You know how love compels us to do things we normally wouldn’t? Like…eat arugula, for example. (My boyfriend abhors arugula, but choked down a pizza covered in it on our first date because he didn’t want to seem picky). Or, in my case, watch and cheer for the Patriots? (I’m from Bills country. I am in trouble.) Cue the Meatloaf: “I would do anything for loooove….”

Welp, the aptly named skincare line One Love Organics elicits similar actions. Minus the emotional hangover.

You see, I’m usually knee deep in labels, looking up every individual ingredient and triple-checking products to ensure they live up to their all natural claims. But due to its stellar reputation among bloggers and customers, I let my guard down with One Love Organics…and I don’t feel a bit guilty about it. Instead, I feel confident that the ingredients used in their products are 100% clean, as stated on their website. That’s a great feeling, when you find a transparent and trustworthy brand. Saves a heck of a lot of time, too! (Though, for the record, since I’m sharing these products with you on the blog, I did do some due diligence and look up every ingredient on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Old habits die hard? The good news is I found zero, zip, nada to be afraid of.)

First, a few quick facts about the brand:

• 100% natural
• Chemical-free
• Organic where possible

I wanted to try a bevy of One Love Organics products, so I put their “Essentials To Go” travel kit on my Christmas list. Thanks, Santa!

Here’s what comes in the kit:

• 2.25 oz. Easy Does It Foaming Cleanser
• 0.5 oz. Brand New Day Microderma Scrub & Masque
• 0.5 oz. Skin Savior Waterless Beauty Balm
• My New Best Friend Skin Shammy

And it’s allll wrapped up in a sweet little cotton bag. Applause all around for this line’s beautiful packaging! It brings a smile to face every time I peek into my “LOVE” bag and retrieve the pretty-in-pink-and-black products inside.

All of the items in the kit are effective and gentle, and I’ll use them down to the last drop/granule. The stand-out for me is the beauty balm, because it’s so multi-functional and a real game-changer for dry winter skin. Let’s get to it.

SKIN SAVIOR WATERLESS BEAUTY BALM & SHAMMY
It’s the balm. (See what I did there?) I don’t want to act overly enthused about this product (which I am), so I’ll try to play it semi-cool. But seriously, this product is so, so good, that you will actually ask yourself how you ever lived without it. The obvious answer is that you weren’t really living. (Kidding. Kind of).

The first attribute I noticed about this tub of moisturizing goodness was the scent. THE SCENT! Citrus-y, sweet and mellow, this balm is quickly becoming one of the best scents in my product arsenal. Juicy, thick and a bit grainy to the touch (but that melts away on your skin), you can use the balm in a bunch of ways, from taming flyaways to mixing a makeup base, with the included shammy coming in handy. Here’s how I’m using (and loving) it:

• As a cleansing balm: Massage the Skin Savior balm all over your face and neck, then wet your shammy with warm water and wipe off to remove dirt and grime. For cleansing your face, this balm makes a perfect wintertime product, because it leaves a silky, moisturizing layer atop your skin, instead of stripping your skin, like many other (chemical-laden) face washes. I’m using this ritual morning and night, and my skin doesn’t even know it’s winter. I totally punked the hell out of my complexion. GOTCHYA. Oh, and not sure what a shammy is? I wasn’t either: it’s made from 100% pure dermalogical grade microfiber chamois, pulling dirt and oil away from your skin with less product for up to 200 washes.
• As a moisturizer: Like I said, this balm is juicy and packed with moisture. Coconut oil, mango seed butter, chia seed extract and other ingredients nourish and coat your skin. So, after cleansing and applying my daily argan oil or other moisturizing serum, I dab Skin Savior around my eyes, around and on top of my lips, around my nose, and any other place on my face that’s feeling super dry (sometimes I just put it all over my face, okay?!). It gives a dewy glow to the skin and keeps me moisturized all day.

BRAND NEW DAY MICRODERMA SCRUB & MASQUE
Add water and exfoliate. Boom.

I first used this bad boy as a scrub. Afterward, my face felt as polished and smooth as a river rock. It really was the dawn of a brand new day for my complexion, y’all. This product is sneaky, though: the particles feel super fine in your hands (the scrub’s all-clean ingredients include corn starch and sweet pea flour). If you’re anything like me, you may be doubting their exfoliating power as you’re mixing up your paste. But once applied and rinsed off, you’ll emerge feeling completely clear of buildup and residue. Whatever junk – make-up, dead skin cells – was lurking on your complexion ain’t gonna survive this scrub. In fact, the bitty granules are so small and mighty that I’m restricting myself to using this just once a week, though the label states that it’s gentle enough for everyday use (so go right ahead). Which means, even with the sample size, I’ll have many Brand New Days to come! Using this product as a mask feels like an added bonus: once I’ve scrubbed a bit, I leave the product on my face for 15 minutes and then rinse. Extra goodness. I’ll take it!

A warning to those who tend to be a bit heavy handed (Sauv Blanc, anyone?): don’t overdo it on the water here, and be sure to follow the measurements on the package. It’s easy to waterlog your paste, so add water by the teaspoon, slowly.

EASY DOES IT FOAMING CLEANSER
A great (and award-winning) everyday cleanser. I have to say that I’ve missed the foam and froth of traditional, chemical-laden cleansers. My daily cleansing ritual involves a mixture of rosewater, tea tree oil and vegetable glycerin, which is far from bubbly – so using One Love Organics’ NATURAL foaming cleanser has been a nice change of pace! It cleans effectively and works double and triple duty on body and hair. I’d recommend this for anyone looking for a fairly priced, easy, daily cleanser.

What are your favorite One Love Organics products?