šøš“ hide & seek šøš“ (at West Hollywood, California)
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Hi Everyone!
Itās Tanesha chiming in before sharing this weekās Dear Diary entry written by an anonymous GWC reader. If you arenāt familiar with this column, check out this post.
This weekās entry discusses a readerās experience with an illness thatās left her thinner, but not healthier, like everyone around her assumes.
x Tanesha
The brands and products changing the face of the industry...
Eco initiatives are having their moment, with forward thinking brands setting a new benchmark for the sustainable beauty movement.
Below weāve rounded up the beauty brands and their hero products that are doing it best. Who knew saving the planet could look so good?
Who knew that you could create earth-friendly plastic from sugar cane? Aveda did- back in 2002. Since Aveda was founded in 1978 by pioneer of holistic beauty, Horst Rechelbacher, Aveda has been mindful of its environmental footprint and today the figures speak for themselves. Some 85 per cent of its skin and haircare products, such as Avedaās Thickening Tonic, are housed in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and jars made from 100 per cent post consumer recycled materials (think milk bottles). #Avedacleanwater is another of its major philanthropic missions and since 2007, Aveda has raised more than $44 million (about Ā£34m) to support the cause. For instance, every April, during Earth Month, it donates the full RRP less VAT from its Light The Way Candle to the Global Greengrants Fund. Together they have helped 1,137,428 people in 88 countries access clean water. Its use of plant-based and organic ingredients, such as turmeric and amla, has led to 104,900 acres of land being devoted to sustainable agriculture. Throw in the fact that it was the first beauty company to manufacture products with 100% wind power and thereās no question that Aveda is leading the charge when it comes to giving back.
This British brand nixes every rumour youāve ever heard about botanical skincare not being as effective as its chemical counterparts, while keeping its carbon footprint low too. āBalance Me manufactures all its products in the UK and our warehouse is still in East London to ensure our carbon footprint is lower than any brand that manufactures abroad and flies or ships in its merchandise,ā says co-founder Rebecca Hopkins. Whatās more Balance Me consciously uses only natural actives and, for complete transparency, lists the natural percentage of each product on the front of its packaging. āWeāve created luxury formulations at supermarket prices as we absolutely believe that ethical beauty should be inclusive. To that end, we source natural botanicals from all over the world, but weāre also lucky that we can sustainably harvest many ingredients such as borage oil, cucumber extract and carrot tissue oil right here in the UK.ā
Botanical beauty is a growing market, thanks to switched-on consumers demanding greater transparency on the origin of ingredients. But while the industry plays catch-up, brands that have long championed this philosophy are taking centre stage. The Organic Pharmacy first launched organic makeup in 2006. Fast forward 12 years and botanical tech has moved on so much that founder Margo Marrone has re-formulated her entire colour range. āEveryone is talking about clean makeup with skincare benefits but that has been at the core of our DNA since we launched,ā she says. āWe had to work hard to make sure the colour range was performing but now Iāve upped the ante with natural ingredients.ā The Organic Pharmacy Hydrating Foundation, Ā£45 for instance, contains stem cells, hyaluronic acid and vitamins that work with your skin to strengthen it, and the highly micronised pigments are colour-adapting natural pigments that blend perfectly with the skin, meaning the sheer formula will adapt to any tone for a fresh-faced glow. Plant extracts have also come on leaps and bounds. āBefore, you would put plant colour into a product and it would disappear after a few hours,ā says Marrone. āNow weāve sourced plants with a punchy hue that are stable even in sunlight.ā The added bonus is that the majority of the vitamins are infused in the pigment, so you reap the antioxidant benefits at the same time as a gorgeous colour payoff.
The tides are ā quite literally ā changing in the world of skincare packaging. And itās about time: by 2050 itās estimated there will be more plastic in the sea than fish. Thatās why, as part of the brandās Clean to Planet initiative, Ren Clean Skincare will be one of the first skincare brands to offer products in a 100% recycled bottle containing 20% plastic reclaimed from the eight million tonnes that enter the oceans, beaches and rivers every year (this is the highest amount that can be safely used with current recycling technology). āWe decided to take any plastic,ā explains CEO Arnaud Meysselle, āand almost the entire bottle can be recycled a second time.ā Itās the latest step in the brandās pledge to becoming Zero Waste by 2021 and even more fitting considering the product inside. The cult Atlantic Kelp and Magnesium Body Wash is formulated with actives such as kelp and plankton sustainably sourced from the eastern coast of Canada. āThe strong tides bring in a lot of nutrients that are lost in other coastal regions,ā says Meysselle. āAll harvesters are trained in marine life and use specialised tools that wonāt disrupt the ecosystem.ā
Growing up, who didnāt wear their The Body Shop Born Lippy strawberry lip balm as a badge of honour? It said āIām against animal testingā (right now the brand is calling on the UN to adopt a worldwide ban on animal testing for cosmetics and ingredients) and āI support fair trade and going greenerā. All this in the late 70s and 80s when lifting the lid on eco issues and unfair farming practices wasnāt a dinner party conversation. That commitment to being a force for good hasnāt changed. In fact, by 2020, as part of its Enrich Not Exploit Commitment, The Body Shop aims to protect a whopping 10,000 hectacres of forest; regenerate 75 million square metres of habitat to help communities live more sustainably and double its community trade ingredients from 19 to 40, helping those in rural areas around the world. The Body Shop was the first to use hemp in beauty products 20 years ago, helping farmers make a living from more diverse crops. Today, the Hemp Hand Protector is one of the bestselling products- not surprising when you consider hempās highly moisturising properties. And because itās a naturally resilient plant, thereās no need for pesticides, which is kinder to the environment. Win-win- all of which proves itās worth staying loyal to our first beauty love.
Thankfully, our options for cruelty-free beauty products have grown considerably over the past decade. However, finding products that are also vegan? Now thatās a grey area. To be clear: itās illegal to test cosmetics on animals in the UK but just because a company is cruelty-free doesnāt mean itās also vegan. Thatās why the Maui Moisture range of shampoos, conditioners and hair treatments, deserves bragging rights. Since its launch in 2016, Maui Moisture has never tested its products on animals and, better still, it doesnāt use any animal ingredients or by-products. āMany hair products contain honey, beeswax and the animal-derived protein keratin,ā explains Jaime Kontz, Associate Director of Research & Development. āOur mission was to find effective plant-based ingredients so that we didnāt have to use anything derived from an animal. Our free-from formulas start with aloe vera juice and coconut water, instead of chemically treated de-ionised water, and are packed with 100% vegan botanicals that have the added benefit of being naturally rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to help repair and hydrate strands and scalp.ā
Seaweed gives kale a run for its money in the nutrient stakes as itās packed full of magnesium, calcium, copper, iodine, iron, potassium, phosphorus and zinc as well as vitamins, A, B, C, D and E- all proven to boost immunity, improve heart health and regulate hormones. it does wonders for the skin, too- detoxifying, hydrating and locking in nutrients. Thatās why industry favourite Voya, an Irish brand that uses hand-harvested seaweed, is doing its best to protect the algae. Environmentally, seaweed operations must show that they maintain sustainable wild populations and actively minimise their impact on the surrounding natural environment. Voyaās seaweed is grown organically and harvested by a specialist local team on the reefs of Irelandās north-west shoreline āIt is essential that our seaweed is harvested in a way that allows both communities and the environment to thrive,ā says Emma Roberts, head of business development. āWe work closely with environmental organisation World Land Trust and offset carbon-dioxide emissions associated with Voyaās general operationsā And to give something back to the oceans Voya also adopts seals. You canāt get any more caring than that!
Microbeads, now thankfully banned, used to be the nemesis of our sea life. Today, it seems they have been replaced by minuscule particles of glittery plastic, which find their way into oceans and our watery supply. Luckily, weāre not the only ones who think the only shimmery things in the sea should be a shellās natural mother-of-pearl finish. Lush has replaced plastic glitter with eco-safe synthetic mica. āEven though the mica is synthesised in a lab, it is made of natural minerals, so you donāt end up with the problem of micro plastics,ā says creative buyer Gabbi Loedolff. āAnother benefit is that unlike natural mica, which has jagged edges, synthetic mica is very smooth so we can use much bigger particles, create bolder colours and more reflective productsā. All of which gives the environment a shinier future, too.
By now we should all be well- versed in pollution from smog and exhaust fumes. But household pollution? Not so much. And yet the combined effects of outdoor and indoor toxins cause more than 550,000 premature deaths every year in Europe, according to the World Heath Organisation. āSimply closing our front doors to a busy road doesnāt prevent ultra-fine and potentially harmful particles getting trapped inside our homes,ā says Paul Dawson, Vice President of health and beauty at Dyson. āThere are also fumes released from new furniture, cleaning solvents and gasses from cooking, which is all the more worrying considering we spend 90 per cent of our time indoors and a resting adult inhales around 7-8 litres of air every minuteā. To offset the damage, Dyson have created a filter system to remove 99.95 per cent of indoor pollution particles and allergens as small as o.1 microns from the air, as well as feeding real-time air quality back to you (try the Pure Cool Purifying Fan, from Ā£399.99). Pretty clever, no?
The post The ethical beauty trailblazers you need to know about now appeared first on Marie Claire.
Jewelry is a personal thing; you either love a certain piece, or you straight up hate it. I know this sounds a little harsh, but itās truly how it goes, or at least for me. Iām so particular in what I like that I end up wearing one set of rings ā all the time ā and one pair of diamond earrings, one of two watches, and a bangle or two. Thatās it.
Now donāt get me wrong, itās not that Iām not open to new pieces, or not willing to find them. I am! But again, itās just so damn hard. So imagine when this super lovely and talented girl boss from The Netherlands approaches you with her flourishing fine jewelry brand, and asks to create a personal ājewelryā look togetherā¦ you jump, high!
So last week when I was in Italy, I received her email and went straight to her website auratenewyork.com not knowing exactly what to expect, but I was taken the first second I laid my eyes on it. It was EXACTLY what I love. No doubt one of the most delicate and sophisticated fine jewelry pieces Iāve come across lately. Well anyway, I was about to create my personal ājewelry lookā meaning the four or five everyday key pieces that every woman should own as a basis for a fine jewelry lookā¦
Now I like to keep it simple ā as you know ā so the pieces I selected are simple to the core, but the detail of the rose gold and diamonds make them everything but average. Thereās nothing vanilla about this simplicity I was aiming for, but ā and you girls who know fine jewelry know ā itās all in the little details.
Earrings I wear most of the time in only one ear, but for the occasion Iām showing you how to wear different pieces in both ears, yet, if you were to decide to go for one ear, they do stand alone like this perfectly, too. Two rose gold ball studs and one diamond cuff. Absolute 100% my ultimate āear-lookā. Then the other ear, a delicate bar with diamonds and again rose gold. For the ring ā and for the occasion I took the rest of my rings off to give it some more light ā I went for a mini diamond in yellow gold. You could stack it with other rings, which I will most likely do, or stand alone like this. I love how it shows my tattoos better when wearing it solo!
Necklaceā¦ well, what can I sayā¦ J is for James, S is for Stella. I havenāt taken it off since we shot this collaboration, and Iām not planning to eitherā¦
Photos by Moeez, in collaboration with Aurate New York.
The post J IS FOR JAMES & S IS FOR STELLA appeared first on THEFASHIONGUITAR.
