonus!

You can check out and order your very own Pretty products on their website at - www.prettynaturalskin.com

And be sure to come back next week for Erin the Soap Guy's take on Pretty soap!

- Lisamarie -