Camille Rose Naturals: Skin, Body and Haircare with more than just a pretty name
A whole lot of my readers and followers really love natural skincare and one particular brand, Camille Rose Naturals, are easy to love for so many reasons. They’re highly scented with the most amazing fragrances — and they have such a pretty name!
This “naturals” skin, body and hair care company was not on the Advice Sisters’ radar screen until we were invited to an editor’s event. We were there at the end of the City’s big snowstorm, intrigued by the name and the natural products. When we posted photographs of some of these products during the event on Instagram, we started getting comments from Camille Rose fans about how much they love it, before we even made it back to the street!
Clearly, we had missed something special, and it was more than just the pretty name!
Camille Rose is a name that grabs you. For Janell Stephens, the creator of Camille Rose, it has special meaning. The company was named in honor of Janell’s maternal grandmother, according to her: “the one who taught me how to be a woman taught her how to be a woman that has the poise and ability.” It’s fair to say that Janell herself is an inspiration to other women. She is a very successful mom-preneur who started making these beauty products for her family in her own home. Now, they are widely available in major mass market retailers as well as online. When she talks about her family and her journey with Camille Rose, you can see this woman clearly glow with enthusiasm and pride.
Apart from the amazing fragrances, it’s nice that Camille Rose products have the ingredients clearly listed on the jars and bottles as well as on the Camille Rose web site. You don’t have to guess what’s in them and if you want natural products, that’s very important. Many of the Camille Rose products are targeted to curly and/or coarse hair. These products will particularly please women who really need a lot of moisture to wear their hair naturally curly. Janell says they are formulated for everyone, but if your hair doesn’t fit the coarse/curly category and doesn’t need extremely emollient products, you wouldn’t want or need a lot of these, such as the ones that focus solely on hydrating, creating and maintaining natural curls.
Fortunately, there are some products that everyone can enjoy. For example, the bath and body products. The Ginger Spice Whipped Body Cream ($12.00 for 4 oz.) *there are four other “flavors” smells intensely like coconut and bitter almond (to my nose) and it’s thick and rich, and stays on your skin for a long time. If you use it after a shower, you will feel the emollient cream go to work on dry, itchy skin immediately. If a product is pleasant to use and it’s effective, you will reach for it above others. This product wins! The ingredients include: Unrefined shea butter nibs, coconut kernels, aloe vera, distilled water, rosemary and lavender extracts, btms, optiphen, and scent. Interestingly, although a lot of men don’t like fragranced body products, my husband went crazy for this one, and grabbed it for his own use. I haven’t seen it since!
Another standout (for hair) that would work for everyone is the Coconut Water Leave-In DeTangling Treatment for hair ($14.00 8 fl. 0z.). It smells like creamy coconut milk and silkens hair amazingly well with coconut water and penetrating natural oils that add moisture and shine. The formula is non greasy and lightweight. You can use it either as a leave-in or if that’s a bit too much, just as a normal conditioner that you wash out. Beauty Tip: For a beachy look and especially in the Summer, comb this through your hair on casual days. Make a braid, bun or ponytail. When it’s time to shampoo, your hair will have absorbed all of the natural goodness of the natural oils as a treatment, (see ingredients below), while you enjoy the coconut scent on your hair during the day. The ingredients include: Distilled Water, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water, Cetearyl alcohol, Cetyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract, Althaea Officinalis (Marshmalow) Leaf/ Root Extract, Linum Usitatissmum (Flax Seed) Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii Glycerides (Shea Butter), Butylene Glycol, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Cannabis Sativa (Hemp Seed) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower Seed) Oil, Phenoxyethanol and Caprylyl Glycol (Optphen ND), Aloe Ferox Powder, Marshmallow Root, Yucca Root, Blue Cohosh, Scent .
Janell told editors that she was developing more products, and that will make her even more fans. Although not everything will appeal to everyone or work equally as well for everyone, for those who enjoy highly scented natural products, Camille Rose will be a true “find.” If you have a specific hair type, the affordable cost makes it easy to test out products you might not normally consider. I hope Janell creates more in the bath and body category because they are such fun to use, so easy on the budget, and make you feel like you are doing good things for your skin. Not all natural products are created equal but Camille Rose Naturals is nominated for a CEW Beauty Products award for 2016…we are not surprised. We give them two thumbs up.
Find Camille Rose products at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Walgreens,Rickys, Whole Foods, Target and at Camillerosenaturals.com