Freyja Natural: Keeping It Simple For Self-Love Sunday

It was one of those days where I was feeling a little overwhelmed by how noisy and busy the world is. All I wanted was to retreat into the quietness of my own bedroom for some peace and quiet before going to bed early. Then I remembered the package that arrived for me at work that day! Thinking it was a package from my dad, I hadn't opened it straight away, and instead left it in my backpack for after I got home.

The first thing that struck me as I opened the couriered box, was that this bed connector my dad sent me smelled incredibly like lavender, which instantly put me in a more relaxed state. Feeling slightly confused as I removed the box stuffing to find a beautiful hessian giftbag, I noticed Freyja Natural's wooden packaging label and suddenly I felt like a kid at Christmas!

How perfectly timed! I couldn't wait to open the packaging and see what was inside. I'm a sucker for natural body products, and I've even played around with making my own a few times. I know it's not always as easy as it would seem, despite previous generations doing it all the time, right?

Nature Knows Best
Point is, I don't like and don't buy body products on the shelves in stores. Not even pharmacies. The products on the shelves have harsh chemicals in them that do more harm than good, and I'd prefer to use what the earth provides for care of my body, inside and out. I hold the opinion that anything that can be eaten and put inside my body can also be used outside, on my body, for self care practices. I have been using bicarbonate of soda to wash my face on its own for years now, twice a week, in the shower. In the mornings, I have been using witch hazel on a cotton pad to clear my skin, followed by home made rose water I made by boiling rose petals. I like the state of my skin, and if I add anything more to my care 'routine', it will also be natural, functional, and nutritional for my body.

Freyja Natural's body care range provides just that. No preservatives, and no strange chemical or colourant codes on the packaging. Just natural goodness that revitalised not only my body but my senses too.

The goddesses at Freyja focus on sourcing the best quality natural and ethically sourced ingredients that are 100% cruelty free, which is another reason for me to wholeheartedly recommend their brand for anyone looking for conscious brands that support life and the planet.

What struck me first about Freyja's products was the smell. Citrus scents blended with spearmint and lavender made their way into my system and I instantly felt uplifted and rejuvenated.

Included in the gift pack Freyja Natural sent me in the Spa Day scents of Lavender, Rosemary and Spearmint was their castille soap body wash, coconut oil and sugar heel scrub, lip and heel balm, a bar of coconut oil and clay soap, their gorgeous face serum (my favourite), and two bottles of roller oil in calm and happy scents.

First of all, my face loved the serum. I spent a Sunday morning performing self care and saw it as a perfect opportunity to get a feel (and smell) of Freyja's offerings. After a clay mask (I found a clay bed on the banks of a lagoon in Jeffrey's Bay and brought some home with me), I exfoliated with my usual bicarb, which makes my skin feel smooth and fresh, and then patted my face dry before applying a few drops of the Freyja's face serum to my fingertips and dabbing it on my face.

Lavender is known to restore skin complexion and reduce spots because of its soothing properties, so after a few days of using the serum in a row, my skin was markedly blemish-free and had a healthy glow to it. The face serum, which is part of Freyja's Facial Pack, is designed to make your skin firmer and smoother, as well as add moisture to your skin. It's made to help with any dark pigments and acne, and for sensitive skin the serum can be used instead of a face cream, with the same result. The ingredients are super absorbent and really penetrate the skin and help balance out the natural oils.

From there, I tried out the lip balm, which is made with coconut oil, beeswax, and essential oils. I have personally attempted to make lip balm using beeswax and olive oil before and it was a mission to get right, so I appreciate the texture and consistency Freyja's creators achieved in this silky and soft lip protector. Again, my lips love it and the lavender and rosemary essential oils used in the lip balm relax me instantly.

Next, I topped up a tub of warm water to soak my feet in and used Freyja's castille body wash with my exfoliating sponge to give my tired feet a good scrub. Castille soap is a natural vegetable-based soap traditionally made from olive oil, which provides extra nourishment for the skin. Regular soap is made with harsh chemicals such as sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide which turns the (usually animal) fats into soap during the soapification process. Castille soap cleanses the body as well as 'regular' soap, it just doesn't have the harsh chemicals, or animal fats present in that other store bought body soap has.

I remember going on a school excursion when I was in primary school once and we not only spent the day shaking cream into butter, but also using tallow and lard to make soap like they did “in the olden days”.

Anyway, point is: Do you know what's going into the soap you're buying from the super market.

Castille soap on the other hand, is vegan- and animal-friendly, and unlike store bought soap which is designed to dry your skin out and clog your pores so you head on over to the cleanser and moisturiser sections, castille soap leaves your skin in a much better condition.

I loved how my feet felt after washing them with Freyja's body wash.

My feet loved the body scrub even more, and my nose was captivated by the citrus scent coming from the 50g tub sitting next to me as I scrubbed the coconut oil, sugar, and essential oil paste onto my delighted feet (they hadn't got this much affection or attention in a while!). It felt really good to feel the sugar gliding over my skin and I ended up giving myself a mini foot massage with the scrub still on!

 After rinsing the scrub off, my feet felt so gorgeously moisturised and soft. They would have been happy if I had stopped there, but no, it was their lucky day... Freyja's Heel Balm was there to complete them. With a sense of what I would spend the upcoming winter doing, I scooped a dollop of creamy goodness, made from shea butter, coconut oil, and essential oils, into the palms of my hands and completed the mini massage on my feet I had started a few moments before. The only thing that would have made my self-love Sunday better was if someone else was giving me a foot rub, but then it wouldn't exactly be self-love Sunday, would it? And anyway, I know how I like my feet rubbed, and felt happy to be the best person for the job.

 Lastly, but certainly not least, I unscrewed the caps off the two roller oil bottles and took a whiff of the scents to see what the creators of the body care range felt was 'happy' and 'calm'. I instantly recognised the ylang ylang in the 'happy' bottle as well as the lavender from the 'calm' bottle. I wasn't sure which one to use first as they're both some of my favourite smells in the world. Since I had a healthy dose of lavender already with the spa gift pack Freyja sent me, I opted for an extra helping of happiness to my self-love Sunday.

My feet were also happy, as I relaxed on my bed with them tucked away in socks for extra softness after my little home pamper session, and I felt a real sense of appreciation for just how natural.

Freyja's range is. I feel completely at ease using their range on my body, and actually, I always feel like I could just eat what's in their tubs and vials because it smells so darned good!

For more information on the Freyja Natural body care range, visit www.freyjanatural.co.zawhere you can find loads of great information on the South African brand, which is based in Johannesburg.