Bergamot vs Lavender

In today’s blog, we discuss our two big hitters: Bergamot and Lavender. 

Lavender often takes us back to visiting elderly relatives, with floral curtains, and if I mention Bergamot you might just be like, “Er.. looks like a misshapen lime to me.”

So we’re here to fight the corner of these two heavyweight fragrances, to dust off traditional stereotypes, and tell you why they feature so prominently in OW products. 

First off, let’s address the Elephant in the Room – some people just plain do not like the smell of Lavender. There’s no convincing them, not with Jasmine, or Rose, not in a hand wash or a lotion – it’s a hard no!  Fear not we hear you & OW has you covered with their Award Winning and Nominated Scent of the Year 2021 Bergamot wash lines! Bergamot is a citrus fruit plant, which has more of a zesty aroma.

 In traditional Chinese medicine, Bergamot Essential Oil was believed to stimulate and re-balance the flow of vital energy within the body. Don’t eat it though, as the raw fruit itself is highly sour, yup, worse than lemon! As a skincare ingredient, however, it certainly packs a punch; OW Bergamot Hand Wash won Best New Natural Product 2020 at the London Beauty Awards in 2020 and OW’s Bergamot Shower Gel was highly commended for the 2021 Natural Health Beauty Awards.

Lavender on the other hand, which blooms in late Spring and Summer (yay for the bees), has been used for over 2500 years in cooking, remedies & healing, and hygiene practices (in fact, the name is derived from the Latin verb ‘lavare’, meaning, ‘to wash’). The Ancient Greeks used it to fight insomnia, and the ancient Egyptians used it for mummification.

Lavender is widely used all over the health & beauty industry and the good people at OW use it wherever possible, because it’s super kind to your skin and wonderfully relaxing to use, especially in the evening. And because Lavender is also great for soothing inflammation, OW even have their Lavender products clinically tested so that it is suitable for the most sensitive skin and, also perhaps more importantly, it is tested for eczema prone skin too– making it a family essential!

All OW products (no matter the main ingredient) have serious clean beauty credentials. OW products contain a minimum of 98% naturally derived ingredients, are cruelty-free, are completely biodegradable, and the packaging is recyclable. OW have also joined the refill revolution and offer 1 litre refills in both fragrance wash lines, saving OW fans & customers money, and helping to tackle the plastic waste issue, albeit in small steps!

At OW there is no compromise on clean beauty – you’ve just got to pick a side – Bergamot or Lavender – your call, they’re both great!

Which OW Team Are You? Ps – the bees vote Lavender!