Kosé Nature & Co Three Butters Lip Essence Fruit and Floral

If you see this post on another site than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)!

Here is quite an overdue review for the Three Butters Lip Essence Fruit and the Three Butters Lip Essence in Floral from Kosé Nature & Co. I purchased them back in January and have used up one and used half of the other meanwhile so time to review before I forget how I liked this product =D

The Lip Essence (in either flavor) comes in a cute squeeze tube with slanted applicator and contains 8g.
This is a rather hmmm..."liquid" lip care balm..or let´s say it´s like a thicker serum with a very slick feel. Weird description, sorry! It´s not sticky like a gloss but gives a slightly glossy sheen and seems to absorb well.

The Lip Essence contains cocoa butter, macadamia nut oil and shea butter as well as olive oil and safflower oil.
To me this is nicely moisturizing product and even though it´s not so long-lasting my lips feel very soft and smooth after the essence has worn off.

There are 2 scents: fruit and floral. Fruit is a nice fresh slightly orangey scent whereas floral features a very subtle and unobtrusive rose fragrance.

Overall a pretty nice product, I like both scents though fruit is a bit better in my opinion.
I got them on eBay, I don´t remember the price but right now I see these listed for around US$10/each incl. shipping (not exactly cheap, I know!).

Rating 4/5

Summer 2011: Kosé Nature & Co Mint & Tea Refresh Mist and Mint & Tea Sun Protector SPF50+ PA+++

If you see this post on a site other than lotuspalace.blogspot.com it has been stolen and used without my permission. I only allow reposts with proper credits for my work (please contact me first!)!
I have quite a soft spot for Kosé´s "natural" skincare line Nature & Co. I just like the nature-themed kind of packaging, herbal scents and easy and quite affordable products.

2 of the newest products are especially formulated for the hot summer weather as one is a sun protection milk whereas the other one is a refreshing mist ideal for this hot weather and as an aftersun care for stressed skin.

Both products are from the "mint & tea" mini skincare series and I *think* they are limited edition. Both contain mint extract and a variety of tea extracts.

The Sun Protector has an SPF of 50+ and PA+++ so it´s quite a strong sunscreen. It has a distinctive mint herbal scent which is not bothersome as it´s quite light.

The bottle has to be shaken prior to each use to mix the lotion well. This is quite a liquid milk but unfortunately what ruins this a lot for me is the weird greasy feeling this leaves on my skin...this stuff doesn´t seem to absorb nicely but rather feels like sitting on top of my face.


So even though this might be a good sunscreen it´s just not comfortable to wear and feels like a burden to my skin. I will use it up on my body though where it seems to perform nicely.

So overall for my face a nay but ok for body use.


Rating 2.5/5

The Mint & Tea Refresh Mist is for face and body use and comes in a 200ml spray bottle. The bottle seem good as it also sprays when I hold it upside down (to reach my back).

The mist feels refreshing and has a nice, clean and fresh aroma (herbal, thyme and mint perhaps) and feels slightly moisturizing (but not greasy).
I like using it allover my body and my face and it doesn´t seem to irritate my skin at all, on the contrary, it seems quite calming and soothing.

All in all I really like the mist and think it´s a nice refreshing treat for the summer. It´s replacing my regular body lotion on hot days as it feels moisturizing enough when I am sweaty already =P

Rating 5/5

I got both products in a Watson´s store in Hong Kong and don´t remember how much I paid however you can get these on eBay, e.g. Alphabeautyuk has both in stock.

Kosé Nature & Co Vital Purity Lift Mask

Kosé Nature & Co released a new Vital Purity face care line (4 products I believe), supposedly a more advanced skincare (whatever that may mean)... I don´t know for which skin-type the products are actually made but my guess is aging and more mature skin.
 
The products contain organic lavender and chamomile extracts, furthermore collagen, GABA and Vitamin E (taken from Alphabeautyuk´s auction description).
I first ordered a sample pack of the Vital Purity Lift Mask as the full-sized tub is a bit pricier so I figured out I´d rather pay a few bucks for a sample before tossing a big jar because my skin can´t take the mask or gets irritated. I am actually usually sensitive to cream or gel masks so I generally use sheet masks as they are mostly suitable for my skintype.



Anyway, I tried the sample pack and liked the mask so much I finally ordered the full size!
The mask comes in a pretty square light purple plastic jar with a black cover containing a generous 180g (this will last quite a while!). I don´t know the retail price but I paid around US$25 plus shipping from ebay seller Alphabeautyuk.

This is a very thick off-white paste which reminds me of a clay mask. I am not sure if it contains clay though as I am usually extremely sensitive to anything containing clay!

The scent of the mask is really nice, it´s a fresh herbal smell, mostly coming from the lavender and chamomile extracts.


I apply a thick layer till my face is white (excluding lips and eye area) and leave the mask on for about 5 minutes until it´s dry. Initially the mask really feels refreshing and cooling (no burning or tingling sensation at all!) but when it dries down it feels very tight and stretching the skin thus giving a lifting sensation. Honestly this is quite an uncomfortable feeling but once the mask is dry you are supposed to remove it anyway.

The auction description calls this a peel-off mask but also states that this stuff should be washed off and honestly there is no chance to peel this off, no matter how thick the applied layer is... so I wash it off, also because I am sure my skin couldn´t take a peel-off mask.
After washing the Vital Purity Lifting Mask off my skin looks absolutely glowy and radiant, it´s clear and revitalized. This is not a moisturizing mask but it´s definitely lifting, softening, refreshing and refining my skin. 
I am actually pretty amazed of the results this mask can give. I totally expected to get an allergic or irritated reaction to this product but actually it´s really fantastic!

I think most skin-types can take the mask except maybe super dry skin as the mask might be not moisturizing enough. Anyway, I´d say this is a great product for tired skin.
I use it around 2x per week or when I feel my skin looks tired and dull.

This totally gets a Rating of 5/5

Kosé Nature & Co Three Butters Face & Body Lotion and Face & Body Balm and Shower Gel

I reviewed Kosé´s Nature & Co Three Butters Lip Balm and Hand & Nail Care Balm some time ago but tried some other products I should review now.

I got 2 body care products though they are supposedly also to be used on the face (but haven´t tried that, used on my body only!).


I ordered the Three Butters Face & Body Lotion (250ml) and the Three Butters Face & Body Balm (150g) and have used up the balm and half of the lotion by now.


When ordering the lotion I should have had in mind that the Japanese have a different understanding of what´s a lotion. Lotion basically means toner and so this product is a liquid and not a milky lotion as most of us expect knowing Western brands.
Even though the Face & Body Lotion is liquid it´s a very nice refreshing and moisturizing product to use on the body in the hotter months. It´s not sticky and just leaves my skin soft and silky. It´s more like a body splash with a milky *slightly* viscuous texture.


The Face & Body Balm however is a very soft buttery body balm with a slick and emollient texture. It´s perfect for the cooler months as it´s very nourishing and rich.

Both products have the signature scent all Kosé Nature & Co products sport, fresh herbal scent with a slightly fruity note.

Overall nice products albeit a bit on the pricier side. I got my pieces from eBay for around US$17/each.

I also got a travel sized 83ml tube of the Shower Gel for less than US$5 recently so it would fit to review it here.
It´s a transparent gel which foams up nicely to create a good amount of lather. since it´s not a shower cream it´s not really moisturizing but it doesn´t dry out my skin either.


I wish the scent would be a little stronger though as this has a very lovely but subtle scent.
The 83ml tube lasts me surprisingly well but I usually don´t use much shower gel as I like to create lather with a shower puff so a little goes a long way.
According to the seller it´s not available individually usually and it´s limited. Alphabeautyuk on eBay still has couple of pieces left for those interested.

Kosé Nature & Co Three Butters Lip Balm & Three Butters Hand & Nail Care Balm (+ samples giveaway)

I didn´t know that Kosé made an eco-sort-of brand! I think either I was ignorant or the brand just launched recently =)


In my opinion most Japanese drugstore brands either sport a romantic-princessy (like Rose of Heaven or Shiseido Deluxe), plain-sporty (think the packaging for e.g. Juju products, PDC, Cosmetex) or kawaii image (think Tiffa or Happy Bath Day).
The natural and eco thing is something I didn´t see often so far so I was overly curious to test the Nature & Co line which just caught my eye with their pretty packaging when I found it on eBay (alphabeautyuk as usual). I ordered the Three Butters Lip Balm and the Three Butters Hand & Nail Care Balm along with a bunch of samples (check my sample giveaway at the bottom of the page!) to try out this luring (new?) brand. The seller listed more things, I think that´s pretty much most of the available items so I ordered more to try and review later on!


First off as I said the packaging is really pretty! The bottles and tubes are rather simple but come with cute labels with a vintage French feel (at least that´s the vibe I get). I think Kosé doesn´t claim this range to be all natural but the products contain certifieed eco ingredients which seems to get somewhat popular among Japanese customers in general (at least I read that somewhere).
Now flame me but in general all-natural super eco brands don´t work for me (and we get plenty of German and Austrian ones here!) so I am happy that the Kosé line just contains some good eco stuff and some conventional one which might make the formulas more balanced and pleasant to use in some products (as I personally find the all-eco formulas tend to be heavy or stinky or something) =P Anyway, that´s my opinion!
Price-wise the products are on the affordable side (between around US$6-20 on eBay). The line contains products for the face, body, hands and lips.

Three Butters Lip Balm:


This comes in a small jar and contains 5.8grams. The balm has a milky color and a sticky texture with a whitish glossy finish. It feels just like the Rose of Heaven lip balm from Kosé but without the heavy rose smell but a fresh herbal and slightly floral scent.
To me the balm feels really moisturizing and comfortable to wear but I only use it when I am staying in the house or at night before I sleep due to the milky color. Those who don´t like sticky glosses won´t really enjoy this balm though as it has a slightly sticky feeling thus it lasts pretty long.


All in all in this is a very decent lip balm which I enjoy very much. I might repurchase this as it´s really a great overnight treatment!
I paid US$6.95 for this item on eBay.

Three Butters Hand & Nail Care Balm:


This comes in a tiny 30ml tube (it only looks like aluminium but it´s a plastic squeeze-tube). It carries the same pleasant fresh herbal but also slightly floral scent as the lip balm and is a very rich and emollient cream.
It makes my hands soft and smooth and this feeling lasts for very long time, too!
The only drawback for me is the size as 30ml are used up pretty quickly (about a week for me as I like to use hand cream a few times a day!) however the price (less than US$6) is ok and the Hand & Nail Care Balm is really excellent in my opinion!

All in all I am pretty happy with both products and I am curious for the other things I ordered. This is definitely a nice cost-effective range worth to check out!

I took this description from Alphabeautyuk on eBay:

"Natural Ingredients:

Under strict examination of different natural plant essence, only healthy & high quality plants born under natural in an organic way are selected for this "Nature & Co" series, including Rosemary (Spain), Marigold Extract (English), olive oil (Spain), Sambucus Extract (Swiss), Cucumber (Japan), Red Flower Oil (Mexico), and Jojoba Oil (Mexico).

Fresh Natural Fragrance:

With a careful selection of 10 natural fragrance, blends of green grass & sweety fruit, it gives you an ever pleasant & harmony feel with aromatherphic performance. Everyday's skincare is just an enjoyment like living in natural garden.

Certificate of Organic Growth
OTCO, SKAL, BIO SUISSE, JAS, QAI"

Small samples giveaway:

As I mentioned I also ordered samples of the Hand & Nail Care Balm. If you want to try this stuff out yourself please comment on this post. I will give away 7 samples (small pamphlet with 3ml sample inside) so 7 randomly chosen commenters have the chance to try this product out.

I will choose the winners on Monday, April 12th at 3 PM (my time, that´s the Vienna-Zürich timezone) and announce them in a separate post. Please email me within 48 hours with your address (I ship worldwide) otherwise I will pick a new winner!