I have a guilty secret: I’ve been cheating on my emu oil and I’ve liked it…

For the past two weeks I’ve been trialling Forest Secrets iRejuvenate two step facial oil system. I was sent little 3ml sample sized bottles to try and I’ve finished them – every last drop – using it once a day for the past couple of weeks. I think it might be love…*shhhhh*

Forests Secrets Skincare is 100% natural, vegan and environmentally friendly. Some of the ingredients are also organic and certified fair trade. They’ve won a number of awards including the Natural Health Beauty Awards in 2009 and 2010. They also have some celebrity fans including a Pussycat Doll and all the SATC girls. I’m sold! (just kidding).

iRejuvenate is a two step facial oil moisturising system (they don’t call it a ‘system’ – I’ve just named it that). The products come separately but are designed to work together. The reason for them being separate is to preserve the quality of the ingredients in each product; they maintain their integrity better by being stored separately.

Let me begin by getting the little issue of price out of the way: these products are not cheap. It’s £36.50 for each step (each a 30ml bottle). Considering I pay £28 for a 50ml bottle of emu oil, which lasts me about three months, it’s starting to make my secret affair seem damaging on the wallet as well as the heart!

However, these products are truly beautiful to use, and a little goes a long way. The website explains that used twice a day the 30 ml bottles should last you up to five or six months. It depends how many drops you use of course. I found myself using more than the two drops advised, because I love for my skin to feel really nourished; perhaps I am guilty of over-compensating for my fear of having dry skin.

iRejuvenate Step 1:

Step 1 of the Forest iRejuvenate system is the Pro-Youth Face Oil. This is a really light oil which sinks right into the skin, feeling smooth and nourishing . After applying my skin felt supple and soft, slightly dewy but not at all greasy. It also smells delicious, a summery herbal smell – it contains rose and jasmine. I truly found it a delight to use!

The purpose of this first step is to moisturise and hydrate, but also to provide anti-oxidants to protect the skin from free radicals. And it contains lupin seed extract which apparently stimulates collagen production – which is why this is championed as a ‘Pro-Youth’ product. Other ingredients include organic argan oil, milk thistle seed oil, apricot kernal oil, flaxseed oil and rosehip fruit oil (also organic).

iRejuvenate Step 2:

Step 2 is a lighter feeling serum rather than an oil. I didn’t immediately understand the need for it as my skin already felt lovely after Step 1, but I used it anyway and did really enjoy it. For one, the smell is so beautiful. The only way I can describe it is like a dewy meadow (or grass after it’s rained). It is such a relaxing and almost peaceful scent. And it did have a quality to it which added something a bit extra to the experience. It felt really silky smooth and provided the feeling of having added a little extra protection to my skin. (Sort of like when you add top coat on your nails, it just gives it that extra smooth finish.)

The purpose of this step is to “hydrate and repair the skin; diffusing redness and minimising dark circles, whilst imbuing your skin with a delicate veil of moisture, to restore lost radiance and luminosity to your complexion.” I think it does pretty much exactly that. I can’t say it reduced my dark circles enough that I noticed a difference, but I wasn’t really looking out for that – plus I’ve been really tired recently so probably not a fair challenge! But I definitely felt that my skin looked smooth and my complexion was very even – no redness and no patchiness. The website tells me this is due to the “super algae Chlorella peptides which stimulate micro-circulation”. They sound clever! This serum has an aloe vera base and also includes honeysuckle extract. I wonder if that gives it the glorious smell…

What is really fantastic and unique about these products is that you can mix and match how much you want to use of each ‘Step’ depending on your skin type. So for oily skin you may just want to use Step 2 in your t-zone if you don’t like to add much oil to that area. And for drier skin you’d shift the ratio toward Step 1…etc…

So, in conclusion, I really enjoyed using these products. There aren’t many products out there which perform as well as provide an experience that makes you look forward to applying them (not many I’ve found anyway). Well, these are two products that really do tick both of those boxes. I’d definitely recommend you try the sample size trial pack of both Step 1 and 2. It’s only £5 for both, so a total bargain and a great way to try these out yourselves and see if you want to purchase the full size bottles.

I still love my emu oil, don’t get me wrong, but it’s ok to have more than one love in your life, right?