I love smellies. I don't tend to splash my cash on clothes or music or other such vices, but I do allow myself to splurge when it comes to skincare products. Organic, non-organic, big brands, small secret brands... you name it, I love it! I love trying out new products and occasionally I find a gem that I'll stick with for years (perhaps always?).
When I first became pregnant and I discovered the whole world of mummy-beauty products, I was given two travel packs of Maclaren beauty products – one for me, and one for baby. Maclaren, being best known for their pushchairs, is a big baby brand and I didn't expect anything less than the highest quality of their cosmetics, even though its not really their forte.
The Beginning... Range contains around 13 products and several gift sets. The products are all made from organic, natural ingredients and they are designed to take advantage of the properties of aromatherapy essential oils. The travel sets contain trial-sized versions of a number of the products.
When I first became pregnant and I discovered the whole world of mummy-beauty products, I was given two travel packs of Maclaren beauty products – one for me, and one for baby. Maclaren, being best known for their pushchairs, is a big baby brand and I didn't expect anything less than the highest quality of their cosmetics, even though its not really their forte.
The Beginning... Range contains around 13 products and several gift sets. The products are all made from organic, natural ingredients and they are designed to take advantage of the properties of aromatherapy essential oils. The travel sets contain trial-sized versions of a number of the products.
All of the products smell heavenly and make you want to put them to use straight away but as with most essential-oil products, you have to use them quickly once opened or else the oils loose their potency. I only received trial-sized bottles of each product and found that in most cases, I couldn't use them up fast enough and that their fragrance disappeared over time, leaving them smelling a bit carboardy. I can't imagine ever requiring a full-sized version of most of their products. I used the 'Alleviating Leg Lotion' during the final days of pregnancy, and their 'Balancing Facial Mist' during the first stages of labour but I wasn't wowed.
Their baby products are more of a winner for me. I used the 'Cocooning Massage Oil' for my first forays into the world of baby massage but I have since come across cheaper, basic oils that perform just as well. My absolute favourite product from both travel sets has to be the 'Absorbing Dusting Powder' which is a talcum powder alternative. It is made from corn starch, kaolin, lavender and tea tree and is an incredibly fine powder. I use it often during nappy changes and after a bath and a little powder goes a long way.
The dusting powder is the only product from their range that I felt strongly enough about to buy the full-sized version. It probably explains why this product recently won an award for 'Best Organic Baby Product' at the Natural and Organic Awards 2009. Because it is not liquid-based it keeps for a lot longer than the other products, and due to the tiny amount you need to use, it seems like good value for money (even though it costs 10p a gram).
All of the individual products can be bought online and most of them cost £15 (there are a few exceptions, for instance a soap for £8! and a candle for £25!!). The site is easy to navigate and the purchasing process is easy, although I got the impression from the emails I received, that they don't deal with very many orders through that route... it seemed just a shade unprofessional.
In summary, the products, although scrumptious for a short amount of time, don't feel like good value for money and as a set of high-end organic, holistic pampering products, I'm not convinced how well they sit within the Maclaren brand.
