Bioelements skincare routine: Week 1

How are you, lovelies? I hope the weather where you are is at least a bit sunny, unlike here - but we're keeping our fingers crossed for some sunshine for the 4th of July weekend! Oh, and Happy Canada Day, fellow Canucks!

Thanks for all your sweet messages and good wishes, I'm sure they've helped a lot since the trip went very smoothly and quite comfortably, well, as comfortably as you can get on a 10-hour transatlantic flight. Of course, I needn't have worried, my luggage actually turned out to be much lighter than the allowed weight - I'm kicking myself now for leaving some make-up and clothes behind. C'est la vie...!

Of course, the moment I stepped into our apartment I had to rip open the package from Bioelements with a new skincare routine I won in their Skincare Wardrobe Giveaway over at the Brilliant Farmgirl's Beauty Secrets blog last month. I couldn't wait to try all the products out, so I ditched all of my previous skincare and started using Bioelements routine right away. I've been using these products for a couple of days now and decided to share my first impressions with you. Since all skincare products need time to work with your skin, I'll be also reporting back in 2 weeks time, in 1 month and then lastly in 2 months time to give you a thorough image of how these products affected my skin.

Ok, enough chit-chat, let's get right to it! All of the goodies were carefully selected for me by Teresa, who's a Bioelements esthetician and an amazingly helpful lady! She's made sure to address all of my skin concerns (sensitive, oily, acne-prone) and also, on my request, agreed to go as organic as possible. So here's what I received:


I got the whole All Things Pure range, which is a National Products Association Certified Organic line of products, plus a toner from their sensitive range as well as a clay mask for combination/oily skin. All of the products mentioned below come in glass packaging for maximum freshness and recyclability - not very travel-friendly though, but you can always scoop some out to travel-sized jars.

1. All Things Pure Clay-Based Deep Pore Face Wash
This all natural, non-foaming, creamy cleanser is surprisingly gentle yet effective in washing off all the grime and make-up that accumulates on your face during the day. I use it twice a day in the morning and at night, and sometimes I wash it off using a muslin cloth for extra exfoliation. It has a very smooth texture and an earthy, kind of nutty scent; it takes some time to get used to, but definitely not unpleasant. It leaves my skin clean without stripping the moisture; my face feels refreshed but soft and comfortable. The cleanser contains, among others, bentonite clay, aloe vera, jojoba oil as well as chamomile and pomegranate extracts. The cool thing about the All Things Pure range is that the ingredients list is so short and clear; each ingredient comes with a description of its role in the product, which I love. The range is also suitable for all skin types, including dry, sensitive and acneic skin.

2. Calmitude Hydrating Solution Sensitive Skin Facial Mist
I spray this delicate toner on my face after cleansing and wipe the excess with a cotton pad. It helps to get rid of the last traces of dirt, refreshes and hydrates, tightens the pores and prepares the skin for the moisturizer. It has a difficult to describe, natural scent and is infused with licorice root and white tea extract to help reduce redness.


3. All Things Pure Hydrating Creme with Emollient Shea Butter
Again, I use this moisturizer morning and night. It's quite a thick cream so you only need a tiny amount and it takes some massaging in for it to absorb. It isn't greasy, but it's not invisible on the skin either; it leaves a thin layer of moisture which actually helps my mineral foundation to blend into the skin more naturally. It has a bit citrusy, fresh smell and most importantly, so far it hasn't broken me out, which was my biggest fear. In fact, I had some irritation/break-outs on my face after the flight, I applied this moisturizer before bed and in the morning, they were gone! Very impressive. It contains sunflower oil, shea butter, olive glycerides, lavender oil and chamomile extract.


4. All Things Pure Nourishing Plant Oil Blend for Face and Eyes
I only apply this eye oil at night time because, well, it's an oil. My eyelids are already quite oily, so I imagine any eye make-up I put on top would just slide off. I have yet to use it as a face serum, but I enjoy using it on my eyes a lot. It has a very citrusy smell (it contains grapefruit, elemi, orange and lavendin essential oils) and you only need a tiny drop for both eyes. It hasn't irritated the skin under my eyes like most eye creams have in the past, and my skin feels soft and hydrated. It contains base oils such as jojoba oil, sunflower oil, evening primrose oil and sesame oil.

5. All Things Pure Facial Exfoliator with Melting Herbal Grains
This gentle scrub is probably one of the best exfoliators I've tried so far. The scrubbing action is very delicate, nothing like St. Ives Apricot scrub, and I love how easy this is to wash off due to those magical melting grains. After a minute or two of massaging it into my skin, the grains simply dissolve and there are no harsh bits clinging to your skin which are impossible to remove. It has a very nutty, almost foodsy smell that I've grown quite fond of and a very thick, almost glue-like consistency. It leaves my skin feeling softer and smoother but not brick red and inflamed. It contains sunflower, jojoba and evening primrose oils as well as 'Bioelements Chinese Herbology Blend' (that'd be your scrublets, I reckon).


6. Restorative Clay Pore Refining Treatment Mask
I'll be using this twice a week on the days when I'm not exfoliating. I have to say, this is my least favorite of all the products I received. It's a thick, light grey cream with quite a strong, almost chemical scent. I've only used it once so far and unfortunately it irritated my skin. When I washed it off, I had some red patches here and there which felt hot and stingy. The irritation was gone by the morning and I'm thinking maybe my skin needs some time to get used to it, so I'll give it another go. I haven't noticed any pore refining action yet, but I've only used it once so far.

All in all, at the initial inspection my new Bioelements skincare routine gets a thumbs up from me. I enjoy using the products and I'm actually quite surprised how easy the transition from normal to organic skincare proved to be - I was expecting the products to be far more difficult to use and I was worried that my skin might freak out. None of that turned out to be true and I'm glad I took this step. I only wish the organic line also included a toner, mask and sunscreen so that I wouldn't need to supplement with other, non-organic products. Anyhow, thanks to Bioelements for making this change possible!

Have you thought about going organic with your skincare?

*Disclaimer* I received the above mentioned Bioelements products for free as a prize in a giveaway hosted by Brilliant Farmgirl. I do not receive any compensation for posting this review nor was I requested to write one by any party involved. Posting the review was my own initiative and all the opinions expressed are honest.