Have You Ever Heard of Solid Beauty Products? I tried Ethique by New Zealand Beauty
Solid Soap!
Ethique is a clean, sustainable, eco-friendly New Zealand-based beauty brand that specializes in solid beauty bars that eliminate plastic packaging in favor of concentrated formulations.
This one focuses on solid beauty bars that eliminate plastic packaging. Furthermore, the products are concentrated, certified vegan, palm oil, and cruelty-free. The ingredients are biodegradable too. If you are totally into saving the planet from plastic, you’ll love that Ethique is B Corp Certified, meaning it has saved over 13 million plastic bottles from entering landfills.
You can see who this is targeted towards. But what really interested me was the ability to take good quality products when I travel, without having to worry about spills or the security checkpoint should I only take a carry-on bag.
This soap storage tray is made with diatomaceous earth, This is a naturally occurring sedimentary material comprised of fossilized microscopic algae known as diatoms,. it is very strong and absorbent.
I love the idea, but when it comes to storage, I’m not terribly happy with Ethique’s options. They offer storage ideas but they are mostly for in-shower. If you want to travel with your concentrated soap items I really think a zip-lock bag or a plastic box is necessary. That defeats the “keeping plastic out of the landfill” focus on this brand. Therefore the open-air soap saver and the rope bag sold on the site would be a mess without another box or bag. Just saying…you do need something to enclose your now wet and potentially gooey soap before you move along. The charcoal Haircare Storage Tray for shampoo and conditioner is made out of recyclable material, but there is no cover. This just seems kind of silly.
Ethique Discovery Pack for Face:
The Ethique Discovery Pack Luxurious Face Cleansing Trio ($12) houses three little heart-shaped soaps. They are plant-based pH-balanced exfoliating minis. Tiny white letters on the green carton make it difficult to see all the ingredients. However, the key ingredients are clay, kokum (vegetable alternative to cocoa butter), and coconut butter. Deep Green is for balanced to oily skin, Bliss Bar is for balanced to dry skin, and the last one is Gingersnap for all skin types.
The soaps offer a soft lather and really make your skin feel great.
Live and Let Shine For Hair:
Live and Let Shine Gift Pack for Balanced Hair ($27) is hydrating and great for balanced (normal) hair. There are two separate cartons inside another carton. Inside is a Pinkalicious Shampoo Bar (for normal hair) and The Guardian solid conditioner bar for balanced to dry hair.
The Pinkalicious shampoo bar is made with fair trade coconut and cocoa butter. It supposedly has a blend of pink grapefruit and vanilla but I can’t smell it. This solid shampoo also has Glycerin, a humectant, to draw moisture into the hair. Ethique claims that the shampoo will last for 80 uses which equal three shampoo bottles! I haven’t used our editorial sample 80 times. However, that is very impressive, even for a concentrated shampoo bar.
Multi-Tasking Conditioner Bar:
I really like the Guardian Conditioner bar with its faint lime scent. It also has lots of fair trade cocoa butter and coconut oil to help combat frizz and nourish dry hair. Another plus is that you can use the conditioner bar for a shaving bar. You can also use it to moisturize your skin in the shower. Ethique claims that this conditioner bar is good for at least 120 uses. If you’re using it as a shaving bar and moisturizing skin bar, maybe it won’t last that long. But still, it’s a great multi-tasker and the one I’m taking on my next vacay.
The Bottom Line:
Solid soaps are a great idea for your budget and for travel. And, if you like “green” products you will really like these! Also, I’ve been told that a closed case for travel is in the works for these products. For more information visit https://ethique.com/
