Forest Essentials Gift Box Haul Review | Luxurious Ayurveda | Best Beauty Buy | Indian Lifestyle Blogger

I love Forest Essentials products. Very few of Forest Essentials products that I have tried have been absolute dud, most have been really good and worked on my skin as promised. In fact, Forest Essentials Tejasvi Ubtan and Forest Essentials Narangi & Nagkesar Ubtan are among my all time favorites.

So obviously I was overjoyed when my sister arrived one day with a gift box full of Forest Essentials goodies :D See, this is why siblings are important :P

Since my sister knows that I have got weird skin that is equal parts sensitive- acne prone- combination- weather dependent and what not, she got me a customized assortment of Forest Essentials products so I could try them out as an early birthday present and tell them which ones I would like as full size ones for actual birthday celebration (On December 5) :D Ok, I hear you all going 'awww' :)

Forest Essentials is an Indian luxury beauty brand that proclaims to be 100% authentic Ayurvedic, devoid of all harmful chemicals, using only the best quality ingredients and formulated in purest way to impart real timeless beauty to our skin. Yup, this part is good. What is even better is, by using these mini-sizes beauty products, we get to try these for a month or so before deciding if a product is really worth it. Now, for a brand where even an Ubtan costs almost Rs. 1000, that is a great way to decide whether a product is worth splurging or not,right? :)

At less than Rs. 2500 for this royal box, I got to try 6 different Forest Essentials beauty products for my skin and hair beauty concerns. The packaging is as usual fantastic and my sister even got 2 small samples of body mists with this box (they lasted 4 days each when she used them everyday). Also, there were rose petals strewn in this bag that basically made it smell like heaven. I am not ashamed to admit that I kept this bag literally on my workstation and sniffed it every 2-3 hours everyday for almost a week after I got it. These Forest Essentials folks got some serious mojo going on :D

Now I have tried all these little beauties for almost 1 and a half months (I was using them sparingly because I did not want them to get over quickly :D) so now, without any further ado, here is a review of my Forest Essentials Luxurious Ayurveda Customized Gift Box products :-

1. Forest Essentials Delicate Facial Cleanser Mashobra Honey, Lemon & Rosewater = Available for Rs. 1175 for 200 ml at Flipkart, Amazon , it claims to deeply cleanse while soothing, smoothing, toning and moisturizing with real rose water, lemon juice, honey as ingredients. My sensitive skin did not breakout,nor did my weirdly dry cheeks feel parched on using this cleanser. It is very mild, has a heavenly calming fragrance and left my skin feeling normal but not deeply cleansed. My oily T-zone was left calm and oil free but my under-eye skin was a bit dry every time I used it, so I have mixed feelings about this. It is not the best face wash I have used but it is not bad either. It is a decent facial cleanser suited for dry skin types and for those who are not exposed to too much pollution on daily basis. My rating is 3/5.

2. Forest Essentials Silkening Shower Wash Madurai Jasmine & Mogra = Available for Rs. 875 for 200 ml at Flipkart, Amazon, it claims to cleanse and gently exfoliate to make skin silky smooth and I must say, it is a definite buy for normal or oily skin beauties. While I did not feel any exfoliation, it did cleanse nicely, had a nice faint jasmine fragrance that lingers for nearly half hour after shower, it did not lather a lot and my skin did not feel absolutely parched after using it. I still need my moisturizer but my sister (who has oily skin type) used this thrice and she did not need a moisturizer at all. My mother (normal skin type) used this twice and she really liked it too. It is expensive but surely gives a spa-like feel in shower :) My rating is 3.75/5.

3.  Forest Essentials Bath & Shower Oil Madurai Jasmine & Mogra = Available at Rs. 1675 for 200 ml at Amazon, Flipkart, it claims to nourish, soften, tone, firm and deeply moisturize skin with ingredients such as Sweet Almond Oil, Mogra, Jasmine, Avocado Oil and Sunflower Oil. Dry skin types rejoice, THIS is awesome and a must-have to replace your existing moisturizer. I used this in 2 ways- first, I would mix 5- 6 drops in a bucket full of bath water and take bath with that or second,I would massage it in my skin immediately after shower while my skin was still moist. Both ways,it left my skin deeply moisturized, toned and feeling very healthy. Little is required each time so it lasts a long time too. Normal and dry skin types will love this while extremely dry skin types will need something even more hydrating. By the way,even my sister (oily skin) used it twice and she loved it too, no greasiness on her skin, just immense softness and that sweet light fragrance of jasmine is deadly good! My rating is 4.5/5.

4. Forest Essentials Ultra Rich Body Lotion Mashobra Honey & Vanilla = Available for Rs. 1175 for 200 ml at Amazon, Flipkart, it claims to deeply nourish, tone, firm, provide elasticity and antioxidant protection to skin and basically drench it in moisture with ingredients such as Almond Oil, Kokum Butter, Olive Oil and Honey. Just like the shower oil above, this one too is a complete winner for normal and dry skin types and I would be repurchasing it for sure. Smells like gentle walk in the park, it sinks in the skin very easily while providing a subtle glow and immense softness for straight 4-5 hours after which I would reapply. Within a week of using it,my skin felt healthier. Feels like luxurious spa treatment and works like a charm, I would suggest stocking up on this especially for the winters :) My rating is 4.5/5.

5.  Forest Essentials Hair Cleanser Bhringraj & Shikakai = Available at Rs. 1175 for 200 ml at Amazon, Flipkart, it claims to reduce hair-fall, promote hair growth and control dandruff. Oh boy, it delivers and how! I had absolutely no expectations from this shampoo and it turned out to be maybe the best shampoo I have used so far in my life on my dehydrated, curly hair with itchy, dandruff-prone scalp. Nice light Ayurvedic fragrance, it does not lather much but leaves my scalp clean + itch-free, really reduces hair-fall from first wash itself and most importantly, leaves my hair soft instead of it feeling like straw! I need smaller quantity of conditioner after using this as compared to any other shampoo I have ever used. AND my severe dandruff problem got reduced almost by half within 3 washes with this hair cleanser. My rating is 5/5.

6.  Forest Essentials Hair Conditioner Bhringraj & Shikakai = Available at Rs. 1295 for 200 ml at Flipkart, Amazon, it claims to be the perfect daily care conditioner for dry hair and YES, it completely is the perfect companion product to Forest Essentials Hair Cleanser Bhringraj & Shikakai. Cleanser deeply cleanses the scalp while leaving hair soft, but my dehydrated curls need a little bit more nourishment which this conditioner provides with aplomb. My curls are left soft, well-defined, frizz is very much controlled, hair is bouncy + healthy. My only complaint is it gets over faster than the cleanser and as such, is extremely expensive. Still, I would definitely repurchase it because this cleanser + conditioner duo is perhaps the best luxury Ayurvedic combination for my dear tresses :) My rating is 4.75/5.

I think be it packaging, be it choice of products, be it pricing, getting a customized gift box from Forest Essentials is definitely a smart choice. Thank you little sister :)