If I’m being honest the first time I heard the name “Paudha Healing” I thought surely it was a page that belong to some hippie lady living in Byron Bay that was going to cleanse my chakra with crystals while dancing naked around a fire on the beach under a full moon. Now try get that visual out of your head because it has absolutely nothing to do with the products I’m about to review. Paudha means plant in Hindi and that is what Paudha Healing is all about, “harnessing the natural energy and healing power of plants, to create beautiful skin care products for all skin types.”

The items I have selected to review from their range were:

• Clean & Balance Cleansing oil
• Hydrating Face and Body Cream
• Nourish and Repair Face Oil
• Lip Balm
• Natural Deodorant Paste

They all came in a cute, little hessian baggie, which is perfect for when you are planning an overnight stay or holiday, so you can throw them all in together and into your handbag, not having to worry about anything spilling. There were also instructions telling you recommended ways to apply etc. and the description which breaks down what is in each product and how this helps your skin. I’m an instruction reader, I like doing things the right way, so these are great additions for me. As much as I’m a daredevil and like living life on the edge, I don’t mess with application instructions, I’m just not that YOLO.

I have always had a T-zone, which is literally a T shape across your face where it’s quite oily and prone to break-outs. It’s the skin that spans across your forehead and straight down your nose and chin, basically leaving your cheeks as the only pimple-free zone. Up until my mid 20’s I had really bad skin, coupled with my nasty pubescent acne and a mother wanting to sabotage my popularity by not doing anything about it, it would be safe to say by 24 years old I was well and truly over having a new “friend” on my face every morning. As much as I tried to cover up with makeup, I was just too paranoid about it and at one stage only felt comfortable in skivvies, because I could un-roll the neck up around my chin whilst at uni and attempt to hide my goatee of pimples. After a short 3 month stint on Roaccutane, I have since had great skin, which I am ever so grateful for, but that bad run has made me completely paranoid that if I don’t take care of my skin properly, the acne will be back. Even though my skin is good now, I have a strict skin care regime and I felt that the harsher the cleansing the better it was for my skin, when in fact I was stripping my skin of its natural oils with all that alcohol and it was overcompensating at times to regulate.

Since getting pregnant I have tried to cut out as many unnecessary chemicals from my life as possible, especially considering kids love to lick and eat your face every chance that they get, and vice versa. This led me to Paudha Healing, their natural skin care is not only handmade in the Blue Mountains of Australia, so you are buying local, but it contains NO Parabens, NO Petrochemicals, NO Phthalates, NO SLS and of course NO Animal Testing, i’m just over here adjusting my halo as I type.

I’ll review in the order I use them because I have issues like that. First I use the Clean & Balance Cleansing oil. This product is a makeup remover/cleanser, and I only wear makeup on the odd weekend, which results in me feeling so clogged and gross by the end of the night I often cleanse twice. Yes I have to admit, the oil is slightly harder use than the self foaming stuff I was using before but I don’t miss it at all. It is recommended that you put the oil on your face, soak a face washer in warm water, then place it over your face for 10 seconds before you wipe the oil and all the makeup off, then continue to wipe until the all makeup and oil has been completely removed. The most interesting difference for me here was, that once I had finished cleansing, my skin didn’t feel dry and thirsty. I wasn’t busting to tone and get a moisturiser on because my skin was feeling dry, stretched and tight, it felt completely fresh and clean.

Next I used the Hydrating Face & Body Cream. The first time I tried it, I instinctively took the same amount as I would have used of my old moisturiser and I could have moisturised my face, neck and chest with that amount. It is so rich and oily that you only require the smallest amount, and I know I can use it on my body too but I don’t want to waste it so I haven’t. I always moisturise my face AND neck because I think my biggest fear about getting old is that turkey flap neck old people get. Sorry old people, I don’t mean to offend but it ain’t glamorous and I’m sure you are not a fan of it either.

In the evening I also apply the Nourish & Repair Face Oil, again to my entire face and neck. My advice here would be to drip a few drops onto your fingertips and then apply to your face. Do not be a Zoe and drip straight onto your face, then quickly try to return the dropper to the bottle whilst the oil is speedily dripping down your face. Again less is more here, 2 drops is enough to do your entire face and turkey neck prevention service. Please note I have a normal sized head, if yours is the size of a Gruffalo then you will need more so don’t hunt me down if your 30 ml bottle runs out in a week and mine lasts 3 months.

Two of the biggest side effects of Roaccutane were, super dry cracked lips, as I remember a tub of Carmex permanently attached to me and I would slather it on every 5 mins to avoid the zombie cracked, bleeding lips people got. The second was excessive sweating, and I mean BIG TIME, I would wear a shirt to work and by the time I got there I was so embarrassed by the sweat patches on my pits that I would run to the hand dryers in the toilets to dry it, mortified as onlookers wondered what I was doing! Thankfully those effects are long gone but my paranoia isn’t and I usually have about 3 lip balms in every bag or car in order to avoid any symptoms of cracked lips as they appear. The Pink Grapefruit Lip Balm is so light and oily, I put it on every time I’m in my bathroom and it catches my eye. The kids love it too but it doesn’t stay on for very long, I guess that has to do with the fact that I keep pressing my lips together enjoying how soft they feel and they seem to like the taste.

Lastly there is the Natural Deodorant paste, which the lovely Renee threw in for me at the last-minute in a sample pot size for me to try. I didn’t really have very high expectations to be honest. I have always been an anti-perspirant type of girl, and nothing else is enough to keep me dry or stench free (must be all those years of garlic my mum stuffed in every food we ate growing up, finally exiting my body). I had even tried a natural deodorant stick in Hawaii and although it was lovely for about an hour, it just didn’t cut it for long enough. I can’t stand when people rub something that smells nice over existing body odour in an attempt to mask it but it doesn’t so you just smell a perfume/BO concoction as they waft past you. Sorry I went off on a tangent there, but that’s me, anyway….. the Natural Deodorant paste, AMAZING! I was so impressed. The first time I put it on it was morning, I completely forgot I had used it and later that day, as I was getting ready to go to the gym, I usually freshen up with a quick spray before i head out. After a quick sniff of the pit and I was surprisingly impressed, they were still fresh as daisies. I put it down to possibly not having a very busy day and that’s why I didn’t smell, but surprisingly even after my workout I was fine. I’m not impressed easily, especially being such a die-hard antiperspirant fan, but i think it’s safe to say I am converted. I shave my arm pits too, so they are generally quite sensitive and the skin is lumpy, rough and darker than other areas. After only a week of using the paste exclusively, I have noticed the skin has improved dramatically and I’m not sure if this is attributed to the paste or a coincidence but I haven’t done anything else differently.

So there you have it! I love these products and my biggest fear is now I have become obsessed with them I will leave my family and move to the Blue Mountains to be closer to my one true love. Ok, I won’t go THAT far, I’ll take the family with me too.

If you go this far, thanks for reading. Now head to the website www.paudhahealing.com and use the code TSM15 for 15% off their range* (don’t say I don’t look after you guys). They also have a competition running across social media for their First Birthday where you can win their ENTIRE range!!! Go and enter.

Love Zoe xoxo

*code expires 14/5/17