At the start of the COVID-19 Lockdown, the Australian Government sent me some money. I didn’t need it, but there’s a lot of people out there in Australia who do, so I thought I’d pass it on to rural Australia where people are doing it tough, first the bushfires, then flooding and now they’re in and out of lockdown. I spent most of my period of lockdown on-line shopping looking around for products “made in Australia” so here’s the first of my reviews …
Yes, I know, I could have sent the money to an aid agency, but I wanted to know where the money went, hence the on-line shopping. And, for my subscribers, not my usual blog post, but during lockdown there wasn’t much bushwalking going on – and this is a post for all you non-bushwalkers of which there are many!
I admit I’m addicted to a well known brand’s body butter, I thought surely there’s a comparable one made in Australia, and sure enough there is, Planet Yum, and they make bath bombs, another of my addictions. I bought a wide range of fragrances – the Scott Family women got the first of what would be a deluge of early Christmas presents! and they gave me feedback for the reviews. So, Planet Yum …
Who are they: Two guys based in Nowra on the south coast of NSW, Robin and Andrew are the owners and their bio says “Our passion is creation of perfume, our mission is to bring joy through our scented products using the study and practice of aromachology or how scent effects mood, emotion and behavour. All products are made from scratch in small quality controlled batches by our own hands”. I spoke with Andrew (lovely guy) to get a bit more background, they’ve been in business for 16 years now, and it shows … their product range is extensive and their website is very comprehensive. These pandemic times have been good to them, and they’ve adjusted to the new norm of social distancing, masks and gloves in their manufacturing process. So, what did I buy …
Body Butter
Price: my first thought was “made in Australia – will be more expensive than the well-known brand” but, surprisingly, it’s actually not, $16.95 compared to $25 for 200ml of product.
Consistency: it’s not as thick as the well -known product but Taylor tells me that she prefers the consistency as it feels smoother and is not as chunky.
Fragrances: Wow, the range is impressive, Black Raspberry & Vanilla, Champagne & Strawberries, Coconut Lime, French Lavender, French Pear, Japanese Honeysuckle, Lychee & Peony, just to name a few.
Ingredients: they probably differ slightly in different fragrances, but the French Lavender lists “aloe vera gel, vegetable glycerine, emulsifying vegetable wax, cetearyl alcohol, sodium lactate, vitamin E, coconut oil, cocoa butter, propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea and lodopropynyl butylcarbamate. It’s a long list but the important thing is no silicons, and Andrew says they developed it with his allergies in mind.
The Verdict: I chose French Lavender for myself and really like it, the fragrance is not overwhelming. Both Tanya and I agreed that it felt nice on your skin, not greasy. Mel also felt the same way, “not as chunky (as the other brand), easier to put on and it smells great“. I’d definitely buy it again.
Bath Bombs
Price: At $6 these are great value, they weigh approx 240g and are a little larger than a tennis ball. Comparable well known product retails for $3 for around 30g.
Size: A little larger than a tennis ball, I think that’s a bit big, so I’d probably halve it (and get two bites of the cherry so to speak).
Fragrances: the same range as the body butter, which is great you can put both together as a gift.
Ingredients: The Thai Lime and Mango lists “food grade bicarbonate and citric acid, canola oil, food colours (E110 orange) and perfume (E102 green) and essential oils” I’m not really into the whole ingredient thing so can’t comment but it all sounds good.
The Verdict: Taylor loved the bath bomb, I’m holding off until I have a couple of hours to soak with a good book and a glass of wine. However, Andrew has advised me that they have a shelf life of 6 months, after that they start losing their fizz (lol), so tonight may be the night!
Other products
Their website lists a wide range of products, but the one that caught my eye was the cupcake soaps, I like to have novelty soaps here for my smaller grandchildren, and these are really cute. They also make up gift boxes where you mix and match. Great products Planet Yum, keep up the good work.
Stay tuned for the next Aussie Made product!
Thanks for doing the research. Their products look amazing and I will look at buying some for Christmas gifts.
Yes, the girls are still raving about the body butter!