Look and feel gorgeous this summer

Charlotte Vohtz, founder of organic skin and beauty care company, Green People, and author of ‘Naturally Gorgeous’ – an essential health and beauty guide, with great advice and tips on how to live a natural and organic lifestyle – has a few hints to keep us in tip top condition this summer.

Buff body

• Our skin needs a good buff after the long cold winter, in order to shed those dry flakes and make way for fresh, healthy, new skin.  And pay particular attention to heels which can end the winter rather cracked and unsightly.  Try a good organic body scrub to get skin back into action and full of zest.
• Top tip:  Rub a generous dollop of body butter into your heels and feet at bedtime and cover with cotton socks – you’ll wake up with super soft feet.

Smooth operator

• Before getting beach bare you may want to try a cellulite lotion for smooth pegs to be proud of.  The trick is to use a Body Brush first to stimulate blood and lymphatic circulation, helping to flush toxins from the body and improve overall skin tone

Faking it

• And then you’re ready to start your tan off with a pre-holiday glow!  Get streak-free, natural results, by giving the body a good scrub first and applying moisturiser to backs of knees, elbows and wrists before applying an authentic organic self tan – Green People’s is scented with Rosehip, Sandalwood and Geranium so it doesn’t give off that chemical smell!

Loads of lotion

• Remember to keep reapplying your sun lotion every two hours – and apply generously.  The latest reports show that insufficient amounts of sun lotion will significantly reduce the effective protection from UV rays.  As a guide, an application the size of a shot glass (30ml) should be enough to cover the whole body adequately.

Face the Sun

• Ensure that you are protected from UV rays throughout the day, even when it’s not so hot.  Look for a moisturiser which contains a minimum SPF15 and you can even opt for mineral make up which has built in natural SPF .

Bnatural gift set

bnatural contains no artificial colours, mineral oils or parabens and uses 100% natural fragrances. It’s less expensive than many brands out there, but still feels great on your skin. As an added bonus, it’s suitable for vegetarians and contains naturally active botanicals and organic aloe vera certified by the Soil Association.

Gorgeous natural gift set

The gift basket contains a great selection;

• Brightening shower scrub: Naturally brightening, with antioxidant green tea, moisturising honey and soothing organic aloe vera.
• Skin reviving shower wash: Naturally uplifting ginger and green tea to stimulate, moisturising honey and soothing aloe vera.
• Skin quenching body milk: Naturally conditioning balm mint and aloe vera to soothe, jojoba oil to retain skin softness and moisturising cocoa butter.
• Sleep time hand cream: Naturally sleep promoting with lavender to unwind, hops to relax and valerian to help calm and moisture retaining jojoba oil and cocoa butter.

Corrymoor mohair socks

Dare to be different

Socks are a classic for Christmas, but let’s not dash down the high street for a boring pack of five  when there are some fantastic socks to be had this festive season.

Corrymoor is a family farm based business, it was one of the first organic farms in the UK and Steve and Jenny Whitely started the farm without any farming experience. They met on the Falklands more than twenty five years ago, he was a vet, she an ecologist. Back in the UK at Corrymoor, Jenny started knitting socks in her kitchen and then brought in a team of knitters before the business became too great and the socks are now knitted by an old family firm in the Midlands.

These socks are pretty special because of the mohair which does not absorb sweat, bacteria and moisture in the same way as sheep’s wool does so you don’t have to wash the socks so much, how environmentally sound and lazy is that! It also means because they are a natural fibre that they keep your feet cool in summer and warm in winter.

Available in sizes 1-13 in 15 different colours. Prices from £8.90 a pair

Dr Bronner’s magic soaps

Make up artist Bobbi Brown championed Dr Bronner’s on The Oprah Show “It’s probably the finest soap in the universe. I’m obsessed with it. I cannot get enough of it!”

A top pick this Christmas

The team at Hello Eco Living are going wild for this product too. It has 18 uses from one small bottle – you can use it to wash yourself, your clothes, clean your floors and even brush your teeth. It’s fair trade and organic and it smells delicious. Out of all of the natural products we’re tested over the past few months Dr Bronner’s sits proudly at the top of our list. Love, love, love it!

A few more eco inspirations

Our lovely writer Grace has been on the hunt for Christmas gifts too… check out her suggestions here…

BaByliss Eco Hair dryer coming in at £19.95 with this cutting edge hair dryer you will defiantly cut your impact on the environment. Using the BaByliss Eco Dry for 10 minutes everyday, instead of an ordinary 2000W dryer, saves enough energy to make seven cups of tea or 11 slices of toast per day, but still leaving you looking like the green goddess you desire to be. 

Next we have a shopping bag with a bit of attitude, ‘Plastic Ain’t my Bag’ shopping bag is comes in Green, Blue and Pink is great as it’s only £6, perfect for a day to day use and funky little stocking filler; available from love-eco.co.uk.

Now for a personal touch for that special person in your life, a fair trade Birthstone Necklace’s available in the following stones: Carnelian, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Garnet, Jade, Moonstone. The necklaces are sold for £15.99 and comes from allthingsgreen.net

Heard of the Make Poverty History white band? Well get ready for Pants to Poverty pants, yes that’s right pants, Made from organic and fair traded cotton, these pants add a little bit of cheekiness to charity. Pants to Poverty pants will cost you £10 a perfect stocking filler and available from love-eco.co.uk

So with a few fab ideas for Christmas presents we can’t exactly let you down on the wrapping ideas can we? So why not get onto Nigel’s Eco Store. The paper is made with vegetable derived inks in UK and all papers are recycled, this site also offers you five great designs to jazz up your presents up even more.

So once you have got your super eco friendly gifts wrapped in your incredibly eco wrapping paper remember to have a very Merry Eco Christmas!