As an acne proned adult (and an acne sufferer well into my late twenties), I am always on the hunt for gentle but effective skincare. With the rise of natural and organic products, I have myself leaning towards these products more and more and have been feeling and noticing the benefits.
1. Oskia Micro Exfoliating Balm – this is not cheap at £46 a pot but cost per wear, you wear your skin everyday. Plus it’s an exfoliator so i would use it perhaps once a week to clean away tired skin cells. My skin feels shiny and new, post facial!
2. Lanolips 101 ointment – 100% natural, this is my current favourite lipbalm, but also a bit like Lucas Paw Paw, you can use it on rashes, cuticles etc. They have also launched a range of hand balms with added antibacterial ingredients – which is now always in my work kitbag.
3. Amie deep cleansing mask – at £5.95, this is a really affordable range of products using natural plant and botanical extracts. It’s very soft on your skin, not abrasive at all, and left my skin feeling moisturised and soft.
4. M&S Pure Super Grape miracle glow clay mask – Marks & Spencer’s beauty ranges just get better and better. Grapes are used for their anti ageing qualities, and the pulp is actually from Marks & Spencer’s own wines and recycled into the skincare range. This mask (£12), coats the skin in clay (Cornish clay, no less) and refreshes tired skin in 10 minutes. A great travel product to take away with you when you need some pamper time on your holiday (which I often do!).
5. Balance Me super toning body wash – at £18, this is a chic way to introduce natural products to your bathroom – it’s what the Beauty Editor at red swears by. It’s 99% natural, it smells like a spa and is a really good scrub (even my husband likes it!).
And what do the experts say? Make-up artist Julie Jacobs is the ‘go to’ woman for glowy skin in the fashion and beauty industry, and she also has an amazing beauty blog called
Face Too Face, mainly about beauty but also focuses on real women (she lets them do the make-up on one side of their face and Julie does the other and shares her tips objectively on what she would change or teach – it’s fascinating).
On a recent shoot in Lisbon, Julie and I were discussing natural products so I asked her to let me in on her top natural beauty buys:
Do you use many organic/natural products for work?
More recently I’ve started to have natural and organic products in my kit. I didn’t really bother me before because the shelf life seemed so short but a few years ago I was re-introduced to a natural brand and was pleasantly surprised at their refinement and the longevity due to advancements in this area.
Is there a difference between natural and organic products?
Nowadays we don’t have to have a PhD in chemistry to know what each ingredient on a label actually is because we have google, we can do our own research until the cows come home! However, I feel buying natural or organic also requires a certain amount of trust…you have to choose to believe (trust) what the brand is telling you is the truth!!
Natural skincare ingredients are plant; mineral; vitamins; essential oils, they’re from nature; ‘mother earth’! A product does not have to consist 100% of natural ingredients so always read the label — I love the brand
Balance Me because they have the percentage of natural on the front of the bottle, literally, it’s in your face so no squinting trying to read the small print on the box.
The natural ingredients in Organic skincare are harvested without chemical fertiliser or pesticides and must not be genetically modified. Each country has their own rigorous specifications and regulations for a product to be certified organic. Once again a product can contain different percentage of organic ingredients but then has to be labeled ‘made with,’ but generally those that are 100% organic really want you to know that so shout it from the roof tops using big font or an accredited logo!
What brands do you use personally?
Personally I use or have used
Jurlique Lavender Hand Cream, the smell is sooo nice…and it doesn’t leave a greasy residue either.
Ark Nourishing Body Lotion, my skin HATES perfumed/fragranced creams; lotions or soaps, it lets me know by going scaly like crocodile skin. I have been using this body lotion for four weeks now and not a sign of ‘The Crocodile’!
What natural product must every women own?
If you think a product is pricey just divide it between the amount of weeks it lasts and you’ll realise the price is very reasonable. i.e.
Aromatherapy Associates Relax Body Wash is £26, it lasts me four months, £1.62 a week! Mind you, when I have visitors I do hide it, I know that’s selfish but I can live with myself! Here are a few more I would recommend:
Sukin Hydrating Body Lotion
 |
| Candle: £49.95, Neom Organics (100% natural and ethically sourced), pine, myrrh and lime peel candle – smells like heaven and lasts far longer than Diptyque). Lanolips ointment, £10.99, Feel Unique. Make-up bag: Accessorize (sold out) |
All natural is best for the skin!
I get flare ups of acne roseacea and I find using Oskia Renaissance cleanser, mask and day cream perfect. I also use aurelia night oil and day serum. Oskia MSM tablets really helped my teenager with those pesky teenage spots! Skins never been better. La Roche Possay serozinc spray helps too.
Oskia is such a great brand – am really enjoying using it. Good to know about the tablets! x
Cool! I have always consulted my friends and took their advice from where should I Buy Natural Beauty Products Online. Thanks for suggesting thus. This will be very helpful. Keep glowing.
Getting things that can reduce my acne would be nice. It's one of those things that's so sad to have to deal with once you leave high school (not that it was a picnic to deal with it then, but at least it was normal). Maybe I'll try that exfoliating stuff for my skin. If it works, it would be worth it. http://organicbeauty.us/about-us
Love those products, thank u!