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Why you need Manuka Honey in your skin care routine!

19 April, 2017 - 10:37pm by - First Lady | 10 Comments

We were sent the Wild Ferns Autumn Glow Day & Night Collection to try - 4 skin care products containing the finest NZ Manuka Honey, made right here in our beautiful country.  Did it make us feel like Queen Bees?  Is Manuka in skin care the bees knees?  Do we beelieve in Wild Ferns?  Let's find out!

Merilyn - Founder, CEO, Queen.

I’ll start off by saying that I’ve never really been a big seeker out of ‘natural brands’ and yet we have all these fabulous sounding (and smelling) products wafting in our door all the time. So when we got to give this a whirl I was curiously intrigued, but Manuka honey? Hmmm I dunno…I like eating honey...but in skincare? 

So I did a bit of research into the whole Manuka Honey story and what I discovered was that not only is it a natural humectant that acts to prevent loss of moisture, but it’s also a whizz at neutralising free radicals which are responsible for skin cell damage. So there you have it, it now makes sense to be putting it in a face cream right?

Upon opening the products you are hit by this amazing honey smell, so much so I was looking around for the toast! .  Now this pack has Manuka Pollen 80+ on the side and I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, so back to Google I went.  The higher the % of honey from a particular pollen type the more pure the honey is considered to be.  The NZ Ministry requirements states that for Manuka Honey to be considered to be coming predominantly from one flower, it must contain a minimum of 70% Manuka Pollen.  In this range all the products contain 80%+ Manuka Pollen..so no wonder it smells amazing.

The day and night cream both come in tubes, the serum in a glass jar with a dropper and the eye cream in a round pot. I’ve got to say the way my skin felt after applying the day cream and the serum was amazing! It felt so plump and moisturised. The night cream in particular states it’s for dry/normal skin which was perfect for me but I suspect that if you had oily skin it may be a bit of overload. The night cream also contains Co-Enzyme Q10 which is an awesome anti ageing ingredient.

The eye cream is very light, which I like, it does come in a pot which may be bit off putting if you're not a fingers in pot person, but I’m ok with that. Now the serum is lovely too, not too heavy, (not too light), but I'd have loved more directions on this. It instructed me to use it 2-3 times per week, but no directions as to whether I needed to use it instead off, or as well as the day or night cream. In any case I used it as well as and I think it gave my skin that little extra boost.

Now my current skincare regime means that every 4 weeks I need to have a two week break from it, and you know I think i’ll be sneaking in this range just for that purpose. I'll also be seeking out more Manuka Honey products.  I’ve had a look on their website and there’s a whole heap more products in the assortment - the sugar scrub to me just sounds perfect...wonder if we can convince them to put it in a box?

Natalie - First Lady.

As the only English woman on the crew, I think I offer an outsider's view on all things New Zealand and beauty.  I was brought up on big brands - even the 'house' brands of a store were known by the masses, because well, there were lots of shops in any given chain store.  So when I get to discover and try a new Kiwi brand, I think a part of me loves it immediately, because to me, Kiwi-made, home grown, proudly NZ make a product exotic and boutique-y.

This Wild Ferns set was no different, I was all Savage Garden about it - I knew I loved it before I met it.  And when we were introduced, oh my, that glorious orange box.  How have they made orange look so darn fabulous?!  If you were to give this as a gift the recipient would be beaming at the sheer beauty of the packaging.  Beelightful.  

The packaging of the products is lovely, clear labelling on the front - the text gets a wee bit small on the back, but hey, my young eyes managed.  For an introductory set, the size of the products is really generous - more than enough for 4-6 weeks of use, plenty of time to get cosy with the range!

I didn't miss the lack of cleanser too much  because I have a cleanser I love and it's unfragranced so it didn't interfere with the nommy nommy fragrance of the Wild Ferns products.  I saw this kit not as a complete skin care routine, but as a treatment set - these four products are there to nourish and hydrate skin. 

Speaking of skin, I should probably say I have pretty easy skin, it's generally clear and prone to redness but occasionally unbalances to combination skin - dry cheeks and forehead, oily nose, chin and hair line.  

I LOVED the three cremes - they smelt amazing, all absorbed evenly and easily and really made my skin feel lovely and smooth. The serum was unfortunately just too heavy for me, and I did break out around my hair line and chin, so I discontinued use and passed it over to my sister.  Her dry skin LOVED it.  

I think this is a gorgeous collection, I'd happily try more from the Wild Ferns range.  But what I loved the most about this experience is discovering the perfect brand to showcase NZ skin care to my family and friends back home.  A beautifully packaged gift encapsulating products that are pure New Zealand.  Natural.  Honest.  Fabulous.

Kellie - Head Pixie

I do enjoy a good honey, and am spoilt to live down the road from a farmer’s market where I can buy some of the best organic honey I’ve ever had. But has this honey-lust ever translated to putting anything honey-based on my face? No, at least not until I was told I’d be taking part in a team trial for the Wild Ferns Autumn Glow Day & Night Collection.

It’s actually quite surprising to me that I’ve never used a manuka honey skincare product before, because I’m well versed on how good manuka honey is for the skin. I know it’s hydrating, works to heal skin, and is anti-inflammatory – oh and after trying the Wild Ferns products I’ve discovered it also smells AMAZING in skincare. Seriously, if you like the aroma of honey, this range will tick your olfactory sensory box, big time.

Now before I go into the nitty gritty of each product, let’s look at this collection as a whole. It comes in a gorgeous bright orange box, embossed with manuka flowers. In the collection you receive the Replenishing Day Crème, the Ultra Enriching Night Crème for Dry/Normal skin, the Radiance Renewal Facial Serum and the Intensive Refining Eye Cream. There’s no cleanser included in the box, but to my delight I saw the range at my local mall and there is a cleanser you can purchase (and only $19.99 too!) – in fact their online store shows a whole host of manuka skincare products, including a mask, balm and even shower gel!

With much excitement – you might say I was buzzing – I relieved my current skincare of its duty to start this bee-autiful new one. (Ok, I’ll shush with the puns.) The Replenishing Day Crème was first up and it’s a fragrant, thick-ish product that sinks into the skin quickly, and it really does hydrate. My skin felt plump as a baby’s bum. I took to using the Intensive Refining Eye Crème day and night, and I’m just going to say straight out this is my favourite product from the Autumn Glow collection. Even on a hot and muggy Auckland day or evening this eye crème feels so delightfully cooling on my skin and sinks in without greasy residue. Every time I use it my eyes feel more awake and refreshed, and there’s a definitely softening of my fine lines. Once I’m finished with the pot I will be repurchasing. After cleansing at night I was eager to tuck into the Radiance Renewal Facial Serum because I love me a good serum. I noted on the back that it says to only use it two or three times a week, and because I’m naughty and believe more is more I used it every night. The serum is very thick, but clear and I do believe it’s best used at night as it’s quite tacky and doesn’t sink in easily. But boy does it nourish the skin. And I have to admit that after my ‘more is more’ approach I had a minor breakout, which disappeared quickly (yay manuka) and didn’t flare up again when I did as I was told and used it every other night. The final product in the regime was the Ultra Enriching Night Crème, and this is divine. A thick crème that really super-hydrates the skin (if you don’t have dry skin Wild Ferns do offer a night crème for combo/oily skin).

So after a couple of weeks of using this regime I have to say I’m impressed. The products are lush, and I think would be incredibly beneficial to people with dry skin. I literally walked around each and every day feeling like my skin was all juicy, glowy and nourished. I also think with the RRP of $47.95 the Wild Ferns Autumn Glow Day and Night collection is an affordable way to test out four gorgeous beauty products. Great as a gift too!

 

***We were sent these products to share our thoughts on.  All thoughts are relative to our true experience of the product.***

Comments

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30th April, 2017

Yes yes I am a fan of the honey but I really feel sorry for the bees SAVE THE BEES PLEASE!

24th April, 2017

Can't wait to try this range. This is really affordable too.

20th April, 2017

I haven't used much of Wild Ferns but I do remember that it was the first New Zealand brand I saw when we had my grandparents gift us some soaps and lotions from overseas. I should check them out again. And yes that scrub would be nice to see in a box or the vault. :-)

20th April, 2017

They sound amazing! I use honey on wounds (under a dressing) and have used it straight on my face as a soothing and moisturising face mask. After reading these reviews, I'm keen to give these a go.

20th April, 2017

So many similarities in experience, have only tried it for one night and one morning but am already reaping the benefits. And I completely agree that this box is a fantastic way to experience four very high-end and effective products that you wouldn't otherwise be able to try. My first ever eye creme and face serum so I'm just buzzing :P

20th April, 2017

I'd love to see this in a box. sounds lovely too

20th April, 2017

Wow, they sound lovely! You've got me really wanting honey on my face now!

19th April, 2017

Think I'm going to have to add it to my to my shopping list, sounds lovely.

19th April, 2017

Oh it sounds amazing! I was invited to the trial but got to it too late and missed out sadly. I will consider buying some though, it just sounds so lovely. Hmmm I wonder if some might find it's way into the beauty vault.....

19th April, 2017

So excited to try these! My skin has been funny lately and extra dry so I really think these could make a big difference... and luckily at a reasonable price point in case I HAVE to repurchase.

Moonshinestar
27th April, 2017

I use manuka honey for healing wounds too. They heal so much faster!

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