Balance Me Discovery Set

I love Rose Otto fragrance and when I noticed that this brand had won awards in 2010 and 2011 I snapped up this trial pack of 4 in the handy 30ml and 55ml travel sizes.  The brand claims 98% and 99% “Natural Origin” and “Super Toning” so I thought I would investigate these claims too.

What does Natural Origin Mean

It means a product either occurs in nature or is extracted from nature without any chemical modification.  So a product which is chemical, synthetic origin or has been processed with chemicals to make it something else cannot be called natural.

There are some products ie Potassium Sorbate that occurs in nature, but the only material supplied is synthetically manufactured from petrochemical ingredients.  Another ingredient; Cocamidoproyl betaine is made from coconut oil and petrochemicals.  So claim these two products are natural origin or are petrochemical free, is downright misleading.  There are a lot of skincare products out there claiming “petrochemical free”, containing ingredients where petrochemicals were used to produce it.   My advice is that if you see a product that has only Latin plants names on it, it’s safe to assume its 100% natural, if you see chemical names than look them up, if it’s important that you only use 100% natural products.  The Soil Association and Ecocert certifications are also good indications of very natural products. 

Super Moisturising Hand Cream 98.8% natural origin

Contains 3 ingredient of chemical/synthetic origin ie Sodium stearoyl lactylate, Potassium sorbate, Dehydroacetic acid

 

Super Toning Bodycream 99% natural origin

Contains 4 ingredients of chemical/synthetic origin ie Sodium stearoyl lactate, Hydrocystearic linolenic oleic polyglycerides, Potassium sorbate, Dehydroacetic acid

Both creams contain amount of vegetable oils & waxes, and essential oils to impart fragrance which is good, the body cream also contains a lot of extracts and I’m always a bit sceptical as extracts tend to be in low concentration in a water system and used in even small concentrations in the final product to actually offer any benefits.

Rose Otto Body Wash 99% natural origin

Contains 8 chemical/synthetic ingredients; - cocamidoproyl betaine, lauryl glucoside, disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, Dehydroacetic acid, Potassium sorbate, Benzyl salicylate, benzyl benzoate & farnesol

Rose Otto Toning Body Wash 99% natural origin

Contains 5 chemical/synthetic ingredients: - cocamidoproyl betaine, lauryl glucoside, disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate, Dehydroacetic acid, Potassium sorbate

Comparing the two wash ingredient lists there is absolutely nothing to suggest what supports the Toning Claim, as with the exception of two essential oils it contains the same ingredients as Rose Otto Body Wash.

Rating

Value for money – £16.00 for 3x 55ml and 1 x 30ml products – if I brought full sizes I would have paid £55.00

Effectiveness – needed twice as much as my regular Lush Shower Gels

Pampering factor – nice Rose fragrance

Not Recommended – I think there are comparable naturally based products available that are better value for money that are not making false claims ie Neal’s Yard, Lush, Liz Earle to name a few