It's been a while since the last time I posted something in the beauty section of this blog. Nothing personal, it's just I've come to realize that I may come across “suck” as a beauty blogger, so it really discouraged me to write something related to beauty products. Ironically though, some of my beauty posts rank fairly high so I suppose it's worth another try to write some more.
This time, I'll talk about one of the well-known Indonesian beauty brands that you may find in some souvenir shops in Bali: Herborist.
Yep, if you got any chance to travel around Bali and stop by some souvenir shops there, you could easily find some beauty products from body lotion, bath salt and even body scrubs from various brands. Herborist is one of them.
Other than Herborist, you'd also find other brands like Bali Ratih, Bali Alus, and many other different brands that might attract your lust to pamper yourself.
You may not be familiar with Herborist, but for local Indonesian women… Herborist has a strong brand in our community. In fact, now that I think about it, Herborist is actually one of the pioneers in the traditional and organic beauty industry here.
I remember they've gained their popularity as a homemade spa product during my teenage years or something. And during that time, as I barely had money to spend for some high-end spa products like The Body Shop, the local alternatives sound like a really good bargain… And for a good reason!
Their first leading product was their body scrub, but now they've developed their brand as well as their products rapidly that they have so many beauty products that would attract you if you're into beauty products like me.
Back when they just started, they sold their products through agents like MLM. But these days, you could easily find the products almost everywhere. From a drugstore to even a local minimarket like Alfamart.
And in addition to that, they also have many branches of their official stores, Oemah Herborist, in a lot of cities in Indonesia that you can check out. Yep, they're available now national-wide, not just in Bali. Isn't that exciting? 😀
Review: Herborist Olive Series
Herborist olive series includes the 6 products that I've tried in the package.
If I gotta be honest with you, I was a bit cynical when I bought the package of this Herborist Olive Series.
First of all, I just stopped by the Herborist booth in one of the malls in my hometown because I went there with my brother and my cousin. I was running out of shower gel at the time, so I initially wanted to buy only a bottle of shower gel. But damn, the shopkeeper convinced me to just buy the whole package for only IDR 121,300 (around $8.7 USD).
To be fair, I knew from the beginning that all the products in the package might not work out well on my skin. Especially since the package consists of various body care products from body wash, shampoo, body lotion, body mist, facial wash, and even sheet mask!
But then again, I figured that if one of them didn't work well, I could just give it to my mom or my cousin. And yep, that's what I did since my prediction was right… Some of them just didn't work fantastic!
Herborist Body Wash: Olive + Whitening
Herborist body wash.
I initially just intended to buy this product only when I came to the booth. I never tried their body wash before, so I just picked the olive fragrance since I loved Bali Ratih's olive series. If I only bought a bottle of this body wash, I think it costs around IDR 35,000 (around $2.5 USD) so yes… Purchasing the whole package was such a great deal!
The body wash claims to be formulated with natural olive oil that is effective in retaining skin moisture and softness. Enriched with whitening to create a brighter skin look. Typical body and skincare in this part of the world, they're obsessed with whitening for sure!
I've actually finished the bottle of 250ml, and I think when it comes to quality… Their body wash is average. I couldn't feel the brightening effect, but it sure helps my skin moisturized. Not so bad, but if I gotta be honest with you, I could find some other body wash product that costs less than $2.5 USD in a random Indonesian minimarket that works pretty much similar to this one.
If anything, with the budget, I'd go to the cheaper option of body wash other than Herborist for sure.
Herborist Shampoo: Natural Anti-Oksidan for All Hair Type
Herborist Shampoo.
I was actually a bit cynical of the shampoo in particular. I mean, I have very dry hair that I simply don't trust any hair care product. Including this one. Especially since I only know Herborist as a good brand for body care only. So, I was a bit suspicious about how the shampoo works, especially in my hair.
I'm not sure what the price of the shampoo is if purchased separately from the package, but I gotta say… I was surprised at how good this shampoo works with my hair.
Claimed to be able to nourish, add volume to the hair and make it look light and smooth, it does exactly that! Not to mention that it didn't even come with a conditioner. So it definitely does wonder!
Herborist Body Lotion: Natural Anti-Oksidan with Whitening, UV Filter and Vit. E
Herborist body lotion.
Well, I was obsessed with Bali Ratih's olive body lotion, so I figured that Herborist body lotion would work similar to it. Well, it actually was. Only with less strong fragrance, and I figure that Herborist lotion has a thinner texture compared to Bali Ratih. I like it thick (no pun intended! LMAO), so if I gotta choose between Bali Ratih and Herborist, I'd probably go for Bali Ratih.
As for the function itself, it basically works the same as it's claimed. It helps to moisturize and nourish the skin. Enriched with Vit. E that works as an anti-oxidant, the lotion is also added with the UV filter and whitening to give the brighter look of your skin.
I honestly couldn't tell the effect for the latter since (1) I rarely go out and (2) It feels good on my skin so I think that's good enough.
Herborist Body Mist: Natural Scent Romantic Zaitun
Herborist body mist.
By now, you'd probably know by now how much I love Bali Ratih's olive body mist. And it's still unbeatable, even though I tried this Herborist body mist. I mean, this Herborist Natural Scent actually smells really nice, the scent is lighter than Bali Ratih but as refreshing. It's great, I just prefer Bali Ratih to Herborist when it comes to each scent.
However, there's a plus when it comes to Herborist Natural Scent, and it must be the bottle size that is 120ml. Slightly bigger than Bali Ratih's. Although to be fair, I don't know how much it costs if purchased separately. But if the price is on the same level as Bali Ratih, Herborist is for the win when it comes to it. The only downside is probably the fact that the fragrance doesn't last very long, so if that's your concern, you may want to get some vegan-friendly perfumes instead.
Herborist Facial Foam: Olive
Herborist facial foam.
I'm sorry, but I loathe this facial foam so much that I could only survive using it once. I used it for once, and the next day I got some zits on my face so I immediately stopped using it and gave it to my mom. Not sure if it works for her though.
They claim to keep the skin moisturized, but I might be biased but I really couldn't trust the product once I used it and I got some spots around my face. It's a no from me, dawg! LOL
Herborist Facial Mask: Refining and Rejuvenating
Herborist sheet mask.
The last product that comes in the package, and it's the olive sheet mask that claims to refine and rejuvenate skins. Well, my verdict on the sheet mask is quite netral, but I'm not a big fan of the product per se. Like, I'd definitely pick this over Syahirah, but I think I prefer K-beauty sheet mask from Innisfree or Karados.
Compared to some other sheet masks that I've tried that are rich with essence, this Herborist sheet mask felt a bit dry and I couldn't feel the effect immediately after using it either. I've only tried it once, so I couldn't tell whether the sheet mask works as it's claimed.
Personally, I'd definitely choose other sheet masks that I've tried and liked.
Hit-or-Miss: Herborist Olive Series
Well, it's pretty easy to classify which one is hit and which one I could miss from this Herborist Olive Series. You could probably guess which one is which by reading my review above.
Hit
From all the products in the packaging, surprisingly the one that I like the most is the one that I was most cynical about: the shampoo. Other than that, I'd also recommend their body mist and body lotion as well.
Miss
I could definitely skip all the face series of the package. Facial foam, facial mask, I could skip those and just straight try the other products. And the body wash is quite pricey, so I'd definitely consider that as a miss.
Well, have you tried any product from Herborist? Maybe you bought it from some souvenir shop in Bali? Or maybe you happened to go for a spa session using the product? How do you find them? Let me know what you think in the comment below, and cheerio! 😀
