The Beauty Director's Edit: July 2020
ECO-AWARENESS | Going plastic-free for July
Don't we all want cleaner streets, oceans, and communities? So, maybe it's time to get involved with Plastic Free July… A global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution.
It's easier than ever to make the swaps – especially when it comes to health, wellbeing and beauty products.
A brilliant website is the Bower Collective, making sustainable living accessible and straightforward for everyone, and offering all you need from home laundry and cleaning, to brilliant self-care and personal buys.
Net Sustain, the designer eco-platform from Net-a-Porter, highlights and celebrates beauty brands that meet at least one of the business's criteria for sustainability. One of CW's all-time favourites is Cosmydor, who are on a mission to spread a vital message during this time: Let's not go back to 'normal' – check out Cosmydor founder, Xavier Quattrocchi-Oubradous' essay here. Or peruse the product range here.
Here are a few of my eco beauty swaps
Deodorant I've tried many natural deodorants, but We Love the Planet has been a winner since it launched. You get a lovely heavy fragrance hit (the Sweet Serenity and Lavender is like a spa in a stick) and they do work at keeping you dry and sweet smelling all day long.
Toothpaste Did you know that most toothpastes on the market are still tested on animals, contain unethical or harmful ingredients, such as palm oil and sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and are packaged in non-recyclable, single-use plastic?
(Did you also know that 1.5 billion tubes of toothpaste go to landfill or into the ocean each year?)
So, get minty fresh with Parla with its plastic-free packaging, reusable and zero waste – plus a nicely refreshing mild taste – with all the benefits of natural abrasives and plaque removal ingredients too.
Lipstick Juni Cosmetics and La Bouche Rouge have both created highly pigmented, but completely plastic-free, bullets.
BLACK LIVES MATTER | A brilliant new beauty initiative
Over the past weeks and months, we have seen the world come together in solidarity against the systematic racism that permeates societies across the globe. We absolutely must keep the conversation going and no more so than with the beauty industry.
Spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement, award-winning medical professionals and aestheticians in the beauty industry have formed the Black Aesthetics Advisory Board (BAAB), to investigate the experiences of black practitioners within aesthetics as well as those of black and minority ethnic patients and consumers.
The board is made up of a team of award-winning medical professionals, including Dr Ifeoma Ejikeme, medical consultant at UCLH and founder of Adonia Medical Clinic, Dr Tijion Esho, founder and director of Esho Clinic, and resident doctor on Body Fixers and This Morning, Dr Amiee Vyas, founder and director of Doctor Amiee Facial Aesthetics & Skin, and Dija Ayodele, expert aesthetician and founder of Black Skin Directory.
One of the advisors, Dr Ifeoma Ejikeme, is a black British, female NHS medical consultant and highly experienced aesthetic doctor. Throughout her years at medical school and in aesthetic medicine training, she – along with her black peers – has been acutely aware of racial discrimination and unconscious bias within the medicine, health and beauty industries.
In products and treatments, as with lasers, peels, and products labelled 'cannot be used on black skin' without offering alternatives. There has always been an assumption that there is not a market for black skincare and treatments, but this is very wrong – there is a huge demand. A Nielsen study found that black women spend nine times the amount of money on skin and haircare than white women.
Collectively the BAAB will tackle the medical curriculum, championing diverse case studies that include all skin types.
The BAAB says:
'Given the worldwide re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter campaign and the poor experience voiced by black and minority ethnic professionals and consumers, we were shocked at the silence from many quarters of the aesthetic industry. Coupled with our knowledge of BME patient experience, we want to investigate and inform change, from ensuring all practitioners understand black skin needs to increased representation of black professionals at all industry levels. Through this, we can positively impact the experience of black patients and professionals within aesthetics.'
For more information click here.
And for the brilliant black beauty brands to support – click here.
My (new) morning regime | The best in summer skincare
My morning regime now consists of extra-long cuddles with my children, a leisurely latte (thanks Monmouth Coffee subscription), and also an extended skincare routine - and my skin looks a whole lot better for it.
Here's my current daily line-up that's perfect for summer:
Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser, £16
A clever cleanser to keep in the shower room – this uses alpha hydroxy acids and enzymes to gently exfoliate dead skin cells and removes surface impurities – so you start the day the right way.
Kate Somerville Exfolikate Cleanser, £16 - Buy here
Hit refresh
A quick sweep with something like Sarah Chapman's Liquid Facial Resurfacer, £41, or a spritz of Decree Preparatory Mist, £52 is super refreshing.
I usually stockpile these when I'm mooching around the Harvey Nichols Beauty Hall. I'm having to do this from a distance and don't know when I will roam the aisles and chat with their sales assistants again.
So, I'm making use of the department store's brilliant online chat facility, and their beauty buys that have saved my skin throughout lockdown.
You can order their luxury gift boxes, which come in recycled card, packaged lovingly, and with all the skincare staples you need to emerge beautifully out of confinement. Click here for more info.
Sarah Chapman's Liquid Facial Resurfacer, £41 - Buy here
Decree Preparatory Mist, £52 - Buy here
Ole Henriksen's new Banana Bright Vitamin C Serum, £53
Ole Henriksen's Banana Bright Vitamin C Serum, £53 is like a glass of 'OJ' for your face – so bright, refreshing and zesty it's a wake-up call for jaded skin and an absolute joy to use. Plus, it helps to remedy all my previous (very un-pc) sun damage.
Ole Henriksen's new Banana Bright Vitamin C Serum, £53 - Buy here
Exfolikate Glow Moisturiser, £55
Keeps up the excellent work that the cleanser started – and works on gently refining the skin's surface to reveal a new-found glow when on the go.
Exfolikate Glow Moisturiser, £55 - Buy here
Angela Langford’s Bloom and Glow Face Oil, £22.50
A few drops of Angela Langford’s Bloom and Glow Face oil, £20.50, adds a glass-like sheen to cheekbones, plus, the incredible smell of rose geranium amps up the feel-good factor. All the products in the MasterChef’s line-up are organic, vegan, cruelty-free, and mood-boosting and made by hand in Pembrokeshire.
Angela Langford’s Bloom and Glow Face Oil, £22.50 - Buy here
Sarah Chapman's new Skin Insurance SPF 50+
I finish off with Sarah Chapman's new Skin Insurance SPF 50+. It's a tinted light lotion that sinks in super fast, just leaving you with a lovely glow and skin protected from infrared, thermal, UV damage and environmental aggressors - all while smelling of her trademark 'Skinesis' light floral scent.
Sarah Chapman's new Skin Insurance SPF 50+ - Buy here
NEW DESTINATION SCENTS | Thai takeaways
Travel to Asia feels oh-so far away right now – even Rosa's Thai Café in Chelsea is a push. So, to satisfy my cravings, I've been sampling the Asian-inspired beauty treats that you don't need to leave the house for.
Jo Loves has just re-introduced Mango Thai Lime, £115, a bright and sunny scent that includes notes of fresh mango, lime leaf, pepper, thyme, mint, and vetiver. It smells like freshly juiced fruits that have been sliced while sitting on the banks of a white-sandy bay. It's utter bliss.
Jo Loves Mango Thai Lime, £115 – buy here
To complement this, try:
Elemental Herbology Lemongrass & Nutmeg Body Wash and Body Cream Duo, £40
This new duo, with essential oils of lemongrass, nutmeg, black pepper, and cedarwood, is SLS and silicone-free and makes the perfect, aromatic start to the day.
Elemental Herbology Lemongrass & Nutmeg Body Wash and Body Cream Duo, £40 – buy here
Cult French brand Roger&Gallet has also looked to the east with its latest Gingembre Exquis Extrait de Cologne, which combines herbaceous green tea with the subtle spiciness of ginger – and is a bargain buy at only £30.
Roger & Gallet Gingembre Exquis Extrait de Cologne, £30 – buy here
EASY PEEL | Spa-grade hand (and face) rejuvenation that you can do at home
For anyone who is used to regular 'tweakments' and five-star facials, well, the lockdown has been a shock to the system and the skin – to say the least.
And even though we might not be able to get the magic touch of the hands of a doctor or an aesthetician, there's a salon-grade treatment that you can buy online that provides immediate results.
The Peel 2 Glow is a two-step system that uses glycolic and mandelic acid to dissolve dermis debris gently and efficiently, in five minutes flat. Then you apply the glow serum to plump and hydrate skin, giving a result that could be described as years younger.
On the plus side, I don't get any redness, with no downtime either.
Dr Sophie Shotter, who switched from aesthetic doctor o frontline NHS when the pandemic started, has created a remedy for overzealous hand-washing.
Her Rejuvenating Hand Rescue system employs the Peel 2 Glow, along with a super-rich cream/mask and bamboo gloves, to leave the hands nourished, healthy and a whole lot happier. £110 for six treatments.
Contact the clinic for more information – click here
Peel 2 Glow, £110 for six treatments – buy here
ROAD TESTING | Eco ways to fragrance the home
Pot pourri? So 1982. Candles? So last year. The modern, eco and safer way to fragrance your home (especially with young children tearing around the place), is lava rocks.
I’m road-testing the new Crabtree & Evelyn’s Raw Instinct Rock Diffuser Set, £53. The apothecary-style packaging contains little lumps of lava and, when drizzled with the Concentrated Oil, has the wonderful ambience of a sun-warmed pontoon in a Caribbean hideaway.
Crabtree & Evelyn’s Raw Instinct Rock Diffuser Set, £53 – buy here
London site, Boostology has a gender-neutral diffuser that is elegant, long lasting and reusable. No part of it gets thrown away, so makes it an eco-friendlier way to scent your house. Choose your favourite aroma from its collection of essential oils, from £10 and sprinkle onto your rocks.
Boostology Diffuser, from £39; oils, from £10 – buy here
P.S...
For more on destination summer scents, click here, and for plastic-free shopping, try our round-up of the best zero-waste shops in London and beyond.
Stay safe,
Sarah Joan Ross
Culture Whisper
Beauty Director