Continuing on from last week, I realised there were a few more local companies that I love, which I missed out mentioning. Akamuti [little tree from the African Bemba language] is a four year old, Wales based, family-run company that makes gorgeous organic products for skin, hair, and babies. They also sell herbs and source organic and fairly traded ingredients. This Murmuru Butter is something I have not seen anywhere before, and is Brazilian tree butter for damaged hair.
Pai Organic has a small line (moisturizers, eye cream, & lipcream) of pure handmade products created by Sarah Brown, a New Zealand transplant. Pai is the Maori word for goodness, and the products are good enough to eat!
Lush skincare and cosmetics is an old favourite from my Edinburgh days, lured in by the overwhelmingly sweet scent emanating from the Princes Street shop. I haven't used any for a long time, but the Angels with Bare Faces was really good and simple. The range has expanded dramatically and is more 'perfumey' than the other products I've mentioned. They do a lovely vegan line, and all products are animal friendly. Products with fun names like Karma Bubble Ball, Waving not Drowning, and the prices are cheap!
And then there's Brighton-based Raw Gaia, which I mentioned previously with the raw cacao moisturiser, which has a wonderful subtle chocolate scent. It melts into your skin and then seems to disappear, leaving the skin very soft. Raw Gaia is unique from all the others mentioned in that they use only 100% organic, living and vegan ingredients such as cold-pressed butters and oils as well as high-grade essential oils. The products are 'raw' meaning they haven't been cooked/process in temperatures over 40°C. The moisturiser has MSM in it, which is a nutritional form of sulphur which is good for the skin.
Not that kind of rave. Rather, rave as in what's new, what's fabulous, what am I raving on about??As a non-native, I like to explore and dig into the nooks and crannies of the country, to really savour the difference, if there is one, of living here. One of my favourite things is finding locally produced things, supporting small businesses (as I am an entrepreneur at heart) and finding a good bargain. I have to say that I have been a skincare junkie for a long time... don't know how it got started but there you have it. What I look for now though, is organic if possible, but primarily natural.. I need to know what the ingredients are and what they mean. And in my explorations, I've discovered a few new raves. Trevarno Organic, based in Cornwall (oh how I wish we'd move down there..) is situated on the Trevarno Estate and gardens which dates back to 1246. The skincare portion includes all handmade, organically certified products, slightly more expensive than some, but still great value for a top quality product. My favourite is the revitalising facial oil made with jojoba oil and vanilla..yum.
Pure Nuff Stuff is a small woman-run business also based in Cornwall, in the picturesque sand swept region of Penzance. All the products produced are organic and very natural, not to mention well priced! I have been a fan of Neal's Yard Remedies for years, (another English staple) and while they are decently priced and natural, I am amazed at the quality of the new products out there, that are even cheaper (no I won't leave you neal's yard..). Why anyone would pay department store prices is beyond me.. with these small organic businesses, you get top quality, freshness, no animal testing and no funky long-winded preservatives. And if you know me, you know I've rambled on before about ditching the big multi-nationals, [which frankly overcharge for products that a good percentage of the time don't do what they say will do] in favour of supporting small business. You can also pay even less at times for a better product than you might do in your average Boots or supermarket.
This lip balm by Crazy Rumors, is not made in England, but is a new discovery on my part and just perfect for coffee lovers like myself. The creators are from New York, and also do lip balms for tea lovers too. I found this through OliveOrganic, an English family-run business that sources all manner of lovely organic and original products. All except Trevarno can ship internationally.. I believe Trevarno is working on shipping to the US in the near future.
I'm a milk chocolate woman at heart, that's what I grew up knowing, and not just what I'd call the bland chocolate bars of the brand names, but real, solid, high-quality milk chocolate of the chocolatiers. However, in the past few years of living over here, I have discovered the delights of dark chocolate. It's lower in calories, high in anti-oxidant benefits. And then there's raw chocolate. Raw as in uncooked in anyway. Despite the thrilling reviews that can be seen on certain websites about raw chocolate, for me I'd say its still an acquired taste.
Then there's the chocolate bubble bath and face mask and face cream! I'm not a huge chocolate freak (as you may now be thinking), and I actually have limits as to how much I eat, but these new products came into my field of vision and I just had to try them out. The bubble bath is very nice smelling, although once in the bath, it doesn't seem to smell much, but its very silky and leaves your skin really soft and slightly sweet smelling. The dark chocolate mask is one on my wish list, as it comes from America, but is rather costly for my tiny budget.
I'm waiting to receive a raw cacao 'living' moisturizer from Raw Gaia which is much less expensive than the mask above, and made locally. At first thought, chocolate in cosmetics may seem a bit pointless or gimmicky, but then cocoa butter, a fatty substance obtained from the seeds of the cacao, has been used for centuries in cosmetics and soaps. Yum!
Continuing on from last week, I realised there were a few more local companies that I love, which I missed out mentioning. Akamuti [little tree from the African Bemba language] is a four year old, Wales based, family-run company that makes gorgeous organic products for skin, hair, and babies. They also sell herbs and source organic and fairly traded ingredients. This Murmuru Butter is something I have not seen anywhere before, and is Brazilian tree butter for damaged hair.
