Sunblock That's Environment Friendly

How was everyone's Holy Week break? I'm pretty sure that most headed to the beach last weekend to get some sun. I myself got into the tanning bit, but in the swimming pool so as not to join the crowds and all. I like things quiet as I "fry" myself and get my natural dose of vitamin D - with sunblock of course! Sunblock is necessary if you're out in the sun most especially, tanning or not. I know that I don't use lotion on my body during the day since I pole a lot but when it's swim time, it's a must to use lotion.

Here's the thing - sunblock feels greasy yes? And it has that irritating chemical smell and when you put sunblock in your face, it doesn't feel like sunblock - it feels like hollow blocks because it's heavy, sticky, and oily. Mixed with sweat and dirt my pores beg for mercy right? There are moisturizers though, that have SPF in their formula if you're just out in the concrete jungle, but with swimming either on the beach or the pool, we gotta have the real thing on the tube, since that's pretty water-resistant.

On my recent lunch with the people behind Leyende, I got to know about their sunblock, which is not only friendly on the skin but friendly also to the environment. I found out that day that one of the causes of coral bleaching is the chemicals from commercial sunblock. Does that mean that we should skimp on sunblock for the sake of our environment? Not with this around because Leyende Place In The Sun sunblock has ECOCERT-certfied natural/organic ingredients and preservatives that are also ECOCERT-approved. The ingredients are biodegradable so they don't harm our sea waters.  Although this one says it's for the face, it's okay to use for the body. This has very little scent when I tried it, and it feels light to be used on the face.

Another thing that makes me annoyed with sunblock is the whitish cast. Remember those beach photos when there's this perpetual white streak? Blame it on the sunblock, baby. Place in the Sun takes its cue from the surfers who use zinc oxide on them. But instead of having that annoying white paste on the noses, they come up with Zinclear, which is invisible zinc for non-greasy skin with no whitish cast. Also, there's no need to wait for a while until the sunblock binds with the skin - just spread and go.

It's a really tiny tube though, but Leyende would soon come up with a bigger bottle for those who spend a good deal of time under the sun for sport or for recreation or whatever reason. I also learned a tip - to not forget the ears and back of the neck.

So where is this available? You can buy Place In The Sun products at Robinson's, Crossings, and Sesou stores. You can also contact distributors and resellers as Leyende has listed their contact information here.

A Healthy and Zen Afternoon with Leyende

I first heard of Leyende products over at Jill's blog and her raves on their products got my attention to get myself aware of this brand in the market. Apparently, Leyende is another organic skin care brand that started right here in our shores. Yes, another Philippine skin care brand made from locally-grown products. So when Nina passed my email and blog over to them, I was really thrilled to meet the people behind the brand personally. By this time, I've seen Leyende products on my client's kikay kit as well as a co-worker's gig kit while we were doing a play together.

In a very intimate setting at Sugarleaf in Makati, I met with Neva and Claude of Leyende where they showed me some of their products as well as gave me a short background and lowdown of their ingredients, in a simplified and non-jargonic manner, of course.

Before starting, my man-hands were treated to a spa-like treat by the girls of I do nails. My hands were cleansed with the cleanser followed by a scrub called la dolce scrub.

Dolce means "sweet" and the grains are actually muscovado sugar, which explains the sweet sugary smell, which reminds me of calamansi juice (that's also because there's calamansi extract in the product, which acts as an antioxidant and it's also got benefits which helps even out the skin tone). The sugar melts into the skin instead of coating it with a slimy, oily, or heavy layer and it left the skin feeling soft.

Leyende takes inspiration from our lolas and their own kikay routines back then when spas and commercial skin care products didn't exist yet. Using calamansi to whiten skin, VCO to condition and thicken hair, the same principle of taking trips to the kitchen to make beauty concoctions synthesized into products without losing their potency and active enzymes. When I asked if the La Dolce scrub would attract ants upon storage, Neva told me it won't. Although Leyende products use ingredients derived from food products (pineapple and calamansi extracts, Mango butter, muscovado sugar, virgin coconut oil), they won't cause ant invasion since these aren't cooked and heat wasn't use to make the products. So not to worry about pests here. Also, it is important to note that although these smell yummy, the products are not to be ingested, even if sugar really is used.

After exfoliation, My hands were coated with Lift Off, a natural peel-off face masque with calamansi extract (the label "F" means it's for the face, although it's pretty okay to use this on the hands, it will just be a bit costly to use this all-over body). Like peeling glue off hands when we were kids, it's the same principle. It was brushed on my hands and let dry till it was okay to peel off. It gets stiff and crusty but once you peel it off, there's soft skin underneath. There will be areas that are hard to peel, probably on areas where the masque was applied thinly. A cotton pad or damp towel could be used to remove this so we don't go out looking like a molting snake.

While snacking on pita wraps, my hands were massaged with the Face Canvas moisturizer. The first time I saw this moisturizer, it was still in a jar. I think packaging it in a tube makes it more hygienic, especially using this on clients. The face canvas also acts like a makeup primer also, so that's two birds in one stone, er, tube. Instead of using silicone to fill in lines and make the skin velvety-smooth, it uses mango butter which nourishes the skin with no greasy afterfeel. I sure could keep this in mind especially if I'm doing gigs which need everything fast.

I noticed that if not unscented, the products have a very faint scent that reminds us of food. For skin care on clients, I prefer those that aren't heavily perfumed since perfumes mean added chemical fragrances, which can irritate some clients. Not only too are the products friendly for the skin and wearer, they're also friendly to the environment. I'll get into detail with that when I review one of their products, the Place In The Sun sunblock, which I'm currently testing on myself.

Thanks to Neva and Claude of Leyende as well as Nina of justwandering.org.