Daisy Bridgewater discovers why we care more than ever about what we slather on our skin.
Page seven - glamorous
The Art-Deco inspired packaging and affordable price tag on the Figs and Rouge
range prove that a product’s natural and organic credentials don’t have to compromise its style. Set up 18 months ago by occupational and holistic health therapist Deborah Riley and artist and designer Nicolas Gawne, the company champions ‘natural glamour’ and a return to the elegance of traditional ingredients like rose, geranium and sweet jasmine. ‘I’ve always used organic products,’ says Riley, ‘but often their fragrance and packaging are off-putting. I strongly believe that anything you put in or on your body should be organic as it has a direct effect on your health.’ Figs and Rouge products are all free from unfriendly chemicals, and all the facial care products are 100% organic.
Hero Product:Rambling Rose Organic Balm
, £3.49 for 8ml. A beautifully scented, deep moisturising treatment for face and body, certified organic by the Soil Association.
Page six - small wonder
Launched three years ago by aromatherapist and author Glenda Taylor, Balm Balm
was originally a one pot wonder: an unscented, organic lip balm, which could also be used to intensely moisturise other parts of your face and body. Made from a super simple combination of sunflower oil, shea butter, beeswax, calendula oil and Aloe Vera, it’s become the natural alternative to Vaseline. A face cream and rose geranium version has been added to the range, all of which are certified organic by the Soil Association, and are perfect if you’ve got very sensitive skin.
Hero Product:Fragrance Free Lip Balm
, £2.99 for 7ml. A no-nonsense, multi-purpose product which packs a strong moisturising punch. Good as an intense treatment for cuticles and elbows, too. www.balmbalm.com
Page five - label-conscious
When Sarah Brown broke out in hives all over her face seven years ago, doctors were at a loss as to what caused it. So she took matters into her own hands and began researching the chemical components present in traditional skincare products. The result was Pai
, a luxurious range of certified organic cleansers and moisturisers, launched two years ago, and free from the chemicals she discovered had proved so irritating to her skin. Key to her products is their transparency: ingredients are written in plain English in large font on all of her labels. ‘We need to be aware of what we are absorbing into our bodies,’ she says. ‘It’s a natural extension to a healthy lifestyle.’
Hero Product:Geranium and Thistle Moisturiser for Combination and Oily skin
, £22, 30ml. A light moisturiser that helps clear and rebalance congested skin.
Page four - luxury
Named after the Hindu goddess of refreshment and well-being, ila
is a company with a vocation: to bring purity, energy and balance into everyday life through its range of luxury skincare products. Founded by aromatherapist and yoga teacher Denise Leicester just eighteen months ago, ila uses three carefully sourced keystone ingredients: rose otto oil harvested from the foothills of the Himalayas, Moroccan argan oil and Himalayan salt crystals. On a mission to go ‘beyond organic’, small batches are hand-blended in a converted Cotswolds barn, chosen for its positive Feng Shui. And to imbue the products with positive energy they are made to the sound of sacred chanting (albeit played on a CD).
Hero Product:Rose Facial Oil
, £53.83, 30ml. A deeply revitalising and nourishing skin treatment, which can help tired skin look radiant.
Page three - purists
Hand-made in harmony with the lunar cycle on a farm in Cornwall, the organic skincare range by Spiezia Organics
was the first to be accredited 100% organic by the Soil Association. Locally grown herbs and flowers are macerated in glass jars filled with olive oil to form the components of many of their balms, oils and ointments. The results are good enough to eat. So they should be, says co-owner Amanda Barlow. ‘The skin is our biggest organ and can absorb up to 2kg of chemicals a year from skincare products.’ With their ‘made for life’ philosophy, the company strives for purity, right down to their packaging, which is made from 100% recycled glass on site at the farm.
Hero Product: Facial Cleanser
(£21.55 50ml). A heady blend of organic essential oils, including Eucalyptus and Clary Sage, which decongests pores and regulates sebum production.
Page two - new age
Far removed from their heavy, hessian-wrapped cousins, natural skincare formulations have morphed into high performance products that achieve fantastic results without loading the body with unwanted chemicals. Carefully harvested and refined plant extracts and oils are taking the place of chemical preparations. Organic skincare labels read like a florist’s order book with familiar plants like chamomile (a natural anti-inflammatory), rosehip (rich in omega 3 and 6) and geranium (which has a cooling and calming effect on the skin) regularly cropping up as reminders that real beauty lies in Nature.
Lula Braithwaite, founder of on-line organic apothecary lovelula.com sees simple, organic skincare as a natural progression for consumers who care about the food they eat and the environment they inhabit. ‘With skincare, as much as with health, people are turning away from a quick fix approach towards something more holistic. If you exercise regularly, if you eat organic food, if you care about the planet you will eventually find yourself turning towards organic skincare. It’s only logical.’
The scientific arguments for going organic are compelling. Many chemicals commonly used in skincare products have been proven to have carcinogenic effects on lab animals; parabens (used as preservatives) have won the ‘gender-bender’ moniker as they have been shown to mimic hormones (propyl paraben is a particularly harmful offender); mineral and petroleum derived ingredients form oily films over the skin which give the illusion of smoothness but which are in fact trapping toxins and hindering normal respiration. The list of offenders is long – and frightening. Never have cold-pressed Moroccan argan oil, geranium essence or thistle milk seemed more desirable.
Enter a new wave of small alternative skincare companies whose ethics are as pure as their products. Thanks to strong contacts with their suppliers, ethical supply chains, and low-tech production and preserving techniques, they are the homespun antidotes to the chemical concoctions. Using ingredients in their purest forms, they hand blend their concoctions and promise to make the world – not to mention your skin – a better place.
Page one - Basics
When Christopher Bailey sent his Garden Girls down the catwalk last September for Burberry Prorsum , dressed in muddy trench coats and rain soaked trousers, he was doing more than acknowledging Britain’s dankest summer since 1929. He was rejoicing in the simple pleasures of going back to basics: of staying local, of sleeping under canvas, of growing your own. Inspired by the views of his own Yorkshire garden, he was hinting that life might be happier if we worked with what we have got, rather than synthesised what we haven’t.
In beauty, the natural approach has taken root like a rash of wildflowers overrunning a herbaceous border. Natural and organic have become the bywords for luxury; the Soil Association’s Kite mark is the new emblem of cool. Previously to be found behind the counter in health food shops, organic creams and oils are now rolling around in their perfect (and environmentally friendly) packaging in the handbags of the stars: Stella McCartney ’s range of skincare and fragrances, launched last year, boasts 100% organic active ingredients; Jo Woods (wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Woods) promises exquisitely beautiful and ethical products with her eponymous Organics collection.
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