by Chrissy Iley.
There are so many beauty brands launching every week it’s difficult to find something special. I was given an Ayo gift set of Body Polisher (£28.00) and Body Cream (£48.00) and had no expectations. And yet, the Body Cream is quite possibly the best in the world and the polisher doesn’t just polish skin, it illuminates.
I love the cream because it smells divine, exotic and floral. It’s rich but not so thick that it stays on top of your skin. It absorbs beautifully so it becomes like a second skin, a sheen.
Ayo means joy in the Yoruba language. It is also the name of Joy Jones, a beautiful woman, singer, artist, philanthropist, who developed it. She wanted to enhance a woman’s mood and beauty as well as her skin. She wanted to spread joy.
I was saddened to hear that Joy had died, yet she left joy in her memory. Her sister Susan kept her dream and her cream alive by carrying on the collection which is based on what she calls ‘hero’ ingredients – rhodiola rosea root extract and cacao extract – both known for their happy-making molecules. Their smell lifts the spirits and there’s a kind of euphoria on the skin as it glows.
You can feel already that everything that’s gone into the Ayo is fair traded and organically certified. It feels good for you and to you.
The fragrance of the cream is called Salute The Sun and I salute Joy for creating this. It makes a bath such a treat to look forward to. Available online at www.ayobeauty.com.