Porsche Ella - The New Kid on the Block

A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Julie Michaud of Locale Beauty. We bonded over a love for Corpa Flora and supporting Canadian beauty companies. Porsche Ella carries a variety of products for skin, body, hair, mama and baby, and even offers e-classes. Since then, Julie has redesigned her website and changed the name to Porsche Ella. With all of these changes, the company has been nominated for a Best Concept by Small Business BC Awards! If you'd like to vote, you can do so here.

porsche-ella is an innovative online platform that welcomes customers to easily purchase makeup, skincare and beauty products to enhance their outer beauty while providing distinguished programs for life-impact guidance that addresses concepts of inner beauty. porsche-ella's dual intention is the concept of founder and operator, Julie Michaud who personally selects all products and is the designer of porsche-ella's educational programs that challenge conventional notions of what it means to be truly beautiful.

All porsche-ella's products are Canadian sourced from boutique and artisan producers, are ensured to be non-carcinogenic and are designed to promote healthy skin. This commitment to the local economy and responsibly produced cosmetics reflect Michaud's pledge to teach a deeper understanding of inner beauty with equal capacity. 

Her program Grace and BeautyTM aims to teach how emotions, self talk, habits, food and skin care affect the outer presentation we give to the world, while her program Peaceful AssertivenessTM aims for a thorough assessment of the impact of beauty, inner peace and assertiveness in the professional world.

Read more about the company and Julie, here.

A couple of the Viva Health sample packets briefly reviewed in this empties post

*Viva Health Aromatherapy Facial Toner Description: Combining the natural astringents of mandarin and rose with the stimulating and healing properties of arnica, silica, and witch hazel, this refreshing toner rehydrates the skin and works to shrink and tighten pores. The added benefit of geranium treats acne while balancing the skin’s pH for a brightening effect. The Aromatherapy Facial Toner’s light spray-on application means you can apply it throughout the day whenever your skin needs a boost – even over makeup. 
Retails for $24.99 cdn for 240 ml.

Not a fan of this product. I've tried it a couple of times and it just makes my face red and itchy. It also smells like a cleaning product, yuck. I was super disappointed to see that the ingredients on the website didn't match the bottle, since I chose it based on the simplicity of them. Still, the ingredients are pretty clean. Since I reacted to this toner, I can exactly vouch for any of the benefits. I've passed this over to my mom and she had no reaction but, hates the scent as well.

Soap samples briefly reviewed in empties post

*Ella's Botanicals Magic Balm in My Darling Clementine Description: Our Magic Balms really are magic-they are multi purpose balms that are great for face, body, hands, feet, cuticles, lips-you name it! They are great for healing fresh tattoos as well. That’s not all- dry skin, rashes, minor cuts and scrapes and anything else you can think of. It all begins with some beautiful olive oil and our special blend of Calendula Flowers, Comfrey Leaf, Plantain Leaf and Chickweed Flowers. We infuse the olive oil and herbs for quite some time so the oil can absorb their magical skin healing properties. We then strain the oil and blend it with local, delicious smelling beeswax and Organic, Fair Trade shea butter, add our essential oils blends and pour them into tins. Voila- a perfect, all purpose balm that you can take with you everywhere you go and it’s 100% from nature! 
Retails for $15.00 cdn for 2 oz.

This is one of the smoothest balms that I have had the pleasure of using! I also love the clementine/orange scent. I like to keep this on my night table and use it before bed on any dry spots (elbows, knees, heels, cuticles, etc). Plantain, calendula, comfrey, and chickweed are all ideal for soothing, healing, and calming inflamed and irritated skin; while shea butter and beeswax help to soften and protect. Works like a charm! Also, the tin is super light making it ideal for tossing in your purse, baby bag, or carry on. Still, I prefer the NBW balm but if it was no longer available, I would purchase this instead.

*Reese and Luke Shea Butter Baby Balm in Lavender Description: Our Shea butter organic lavender baby balm provides natural healing with healthy fatty acids and antioxidants that provides moisture to keep skin soft and supple. Effective for avoiding diaper rash treatment. Reese and Luke’s Shea butter organic lavender baby balm is made with pure unrefined African Shea nut butter, which retains all of the properties that makes Shea butter renowned as a skin remedy and has superior healing results compared with competing cosmetic oils or refined Shea butter. Our Shea butter lavender baby balm is safe for cloth diapers, and does not damage or stain cloth diapers allowing your cloth diapers to be fully absorbent.
Retails for $13.99 cdn for 2.1 oz.

I love the blend of shea butter with other calming ingredients, like calendula and lavender for face and body use. It absorbs well and leaves a nice barrier to protect from the cold weather that we've been hit with recently (and diaper rash, although I don't wear diapers so I'm just assuming). Shea butter is non-comedogenic, so you don't have to worry about it clogging your pores, and can help with wrinkles, stretch marks, scars, etc. You cannot go wrong with this shea butter balm!

Haven't tried the lip balm but, it's strongly coconut scented

*Saavani Acne Spot Treatment Description: An absolute must have! A concentrated and potent mix of essential oils to kill acne causing bacteria and help relieve swelling and redness…on the spot! This treatment is a necessity for many acne prone clients who swear by its results.

Retails for $32.00 cdn for 12ml.

This stuff does not smell very good, in my opinions, but it works like a dream!! It might even be better than Osmia's and it's much bigger. Like with any spot treatments, it takes a bit of reapplying to help get rid of big, stubborn under the skin zits. However, this worked overnight on smaller ones without leaving behind any scars. If you can get over the scent, you will love this spot treatment!

I absolutely adore the concept behind the company and think that if you're trying to support solely Canadian businesses and brands, Porsche Ella is the way to go. That being said, there are so many other amazing Canadian brands that Julie does not yet carry. As her business grows, hopefully so will the brands she carries. In the meantime, you can get 10% off with coupon code ECOCHICBEAUTY10 to use towards whatever products you'd like. Some of my favourites are Corpa Flora (obviously), SBT Seabuckthorn, Reese and Luke, and Saavani (spot treatment).

What do you want to try most or what have you already tried of the products mentioned?

*Products provided for review consideration. All opinions are entirely my own. I do not receive any compensation for you using the coupon code, it is solely for your benefit.
Viva Health Aromatherapy Facial Toner Ingredients: Aqua(Purified Water), Vegetable Glycerin, Citrus Defense™ (Malic Acid, Citrus Aurantium Extract, Yucca Shidegere Extract, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid), Citrus Grandits (Grapefruit Seed) Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel), Pro Vitamin B5 (Panthanol), Tinosan, Potassium Sorbate, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Oil, Pelangonium Graveoleus (Geranium) Essential Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Citrus Nobillis (Mandarin) Essential Oil.
Ella's Magic Balm Ingredients: Olea Europa Oil (Olive), *Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter/Beurre de Karité), Cera Alba (Beeswax/Cire d’Abeille), Calendula Officinalis Flower, Plantago Major Leaf, Stellaria Media Flowers, Symphytum Officinale Leaf, Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil (Orange), Citrus Reticulata Oil (Tangerine/Mandarine), Vanilla Planifolia Oil (Vanilla/Vanille), Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract (Rosemary/Romarin)
Reese and Luke Shea Butter Ingredients: Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Olea Europaea Fruit Oil (Olive), Euphorbia cerifera (Candelilla Wax), Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba), Hypericum perforatum Leaf (St John’s Wort), Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract (Org Calendula Extract),Lavandula Angustifolia Oil (Organic Lavendin Oil)
Saavani Spot Treatment Ingredients: Lavender Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Tamanu Oil, Turmeric Oil, Geranium Oil.

Rave Review: Pure Anada African Gold

Pure Anada is a Canadian based company that was created by Candace Grenier. She started her career as a hairstylist, and after developing such severe sensitivities to the chemicals she used on a daily basis, decided to green her life. After switching all of her household products, she realized her makeup was the only thing left that wasn't green. Her dissatisfaction with natural makeup encouraged her to start making her own (lovely) creations. The brand quickly blossomed and now carries a variety of products for all to enjoy!

The lovely Candace. Picture courtesy of Pure Anada.

I've come across Pure Anada many times while roaming the aisles of The Big Carrot, but for some reason never tried anything. Then I met Lisa, owner of Serenity on the Humber, who constantly raved and still raves about the brand. She intensified my need (obviously need) to try the brand out for myself. Luckily, Candace contacted me and asked if I was interested in trying out some products. I didn't even think twice and *African Gold was one product I knew I definitely needed to try.

Description: Unrefined, fair-trade, organic Shea Butter, blended with  African Marula Oil, makes this product a must-have in every household! Shea Butter is extracted from the kernel of the Karite tree, and has been used in Africa for hundreds of years!   There are many beneficial effects of the compounds found in raw, unrefined shea butter. Vitamins A & E and F all work to soften and revitalize dry skin.  Some of the properties are anti-bacterial which help in healing wounds.  Raw shea butter is wonderful for people with sensitive skin and has been known to help those with psoriasis and eczema.  Many people claim it also brings instant relief to insect bites! Marula Oil is known as Africa’s miracle oil!  It is rich in antioxidants, oleic acid, vitamins A & C which are essential components for the maintenance of healthy skin.  It is fast absorbing, and helps to nourish and soften skin.

I've never, in my life, used any form of pure shea butter and I'm pretty sure that makes me the last one on earth to give this wonderful butter a go. We all know how good shea butter is for our skin, it's stated in the description portion above, but what makes it even better is that it is non-comedogenic! As a hormonal acne sufferer with dehydrated and reactive skin, this is glorious news. Then you mix it with an anti-aging miracle oil, like marula, and you got yourself a night time superhero night cream. Have I rambled on enough yet? Ugh. Let me start the actual review by saying that it smells semi awful. No clue if it's the shea butter or the marula oil, but know that it's strong and lingers. That being said, it won't stop this gal from getting her nightly dose! It comes in a plastic container, which makes it ideal for travelling, and the product itself is super affordable if you're lazy like me and don't want to DIY. Plus, why mess with perfection? It's texture is a butter (duh), but it's softer than what I expected and easily scoops out of the container, melts between the hands and applies with ease. I started off using this on my body, until I tried it on my face. A-FREAKIN-MAZING! I alternate between this and my tamanu/SBT sea buckthorn fruit oil mix and when I use this, my skin is noticeably softer, smoother and more radiant in the morning. It hasn't irritated my skin or broken it out at all. With Fall/Winter coming, I'm pretty sure this is going to be a staple in my skin care routine. 

Retails for $12 CAN for 4oz. Can be purchased through Pure Anada or some of their other retailers.

Have you ever used shea butter as a facial moisturizer?

*product provided for review consideration. All opinions are my own.