Hi all! It's been a bit of a gap from my last blog post because something exciting happened in that time... we closed on our condo and moved! That's right, we had the fastest closing ever and were moved in as of early July. It took us the better part of the month to settle in and despite a lack of couch, we're almost there! I even have a VANITY now! Look forward to a post about my new make-up set up soon!

The one thing I REALLY dislike about moving though, is all the stress and trouble which wrecks HAVOC on my health and my skin. Luckily I was sent a new skincare product to try during this stressful time, so let's chat about Sibu's Sea Berry Therapy line, specifically the Polishing Face Cleanser and Nourishing Face Cream.

Sibu specializes in skincare products that use sea berry (sea buckthorn) to help protect sensitive or damaged skin, resulting in products that are specially formulated for people just like me! Also, for those who look for products that are not only good for their skin, but good for the world too, all Sibu products are vegan, cruelty-free, fair trade and sustainable. That's pretty impressive, so let's see how the products stack up, shall we?

Sibu Sea Berry Therapy Polishing Facial Cleanser - $17.99

This gentle non-foaming gel cleanser was a really boon to me during July, as it contained a microexfoliant that was strong enough to clean my skin from summer oiliness and impurities (makeup, sunscreen, sweat in general, I'm really sweaty!) but comfortable enough to use twice a day. I was a bit nervous about using this twice-daily as I usually find microexfoliants of all types strip my skin and make it too dry, but this one uses hydrogenated jojoba oil which is environmentally friendly and gentle enough for my skin.

This cleanser lathers quite easily and didn't irritate my rosacea nor did it cause any additional irritation. When it comes to scent, this cleanser has a slightly musky citral scent that takes some getting used to (it reminds me a bit of yuzu) but after awhile I started to look foward to the familiar citrus-y scent as I washed in the AM/PM.

Verdict? I'd definitely recommend this cleanser for somebody who wants a gentle and environmentally friendly microexfoliant that can be used daily.

Sibu Sea Berry Therapy Nourishing Face Cream - $20.99 CDN

This lightweight, hydrating and gentle moisturizer is made with sea berry seed oil, shea butter, aloe vera and meadow foam oil which results in a very fast-absorbing moisturizer. The one thing I noticed about this product was that it probably works best in conjunction with additional products. Generally I cleanse (sometimes double cleanser) then use a toner, serum and moisturizer.

To test out these products effectively I initially used the cleanser and moisturizer alone with no serums or additional products for a week and then with ONE serum the next week, and found it worked MUCH better at hydrating my skin when I used additional products. So it's not a miracle worker, it needs to be used in conjunction with other products. On a sidenote though, it comes in a gorgeous frosted glass container that I love to reach for each day.

Verdict? It's a good, gentle moisturizer but it's a little thin and not hydrating enough unless you use it with serums underneath. Don't just rely on this moisturizer alone.

Final thoughts

Overall I was really impressed with this skincare line! Sibu's products are effective, reasonably priced, use fresh ingredients, harvest sustainably, give back to the world and the community they harvest from, and are cruelty-free and vegan to boot. What's not to like here? I'm really curious to pop into Loblaws to try out their sea berry seed oil next to see how it varies from Fresh's Seaberry Oil which is considerably more expensive.

Sibu can be purchased in-store at Loblaws and Whole Foods, or online at Well.ca and Sibu.com.

These products were sent for review, but all opinions are my own.