MuLondon: Organic Hemp Moisturiser Review


Natural, cruelty-free, vegan, 100% active ingredients, free of chemical additives and organic. This is what you would get in these jars.

Image courtesy of MuLondon

I remember stumbling upon the name MuLondon while doing a search on Google for natural and organic skincare about half a year ago. Sure, natural and organic skincare products aren’t a novelty anymore but what drew me to MuLondon in particular was the simplicity of it all. There were (and are) only five cream moisturisers available from MuLondon. Such a small product offering, you might think, but wait till you read what they are:

Organic Lavender Moisturiser
Organic Marigold, Frankincense & Myrrh Moisturiser
Organic Hemp Moisturiser
Organic White Chocolate Truffle Moisturiser
Organic Rose Moisturiser

Don’t they all sound heavenly? After deliberating for a long time (a couple of months!), I finally placed an order for the Organic Hemp Moisturiser. It was almost a random choice, actually. I had to end the indecision at some point!

So, no, this product was not sent to me for review consideration. It was simply purchased with my own money and I’m writing this article on my own initiative. The package did however come with a sample of a second cream that I will review soon.

Now, let’s first meet Boris. Boris is the one and only force behind MuLondon which, as the name suggests, is London-based. He officially started MuLondon in 2008 but actually, he’d had a great interest in natural and organic ingredients and products for many years already. He’s a vegan and has always embraced alternative and holistic therapy. He spent time at the Rudolph Steiner Centre in Sweden which became a huge turning point for him. There, he learnt about organic and biodynamic gardening, and using those wholesome produce in cooking.

While living in Sweden, he had really dry skin. In his effort to find a natural solution for that, he developed a deep interest in ingredients and began poring over books to learn more. All that research and testing bore fruit finally in the form of self-made natural products for the skin. At first, it was only for himself and his family and friends, but two years ago, he decided to make them available to the wider public with the establishment of MuLondon.

Here’s what I think you should know about MuLondon’s moisturisers:

• Hand-made by Boris, the self-professed Chief Cream Whipper himself
• Made in small batches
• Made with just a short simple list of ingredients
• Very highly concentrated as no water is added
• As much as possible, the ingredients are from organic sources
• Not tested on animals
• Vegan and vegetarian
• Registered by The Vegan Society in the UK and PETA Worldwide

There are two common ingredients across all five moisturisers and they are organic Shea Butter and organic Jojoba Oil. This is what Boris says about them on the MuLondon website:

Shea Butter
Research has shown that Shea is effective in treating and alleviating the symptoms of dry and sensitive skin, eczema and psoriasis. It is naturally moisturising and readily absorbed by the skin.

Jojoba Oil
Increases the overall health of the skin, particularly its elasticity and strengthens the epidermis.


However, MuLondon moisturisers contain:

• no mineral oils
• no silicones
• no chemical preservatives, ie no parabens
• no petrochemicals
• no artificial colouring
• no artificial fragrances

Image courtesy of MuLondon

Review of the MuLondon Organic Hemp Moisturiser
The Basics
Volume and Price: 60ml / 2oz for £13 (30ml versions will be available soon)
Contents: Thick, light-beige coloured cream housed in a glass jar

Ingredients:
Shea Butter, Hemp Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Rosemary Extract, Hemp Essential Oil, Black Spruce Essential Oil, Vetivert Essential Oil, Cedar Wood Essential Oil
Except for the Hemp Essential Oil (a rare and exclusive essential oil) and the Black Spruce Essential Oil, all are certified organic ingredients.


I don’t think I have ever tried a skin product with hemp (a herb with so much goodness) before, so it was an interesting discovery for me when I first opened the jar. It has a masculine scent: green, earthy and woody.

Application
Because it has not been diluted with water, the cream is super-concentrated and extremely thick in texture. I received my jar back in the cold month of December and the cream was solid! It was as solid as butter that has been kept in the fridge.

This was how the hand-made cream looked like when I first opened the jar

The advice given was to best apply the cream after a bath or shower, when the skin is still moist. For quite a while, my lack of experience with a cream this thick was an issue. Because it was solid, I had trouble getting the cream out of the jar. And when I got some out, I had difficulty spreading it evenly on my skin.

And so, after some hesitation and swallowing my pride, I wrote to Boris for advice. The solution was simple of course (Duh!), and Boris has now included this bit of ‘instruction’ on his website.

This is what I now do after a shower: I get a pea-sized amount of cream and place it on my palm. I rub the cream between the palm and my fingers. The cream will melt and look like melted butter. I then pat the melted cream onto the required parts of the body and massage. The process may take slightly longer than what you’re used to with commercially produced body creams, but trust me, it’s worth the effort.

Because it’s highly concentrated, it should be used sparingly. For me, a pea-sized amount is enough to moisturise both legs, for example. You’ll learn as you go along. You only need to apply a thin layer on the skin and from my experience, the oils are absorbed into the skin in about five minutes. Boris says that if the skin feels greasy after application, then you’d know that you’ve applied too much.

The cream can be applied anywhere on the face and body and even on the lips. I use this cream on the body, mainly the arms and legs. I absolutely love how soft and moisturised my skin is from using this cream.

Where To Buy
The creams are available primarily through the MuLondon website and on Etsy. It does offer international shipping at reasonable rates. As an indication, for one jar, shipping is £2.50 to Europe and £3.00 to other parts of the world. Do check the website by using the shopping cart for specifics (no registration is necessary, by the way).

Final Words
Frankly, the most impressive aspect about MuLondon is the excellent customer service. It is, without a doubt, first-class. Boris is knowledgable about skincare and is very approachable and helpful. Well, let me share with you what he said to me:

I personally fill every jar with my hand-made cream, I put the label on and I sign the note that comes with every parcel that I send out. I want to give first-class, personal service.

Do you know what that’s called, ladies?

That’s called Passion.

Here's my subsequent post on its Organic Rose Moisturiser. More information can also found on the MuLondon website.

19 comments:

Marisa Álvarez said...

Hi girl! undoubtedly that's first-class service, as you said. I find it very interesting because my skin is extremely dry. I'm going to take a look at the web. Thank you for explain us how to use it, that's very helpful if I finally decide to buy it. xxx

Shop N' Chomp said...

Passion indeed. This sounds like a really fab company and product!

~Elizabeth aka Lacquered Lizard said...

this stuff sounds so nice! I'd love to try it. I think I'll do my own google search.

Anonymous said...

Mmmm, definitely going to have a look at the website. Does it smell like the Body Shop's Hemp handcreme? I just LOVE the texture of it. Take that dry skin!!

The Beautifier said...

I always like to look into details of any skin care or make up range, also like to invest into those in particular, that are made with pure & natural ingredients, sourced ethically and are of organic origin.

MuLondon seems to be ticking all the boxes for me when it comes to pampering the skin with hand made products that are sure to balance and nourish your skin with their list of powerful natural ingredients!
xoxo

Witoxicity said...

@Naoko
You're most welcome. I hope you will find a great moisturising cream for your dry skin. :)

@Shop N' Chomp
It sure is!

@Elizabeth
I hope you'll give MuLondon a try! :)

@The Diva's Polish
Hmmm, I'm afraid I can't answer that question as I've never tried the one from The Body Shop before. This one from MuLondon has the essential oils of Black Spruce and Vertivert Root as well, so the overall scent may be different. :)

@The Beautifier
Well, I think MuLondon products fit your requirements there! :)

Carine said...

INteresting, I've never tried organic moisturizers !

Content Director - Strong Female Leaders said...

Customer service is very important. The flavors sound delicious.

Witoxicity said...

@Carine
I hope you'll give organic products a try one day soon. :)

@tris1978ton
I totally agree. And as for the flavours, I think the White Chocolate Truffle Moisturiser is the most delicious-sounding one. :D

bowsnhearts said...

Wow what dedicated service! And I really support cruelty free products!

You are such a beauty addict! You always find the most quirky beauty products to share with everyone!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like superb service.
I've only had one experience with hemp before.. and that was with a lipbalm that was vanilla and hemp flavoured.. yuck never again lol.

twinsouls888 said...

Wow this is a very detailed great review. I'm in awe with Boris, you are right he has PASSION for his product, really impressive. ^_^ The packaging is simple yet cute, the white chocolate truffle moisturizer sounds interesting, I'll watch out for your Organic Rose Moisturizer review .

BTW girl, you have an award on my blog, happy weekend ;)

DinaXYYan said...

Thanks for introducing this product to us! It sounds amazing :)

Manju said...

indeed that's passion. i love stuff with shea butter in it, so moisturising!

Gabriela said...

Your review was so interesting!!! You give us lots of information about the brand and also about the moisturiser that you bought.

Thanks for reading my blog and comment there too :)

Golden said...

That's an amazing product, a product that really cares, and a product with a heart. Kudos to Boris for coming up with a very special moisturizer. I really admire him for personally packaging the products himself. Such a great guy. :)

Lots of love,

Witoxicity said...

@bowsnhearts
Yay to cruelty-free products!

What?! Me, a beauty addict?! Surely not! ;D

@Natalie
Well, this Hemp Moisturiser does smell green and woody. If this doesn't appeal to one, there are fortunately other variants that MuLondon offers. :)

@twinsouls888
I'm so glad you enjoyed reading this review and about MuLondon's background. I'm with you on the White Chocolate Truffle Moisturiser too, btw!

Oh, thanks so much for the award! Do have a great weekend, Ems! :)

@Dina
My pleasure, Dina! :)

@Manju
I'm pleased that you agree with me on what I said about MuLondon's approach to customer service. :)

@Gabriela
It's nice to know that you found this post interesting. :)

@Golden
Thank you for your kind words. I really think that hand-made products like these should be appreciated more and be given more recognition. :)

Cynthia Z said...

Looks so good! N the fact that u can use only a pea-sized amt on both legs is impressive :D
Wow I think I'd buy it just to experience the first class customer service :)

♥xx♥

Witoxicity said...

@Cynthia
It would probably take a while to find out how much of the cream you'd need each time. That was just a rough indication and I do apply very thinly. :)

Well, do give MuLondon a try. Great customer service is hard to come by these days, in my opinion.