Viva Organics Amaze Exfoliating Gel Review

Viva Organics Amaze Exfoliating Gel, Image from TheGreenKiss.ca

Viva Organics isn't a brand that I've heard too much about, but I was browsing through some clean beauty websites and saw this. Someone left a rave review about this mask/treatment and I eventually decided to take a chance and order it. I am SO glad that I did.

Viva Organics is a natural/clean/green brand. The Amaze Gel is Paraben, Gluten, GMO, artificial fragrance and colourant free. It's also hypoallergenic, formulated for sensitive skin, vegan and cruelty-free.

The Amaze Exfoliating Gel is supposed to do exactly what it says on the jar- exfoliate your face. They state "This exfoliating gel treats blackheads, rosacea, acne, and blocked pores while also minimizing visible age spots, scarring, and fine lines. With its unique combination of ginseng and aloe vera, the Amaze Exfoliating Gel heals, calms, and repairs damaged skin. "

Awesome bamboo lid and logo design.

 But what makes this different than any other product I've tried before?

Frankly this gel is unlike anything else I've experienced.

The consistency of the Amaze Exfoliating Gel.

Firstly this isn't a mask and it's not a leave on product either. This gel is a quick treatment that literally takes 10 minutes tops- and that includes washing and drying your face off before use. In order to use this you dab some of the lovely ginger smelling gel onto your dry face and then gently massage it into the skin.

This is about all you need to treat a full face with the Amaze Exfoliating Gel.

Cloys of the Amaze Exfoliating Gel on my face so you can see approximately how much I use each time. 

Within seconds it starts to feel a little gritty under your fingers and then there are suddenly little balls. That is literally dead skin lifting away from your face and gathering. Keep massaging in circular motions gently all over the face and when the gel seems to have absorbed in/dried up then stop. You'll have this creepy but super satisfying experience of literally seeing all this dead skin come off. A quick rinse with a wash cloth and you're done. (Scroll quick if you don't want to see a pic of me with the result of dead skin balls on my face, I've kept it small so it's easier to ignore. Click the image to see it bigger if you want a better idea).

The impressive results of dead skin removal with the Amaze Gel.

The absolute best part? There is literally no pain associated with this. No stinging, no redness, no scrubbing, no tingling, no menthol. Literally no sensitivity. I'm not sure how it works but this stuff blows me away! There isn't even a grit to this product just smooth super-powered gel.

Afterward using this my skin is so so soft. Like I have to try not to touch my face soft. It has such great ingredients as well, including hyaluronic acid, and aloe as some of my favourites.

Here are the full ingredients: "Aqua (Water), Propanediol (Zemea, Approved by Ecocert), *Vegetable Glycerine, Cetrimonium Chloride, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Carbomer, Polygonum Multiflorum Root, *Camellia Sinesis Leaf (White Tea), Potassium Sorbate, Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Lactobacillus Ferment, *Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Oil, *Panax Ginseng Root, Angelica polymorpha Sinensis, Sodium Hyaluronate" *items are certified organic.

Past all this, the packaging is super luxurious in my opinion. I love the heavy frosted glass jar and the bamboo lid. The only plastic part is the inner lid and the cover that goes over the mouth of the jar to seal in the moisture. I do wish they'd have come up with a way to eliminate the plastic completely but they did an admirable job in getting most of it.

The Amaze Exfoliating Gel retails for $49 CND for 30 ml or if you can find it some places like thegreenkiss.com have a 10 ml trial size available (as of this moment they are sold out). You can also find this product through PureAnada.ca  and well.ca. Take a look around a bit before you buy because sometimes these places have deals and you can save a bit of money (which is what I did). So yes, while this gel is expensive in my opinion it is so worth it. You don't need much per use and frankly the results are so immediate and satisfying it's well worth the investment.

Sprite Rating: 9.5/10

I will totally purchase this again once I finish it. I love how I can do this super quickly so it fits into my routine really easily, and I love the results. 

Have you tried anything from this brand Viva Organics? What are some of your favourite treatments? I'd love to hear from you!

Haus Of Gloi Autumn 2011

All images in this post are from the Haus of Gloi website

Today, Haus of Gloi released their Autumn collection at 9:00 PST or 12:00 EST. Having heard such wonderful things about them, most especially their autumn collection I made my first order. I had heard of them off and on in the past but being highly wary of scents (most standard perfumes cause me bad headaches) I decided to pass.

However, I recently won Product Pixie's giveaway and in it she included not only a ton of other awesome prizes but 2 of them were Haus of Gloi and I fell in love. One was a sample of Depravity Perfume oil, a really awesome scent. It starts out berry and smoky and then over time become insense and clove to eventually die down to a sweet powdery smell. Plus no headaches! You can really tell there isn't any alcohol or cheap things in these!

I've really enjoyed it so far, especially at night time. The other was a sample tub of their bubbling scrub in Apocrathy. It's more of an herbal scent, which I like but don't like as much as Depravity. I haven't tried it yet in the shower but when I do I'll let you know. As a major plus the entire company is vegan, even their honey fragrances (they use a synthetic that smells like honey but isn't from animals).

So onto the Autumn release which is Haus of Gloi's most famous seasonal collection. The Sold Out items are the ones that are already sold out (despite this being only 2 hours after the autumn collection was released!)

There are six sections in the Autumn release: Perfume Oils, Candy Bowl, Bubbling Scrubs, Pumpkin Butter, Emulsifying Scrub, and Handmade Soap.

The Perfume Oils include-
3 different Sampler Packs (varying prices $12.50- $9.00)

Ceremony: Dusty beeswax candles, frankincense, myrrh, mastic, spikenard, pale honey, a pinch of tobacco, and faded musk. $17 USD

Hex: You've been bewitched! Brackish amber, aged vanilla bean and three dark fruits, veiled in darkness and otherworldly secrecy. $15 USD

Saft Ernte: A merry drink of harvest and glowing with warmth: Peach juice simmering with sweet spices, pumpkin, silken hazelnut cream, and made completely curious with a drop of orange blossom water. $15 USD

Samhain: Freshly turned earth, wet leaves, and a cool spectre ridden wind! $15 USD

Pumpkin Queen: Gentle hay pillows, pumpkin, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg, dried summer herbs, and lastly, a lovely crown of amber. $17 USD

Queen Mother (Sold Out): Last years Pumpkin Queen oil with 5 year aged patchouli, jasmine essence, and the blackest vetiver, co-distilled with honeysuckle blossom. $17 USD

Pumpkin Eater: Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean, and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter.
$15 USD

Olde Cider Haus: Old oak, sweet drying hay fields, crushed apple pulp, and vanilla bean husks.
$15 USD

Ghost Puffs: Buttery popcorn and gooey marshmallow orbs presented on a wooden stick. $15 USD

Hedonic: Black fig, golden honey, saffron threads, and Indian agar musk. $17 USD

Red Roan: Fresh strawberry flecked porridge with maple syrup and adulterated with a splash of white cognac. $15 USD.

Bubbling Scrubs cost $4.50 for small and $10 for large; include-

Pixie Sorcerer: They look cute but beware! Deceptive pomegranate candy floss, beneath a spiteful blend of coffee co2, vetiver and myrrh.

Pumpkin Queen: Same as Pumpkin Queen scent above
Saft Ernte: Same as Saft Ernte above
Samhain: Same as Samhain above

Pumpkin Butters (thick moisturizers) cost $4.50 for small and $10 for large; include the scents-

Ghost Puffs: Same as above
Olde Cider Haus: Same as above
Pixie Sorcerer: Same as above
Pumpkin Eater: Same as above
Samhain: Same as above
Pumpkin Queen: Same as above
Saft Ernte: Same as above

Emulsifying Scrubs (Sugar Exfoliants), cost $11; Include the scents-

Pixie Sorcerer: Same as above
Pumpkin Queen: Same as above
Saft Ernte: Same as above
Samhain: Same as above


Handmade Soaps cost $6.75; include the scents-

Olde Cider Haus- Same scent as Olde Cider Haus scent above

Pumpkin Queen- Same scent as Pumpkin Queen above (but isn't the soap awesome and totally something you'd associate with a pumpkin queen?)

Samhain- Same scent as Samhain above. (Also love the design and dried leaf bits for Samhain soap too!)

Candy Bowl (Perfume Oils) include (@ $12 USD each)-

Banana Taffy: Yellow taffy with a mildly artificial banana flavor.

Blood Orange Marshmallow (Sold Out): Rich blood orange and fluffy white marshmallows.

Candy Corn: Simple but irresistibly sweet and delicious candy corn.

Caramel Apple Pop (Sold Out): Sweet warm caramel and tart apple.

Coconut Bon Bon: White Chocolate with coconut flakes.

Lemon Drops: Bright Californian Lemon and pure cane sugar. Yum!

Licorice Chew: A warm caramel flavored with anise seed.

Peaches & Cream Gumball: Peaches and Cream. (I really should have ordered this, I love peaches!)

Pumpkin Cake Pops (Sold Out): Just that, lightly spiced pumpkin cake with frosting!

Salty Caramel: Caramel flecked with coarse sea salt. (I almost ordered this! Yum!)

Vanilla Taffy: Simple taffy, vanilla flavored!

And I bought (blowing my budget to smithereens):
- Full Size Saft Ernte Perfume Oil
- Perfume Oil Sampler Pack 1 (Includes Red Roan, Hex, Samhain, Pumpkin Queen, and Saft Ernte sample vials)
- Full Size Olde Cider Haus Perfume Oil
- Depravity Body Emulsion sample size (light moisturizer)
- Full Size White Raspberry Perfume Oil
- Sample size Imp Perfume Oil

Way more than I planned to spend but I'm so excited! I can't wait till I receive my order! (Full review then!) You can view the Haus of Gloi website here!