Brand Focus: Silkka Garden Apothecary

I've said it time and time again, I love discovering new Canadian brands. I feel as though Canadian brands don't often get recognized, despite having such fantastic products, and it's such a pleasure to see more brands putting themselves out there and getting recognition. Silkka Garden Apothecary has been raved about on several blogs around the globe, like Short, Small, & Sweet (USA), several times on Small Bits of Loveliness (Slovenia), and Elegantly Eco (Canada), just to name a few. It was only natural (pun intended) that with the brand's focus on pure, simple, and clean ingredients, that I'd have to try them out

Silkka is Finnish for pure and simple, and it's a nod to both my ancestry and the principles which guide the creations. While nature serves as inspiration, simplicity is always the intention. Using pure, natural ingredients known for their abilities to protect, heal and nurture the body's largest organ (our skin!), my goal is to create skincare products that are simple, beautiful and, most importantly, effective. As the old saying goes, less is more (and yes, this even applies to skincare).

Silkka products are handmade in small batches each week, using timeless ingredients from around the world. They'll always be free of harmful additives, and packed with good-for-you ingredients, like plant, nut and fruit-based oils and butters, essential oils, dried herbs and flowers, and unrefined Ontario beeswax. Product packaging is both recyclable and reusable (amber glass and tin), and packing materials used in shipping orders are always kept to a minimum. (And packaging material from supply orders are always re-used.)

Read more about Silkka here.

Liisa, Founder and Creator, gave me the opportunity to pick up a couple of products. I chose the *Blossom Hydration Mist ($15 cad/2 oz) and *Vanilla Love Body Oil ($21 cad/4 oz). The packaging of both items is lovely; dark glass bottles preserve the product housed inside, the labels and logo are so feminine and pretty, and the mister top/pump are perfection (more about that below). Also, both items only contain four ingredients..what!? Simplicity at its finest.

*Blossom Hydrating Mist: Balance mind and body with this delicate floral hydration mist. In aromatherapy Magnolia is lauded for its ability to relax and rejuvenate the spirit, and Chamomile its ability to comfort and calm. Aloe vera soothes and heals damaged skin, while Chamomile's anti-inflammatory properties calm redness and irritation. Pure botanical bliss for the skin and spirit.

Aside from the pretty bottle, the spray top is awesome. Not sure about the rest of the world, but I love when my toner provides a perfect all over mist with only one or two spritzes. This does that. It's.Just.So.Perfect. Yes, spray tops get me excited. It's the little things folks! Anyway....the hydrating mist instantly calmed redness, hydrated the skin, and set makeup. Sadly, the scent was not my favourite. The first ingredient is magnolia water, which if you know what that smells like, then you'll know what this smells like. For someone who had no clue, I didn't expect it to be as strong or linger for as long as it did. I used about a third of the bottle before I just couldn't do it anymore. On the plus side, Lisa from Glam Goes Green gets to enjoy it now! Scent is a personal thing and aside from that, this was a great toner/floral water.

*Vanilla Love Body Oil: Sweet, seductive vanilla. There's simply nothing more exquisite, more enticing; so much so that it demands centre stage in this gentle, lush body oil. Avocado oil provides long-lasting hydration, while oils of camellia and apricot are light and non-greasy, making Vanilla Love the perfect moisturizer for day and night use.

Be still my beating heart. Be still. I don't even know how to begin writing about this body oil as the thought alone makes my heart skip a beat. It smells like heaven! Like delicious vanilla. Edible vanilla. Walk around smelling like dessert vanilla. Want to smell like this all day, every day vanilla. Can't get over the scent vanilla. It is absolute perfection anddddd I think Liisa needs to create a perfume. Now that I've gone on and on about how amazing the scent is, how does it perform? On my super dry winter skin, it wasn't enough. It definitely needed to be layered, but I often find that with body oils. I also only used a tiny, tiny amount for fear of running out of this sweet smelling goodness. With the weather (hopefully) warming up soon, I'm certain that it'll be more than enough on its own. Regardless of needing to be layered, the oil absorbed incredibly fast without feeling greasy and the scent definitely lingered (which I was hoping it would). As for the pump on this bad boy, I prefer a pump that doesn't require me to actually hold the bottle, but I do like that it's virtually leak-proof making it ideal to travel with. I sense this becoming a regular item in my body care arsenal.

Get them here: Silkka Garden Apothecary 
*Products provided for review consideration. All opinions are entirely my own.
Blossom Hydrating Mist Ingredients: Michelia champaca (Magnolia) floral water, Anthemis nobilis (Chamomile) floral water, Aloe barbadensis (Aloe) leaf juice and Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate.
Vanilla Love Body Oil: Camellia sinensis (Camellia) seed oil, Prunus armeniaca (Apricot) kernel oil, Persea gratissima (Avocado) oil and Vanilla planifolia fruit extract.