I’ve been really getting into a groove with some new products and brands recently and wanted to share with you what I’ve been using and loving…
Some lovely natural and also vegan brands here. For the best part of 15 years now, I’ve been using brands like these and I think my skin is happy, relatively problem free and unstressed as a result of it! Overall, I eat heathily (the aim being to balance energy levels and hormones) and though I do have a soft spot for ice cream (although I’ve recently discovered much less sugar & saturated fat loaded Breyers!), I think when you have a good framework of nutrition and skincare you give yourself and your skin a fighting chance…
Cosmetics a la Carte
Pictured above are two new launches from London’s Cosmetics a la Carte – my first grown-up encounter with make-up was when I paid a visit to Cosmetic’s King’s Road store and discovered bespoke foundation and concealer along with some useful make-up tips which I use now if I’m really pulling out the stops!
What I do use everyday though is mascara and I like to know the one I’m using is good quality, preservative & paraben free and no animal testing. The Intense Volume Mascara is a new launch – a nice full brush and applies really nicely, thickening lashes. I pop this on super quick!
I’ve also been trying out Secret Light concealer; comes in 12 shades (I have Melba), and includes a new active serum which is meant to help reduce signs of fatigue – I find the coverage is light, doesn’t crease and blends well into the skin.
Intense Volume Mascara | Secret Light concealer
*This post contains products gifted for review & affiliate links
Vegan brand BYBI
I’ve absolutely fallen in love with natural & vegan brand BYBI – such great packaging but the products are really exciting and deliver too. I’m using the Babe Balm everyday! It smells, feels and looks so good – a multi-purpose fruity balm that is just addictive! I love using it on my lips, and eyelashes at night for nourishment and a little extra slick along the cheekbones for just a little bit of daily cheeky shine.
Also here is the lovely lip scrub, which is a nice exfoliating treat – I usually use it when I have a little more time at the weekend – and my other use-everyday fave is the Mega Mist, a great smelling hyaluronic acid face mist. I love a face mist for putting on after cleansing (I apply it after an eye cream), let it settle for a few seconds and then a serum.
BYBI Babe Balm | BYBI Lip Scrub
Oils For Goodness
Handblended oils created for stressed out, overly sensitive skin by psychotherapist Charlotte Ferguson, Disciple is another really great vegan, natural & cruelty free beauty brand. I absolutely love using the Balancing Mist as a toner – it contains soothing geranium floral water which is good for aiding the oestrogen/progesterone balance and copper peptides which boost collagen, genius! Also good for jet-lag…
Also focussing on how we’re feeling is latest drop, the CBD oil Miracle Drops – something I’ve taken now and then to help calm when feeling anxious or can’t sleep (we get it it from our local a food market in Stoke Newington). So it was fun to try out the Disciple formulation which I find helpful when struggling to sleep taken as drops under the tongue. You can also add to drinks or use direct on the skin, although I save it to take orally!
Disciple Balancing Mist | Disciple Miracle Drops
New From Weleda
I think Weleda was probably one of the first natural skincare brands I ever tried, way back when I used to explore health shops for interesting natural products. I use the incredibly nourishing, almost balm-like cult Skin Food every day on my heels so was thrilled to see the launch of two new Skin Food products evolving the range.
A Skin Food Light which can be easily used a moisturiser – Skin Food original is too thick for me to apply to my face and a lovely super thick lip balm with a great a round head for really nice application.
Skin Food | Skin Food Light | Skin Food Lip Balm
The Simplest Ingredients
Created by two sisters, By Sarah – organic, vegan & cruelty free – makes a point of including a full list of ingredients across the front of their handblended products. The ease & simplicity of the lists is testament to how many things things we are not putting on our face – for example just the essential goodness of sweet almond, apricot, pumpkin seed, argan, evening primrose and Vitamin E is what you’ll find in the Organic Facial Oil. And this is what I’m using on my face every night – not too heavy, just the right amount of nourishment for the night; I’m moving away from loading up my skin with tonnes of night creams, allows the skin a better chance to regenerate!
And the Organic Lip Balm has also become part of my nighttime routine, sitting on my bedside table for last thing before bed – with perfect texture and fragrance free.
I’m also intrigued by their most recent launch – a rose quartz heart-shaped stone for facial massage, for toning and plumping, increasing circulation and helping the lymphatic system with detoxing. Must try!
Organic Facial Oil | Organic Lip Balm
New Brand Love
I am so thrilled to have been introduced to brilliant New Zealand brand Ecostore by St John’s Wood’s Panzers Deli – eco-conscious and chemical free in its approach to products, from skincare to washing up & laundry detergent, its pricepoint is pretty inexpensive.
I’ve been trying out the vanilla & coconut body wash which smells the delicious and soaps up brilliantly, the same going for the shampoo and conditioner – I just feel that these basics products which a family can get through so quickly really should be available eco-friendly and chemical-free at no great cost!
And I rejoiced when I saw the soft toothbrush – handle is 99% renewable plant based materials – and a whitening toothpaste to go with, no palm oils and rid of the all the other usual toothpaste nasties. So now, being east London based, I think I will have to make a regular pilgrimage to Panzers to stock up and try out some more products! Unfortunately though, I can’t see any way of buying Ecostore online right now – the site doesn’t seem to ship to the UK! If anyone has any leads, do let me know – but I will keep you posted if I find out more!