Product Review

-- Product Review --

** Tangerine Lilly would like to offer one lucky Canadian reader of our blog a Tangerine Lilly Naturals Vitamin C Serum along with Organic Lip treatment. Simply comment here on this blog and a winner will be randomly selected. Tangerine Lilly will then send the product your way. I'll need your email address so be sure to include that in the comment - that way I can connect with the winner to arrange the delivery. Deadline - May 5th, 2015.

The very first thing I noticed when I agreed to do a review for Tangerine Lilly is that the company (TangerineLilly.com) has a beautiful website! It just sings about nature, freedom and carefree summer days. I was thrilled to learn (as a Canadian myself) that this family run business is based in Nova Scotia, Canada - with a company philosophy of freedom, celebrating individual beauty, and doing no harm. Customers can reach out to Tangerine Lilly through the contact form on their website.

While not much of a girly-girl, I was really curious about the new skin healing serums containing natural ingredients like vitamin C. When Cheyanne Mullin connected with me (April 4^th) about their Tangerine Lilly Naturals Vitamin C Serum, I could hardly wait to try it. Turns out – I didn’t have to wait long! Cheyanne confirmed that the item was shipped on April 6^th and we received it on April 8^th ... just 2 days later.  The product was actually packaged and shipped via Amazon.com – who wrapped it in a small box with brown paper packaging. I felt though that the box itself was still too large for such small items. The products themselves were also wrapped together in a snug bubble-wrap envelope. Thankfully every bit of the shipping materials is recyclable in our area.

Perhaps you’ve used citrus juice in your jam preserves, break baking or to prevent oxidation (browning) on potatoes, apples and bananas. Pastry and bread chefs certainly know about the benefits of using citrus zest and juice. If you’ve ever read the ingredients to natural products, Vitamin C is often listed there because it fights bacteria, disease, rot, etc. and is therefore a great preservative. Like me, you’ve probably noticed that as of late there are an increasing number of skin products because scientists have learned how to use vitamin C in this way, too. This one ingredient helps prevent free radical damage that is often caused by pollution in the environment or workplace and over-exposure to sun.

Dave and I both absolutely loved the Organic Lip Balm that the company sent as a bonus along with the serum – it truly softens and conditions, while offering a nice coconut-vanilla scent and light sweet flavor.  \Our lips felt soft for some time after the balm had soaked in. The lip balm contains 100% natural and 83% certified organic ingredients, including: coconut oil, bees wax, castor seed oil, shea butter, rosehip seed oil, cranberry seed oil, avocado, stevia, natural flavoring. I loved reading the list of ingredients - cranberry and rosehip are well known for antioxidant and high Vitamin C content, avocado is rich in EFA’s, shea butter is a tree nut product that has amazing properties for healing and moisturizing skin, and stevia is a plant herb grown as a sugar substitute. The product comes encased in a white plastic container, which is recyclable.

The serum was really interesting to me – something new and exciting to try. Tangerine Lilly created a kind of anti-aging elixir using the combination of two important ingredients – sodium ascorbyl phosphate and ascorbic acid (Vitamin C).  the product also encourages the body to increase production of collagen, which the company says will improve the look of the skin. What I found most interesting was that this serum could reduce melatonin in the skin – that’s those little brown spots on the hands, brown patches on your shoulders, back, face, and forearms. Yep, I have that on the back of my hands, big patches on my forearms and a few small patches on my face. Most of them, according to flattery-savvy husband Dave, are fairly faint and not all that noticeable, but I see them just the same and their existence was not totally welcome.  Apparently the serum can also lighten freckles. It does not say how long it would take to see results but I read somewhere that it takes about 28 days for the body to shed a layer of skin.

The serum is stored in a small brown glass bottle, topped with a plastic pump cap (both are recyclable). The product is not greasy, and looked like a clear yellow liquid when I pumped some in my palm. I loved that it had virtually no odor. The instructions say to wash the face and apply prior to moisturizing, which was really easy since the stuff virtually evaporated upon contact. At least it felt that way because it disappeared so fast. I put several pumps worth in my palm working some on my face being careful to avoid the eyes, also on the neck and forearms and backs of hands. I did this every morning, though I’m not sure if I’m supposed to do that at night too, since I moisturize then as well. However, I figured with my sensitive skin, once per day was probably a good idea. I didn’t have any allergic reactions, which means this is a pure product, but my face did flush momentarily (like a slight embarrassed blush) and that faded immediately, perhaps caused in part by spreading the stuff around. While I haven’t had a chance to use this product for very long yet, I did notice that my skin felt softer upon the first application.

The ingredients include: botanically derived hualuronic acid (moisturizer, carrier), jojoba oil(moisturizer), witch hazel (tightens pores, helps moisturize), arginine (amino acid with collagen boosting properties); water, aloe, vitamin E, glycerin, gotu kola extract, geranium extract and dandelion extract. The 1 oz. / 30 ml. bottle, its cap and clear plastic protector cover are also recyclable.

Both of the products that I received offer a 12-month shelf life. The company does not test on animals, and the products are certified organic, and made in Canada. When I looked on Amazon.com (on April 16^th) for the list price I found it on sale at $25.99, with a regular retail price of  $29.99; it is my understanding that the lip balm is a bonus gift when you buy a bottle of serum and is not sold separately at this time. 

I really enjoy this Canadian product and will continue to be a customer from now on. After a few weeks of using the product I noticed a slight color fade in the brown spots on the back of my hand and my husband commented that my face looked fresher than usual. (YAY!)

Find Dave and Lillian Brummet at: http://brummet.ca

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