I love a brand that has a good story to it, and Ermana is a particularly fine example.

The brand name, Ermana, is derived from the Spanish word hermana, meaning sister, and is a tribute to Scotland-based founder Claire’s supportive sister Nicola. Isn’t that sweet?

Recently launched in Glasgow, the Ermana range of all-natural skincare products are hand-blended and made in small batches to keep them as fresh as possible.

Inside the packaging there’s a stamp so you can see exactly who made your product and when. The range is free from parabens and sulphates, with no artificial fragrances or colourings, so it’s good for anyone with especially sensitive skin who’s picky about what they put on it. Also you would be supporting a small UK brand rather than a giganto faceless Evil Corp.

Made without artificial preservatives, the products use the natural preservative vitamin E. They’re a blend of botanical oils and waxes with natural vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, omega oils and fatty acids to keep the skin hydrated.

Ermana sent me one of their Revive Face Oils fragranced with lavender and frankincense to try. Thinking ahead to Christmas, Frankincense is a pretty seasonal ingredient, don’t you think?

Scent-wise, the oil is well balanced. The lavender doesn’t take over as it could so easily do, and the more herbal scent of the frankincense evens it out. It’s a nice light oil that sinks into the skin easily and is suitable for day and night use.

The packaging is incredibly pretty, like an adult colouring book.I think this would make a lovely gift (for yourself, cos you work so hard at Christmas).

I only have one small criticism in that I found the dropper to be a bit drippy – the oil drops started to emerge as soon as I lifted it and I had to be careful to stop it going astray on my clothes. But that could just be the bottle I’ve got and I wouldn’t assume that it’s the case across the range.

Price-wise, for a small brand product this seems to me to be pretty good value at £25. You only use 3-5 drops at a time, so the 30ml bottle should last several months.

Product details:

Ermana Revive Face Oil with frankincense and lavender

Bottle size: 30ml

RRP £25.00

Ingredients: – Apricot Oil (Prunus Armeniaca), Macadamia Oil (macadamia Ternifolia Seed) , Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), Vitamin E (Tocopherol), Frankincense oil (Boswellia carterii ), lavender oil (Lavendula angustifolia), Linalool*, Limonene*, Geraniol*.

*naturally occurring in essential oils.

I tried out this face oil over a couple of weeks and liked it a lot. It has a lovely, uplifting scent and is light enough that you can use it in the daytime under make-up without going greasy.