Green & Spring – the Brits go natural
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Like many of my fellow weheartthisians (Yes, I’ve coined a new term, jealous?!), I am an Anglophile. I love all things British. (I swear I’m the only person that buys the crumpets at my grocery store). Imagine my delight when I received not one, but two products from British import Green and Spring. So, confession time (besides that thing about the crumpets), I had never heard of this company. With a name like Green & Spring I figured this company would fall into our Green Monday reviews, but that was only a guess. So, nerd that I am, I did a little research to help keep all of you in the know!
Launched in 2009 and founded by the husband and wife team of Cambridge alums, Jessica and Peter Francopan, Green & Spring is an all-natural bath, body and skincare line that utilizes herbs, plants, and flowers native to the British Isles. (Very British Side Note: Jessica is part of the Sainsbury family, one of England’s most prominent families, and Peter is a Croatian prince, his official title being Prince Peter Doimi de Frankopan Subic Zrinski.), The inspiration behind this brand is the beautiful English countryside, specifically the Cowley Manor in Gloucestershire, a 19th century country manor house hotel possessing a modern sensibility and 55 acres of lush private gardens (and the award-winning C.Side Spa is located within). Sounds pretty Green so far.
According to Jessica, “As you get older, you don’t want to stuff your body full of chemicals, so creating a range that drew on the beauty and efficacy of nature was key.” Green & Spring products are all-natural and free of parabens, SLS, SLES, PEGS, glycols, petrochemicals, synthetic colors, artificial fragrances and are not tested on animals.
Many of the ingredients in Green & Spring products have been used by English apothecaries for centuries for their therapeutic properties. Plus, any water used as a component of a product, is sourced directly from from the natural spring located on the Cowley estate. Even better, all products are mixed by hand to ensure quality which, in my humblest opinion, gives a more personalized feel. Adding a touch of whimsy, each product package features a bird that is native to the British Isles.
Green and Spring offers three different varieties of bath and body products:
Relaxing – Inspired by aromatic kitchen herbs, blending the soothing fragrance of lavender with the nurturing and restorative properties of comfrey and rosemary.
Indulging – Inspired by English country gardens, blending the delicate scent of rose and the sensual fragrance of jasmine; with the comforting and restful properties of elderflower and red clover.
Revitalising – Inspired by green, grassy fields, blending the invigorating fragrance of peppermint with the nourishing and stimulating properties of dandelion and
fennel.
I received the Relaxing Shower and Bath Foam and it was pure packaging inspiration for me. The bottle is beautified with a chic and quaint bird amid a lovely list of the herbs, flowers, essential oils, and extracts contained within (plus notations of what each ingredient does, such as “softening marshmallow” and “calming chamomile”).
This cleansing gel is a clear, pale yellow and has a strong herbal/lavender scent to it, but it didn’t strike me as a particularly “girly” scent, so for those of you who share a bathroom with a man, prepare for product poaching! With main ingredients such as chamomile, lavender and comfrey; it’s nicely unisex. It lathers very well and leaves skin feeling clean and refreshed. In a bubble bath, it foams up nicely, however, the bubbles don’t last very long, so I’d stick to using it more as a shower gel. I’m not sure if this product is particularly relaxing, though my skin is softened with regular use and it always means a lovely bath/shower experience.
I also tested the Reviving Face Mask, which according to the bird-adorned jar, is influenced by wild, ancient hedgerows. The mask combines refreshing lemon balm and the curative properties of sea buckthorn and enriching carrot oils to revive and tired, dull complexions. I don’t even know what sea buckthorn is, (thanks Wikipedia!) but, it makes a great face mask. This mask is an opaque, milky white that has the consistency of pudding (how’s that for British?). The scent is very similar to the herbal/soapy scent of the shower and bath foam, with the faintest bit of mint added. I applied this to clean, damp skin and let it dry completely before rinsing with water. Once I was done, I found that my skin appeared calmer, all redness was completely gone. Blemishes seemed to clear faster and my pores appeared smaller–basically it did everything one hopes a face mask can do.
Apparently this mask is supposed to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and while I am fortunate enough to not have too many lines that need reducing, I do feel it did help my skin generally look better, and generally more refreshed. If you’re looking for a calming, cleansing and anti-aging mask, you may want to give this mask a whirl.
Overall, I’m impressed with this new brand from across the pond and I can’t wait to try out more from them, especially from their skin care line. Stay tuned to hear what our testers have to say about botanical-based Green and Spring…
Disclosure: This review includes products that were provided by the manufacturer/PR firm for our consideration. For more info, or any questions, please see our disclosure policy.
I’m a sucker for packaging too, and these look ADORABLE! I’m glad to hear these worked so well; what is it about British products and them always being amazing?
I tested and am almost finished with the Green & Spring Hand Wash in what i believe is Rosemary and Peppermint. Yes, the packaging is very pretty but that’s nothing compared to the product. A great light scent, but not too light. First you smell the rosemary then the peppermint kicks in at the end. I wash my hands all the time and what i look for is a good quick lather but most importantly that it rinses off quickly. This does both! I use this soap at least 3 times a day and like i said i’m almost out and would buy this again for sure. I can imagine their other products must be wonderful as well. I had no idea they get their water from a country side estate in England! that’s very cool!
I fell in love with Green & Spring’s Rich Night Cream before I even opened the box. How could I not be enamored of a cream that lists among its ingredients precious rose, rose geranium, carrot oil and marshmallow, and is inspired by wild, ancient hedgerows? This lovely cream is billed as “increasing the suppleness, tone and elasticity and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,” and for me, these promises were met without breaking my skin out or making it oily. The night cream is extremely rich and could be too much for normal-to-oily skin types, but my normal-to-dry face found it comforting and even a little plumping!
I’m also in love with the packaging and will be keeping it long after the cream is gone. The darling little bird on the lid makes me smile every time I reach for the jar!
I’d love to try Green & Spring’s Refreshing Eye Cream next. For me, this line is one more reason to love everything British! A solid 5 stars!
P.S. Great review, @krista.
Oh these sound lovely and I love the bird design!
Great review, @krista. I just love the packaging too. I’m a bird watcher and was just thrilled when I was given the gorgeous purple bottle of Relaxing body lotion from Green & Spring. What a great story about the owners- husband and wife working together – that just does my heart good! I love that they put so much pride into their work, it shows! I’m so glad that I chose their most lovely blend of Relaxing body lotion – it’s loaded with my favorite, lavender comfrey and rosemary. It also has another favorite ingredient of shea and cocoa butters that really soften my thirsty skin. It also has geranium in it to calm and balance any sensitive skin. This product is loaded to the max with pure essential oils; you can tell they do not skimp at all! My skin can be overly sensitive at times and I love how this really soothes and calms it down. I use this after my bath or shower and my skin feels wonderful! I was impressed with the ingredients that are listed on the container. It’s just so rare to see so many good things in one bottle! I love this line and want to try other products now! I gladly give this British company five stars!
I love face masks, and the packaging is adorable. Good review, I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for this.
I LOVE that packaging! That’s reason enough to buy the products!
The packaging on this is too cute for words—I’m loving birds lately (I just got new drapes for my living room that have birds all over them). I’m a sucker for packaging. Fortunately, Green and Spring actually make pretty terrific products, so I don’t feel bad for falling prey to great packaging :) Can’t wait to try more from them!
I really love everything about this product. I tried the hand cream and found the scent to be beyond yummy. Fennel, spearmint, peppermint and thyme would make an amazing tea; I’m glad someone thought to put it in a hand cream. The spearmint is by far the overwhelming scent and I came to the conclusion that spearmint has taken a backseat to peppermint for far too long in the beauty products sector. The result is sweet and very “green & spring-y.”
The texture of the hand cream is thick and rich and not at all greasy. Rich enough for a hand cream, but light enough for an all-over lotion (and I used it all over).
Need I say more about the packaging? It’s all been said and the photo speaks for itself. Still, I must say I love it. My artistic side loves a clean design which represents literally and figuratively what’s inside.
Brilliant.
Cor Blimey-this is some beautiful packaging! The perfect mix of quaint and retro meets modern. And the birds are just divine. @krista – how clueless am I, I didn’t even notice that the ingredients on the labels had descriptors! I think I was just blinded by the adorableness of the birds. But really, that is so clever. So, I got to test the Refreshing eye cream. Which I now know has cooling cucumber, toning witch hazel and calming chamomile (along with a bunch of other delicious sounding herbs). And truth in print; this is a very cool and calm eye cream. It smells amazing, is very gentle on my eyes and absorbs quickly, fast becoming my go-to day cream. My only complaint? It’s in a pump and it tends to dispense way too much cream if I’m not careful (which I hardly ever am). I would have personally preferred it in a jar where I could control the amount used a bit more.
But other than that 1 star off, I’m very impressed with this beautiful import!
.-= Stef´s last blog ..China Glaze Poolside collection =-.
I tried the Indulging – shower and bath foam….the packaging had me right away…the lovely little bird, and the print. I was sold before I even tried it. Then once I did try it, I was even more sold…It lathered up great, and wasn’t drying at all. I agree with @Krista about the scent…this one too is herbal enough to go unisex. A very clean green smell. I definitely am curious to try more from this line. 5 stars from me!!
I tested the Gentle Face Refiner. I also adore the packaging. I had never heard of this line. And I was very skeptical about what it could do.
I worried that the essential oils would potentially wreak havoc on my sensitive and oily skin. Happily, I was wrong! After using this delightfully mild product I experienced a brighter and clearer complexion. And as a bonus I saw a slight decrease in oil production.
The company does suggest testing the product first on a small portion of skin as natural ingredients can disagree with some people. But I must say that my sensitive skin loved this stuff!
5 starts from me all the way!!