One of our favourite new ranges, Bloom Dead Sea Life, created using minerals and mud directly from the Dead Sea in Jordan, has finally hit Abu Dhabi’s shelves. But it’s not all about having baby soft skin and a nice smelling face – we found out why natural is just plain better.
We chatted to Hanadi Aliwat to find out a few of the benefits. From a pharmaceutical background, she became involved with the award-winning company, founded in Jordan by Ms Eng Elham Ziadat, when she tried the products and was hooked. Now she has helped to bring them to the UAE. Originally only available in a select few of Abu Dhabi’s spas, such as Anantara at Emirates Palace, it has now hit the shelves here, with a dedicated space in Bubbles store at Al Wahda Mall.
The saltiest sea on Earth, the Dead Sea is packed with more than 25 minerals and trace elements, which the company claims make its products beneficial to health, as well as making your skin glow. Among those lauded as beneficial are calcium, which is said to strengthen cell membranes, magnesium, which is good for those with skin problems such as psoriasis, and of course sodium, which makes the skin more supple. ‘In the course of your daily life, you lose water and minerals from your body. It’s important to replace them,’ explains Hanadi. The products claim to tackle a host of problems, with everything from acne (treated with two tables of bath salts dissolved in warm water, applied over two-three weeks) to joint pains, for which the body mask is recommended. And the range is vast, with everything from the usual cleansers and moisturisers, facial scrubs, soaps and the classic Dead Sea mud mask, to sunscreen, after sun and nail kits.
So what can you expect from the beauty side of things? Well, in the name of research, we put a few of the top selling products to the test. It’s a tough job…
Dead Sea bath salts, 250g, Dhs38.50
Naturally evaporated from the Dead Sea waters, these are packed with minerals. Just scatter a few of the dark blue crystals into a warm bath and sink in. It claims to benefit those with skin problems, help ease joint pain and stimulate circulation. While we can’t testify to any of this, we did find it left us feeling very relaxed, and our skin soft and smooth.
Facial scrub, Dhs88
An incredibly thick and creamy scrub, this is packed with hard pieces of apricot kernel and has a delicate, fruity scent. Great for when you really want to get your face scrubbed clean and free from any dead skin. The kernels might be a little sharp for those with very sensitive skin, but the cream was cool and soothing, and it left a lovely lingering fragrance.
Dead Sea mud mask, Dhs66
It’s basically mud. Scooped up from the Dead Sea floor. And you can actually smell the minerals as soon as you open it, with a heavy, earthy scent that radiates with metallic undertones. A little thinner than
we’d expected, it was a bit messy to apply, but clung to the skin and, after 10 minutes, dried to a thin crust. It left our skin smooth, soft and incredibly clean, without making it feel dried out.
Moisturiser, Dhs66
Another very thick cream, the facial moisturiser smelled sweetly of bananas. It would usually take a force to be reckoned with to prise our beloved Oil of Olay from our hands, but we grudgingly gave Bloom’s offering a go. We could practically feel our skin drinking it in, making it wonderful for combating the effects of a desert climate, where we’ve often found our skin feeling hot and tired from the sun, or dried out from the constant air conditioning (TOAD towers is near Arctic temperatures). This was definitely our favourite out of all the products – even if it did leave our face smelling like a banana milkshake.
Bloom Dead Sea Life and Royal Touch products are stocked at Bubbles, Al Wahda Mall (02 443 9100)
