It’s been a while! But no time like the present to be back with a little round-up of some great new natural beauty products I’ve been trialling and I’m particularly excited to share these as the packaging really ticks the sustainability box – I love seeing small new brands coming forward with great new ideas and alternatives to single use plastic and conventional materials…

Shampoo Bars

Shampoo bars (above right) are taking centre stage at the moment as they make so much more sense when it comes to reducing waste, and I am loving these beautifully shaped creations from Solidamie – each bar replaces approximately 2.5 250ml bottle shampoos and is packaged in a compostable wrap which you can add to your home compost.

Soap free (so not drying & won’t strip the hair of its natural sebum) and silicone and palm oil free too, the vegan bars are made up of plant-based biodegradable ingredients that are not harmful to the environment.

I’m finding both the shampoo and conditioner really moisturising, lathering up really well and smelling delicious – my favourite shampoo bars to date!  I’m also getting more used to using shampoo bars these days (great on short hair I will admit!) and happily breaking away from a years-old habit of squirting liquid into my palm!

Vegan Sunscreen

I’m also delighted to have found the brilliant vegan, cruelty free and reef safe suncare range from Sol de Ibiza, also plastic free using aluminium tins, cardboard and paper tube. Available from Content Beauty – an excellent edit of natural brands including many of my favourites – the SPF 30 and 50 are both solid bars which soften and spread easily enough on application.

I have been happily using these this summer and feel a great sense of relief to have found a SPF that works environmentally and ingredients wise and has a nice application.

Organic Facial Serum

And now back to serums which I am a big fan of!  I’ve been absolutely loving Bog Skincare – a 100% organic, parabans free, sustainably sourced skincare. And this is just my kind of range; wonderfully simple and pared down with an AM and a PM serum, and that’s it.

Quite a story behind the brand’s beginning, the discovery of a perfectly preserved 2000-year-old young man’s body in an Irish peat bog, its skin in near perfect condition. Founder Milana Wood, keen to create a product that that was safe to use and didn’t irritate the skin, decided to harness the skin-preserving powers of organic peat.

The AM serum I’ve been trying – the nutrient-rich peat is hand-extracted and cold-pressed in a non-harmful way that allows to peat to replenish – is one of the most hydrating I’ve tried and my skin just laps it up, fully refreshed and smooth.

When using the serum I haven’t felt the need to apply anything else at all and I think I would quite happily switch to just these two products for a keeping-it-nice-and-simple approach to day and night skincare. Big yes!

Vegan Facial Cleanser & Mask

Vegan and cruelty free Olixa has just re-issued two of their favourite products in updated fun & fresh aluminium packaging – the Vitamin C packed Gummy Cleanser with anti-bacterial eucalyptus oil which has a pleasingly thick creamy texture and the buttery Facial Mask, which is soothing and repairing with chia, hemp, strawberry and camellia seeds.

Organic Foundation & SPF

Esse Skincare is a certified organic, cruelty free and vegan brand creating products that contain reviving skin-supporting probiotics which my skin really responds to. They’ve just released a foundation (with SPF) in 10 shades – I’ve been applying on days I need a little extra coverage and find it spreads easily and looks nice and natural. Beautiful products that always feel like a real treat to use.

Natural Mascara

Also on Content Beauty you’ll find my favourite natural makeup brand, RMS beauty, and they are back with a travel-sized version of their Volumizing Peptide mascara (I use this one daily) – a free gift if you spend more than £55 btw!

Best CBD Oil

Now CBD oil, so popular at the moment, and quite a few brands about. I have tried quite a few different ones – I use it primarily to assist with unsettled sleep periods and the odd intense headache.

Kloris is my favourite by far, and the drops I keep coming back to – recently a dose every night before going to sleep for a week reset a period of waking up at 2am in the morning with generalised anxieties and returned me to sleeping all the way through.

Kloris has also launched a high strength CBD balm which is a lovely addition to the range and nice to rub on achey joints, dry or itchy patches of skin or on temples to help with headaches.

Organic Toothpaste

And finally teeth! Really refreshing to see an organic and sustainably-made toothpaste in a recyclable glass bottle for which you can order refills which you then pop the plastic pump onto – brilliant! Formulated with dentists, the ingredient list – including stain-removing charcoal, cavity fighting licorice and bacteria fighting eucalyptus – is free of fluoride and sulphates. It has a great taste and leaves your mouth feeling super fresh, I love using it.

*This post contains PR products sent for review.