Cutieverse

December 17, 2013
A couple of months ago I was kindly sent a little goodie bag from cutieverse.com as they wanted me to try out some of their products, so simply put, here's a very much delayed review on all of them!


I love the little pouch they gave that has all the products inside. If you're not familiar with cutieverse, "Hurraw!" is the name of their line of of popular lip balms which is why it has it on the pouch. The pouch itself is really good quality actually and I sometimes use it to store my makeup and whatnot when I'm using a smaller bag for the day.

All of cutieverse's skin care products are made with all-natural, organic ingredients, with some of them listed as completely vegan, so if you're particular about and love safe, organic products to pamper or treat your skin with then check behind the cut to see what I got!



I was really happy to see that they sent me one of their lip balms! This is the Chai Spice variant and they have over a dozen more different ones on their site. I actually already tried one of their other lip balms before, which was Vanilla Bean, since I won it in a blog giveaway.

Product description:
Nothing compares to the spicy-magical-garam-masala-ness of chai tea! Now Hurraw! Balm gets their chai on all day long with our chai spice lip balm! It's not quite like a milky coffee shop chai latte… but the real deal; a real blend of black pepper, cinnamon, clove, anise, and vanilla. Spicy divinity! --- Made in USA.
I really adore their lip balms since they're super moisturizing and don't make your lips feel 'greasy' and gross like a lot of others do. If you have very dry lips, it won't get rid of any existing flaking or cracks so you'll still need to use a lip scrub of course, but I find the Hurraw! balms give just the right amount of hydration for me and it lasts all night when I put it on just before bed so that I wake up with smooth and healthy-looking lips! Between Vanilla Bean and Chai Spice, I like the scent and 'taste' of Chai Spice better. I also love the unique slim shape of the balm which makes application even easier as it follows the curves of and stays within my lips when I put it on.

The Hurraw! lip balms are definitely pricey at PHP350.00 each, but I find them super fun to collect because they're so unique and they really do a great job in giving you smooth and hydrated lips.



Another product I received was a travel-size version of their Marilou Bio Crème Visage Jour day cream.

Product description:
Moisturizing day treatment. Aloe vera and Jojoba oil, natural ingredients derived from organic agriculture, moisturize and soften your skin day after day. Applied in the morning to clean, dry skin, this day-time cream will protect the skin and prepare it before application of makeup. --- Made in France. 
I'm always eager to try new day creams because I have to really prep and moisturize my skin before makeup or else all my dry patches and areas will be emphasized once I apply my foundation, BB cream, or powder. With a product that has aloe vera, jojoba oil, and shea butter in it, you can expect it to be great at moisturizing and it is! It easily gets rid of any dry patches on my face and prevents them from coming back throughout the day. The only con I find is that it's much too heavy to be a day cream because it takes so long to absorb into my skin. Even after 10-15 minutes the cream was still sitting on my skin and my face remained shiny and slick all the while. Honestly, if you just change the label to "night cream", then problem solved! But for day use? Only if you have at least half an hour to an hour to spare just prepping your skin, I suppose. Even after it was mostly absorbed, my skin still felt a little slick and almost greasy so this cream would benefit only those with really dry skin the most. Combo, normal, and oily-skinned individuals especially will just end up excessively shiny I think because I certainly did when I tried this out the first time. Within an hour after applying my makeup I had to blot like crazy to get rid of all the extra oil on my face. For a day cream the product could also do with some SPF, even just a little, as it has none at all. I like day creams or moisturizers with added SPF because it helps to minimize how many products I'm applying and saves me some extra time.

Aside from the great moisturizing abilities of the cream, I like the light, sweet scent it has and I'm happy to report the product didn't break me out even when I was using it at a time my skin was being extra temperamental. The full-sized product is 30ml, which isn't a whole lot more compared to this 10ml travel-size version, so it's quite pricey considering it's PHP880.00, at least in relation to how much product you're getting. But if you have really dry skin overall and need a cream like this in your daily skin care routine then I think the price tag will be more than justified.




I'm not the biggest sunscreen fan when it comes to applying it on my face, which is bad, I know. But I do try to make up for it with skin care products and cosmetics that have sufficient SPF in them already. That counts for something, right? Well despite that, I was genuinely eager to try the sample-size version of Raw Elements Eco Formula 30+ Lotion that they sent me.

Product description:
Biodegradable - Moisturizing - Reef Safe - Non Migrating Very Water Resistant - Never Runs - Never Stings Eyes 
ECO FORMULA 30+ is the Conscious Consumer's answer to serious sun protection. All Natural and free of all the bad stuff, this formula boasts balanced Physical UV protection through our unique Organic Eco-Shield Performance Technology. As a performance driven sunscreen, it is very water resistant beyond 80 minutes, yet so gentle and moisturizing it is perfect for our young ones! Packed with biologically active antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and extracts, it continues protecting our skin long after environmental exposure. --- Made in the U.S.A.
First of all, I'm glad to see that this is labeled as "reef safe" because I feel really strongly about saving and protecting the environment. With coral reefs dying or being damaged by common sunscreens (1, 2, 3), I think more companies who manufacture such products should consider using safer and more environmentally-friendly formulas. Aside from that, I think the use of organic sunscreens should be more commonplace with beach-goers. Not only are they safe for the environment, but they still do what they're supposed to do effectively which is to keep your skin protected.

Anyway, moving onto the product itself, I did get the chance to try it out on occasions where I knew I'd be under the sun longer than usual and I can safely say it did deliver in protecting my skin since my face didn't get red or even pink-ish like it usually does if I'm exposed to the sun for a long time without any kind of protection. I do find it's a little moisturizing too, but I still wouldn't skip my usual moisturizers and creams in favor of this. I actually wish I had the opportunity to hit the beach so I could test out its "water resistant" and "never runs" claims, but I'm liking how it has antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals because who doesn't love skin care products that nourish your skin at the same time? The formula does take a while to absorb into the skin though and can make those with normal, combo, or oily skin extra shiny and oily, so I guess this product, from the description and claims alone, means it's really best used for the beach or for other outdoor activities and isn't meant to be your light, everyday quick-absorbing sunscreen. Oh, and expect a white cast with this too if you'll be taking pictures with it on considering its SPF level!

The full size product is 3.0 oz. / 88ml and retails for PHP1,450.00




Last but not least, I also received this Merry Hempsters Cool Hemp Muscle Rub. Yes, you read that right: hemp. As in, marijuana. Haha! I know, it's a little surprising, but it's no secret that hemp itself has a lot of great and practical uses such as clothing, paper, fuel, and so on (1). I sometimes suffer from bad, random leg cramps so I knew this would be a really helpful product. Unfortunately (and yet thankfully), I haven't experienced any such cramps yet, so I let my uncle use it instead when he was complaining about a sore calf muscle.

Product description:
A base of organic hemp seed oil blended with peppermint, spearmint and wintergreen essential oils along with organic menthol crystals and camphor crystals, achieves a unique analgesic cooling effect. It is traditionally used for reducing pain and inflammation associated with sore muscles and strains as well as congestion. --- Made in the U.S.A.
According to my uncle, the rub did provide some relief but he still prefers the likes of Bengay cream to help with sore muscles since they work faster and more effectively. I can't fault the product on that aspect though since it is made with organic, all-natural ingredients so you kind of expect it to not have the strength of traditional creams that are supposed to do the same thing. I tried rubbing some of the product on my skin and expected that same warming sensation that you get when you use Bengay but I didn't really feel anything. At most my skin did feel that warming sensation, but only slightly. Again, most likely because it's made of organic ingredients. I trust my uncle's feedback though so it's good to hear that it did provide a little relief, but I'll go ahead and assume that it'll work best for minor pains and soreness.

This is the full-size 0.60 oz. /17.75g product and it retails for PHP500.00


So what can I say is my favorite product from the entire lot? Hands down it has to be the Hurraw! Chai Spice lip balm, but I'm still glad I got to try out all these products and I hope to try out more of them someday! If you want to check them out for yourself and order, head on over to cutieverse.com. You can also follow them on Twitter at @cutieverse. Sadly I don't think they ship internationally yet, only within the Philippines, so I also hope they open the option for that soon!

Thank you, cutieverse! x