Brand Focus: ZAYA Oils (+Giveaway: CLOSED)

If I haven't said the following enough, I'll say it again, I love finding local brands! Canadians make some incredible products and many of my favourite skin care and makeup items are made right here, eh. I was thrilled with Anna, one of the beauties behind the brand, reached out asking if I wanted to try out some products. They are based out of Toronto and handcraft each of their beautiful oils using only wild-harvested and organic ingredients. I had the pleasure of meeting Anna at the Green Living Show earlier this year and wow, what a friggen beauty! Her skin was flawless, along with the other two ladies (whose names I forgot because I'm a horrible person).

Anna offered to send whichever oils appealed to me, and based on the ingredients and scents, I picked the *Eye Oil ($69.90 CAD/30 ml), *Face Oil ($59.90 CAD/50 ml), *Belly Oil ($49.90 CAD/100 ml), and *Body Oil ($43.90 CAD/100 ml). All of them came housed in dark glass bottles with pumps, for freshness and easy dispensing, and gorgeously packaged inside of a chic cardboard box with their corresponding characters. While I don't leave the boxes on my dresser, because I like to keep it minimal, these boxes have worked well to store larger pieces of jewelry that are kept in my dresser. I absolutely adore the packaging and appreciate the effort to create an artistic piece that can be re-purposed.

Our strong belief in natural skin care is blended with our passion for elegant beauty. We create them in desire to remind women that their beauty has countless number of faces. To inspire them to bring out their natural beauty, to be different, but irresistibly charming and elegant every day! 

All our products are created in Canada (Toronto) in our own facility using only natural, wild-harvested and organic ingredients. The product compositions are thoroughly developed by the team of PhD chemists who have 15 years of experience on the natural skincare market. No synthetic ingredients ever cross the doorway of our manufacturing site. Our manufacturing is cruelty free and not harmful for the environment.

Like many responsible businesses nowadays we are trying our best to use only recyclable and environmentally friendly materials to package our products. The carton boxes we use are made of 100% recycled paper [and can be used as a jewelry box]. Our bottles are made from beautiful high quality dark violet glass that offers optimal protection against the ageing processes that are released by visible light. So, you can make sure that the potency of our blends will not decrease over a long time period.

Read more about ZAYA Oils here.

*Eye Oil Rosewood "The Magestic One": This oil blend was specially created to nurture and restore the delicate areas around your eyes. When applied in the morning, it hydrates the skin, helping your eyes look fresh throughout the day. When used in the evening, it gently removes makeup, while revitalizing and nourishing the skin. 

Since I've started incorporating more oils into my skin care regime, I've found that my eyes don't get nearly as dry as they used to. That means that I no longer use creams or oils specifically designed for the eye area. Still, I decided to try out this oil for its intended purpose. By day 2, I had already forgotten to apply it. Now, I use one to two pumps to breakdown and remove eye makeup at night. The combination of sweet almond, rice bran, and macadamia nut oil leave my lashes and eyes well moisturized, even after removing with a cloth, but never feels greasy or heavy. The sweet and floral scent of rosewood is gorgeous and subtle. If you're into eye products, this is definitely one to try.

 

*Face Oil Rosewood "The Stunning One": This oil blend was specially created to delicately moisturize the skin without leaving the greasy feeling on your face. Carefully selected combination of oils deeply moisturizes your skin giving you a radiant glow

Ohhh how I love this face oil. It is loaded with sesame, evening primrose, grapeseed, and sweet almond oil, yet never feels greasy or heavy on my skin and absorbs quickly. The scent of rosewood is beautiful and I rarely get whiffs of geranium, which is a scent that normally bothers me. I apply one pump, in the P.M., to love my skin while I sleep. When I wake up, my skin is plump and well nourished. In the morning, I mix half a pump with a dime sized amount of moisturizer to create the perfect base for makeup. It hasn't irritated or broken out my sensitive, hormonal skin. Instead, it's helped calm redness, reduce dry patches, and even out my skin tone. Gorgeous, gorgeous oil and definitely my favourite of the four.

*Belly Oil Vanilla & Petitgrain "The Loving One": Specially created for Mothers-to-Be this oil blend nourishes your skin and maintains its natural elasticity. So comforting to the skin, it relaxes your body and soothes your mind. Pamper yourself and your little bean!

Before anyone asks, I'm not nor was I pregnant. I selected this belly oil based on the scent alone and I'm glad so that I did! The warm, smokey, and slightly spicy blend of vanilla and petitgrain make this oil a delight in the colder months and before bed. A little goes a long way, it absorbs into the skin with ease, and leaves the skin well moisturized. It contains sweet almond, rice bran, apricot, and macadamia nut oils, plus a few others, which I find to be rich enough to moisturize but light enough to properly absorb. Apricot kernal oil is actually one of my favourites!

*Body Oil "The Alluring One": Specially selected combination of oils keeps your skin hydrated and balanced. Giving your body a boost of nutritive energy this blend promotes the firm and smooth appearance of your skin.

This body oil is slightly thicker, due to the avocado and castor oils, but still absorbs really well. I absolutely love the combination of rosemary and grapefruit, it's fruity but still fresh and herbal. I have only been using it for about a week, but think it'll definitely be a love of mine through the warmer months, mainly because of the uplifting scent.

Get them here: ZAYA Oils, and these retailers.


GIVEAWAY TIME! - CONGRATS SHELBY!

• Follow ZAYA Oils on at least two of the following: Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook.
• Follow Live It, Love It, Green it on Twitter and/or Instagram.
• Comment below telling us how your incorporate oils into your daily skin care routine, as well the names associated with the social media outlets in which you followed us on.
• Open to residents of the the USA and Canada only.
• Must be legal age of majority or have permission from your parent(s)/guardian(s).
• Winner will get to choose any two products of their choice, which can be view here.
• Winner will be chosen by ZAYA Oils and announced on social media.
• Contest will start on Tuesday, May 12th and end at 11:59 P.M. EST on Wednesday, May 27th, 2015.

Good luck!

P.S. If you like patchouli, the hair oil smells delicious. I was worried it would smell too much like ylang ylang, but was pleasantly surprised when I sniffed it at the Green Living Show.

*Products provided for review consideration. ZAYA Oils was kind enough to offer one of my readers the opportunity to try out two of their products. All opinions are entirely my own.

Eye Oil Ingredients: Prunus Dulcis (sweet almond) oil*, Oryza Sativa (rice) bran oil, Macadamia Ternifolia (macadamia nut) seed oil*, Punicagranatum (pomegranate) seed oil, Triticum Vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (jojoba) seed oil*, Aniba Rosaeodora wood (rosewood) essential oil. 

Face Oil Ingredients: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) seed oil*, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) oil*, Vitis vinifera (Grape) seed oil, Prunus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) oil*, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) germ oil, Camellia oleifera (Camellia) Seed Oil*, Aniba Rosaeodora wood (Rosewood) essential oil, Pelargonium graveolens (Geranium) essential oil*.

Belly Oil Ingredients: Prunus Dulcis (sweet almond) oil*, Oryza Sativa (rice) bran oil, Prunus Armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil*, Macadamia Ternifolia (macadamia nut) seed oil, Sesamum Indicum (sesame) seed oil*, Triticum Vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Vanilla Planifolia (vanilla) CO2extract*, Citrus Aurantium (petitgrain) essential oil*

Body Oil Ingredients: Prunus Dulcis (sweet almond) oil*, Oryza Sativa (rice) bran oil, Macadamia Ternifolia (macadamia nut) seed oil, Triticum Vulgare (wheat) germ oil, Persea Gratissima (avocado) oil, Ricinus Communis (castor) seed oil*, Citrus Paradisi peel (pink grapefruit) essential oil, Rosmarinus Officinalis (rosemary) essential oil*

*Organic