Superdrug Pro Vitamin shampoo and conditioner: Review.

Superdrug Pro Vitamin shampoo and conditioner (400ml) £1.99
Available from Superdrug stores or online at superdrug.com

Ethics:
BUAV approved.
Product and ingredients have not been tested on animals.
Shampoos suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
Conditioners suitable for vegetarians.
UK brand.

Review:
These shampoos and conditioners come in four varieties: smooth & shine, classic, thermal protect and volumising. I use the volumising shampoo as my hair is very straight so gets flat at the roots, but use smooth & shine conditioner because the ends of my hair are very dry.

This range is Superdrug’s own brand version of Pantene Pro-V, which is made by the animal testing company Procter and Gamble. Price wise, the Pantene versions are more than twice the price, so the Superdrug version is definitely better value. I was a regular user of Pantene before I discovered their unethical practices, since swapping their shampoos and conditioners for the Superdrug versions I have noticed the results of both Pantene and Superdrug’s are the same, so there is no difference quality wise. I haven’t noticed any negative changes in the condition of my hair, which can sometimes be a bit frizzy. Since using Superdrug’s smooth & shine conditioner, I’ve actually noticed an improvement in the smoothness of my hair which I didn’t get with Pantene. It actually does make my hair smooth and shiny!

The products have a nice fragrance, a similar fresh smell that Pantene has. The ingredients list shows that panthenol (vitamin b5) is fairly high up in the list too. Unfortunately, although the shampoos in this range are completely animal ingredient free, the conditioners are not. This is very common even in cruelty-free conditioners which tend to use lanolin which comes from sheep’s wool. Although there is no lanolin listed in the ingredients of Superdrug’s conditioners, I notice “milk protein” is listed which may be why the product isn’t vegan.

Overall, these shampoos and conditioners are much cheaper than their branded counterparts, they match very well in quality and they’re also cruelty free. No excuse not to try them!

10/10

Superdrug Natural high cleanser and eye-makeup remover: review

Natural high cleanser and eye-makeup remover. (200ml) £2.99
Available from Superdrug stores or online at superdrug.com

Ethics:
BUAV approved.
Product and ingredients have not been tested on animals.
No animal ingredients: suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
UK brand.
High in organic extracts and natural ingredients.

Review:
As a Natural High product, this contains many natural and organic ingredients such as: green tea, witch hazel, coconut oil and grapefruit water. After checking out the ingredients, coconut oil and witch hazel are the top two after water.

This make-up remover is creamy in consistency, it feels like a light moisturiser but contains coconut oil and liquid paraffin which enables face and eye-makeup to easily slide off. The smell is fruity and I think is a bit overpowering for me.

Overall, this product is easily applied and works very well, removing even mascara very easily with a cotton pad. It leaves skin feeling moisturised and looking toned.

8/10

Superdrug Natural High radiance balm: review

Superdrug’s Natural High radiance balm (50ml) £4.99
Available from Superdrug stores or online at superdrug.com

Ethics:
BUAV approved.
Product and ingredients have not been tested on animals.
No animal ingredients: suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
UK brand.
High in organic extracts and natural ingredients.

Review:
Natural high is Superdrug’s slightly more expensive range of own-brand products. The idea of Natural High is that the cosmetics are formulated with a high amount of natural ingredients. After looking at the ingredients, I think this holds true although of course there are also many synthetic ingredients included. The first ingredient is water, after that it’s witch hazel which is extremely soothing for the skin - this is one of the main ingredients, great! It also contains olive oil and elderberry.

This face cream has a slightly fruity smell and the consistency is a little bit sticky. It’s a very light daytime moisturiser which suits normal to oily skin. The cream has a light sheen to it as a result of “light reflective particles” so I avoid using it around the T-zone as it just makes my face look greasy. It’s great to use under makeup however, especially to highlight around the cheek area. For me, it’s sort of a cross between makeup and moisturiser.

Overall, this cream definitely feels like it’s soothing my skin. Although since I have very dry patches it just doesn’t moisturise enough for me and I think the sparkly bits aren’t suitable to apply all over the face (especially if you’ve got young or oily skin).

7/10

Superdrug Vitamin E nourishing night cream: review.

About:
Since recently making the discovery that the vast majority of popular brands still unnecessarily test on animals, I’ve vowed to do my best to find alternatives. Two problems I’ve come across is with finding comparable products of a similar quality, the other main problem is that cruelty-free products are much more difficult to find. As a general rule if you find a popular branded product, it’s probably been tested on animals. I’ve given up most of my favourite make-up items and cosmetics because I used many L’Oreal and Procter and Gamble products which are arguably by far the worst offenders when it comes to animal testing.

There is a list of good and bad brands available here.

I’m going to start off my new blog by reviewing all the Superdrug products I’ve used so far. I’ve found that buying Superdrug’s own brand products is a really easy way of cruelty-free toiletry shopping, as their entire range is BUAV approved. I’ve also managed to save money while the quality has remained comparable to much more expensive brands. I should also mention that The Co-operative Group’s own brand range is similarly cruelty-free and BUAV approved although they don’t have the wide range of products that Superdrug do.

Superdrug’s Vitamin E nourishing night cream (100ml) £2.99
Available from Superdrug stores or online at superdrug.com

Ethics:
BUAV approved.
Product and ingredients have not been tested on animals.
No animal ingredients: suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
UK brand.

Review:
This cream boasts “12 hour moisturisation” , “rich in vitamin E” and “high in antioxidants”. It is recommended for normal to dry skin. After taking a look at the ingredients, many vitamins are included such as vitamin E (of course) which comes high in the list, A, B5, F and H. There are also a number of natural soothing ingredients such as horse chestnut and parkii butter.

The fragrance is light and slightly coconutty, but not too overpowering. The cream rubs well into the skin and sinks in quickly, not leaving it too greasy. I have combination skin, some of it’s dry and other parts very oily, but I find this cream suitable for both types and mild enough not to lead to a breakout in spots. This cream does what it says on the tin- it leaves even dry skin feeling soft and looking moisturised. I’d say the level of moisturisation (if there is such a thing) is medium to high.

I’ve had the tub for a few months now and there’s still a lot left, so you get plenty for the price. I now much prefer it to other animal-tested face creams I ditched such as Garnier’s or L’Oreal’s as I found they were overly fragranced and were actually very harsh on my skin. I think they lead to breakouts and sometimes even a sore skin feeling which just made my skin look worse. So not only is the product actually better, but also a hell of a lot cheaper. I definitely recommend anyone to give it a go, don’t be put off by the home-brand label. Good quality and great value for money, I’ll definitely be buying this again.

10/10