Fall Has Arrived At Posh Brats!

As a practicing witch, I get really excited when fall comes because it marks the arrival of my very favorite holiday- Samhain (or Halloween). As a Cosmetic Chemist I also get excited because it means I get to use the ingredients, essential oils, and fragrances I love the most! Things like spice, pumpkin, honey, autumn leaves and smokey bonfires light my creativity like no other.

What is Samhain you say? Well, it's pretty interesting really. Samhain (pronounced Sah-ween). It was the biggest and most significant holiday of the Celtic year. The Celts believed that at the time of Samhain, more so than any other time of the year, the ghosts of the dead were able to mingle with the living, because at Samhain the souls of those who had died during the year traveled into the otherworld. People gathered to sacrifice animals, fruits, and vegetables. They also lit bonfires in honor of the dead, to aid them on their journey, and to keep them away from the living. On that day all manner of beings were abroad: ghosts, fairies, and demons--all part of the dark and dread.

 Virtually all present Halloween traditions can be traced to the ancient Celtic day of the dead. Halloween is a holiday of many mysterious customs, but each one has a history, or at least a story behind it. The wearing of costumes, for instance, and roaming from door to door demanding treats can be traced to the Celtic period and the first few centuries of the Christian era, when it was thought that the souls of the dead were out and around, along with fairies, witches, and demons. Offerings of food and drink were left out to placate them. As the centuries wore on, people began dressing like these dreadful creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink. This practice is called mumming, from which the practice of trick-or-treating evolved. To this day, witches, ghosts, and skeleton figures of the dead are among the favorite disguises. Halloween also retains some features that harken back to the original harvest holiday of Samhain, such as the customs of bobbing for apples and carving vegetables, as well as the fruits, nuts, and spices cider associated with the day.

In honor of this approaching festive time; I present you with selections from our Samhain Collection. This is our very best selling collection and it sells out VERY quickly, so if you are tempted by anything please make haste in getting yours. These fragrances come in both sugar scrubs and perfumes.

All of these items are currently in stock and ready to ship immediately.

Samhain Collection: Black Velvet Shroud Perfume
The blackest most sublime velvet covering an antique rosewood coffin...in which lay our sexy vampyre. We know he is only resting until the dark night falls and the air becomes heavy with mist and the sounds of night creatures......when that time comes we'll embrace our dark lover again. The scent: dark dark dark black chocolate, heady sweet black currants, tangy blood red currants, Bourbon & Madagascar vanillas, smoked spices, loamy black earth & a touch of church incense.

 

Samhain Collection: Death By Sunrise Sugar Scrub
You've accepted the eternal kiss of your vamp lover and been re-born into a new and brilliant night-time world but you must rest before the first rays of the sun touch the earth or you will be dead by sunrise. The scent: blood orange, tangerine, syrupy sweet pineapple, golden gateau d'or, black cherries, billows of marshmallow creme, vanilla bean souffle, and rich ripe sexy mango. 

Samhain Collection: Evangeline Perfume
A famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem about the Acadia Cajun beauty Evangeline Bellefontaine and her lover Gabriel Lajeunesse. Tragic but romantic figures who are separated by bitter circumstances, they spend their lives searching for one another always just missing being reunited. Evangeline becomes a nun ministering to the poor and ill this is where one days, many years later, she finds her beloved Gabriel.....broken and sick by an epidemic, her lover dies in her arms as she weeps for him and their lost love. The scent: Sweet Southern blooms of magnolia, wisteria, Cape Jessamine, and gardenia underneath a blanket of church incense, a forgotten bridal bouquet, Bayou woods of oak, and cypress, crushed grasses and virginal white cotton and lace.

Samhain Collection: Herne of Windsor Sugar Scrub
If you be of Blood Royal you have no greater fear than to be cursed and stalked by the dark deeds of the equestrian ghost that haunts the Royal Woods of Windsor. The scent: Dark mysteries in exotic witchcraft resins, Olde English dragon's blood, orange pomanders spiked with cloves, gingerbread, dark forest woods and midnight air.

 

Samhain Collection: Mourning Shadows Perfume
A lone dark caped figure stands in the shadows of a smoking pyre on which his witch lover was put to her tragic death. Grief washes over him and his tears fall as sparkling diamonds onto his pale cheeks. The scent: Black pomegranate,blood red pomegranate, white funereal blooms, heady violets, 2 types of exotic musk, Cornish honey and a touch of Bourbon vanilla.

 

Samhain: Boo-Berry Mansion Sugar Scrub
A hauntingly wicked blend of ripe forest berries swirled with blueberry mousse and a healthy dollop of vanilla custard topped with mounds of whipped creme and blue raspberry coulis.  

 

Samhain Collection: White Chapel Spectre Perfume
Tragic Victorian 'soiled doves' struck down in their prime by the malevolent Jack the Ripper. The narrow alleyways and spooky mist filled streets of the White Chapel district in Olde London Towne still echo with the sounds of their sighs, whispers and final cries. The scent: crushed velvets, silks and laces, skin musk, bitter lime, floral posies and a slash of citrus.

Please note: credit for these beautiful images goes to www.TheFairyGodfather.com and is used with permission for web use only. These images are not associated with actual product labels and are not intended for sale.

 

Vanilla Crème Shimmy Silk Conditioner

Before I actually begin this review, let me tell you a few things about myself:

1. I have never EVER written a review for bath and body products before. This is because I’m normally extremely busy, and also, more importantly, because no product, ever, has impressed me enough to make me want to spare some time to tell others about it.

2. I have always believed that companies that produce hand made and natural products can probably succeed in making effective products for the body, but never for the hair. This is because I have tried expensive conditioners from popular high street brands that claim to be both handmade and natural yet still effective – and I have always been disappointed.

3. I have very long, and very thick hair, which requires lashings of super concentrated conditioner otherwise it becomes straw-like. I have only seen results from a premium high street brand with a name similar to that designer company that produced unisex fragrances in the 90s and advertised in black and white with gaunt underwear clad models).

4. My usual conditioner upsets me. Because despite being the only thing that has ever been effective, it is synthetic and unnatural, and expensive, and I am becoming, like many people, more aware of what I am using on my body and my children’s.  I would much prefer a natural alternative but was resigned to using it.

Then came my holidays from university, procrastination from housework, and the discovery via google, of Posh Brats. Up until a week ago, I was unaware of its existence, believing that natural products were only available in an expensive fresh and handmade body shop in the city centre or via natural soap makers running very small businesses consisting of varieties of soap and not much else.
I ordered some products and lots of samples and eagerly awaited delivery. Upon opening the package I was rewarded with a variety of fun looking, exotically scented, products, with some free products thrown in (thank you!). Off I went with the vanilla crème shimmy silk conditioner to the shower to see if I could finally stop buying the mass produced synthetic stuff I was resigned to using.
First impressions – scent reminiscent of baked cookies, a beautiful warm, sweet and comforting scent. Personally I prefer vanilla of the sweeter variety, but this scent is perfect for someone who loves cinnamon and the smell of baked cakes. In any case, I wasn’t really that bothered about the scent, I was more concerned with its effectiveness.
I always have to use loads of conditioner, so I used 30ml (I had ordered a sample, so used the lot!), but if my hair were of the average variety (in terms of length and thickness), 15ml would have been more than enough. In other words, if you want to try it out, the sample bottle will be enough for 2 washes, so perfect for a weekend away. It went on easily, my hair felt slick and my fingers ran through it easily (not usually the case with ‘handmade’ conditioners). I pinned up my hair like normal and carried on with my shower, only rinsing at the end (like I normally do). I also used a pretty drying shampoo because I wanted to be ruthless with the conditioner and see what it was capable of.
Rinsing the conditioner away was straightforward, no greasy feel detectable, and when I towel dried my hair I became optimistic that this conditioner might actually compete with market leaders – no mean feat especially with scarecrow hair like mine!
As a busy mum I usually towel dry and then pin up my hair, but today I got the hairdryer out to see if the dried results were on a par with my usual conditioner. I am seriously IMPRESSED. IT IS JUST AS GOOD! This is exceptional, and quite astonishing. Posh Brats will now supply my conditioner – natural, handmade, small business, affordable, unique – what more do I want! If the other conditioners in the range consist of the same ingredients I am trying them all out, to find a scent I love.
I shall review some of the other products that arrived today at a later date, but I can say with certainty that I will be using Posh Brats conditioners from now on, and so will my children! Thank you Brittany!

Signed,

Medical Student

 Today we have a lovely guest review from Wendy Crehore. Thanks so much Wendy!!

Cheshire Cat Sugar Scrub

This wonderful scrub was the first thing that caught my eye. The scent matches its description and it smells like a slightly citrusy version of the KA Black Grape soda. I can detect blueberry, maybe black raspberry, and I love the magnificent blue colour. Comparing it to The Body Shop’s Mango scrub, Cheshire Cat feels a lot less ‘oily’ and it’s smoother and thicker (though just as effective as a scrub). The scent lasts lightly all day and it doesn’t stain skin or the shower. The product has a lovely thick whipped mousse texture in the jar and the packaging looks great (I love the glitter and bright colours of these scrubs *^_^*).

Cheshire Cat was originally part of the limited Wonderland collection, but to my delight I have been informed that it will now be part of the permanent collection thanks to its popularity. I can definitely see why. I will be ordering a six pack of this when I need more scrubs, I’ve found a new favourite.

Death by Sunrise Sugar Scrub Sample 25ml

There was an immediate hit of tropical fruits on first sniff, especially the mango.  The texture was pretty much the same as Cheshire cat, only with a mango, black cherry and blood orange fragrance instead of grape soda and berries. I think this one might be a limited edition but I hope it’s around for a while because I definitely want a full size. I was impressed by the bright orange colour and I thought the black glitter was a nice ‘gothic’ touch, since this was part of the Samhain collection. I think I will be working my way through all of the fruity smelling scrubs in the near future.

Sour Melonberry Soap

I’m very impressed with the quality of this soap. The fresh watermelon scent is nothing less than amazing and it’s good enough to shave with. Not to mention that it looks gorgeous:

It smells a bit like an American sour jelly candy called ‘Sourpatch Kids’ which was one of my favourites. If they had a watermelon flavour, it would smell like this. I really love it J

Cheshire Cat Perfume Sample

Mostly grape soda and berries in the bottle. The citrus notes come out a lot more on skin, it could be lime or bergamot. There’s a variety of small South American oranges called ‘lulo’ which is what I think of smelling this. The berry notes still dominate, but the scent moves from purple to green. I’m pretty sure this is mostly a black raspberry scent. Worn in the hair it smells the same as it does in the bottle, I like the skin scent but I love the sweet grape that I get from wearing it in hair. A full size has been ordered 

I’m very pleased with my first order from Posh Brats and I will definitely have to try more of this stuff.  I think the Anjou Pear and Peach Melba scrubs will have to go in my next order.

Reflection is something I have been doing a lot of in my rare quiet moments when my thoughts are not consumed by all things soap. I find myself needing to do a self-assessment....we are almost halfway through this new year already. Amazing isn't it? I do assessments every quarter with my business manager...why not do one for my personal self? Give this a chew, kick the tyres and drive it round the block a few times.

•Am I living the life I want to live?
•If no, what do I need to do to live that life?
•If yes, what do I need to do to continue living that life?
 •What qualities and values do I currently demonstrate in my life?
•Going forward, what qualities and values do I want to demonstrate in my live?
 •What current habits or behaviors do I want to let go?
•What current habit or behaviors do I want to keep?
•What new habits or behaviors do I want to develop?
 •What support do I need to develop, to encourage me live up to the commitments arising from the questions above?

Namaste,

Brittany xx