Leather Nova Cleaner Spray and Conditioner (2 products): Reviewed

I have never owned anything real leather before I became married. We have a nice large leather sectional that we were able to purchase 2 years ago after years of hand me down couches and cheap furniture.  I love the leather couch and find myself touching (petting) it all the time when I sit and watch tv or work on the laptop.  I never knew how wonderful leather was till I have it.  I still do not have my "own" leather item, but someday I hope to save up some extra funds and have a nice, over sized, pretty but very durable leather bag that I will use as an all in one diaper bag, weekender, and organizer purse (lots of deep pockets and compartments).

I basically live in my Nikes, so I do not have any leather shoes or dressy shoes, except a small collection of sandals for summer.  My husband has a pair of "boat" shoes, you know the type, the leather or canvas type of slide on shoes with the thick leather lacing around the exterior?  I've never been a fan of those, but I know a lot of people think they are ultra comfortable and a lot think they are "classy" (my husband really does, lol.)

He has a pair of Sperry brand leather boat shoes that he got on sale about 2-3 years ago, they look terrible. He loves them, and wears them everywhere when he is not at work. They seriously look 10 years old in my opinion, but I guess it is because he has worn them in the rain, while walking in the mall or errands, walking around the yard gardening (we live in the country), walking in muddy grass, every where. He has even worn them dressy casual to eat dinner with the family.  I think they used to be dark grey or even navy blue grey tone. They are now a worn out blotchy dull, grey white. Ugly shoes. They are worn (oops said that already) and dry and the leather looks like it would cry if it was alive.

I decided to surprise him and try to freshen them up a bit, or at least try. I was sent a few products for review from  Leather Nova which is a company that makes gentle, effective and natural leather care products.

I was sent 3 different products, but for this review will speak about 2 of them. (The third will be in the next post).  I was sent a  Leather Cleaner in a large spray bottle that included a generously sized microfiber application and buffing cloth.  I also was sent a  Leather Conditioner & Restorer with a small round sponge. 

The leather cleaner spray prepares the leather to be treated, by lifting out dirt and stains, creating a clean base for the next step (conditioning).

Here are the shoes: (don't say I did not warn you, they are U-G-L-Y.)

I sprayed the  Leather Cleaner GENEROUSLY all over these shoes.  I did not pre-wash or wipe the shoes down (the white rubber soles and edges are dirty) because it was already late and I just wanted to surprise him the next morning.  The directions instructed me to use the microfiber towel, but after a few uses, it seemed much easier for me to just use my fingers to get in all the crevices.  After cleaning one shoe, I was amazed, I think these used to be dark blue toned grey.   The wet leather appeared a nice navy, and I had wished they would remain that color as they looked rather striking, but I knew they were just really generously moistened with cleaner and would be lighter when dry.

However, they were starting to feel really soft, pliable, and felt so nice.  As the pictures show, the leather seemed to smooth out and become almost buttery.  The leather was squishy and for a moment, if I closed my eyes while cleaning them, I could almost dream and imagine they were my own soft, supple, squishy leather bag. :)Please excuse the dirty white soles, I was not in the mood to clean (scrub) them.

They smelled better too.  The leather smelled newer and cleaner.  I did  not smell any chemicals or perfumes, just clean leather scent.  I left that dry about 30 minutes and then applied the conditioner I was sent to review.

The Leather Conditioner & Restorer was a smaller bottle that came with a round yellow foam applicator and buffer.  The conditioner was a clear oil / gel like consistency which surprised me.  Our other leather conditioner that we had once was a white cream.  This gel oil was not overly heavy or oily, and I found it easiest for me to apply it with my fingers and then use the sponge to buff in a circle.  It did not feel waxy or sticky.  It is supposed to assist will repelling water, so I am hopeful about that.

The shoes were fairly dry after 2 hours.  I might go over them again with the conditioner on another day, but for now they do look better, smell fresher, and are much more supple.  The color improved a bit over the faded dull grey white splotchy shade.  They are no longer the nice navy blue toned shade that they were when wet, however they are a nice dark grey with a nicer, more even blue grey tone.  I think he will be pleased.  The most noticeable difference is the way they feel.  The leather is more smooth and soft. 

I think these 2 leather products worked well and I will use these again for his shoes and any other leather products.  I really liked using the spray bottle for application as it made things much quicker and easier.  I like how the products do not cover up the leather with fragrance.  I like how the shoes were dry after only 2 hours and despite the generous amounts of conditioner I applied, they do not feel oily or sticky.  I would have liked to known what the ingredients were.

You can find Leather Nova on Facebook.

**This set was sent to me as a sample to review with my honest opinion.**

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.