A Bunch of Roses
REN launched their ‘Clean Bio Active Skincare’ range in 2000 after company founder Antony Buck’s wife suffered from allergic reactions to skincare products whilst she was pregnant. In partnership with Robert Calcraft, Antony developed a ‘truly desirable’ range of high quality skincare products, free from synthetic fragrance and colours, petrochemicals, propylene glycol, animal ingredients, PEGs, TEA/DEA, sulfates, silicones and parabens.
The company ethos is summarised in their ‘5 Principles’:
The Right Ingredients
The Right Science
The Right Attitude
The Right Environmental Impact
The Right Product Experience
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash (200ml - £17)
Although this body wash was given to me as a gift in a beautiful floral printed box set, I still found the packaging of the actual product to me rather unimpressive. Perhaps the designers were aiming for ‘urban utilitarian chic’ with the biodegradable bag of product sealed into a biodegradable plastic tube but I find the whole effect terribly unattractive. In fact REN packaging reminds me of a 1990’s baby feeding system where mothers were encouraged to put baby milk into strange sterile bags that then sat inside the baby bottle. I think the whole idea was to avoid any air getting into the liquid and giving the infant colic. They were way too complicated to assemble and the poor baby invariably passed out with exhaustion half way through as only a trained astronaut can effectively drain a vacuum packed product of this type with ease.
Back in bathroom, the other problem is that this style of packaging makes two things almost impossible: 1. Estimating how much shower gel one has left and 2. Getting at the last bit. If you are accustomed to cutting your toiletry tubes in half to extract the final squirt of body lotion / conditioner then I warn you any last drop scavenging of REN products requires a rotary blade.
The scent of REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash is lovely though. A deep burgundy spicy rose scent filled the air as I foamed the tiny bubbles against my skin. This is not the sickly sweet rose of Grandma’s talcum powder but a sensuous contemporary wooded rose perfume perfect for a sensual evening soak in the tub. The wash leaves skin feeling clean and fresh and leaves a subtle veil of scent on the skin.
REN Moroccan Rose Body Cream (200ml - £26)
I like to apply body lotion to slightly damp skin as I am normally too exhausted after a hot bath to rub anything in. REN’s Moroccan Rose Otto Body Cream rather sits on the skin with this approach. Although the cream is very light and smooth in texture and my skin felt instantly soft and subtle, the cream did take a while to sink in my skin and even when I applied it to very dry skin on another occasion I spent a good 10 minutes looking like I was about to attempt the English Channel. The scent of the body cream is subtle, which is not a bad thing I suppose. My skin felt soft and fresh and moisturised for the whole day after application. I used both products on a recent trip to Miami and although neither product contains sunscreen I found the products gentle, soothing and refreshing after a day on the beach.
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil (110ml - £30)
This is a beautiful smelling bath oil. The intensity of the perfume in this product is much higher than in the rest of the Rose Otto bath range. The steam in the bathroom and the water is heavily scented with dark roses. The warm bath leaves my skin soft and smooth and covered in a layer of oil. Although this felt very nice at the time, the next day my skin felt oily and even spotty in some places. I like this product but I would use it with caution.
Iris’s verdict: Value ** Quality *** Packaging ** Experience ***
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Wash Ingredients: Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 20, Panthenol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Linalool, Geraniol, Citronellol, Sodium Lauroyl Oat Aminoacids, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract, Lactic Acid, Ethylhexylglycerin.
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Body Cream Ingredients: Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Oleyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Glucoside, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Myristyl Myristate, Triheptanoin, Lauryl Laurate, Glycerin, Oryzanol, Phenoxyethanol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Geraniol, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Eugenol, Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate, Carbomer, Lactic Acid, Tocopherol.
REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil Ingredients: Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Laureth 3, Isopropyl Palmitate, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Eugenia Caryophyllus (Clove) Flower Oil, Myroxylon Pereirae (Balsam Peru) Oil, Geraniol, Linalool, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Eugenol, Citral, Isoeugenol, Farnesol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol.
