Zen Society: Review and Giveaway

Today I have a great review and giveaway for you from our September sponsor, Zen Society!

Zen Society offers 100% natural, organic and vegan skincare products specially formulated by a Master Herbalist. There are absolutely no harsh or chemical ingredients or fragrances in their products, and they use the highest quality of cold-pressed and unrefined USDA Certified Organic oils, organic floral waters, and organic plant/fruit extracts.

Zen Society generously sent me their Elderberry Toner and Makeup Remover to review. The first thing that I did when I received the products was to turn them over and look at their ingredient list, which is what I do before I try or buy pretty much any personal care product.

I was very impressed by the simple ingredient lists, both products only contain four ingredients and they are all USDA certified organic. But then my next question was, would they work?

Makeup Remover

I tried out the Makeup Remover that night, and it took my eye makeup and mascara right off with just a few swipes of a cotton ball. It did leave my skin a little oily (it’s made out of a blend of oils after all), but since I use the Oil Cleansing Method anyway, I just washed my face as usual, but I didn’t have to do any extra scrubbing around my eyes to get my makeup off, like I usually do, and my eyes felt soft and moisturized.

The Makeup Remover works wonderfully and a little goes a long way, you only have to use a few drops on a cotton ball, so one bottle should last you quite a while.

Elder Berry Toner

The next day I tried the Elder Berry Toner in the morning after getting out of the shower. I have to admit the first thing I noticed was that it did not smell great at all. My husband even commented that he didn’t want me to use it when he was in the bathroom with me (but as I’ve mentioned before, he’s a little sensitive to smells). But, it worked great and left my skin feeling smooth and clean, without being overly dry or tight, which is usually a problem for me when I use conventional toners.

I’ve also been having some issues with acne on my chin and around my mouth and nose (I’m blaming postpartum hormones) and I feel like the toner has really been helping make the zits less noticeable and disappear more quickly. Like with the Makeup Remover, a little goes a long way. So the larger bottle of toner should last for a long time.

I contacted Zen Society about it the scent of the toner, because it really was not pleasing to me, and asked if there was anything I could do about it. They were very helpful and said that the scent is from the witch hazel and that they don’t like to add anything extra, like fragrance, to their products because they like to keep their formulas simple. Also, they use a certain ratio of witch hazel because of the wonderful effects that it has on the skin.

They said that I could add some lavender essential oil to the toner to add a pleasant scent. They also said that I could dilute the toner 50/50 with purified water and then add essential oil if needed, but that diluting it would help to reduce the strong smell.

I did go ahead an add 10 drops of lavender EO to the bottle of toner and that really helped with the scent a lot. I haven’t had a chance to try it diluted, I don’t have an empty container to pour it into right now, but it is really nice to know that you can dilute the toner and make it last even longer.

The one thing I did notice was that when I used the toner before adding the essential oil, the scent would evaporate very quickly and wouldn’t linger on my skin – I know, I asked my hubs. But after I added the essential oil I could still smell the lavender on my skin for a while after I’d used the toner. Not necessarily a bad thing, lavender is a nice and calming scent, just something to take into consideration before you add essential oil to the toner.

Also, Zen Society is committed to donating a percent of every sale to Friends of the Earth, the world’s largest grassroots environmental network, and I’m always happy to find companies that give back to worthy causes. I am impressed by the quality and please by the effectiveness of Zen Society’s products, and I can’t wait to share them with one of you!

Giveaway!

One lucky Live Renewed reader will also receive the Elder Berry Toner and Makeup Remover from Zen Society!

Please use the Rafflecopter Form below to enter the giveaway. (If you are reading this in a reader or through email, you will need to click over to the post to enter.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway will be open until 12 midnight EDT on Friday, September 21st. The winner will be chosen through Rafflecopter and announced no later than Monday, September 24th. This giveaway is open to US residents only.

*Disclosure – I received free products from Zen Society to review, but all opinions are my own.

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