Review: Trilogy’s Jua Natural Perfume

I love it when brands are able to create something unique and at the same time help developing communities around the world <3 I went onto Trilogy’s official website wanting to buy their new Hydra-Tone Softening Lotion for my mum (it’s a super hydrating toner suspended in a gel like formula), which I did, but I also saw their new limited edition natural perfume called Jua, created by So They Can for Trilogy. So They Can help communities in Africa start up their own sustainable businesses and not only did Trilogy purchase pure sunflower extract/oil from one of these businesses in Tanzania, they will also give back $2 for every perfume sold to So They Can, to help fund more projects like this!

While reading into the information available about the product development of Jua, I was struck by the amount of effort and thought that went into creating this perfume. This perfume really does make you feel like you are holding a little piece of Africa in your hands! From the name, to the packaging and the ingredients, it really is something special. The perfume only costs $21.95 for 7.5ml, so I bought it without really thinking about whether or not I will like it (considering that it’s for a good cause and not very expensive). Sunflowers remind me of summer days when I was little, as we’d always have a few sunflowers pop up in the garden. White cockatoos would always spot the sunflowers and come and eat the seeds (my pet parrot – a gala – won’t eat any other seeds but sunflower seeds, so that makes up the bulk of her diet!). Cockatoos are super noisy and vocal, so they would always put a smile on your face (they are very social to!).  Sunflowers now also remind me of the plane that was shot down over the Ukraine, but I think if we remember that they can also bring so much joy and good to our lives, that makes the painful associations with them less so. A dream of mine is to run through a sunflower field – so I really hope to be able to do that one day!

Jua means ‘to know’ and sun in Swahili, which is perfect considering that the main ingredient of this perfume is sunflower oil/extract. The graphic design on the bottle of the perfume is made up of different symbols representing the different projects So They Can is involved with in Africa. Here are the symbols and the meaning behind them (created by Tamsyn Standaeven):

From top to bottom:

Bead work – enterprise education and micro-financing for adults (and So They Can’s Aberdare Ranges Primary School logo).

School, home, shelter – places of learning and safety for children (So They Can’s Helping Hand Children’s Home).

Books, learning, enterprise – sustainable self-sufficiency through education and enterprise.

Sunflowers, business, livelihood – enterprise education, efficient farming practices and sustainability.

The scent is surprisingly very different to anything I have owned before. It very much smells like sunflowers, except that the scent is obviously more intense. I think the freesia notes in the perfume are also quite distinct and the perfume has this floral but earthy tone to it. I’m terrible at describing scents, so I think as with any other perfume, what you smell and recognise may be different! Sunflower seed oil is the first ingredient in the ingredient list (for obvious reasons) but the other notes in the perfume are: bergamot, rose bouguet, freesia (top notes), apricot, frankincense, mint (middle notes) and cedar wood bark, vetyver and vanilla (base notes). I have a feeling that mums and grandmothers may also love this scent because of the depth in the perfume (it isn’t sickly sweet by far).

On the inside of the box there’s a little mention to the African philosophy of Ubuntu which means that we are who we are because of our connection to others, and this is what makes us happy. That philosophy and thought is so beautiful it really touched me and got me thinking. It’s most definitely something we forget living in big cities, where the collective isn’t given priority but rather individual needs are, which can be so disconnected from the way they impact those around us.

This perfume is limited edition, so I suggest you beauties move quick sticks to get your paws on one! If you live in Aus, Trilogy will ship this scent from NZ to you for free (here) 🙂 This is most definitely a beauty purchase that is helping whole communities in their journey to a better life – so it’s great to be a part of that. If you would like to see a video of the community you are helping by purchasing this scent, you can check out the video below!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aMvhBWy0kA?list=UUL7CeLZyWykrxO-mYJe3Yfw&w=560&h=315]

Are you a fan of sunflowers? Do they remind you of anything in particular? Let me know in the comments below – it would make my day! 🙂

Catch ya next time,

Beauty Bee~

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