Grow Life 420

SPONSORED CONTENT – There’s a lot of CBD brands out there right now. I mean, an utterly ridiculous amount of them. CBD is one of the biggest new trends when it comes to supplements, so go figure.

Most CBD users have their favorite brands. We’re creatures of habit. If something works well for us, we tend to stick with it. So for this review, I’ve decided to talk about my brand of choice: Penguin CBD.

The Company

Penguin CBD was founded in 2019. Since then it has topped numerous “best of” lists and garnered acclaim from a variety of dependable sources. Snoop Dogg’s very own Merry Jane called Penguin “perfection in CBD form,” while Maxim declared their products to be the “finest on the market.” That’s some hefty praise indeed.

A perusal of Penguin’s website reveals some key details about the company. Their main office is located in New York, while their hemp is grown and harvested in Oregon. They’re also a green-friendly brand that’s dedicated to using sustainable farming practices to lessen their environmental impact. That means no pesticides or any of that other junk that hurts our ecosystems.

They’re also free of the stuff that harms us too. Penguin sends all of their products to ProVerde Laboratories, a trustworthy third-party, to be tested for any impurities and contaminants. The lab reports are readily available and can be found by simply scrolling down to the footer of any page on their website.

This sort of transparency is welcome in the world of CBD. There’s a lot of cheap and questionable brands out there—especially those that you commonly find at gas stations and convenience stores—that don’t even put their full ingredient lists on their packaging. There’s no telling what kind of crap they toss into their mixtures. Meanwhile with Penguin, you know exactly what you get and what condition it is in.

It’s for this reason that I think Penguin succeeds at the goal stated at the end of their mission statement. They’re a brand you can feel “comfortable, safe and satisfied” with, as they don’t cut corners when it comes to quality assurance.

The Presentation

I’m a cannabis enthusiast. That much should be no surprise given the very fact that I’m writing a review on this website. I’ve used all sorts of marijuana and hemp products in my daily life, for both recreational and medical purposes. They’ve been an immeasurable help with managing my stress and anxiety.

However, as cannabis-based products become more mainstream, I feel that the market is way overdue for a makeover.

One of the reasons that I love Penguin CBD is because of their presentation. It’s friendly, vibrant and welcoming to all types of people, whether they’re hardcore fans of CBD or just learned about it. Their philosophy is to keep it chill, like the penguins they use as their adorable mascot. I think that their simple and charming approach is a breath of fresh air.

Not all hemp products need to have a big pot leaf and peace signs slapped all over them. In fact, I think that kind of style might turn some newcomers away, since not everybody is into the whole stoner culture thing (as much as I personally dig it). It doesn’t make sense for CBD anyway, since hemp doesn’t get you high. Penguin products in particular contain zero THC.

So cheers to Penguin for making products that I’d feel totally comfortable giving to my SO’s parents as a gift, or breaking out in front of my boss while at the office. It’s frankly the mature direction that CBD, and cannabis in general, deserves to be taken in order to start pushing back against the social stigma.

CBD Oil

This is the first product that I decided to try from Penguin’s selection. You can usually tell if a CBD company is worthwhile by their oil. It’s often the main attraction and center staple for most brands.

Penguin makes their CBD oil from a broad-spectrum extract. So while it completely removes all of the THC, it still keeps the other important cannabinoids that intensify the effects of cannabidiol. They also use a CO2 extraction process to ensure a clean and pure final product. Then it is mixed into a coconut-based MCT oil, which serves as carrier oil to help increase bioavailability.

I decided to sample the full range of their flavors. Here’s my thoughts on each:

Natural: It’s totally neutral and flavorless. Not even a slight hemp-based earthiness like a lot of other CBD oils. That makes it a prime choice for people who enjoy adding CBD oil to their food or drink.

Strawberry and Citrus: These taste surprisingly like real fruit. The strawberry in particular is mouth-wateringly good. Almost like biting into a real, juicy strawberry.

Mint: Actually quite refreshing and subtle. Not as overwhelming as some other peppermint flavored oils I’ve tried.

Cookies & Cream: Wow, this one is a revelation. I’ve never tried a CBD oil in this flavor before, and frankly I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on more with other brands. An absolute treat if you’re a fan of chocolate sandwich cookies.

Penguin’s oil is also available in concentrations of 250mg, 600mg and 1000mg. The 250mg strength is good for beginners who don’t want too strong of a dose, while the 600mg and 1000mg strengths are much more potent and effective.

CBD Capsules

CBD oil admittedly has its drawbacks. You’ve got to spend time fiddling around with measuring doses and holding it under your tongue for 90 seconds. It’s kind of a hassle compared to just taking a pill and going on with your day.

Thankfully, there’s an option to do just that. Penguin offers CBD capsules that contains their broad-spectrum oil formula. You can buy them in bottles of 30 count, with each gel capsule boasting 10mg of CBD.

There’s not a whole lot to say about the experience of taking them. They’re your standard capsule that you can just pop in your mouth and wash down with a drink. It’s as simple and straightforward as that. If you want a form of CBD that’s super portable, quick to take and entirely flavorless, then it’s probably the best choice for you.

CBD Cream

Admittedly, I wasn’t sure about reviewing this one at first. Beauty and skincare products aren’t normally my area of focus. But I took the plunge anyway for the sake of being a completionist, and I have to say that I came away pleasantly surprised.

Penguin’s CBD cream is a topical that you rub right into your skin. It’s scented with natural lavender and peppermint, and it comes in a screw-top container. Each container has 250mg of CBD in total.

One of the first things you’ll notice when using it is the cooling sensation when it makes constant with your skin. It just about made all of my hairs on my arms rise up with just how soothing and pleasant it is. It also smells wonderful. Sometimes I’d open the jar just to get another whiff before putting it away.

After about a week of regular use, I began noticing definite improvements in my complexion. My skin started looking a lot less dry and dehydrated. I even started to receive compliments from other people about looking younger and more radiant. Not going to lie, that gave me a pretty huge boost to my confidence.

CBD Gummies

I’ve always been a bit of a gummy addict. They’re my all-time favorite type of candy. I usually have a big bag of gummy bears or worms on-hand whenever I want to veg out and snack. So when I saw Penguin added CBD gummies to their shop, I got more than a little excited.

Unlike their other products, it seems that Penguin uses CBD isolate for their gummies instead of their usual broad-spectrum extract. So it only contains CBD and no other hemp compounds. The reason they give for this is that it gives their gummies a better flavor. I can’t really argue with the results.

I was overjoyed when I bit into the first worm. It tasted exactly like a normal sour gummy worm. In fact, it was one of the best gummy worms I’ve ever personally had, CBD or not. It was just the right balance of softness and chewiness, with the perfect amount of sour-sugar coating.

It took all of my willpower not to gobble down all of them in one sitting. They’re that good, I swear.

Each gummy has 10mg of CBD per serving, so they’re got a similar potency to the capsules. You get 30 in every container as well. Good luck trying to stretch them out over a month, though. There were some days I couldn’t help but have a couple at a time.

The Cost

Penguin is what I’d consider mid-tier in terms of CBD price ranges. They’re not the cheapest brand (most of those tend to be pretty sketchy, to be honest), but they’re not particularly expensive either. I’d actually say that they’re a better deal than most other CBD companies that claim to be “premium” quality.

Their CBD oil is priced between $45 to $105, depending on the strength. Both the capsules and gummies are $45. Meanwhile, the cream is $55 per jar. Not bad at all for broad-spectrum and CBD isolate products, which are typically a bit more expensive to produce.

There are a few savings options to sweeten the deal too. For instance, Penguin has free domestic shipping for all orders within the United States. They’ll also give you a 15% discount if you sign up for their monthly subscription plan. There aren’t any contractual obligations for subscribers either, so you can pause or cancel whenever you want. Finally, if you’re a veteran or active service member, you can get 25% off every order with their military discount.

Conclusion

Penguin is hands down my favorite CBD brand right now. From their selection of flavored oils to their utterly delicious gummies, all of their CBD products are top notch. It’s difficult to really come up with any complaints, other than I’d like to see them branch out and diversify their line-up even further.

Regardless, I’d highly recommend Penguin to everybody. Their products are both affordable and extremely well-made, with independent lab results to verify the latter. They also have a great customer service team that’s available around the clock to answer your questions. So if you’re unsure about anything CBD-related, you can just drop them a line and find out more.

5/5