Caring for your complexion and keeping your make-up bag well-stocked with the latest must-haves can take its toll on your skin and your purse-strings. One thing it shouldn’t take its toll on however, is the environment. Peer into the depths of your cosmetic cabinet and you’re likely to find a whole host of lotions and potions that are harbouring secret, nature-damaging ingredients. Sound familiar? It’s time to clean up your eco-act and reduce your beauty carbon footprint. And we promise you won’t have to sacrifice the aromas, effectiveness or luxurious lathers that you love.

Make your country your beauty oyster
Choosing products manufactured in your country is a simple way to keep your eco-conscience in check, as it reduces the CO² emissions that it costs to bring the product across the globe to your doorstep. For our fellow Brits, our favourite is Neal’s Yard Remedies. Their gloriously-rich Frankincense Intense Lift Cream is a god-send for keeping those winter skincare woes at bay, and is manufactured right here in the UK. They were the first high street retailer to be certified as carbon neutral and are this year collaborating with conservation charity World Land Trust. They’ve protected 400,00m² of endangered forest and offset an incredible 146 tonnes of CO² emissions since 2012.

Say no to microbeads!
When reaching for your favourite facial exfoliator, have you ever wondered what’s actually doing the exfoliating? Note to self: look for one without microbeads. The tiny polystyrene balls are seriously damaging to marine life as they absorb and release toxins into the ocean. Some countries banned them upon realising the dangers, but there are still thousands on the market. Fortunately for you (and us), the brains behind beauty brands are smart little things and have found that ingredients like sugar, coffee and salt work just as well, if not better! Particularly good is this Sister & Co Raw Coconut & Coffee Body Scrub which we stock on Hip & Healthy! The roasted and ground Robusta coffee beans not only exfoliate but also stimulate blood flow, remove dry skin and promote collagen production.

Check that ‘natural’ means natural.
‘Natural’ and ‘organic’ are basically the beauty version of ‘superfood’; buzzwords that brands know we look for in order to be kind to our complexions. But did you know that ingredients don’t actually have to be 100% organic or 100% natural in order to be labelled as such? For products that are as good to nature as they are to your skin, meet a brand that’s new to our beauty repertoire: JK7. It’s the brainchild of Dr. Jurgen Klein, founder of Jurlique, who took his vast experience and scientific knowledge to create holistic and synergising skincare that’s utterly luxurious. They use only the purest essential oils and natural, high-performance herbal compounds backed by research. The result? Effective skincare that’s a joy to use. It’s available online and in high-end wellness centres around the world including London-based members club for women, Grace Belgravia. We’d highly recommend visiting to enjoy the decadent JK7 facial!

Make friends with multi-taskers.
We women love to multitask, and why not? We’re so good at it, after all. Why then do we so often pack our beauty bags to the zip-bursting limit rather than choosing a few crowd favourites that achieve multiple things in one fell swoop? Enter the world of multi-tasking cosmetics. From lip tints that double as cheek colour and bronzer that you can use as eye-shadow; even your skincare can do more than you think! Plant-based, organic skincare line R Devine (hailing from Ontario, Canada) prides itself on creating products that take the place of more than one bottle on the shelf. Their Sacred Garden Makeup Remover is seven products in one, as it can be used as a moisturising facial serum, oil-based cleanser, makeup primer, cuticle oil, hair serum and will even keep your man friend happy as a beard oil too!

Look for earth-friendly packaging.
Brands that favour recyclable packaging are obviously more earth-friendly than those who don’t. It’s great to see more companies using biodegradable materials, and even better to see those who go one step further. Neal’s Yard Remedies for example, use recyclable packaging when they can, but when they can’t, they don’t just shrug their shoulders and say “oh well, we tried”. They opt for recycled materials instead! Their trademark blue bottles are made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials which are more energy-efficient to produce and mean less plastic waste in landfill sites. They also ensure what’s inside is pretty darn fantastic too. Win win!

words by Zoe Louise Cronk

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