Appelles Apothecary and Lab

By Sas Lyon

There are only a few products each year that become something that is mentioned so often, and by such diverse friendship circles that you absolutely cannot help but jump on the wagon. Appelles Apothecary and Lab have definitely been the gift du jour this year across a broad slew of parties I have attended.

I must confess that in terms of skin and hair care I fall into the category of ‘not that fussed’. I wash my face with soapy water in the shower, often buy basic shampoo and conditioner from the supermarket, and only buy expensive products when I get guilted into it by the hairdresser. Mostly that’s because I’ve never found anything that has made me fall so in love with the very feel/smell/texture of it that I actually want to get on board and get some type of beauty routine happening. Until now.

When I was sent the Black Label Premium Pack in the mail by a girlfriend (who is always at the forefront of the next big thing) I first saw the beautifully organic looking box I thought, ‘Oh! Chocolate! Hope it’s not dark and doesn’t have any fruit in it’. When I opened the box and found it packed to the brim with bottles and potions that looked like they came straight out of The Sword and The Stone I felt, possibly for the first time, some sense of wonder and joy associated with taking a shower.

The Black Label Premium Pack contains:
Willow Bark Hand & Body Wash – 500ml
Sea Buckthorn Skin Lotion – 500ml
Vitamin F Bamboo Scrub – 150g
Black Pepper Body Bar – 100g
& a Konjac Sponge

A Konjac Sponge, you say? Yes – a Konjac Sponge. To save you the googling I did before I hopped into the shower with what I thought may be some type of water activated cousin of Pokemon, here’s he down low – konjac comes from a potato-like plant in Asia that is both cultivated and grows wild at high altitudes. The Japanese have used Konjac for over 1500 years as a food source and over the last century have been using the Konjac potato as a beauty treatment. The alkaline pH of the Appelles Konjac Sponge assists with the breakdown of dirt and neutralises acidic and oily areas (they say). That all said – does it make your skin feel any better? The results were actually incredible. Being a person who washed their face only with soap I’ve always subscribed to the old school ‘squeaky clean’ goal (when your skin literally squeaks when you rub it you’ve done a good job). After a session with the Konjac Sponge I was a new kind of clean – slippery clean. Let’s just say it’s my new fave type of clean, and if you do nothing else for yourself today, buy this sponge. I’m not saying it’s a water activated cousin of Pokemon – but then I’m not saying it’s not either…..

The Willow Bark Hand & Body Wash is divine – very soft on the skin and smells like those hippy shops you used to visit in your early teens when you were collecting crystals and dreaming about buying massive silver pendant necklaces. It’s got a transportive aura about it and it made me feel a bit sleepy and calm.

The Black Pepper Body Bar is a certified Organic/not tested on animals product, and if that’s not enough it also acts as a gentle exfoliant. This was perfect for my skin because I was around 7 months pregnant at the time of first use and every nerve ending was standing to attention so only the most gentle of products could be used. I had first thought that the pepper may be overwhelming in terms of scent (especially with my weird, pregnant senses) but it has been beautifully balanced with a citrus undertone making it a crisp, light smell rather than a strong masculine one.

The Appelles description for the Vitamin F Bamboo Scrub is as follows: The combination of walnut, pumice, bamboo and hibiscus is a powerful exfoliant, while vitamin F and sunflower seed oil help balance moisture content and nourish the skin with essential fatty acids. Warm notes of cedarwood atlas, ylang ylang, vanilla and lavender. My description is: When I used this exfoliant on my tired, pregnant hands and feet I felt like an evil, old, haggy witch who had just sucked the life out of a wood nymph and its sacrifice had made me young again. No exaggeration. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to using luxe skin products, or maybe it’s because this stuff is magical. Maybe it’s both. Whatever it is, I’m never going back to being the old hag again.

Finally we hit the Sea Buckthorn Skin Lotion. Here the lady with the long hair from the hippy shop glides out of the bottle again to talk to you about tarot cards, and something about your moon rising, and oh an amazing smoky quartz. She’s scrubbed clean, wears no makeup, smells like the woods, and makes you feel cool. There’s nothing that feels chemical-ish with this product. I don’t feel ‘tighter’ in the cheeks, or more ‘supple’ in my elbow joints or any other promises made by the plastic bottles of products that line the shelves in most friends bathrooms when I creepily look through their cabinets in their bathrooms.

I can sum my experience up with Appelles Apothecary and Lab in three words: Feels like magic. Get yourself some.