Tuesday 31 January 2012

I have great news. Liz Earle's award-winning Cleanse and Polish with Hot Cloth Cleanser is paraben-free. Her products are all natural and mainly preservative free. This one is a must try. It made my skin feel so clean and refreshed and Liz's little muslin cloths are apparently popping up in bathrooms all over Britain. It contains cocoa butter, extracts from the hop plant and rosemary essential oil, which is said to have antioxidant  properties.



The cleanse and polish is £13.75 at uk.lizearle.com for a starter kit. I actually got a free one when I ordered something else from her site  - and she's recently started stocking in John Lewis.




Monday 30 January 2012

Aveda has had some bad press for using chemicals. It used to use parabens in most of it's products. However, in the past two years scientists have been gradually phasing them out.  The good news? Aveda has now reformulated it's All-Sensitive Cleanser and Moisturiser without parabens.




Aveda is also phasing out the use of EDTA, a chemical used as a preservative and replacing it with naturally-derived alternatives. They are also using 100% recycled stuff for it's packaging and looking to use biodegradable or reusable packaging for it's next phase. Aveda has a long way to go but it's great to see companies like this spending a lot of money on trying to make their products more eco-friendly. Keep it up Aveda!



Sunday 29 January 2012

Want to give your cheeks a rosy glow? Try Origins Pinch Your Cheeks blusher. It comes in a little liquid tube and looks more like a lipgloss, but it's a brilliant blusher. Never makes me go too red and comes in two colours, raspberry and coralberry.
Origins don't use Parabens in any of their products so I'm sure I'll be adding lots more of their make-up to this blog in the future. Every item is made from organic ingredients and 100% natural essential oils. They even use energy efficient wind farms to manufacture everything. Free delivery when you spend more than £30 at origins.co.uk.

Saturday 28 January 2012

I wear contact lenses so my eyes can be quite sensitive to liner - lots of products make them itchy and watery. So I'm going to give this one a go. Paul Penders Nutricious Colour Eye Pencils.


A friend recommend this one to me and said it lasts well on a night out. It comes in royal blue, black and brown and can even be used as an eyeshadow if combined with a drop of moisturiser. Best of all it only contains natural waxes and plant oils. Suitable for the most sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers. Best of all they're only £7 at the mo on thenaturalskincarecompany.co.uk. Enjoy!

Friday 27 January 2012

Allow me to introduce my new favourite product. New rejuvenating frankincense facial oil from Neal's Yard Remedies. I bought this as my skin tends to get so dry at this time of year and I needed a little something extra to keep me moisturised. It really nourishes the skin but is still gentle on the face and contains omega-rich botanical oils. Apparently it can reduce the appearance of fine lines too - I shall keep you posted!




You're supposed to apply the facial oil with a gentle massage action to  boost the skin’s circulation and voila! A wonderful complexion. I can't recommend this enough and of course, Neal's Yard only contains the best organic ingredients.

Thursday 26 January 2012

Lots of you will be concerned about smelling nice while also using products that are paraben free. So today I come to a lovely organic perfume. Acorelle Fragrance is only £25 at mypure.co.uk for a gift set including an eau de parfum and a body moisturiser. The smell of orchid is supposed to alleviate stress and anxiety and it also contains sandalwood, orange, vanilla, pear leaf, hawthorn and patchouli. No nasty chemicals.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Pale skin? Today I've found a great paraben free foundation. It's one product in a range devised by Nicola Roberts from Girls Aloud - Dainty Doll Liquid Foundation. Now that I've found you. She thinks it keeps her looking young - but I love it's natural ingredients. It's £22 and on sale at Boots.


Tuesday 24 January 2012

Keeping children free from nasty chemicals is always going to be a priority so handmade naturals offer a lovely range of baby bath products that are free from parabens, harsh synthetic foaming agents, perfume, chemicals, toxins and chemicals. Try the 100% natural baby shampoo with organic aloe vera, virgin coconut and jojoba oil. It's supposed to be gentle on their scalps and can help with cradle cap. Available at handmadenaturals.co.uk

Monday 23 January 2012

Most of the products I've listed so far are for ladies, so here's one for the men. Geoskincare do a great range of organic products for men including a skin repair cream, a multiaction cleanser and an aftershave balm. Visit thenaturalskincarecompany.co.uk to stock up.

Sunday 22 January 2012

Today I'm lending my support to this beautiful handmade soap from handmadenaturals.co.uk. It smells beautiful and is made up of organic coconut, olive, sweet almond and jojoba oil.

It's so mild it can even be used on the face. It's £4.15 for a bar and is wrapped beautifully so makes a great present if you have any birthday's coming up.  And if you're not a fan of almond and coconut, it comes in other flavours including cocoa, honey and oatmeal and olive, coconut and jojoba. Enjoy!

Saturday 21 January 2012

Hi everyone - thanks to everyone who has been supporting my blog in these early todays. Today I've discovered a new, organic foundation that is free of parabens. Try Nvey Certified Organic Moisturising Fluid. It's £22.40 for 30 ml at the naturalskincarecompany.co.uk.

It's not cheap, so my aim is to find something just as good that's more affordable. Please let me know if you have any recommendations.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Do you crave beautiful eco-friendly eyes? Try the Eco Eye Trio which costs £18.40 at greenpeople.co.uk. It comes in four different shades Smokey Grey, Aqua, Plum and Earth. It's paraben-free, tested on human volunteers instead of animals and is free of sodium laureth, supldate, phthalates, propylene glycol and silicones.

Tuesday 17 January 2012

If you want something eco that is easy to find on the high street then try Lush. Not all of their products are paraben free, but most are. Avoid the liquid-based ones as they put preservative in these to stop bacteria growing and use the solid products instead.

For a super natural deodorant try The Greeench. It contains herbs and oils that can help to fight oils. I've not tried this yet but those who have rave about it.

Monday 16 January 2012

Finding a good toothpaste that is free of chemicals was tricky work. Colgate is paraben-free but a closer inspection found it does contain an anti-bacterial agent called triclosan that has also been linked with cancer. So, back to square one. The only 100 % safe option I've found so far is the Green People  organic range on offer at greenpeople.co.uk.

They offer an organic fennel, citrus and aloe vera, mint and minty cool and a few especially for children. All are 100 % natural, they're never tested on animals and they are free from sodium laurl, laureth sulphate, parabens, lanolin, phthalates, propylene glycol , alcohol, harsh foaming agents, synthetic fragrances, irritating emulsifiers, petrochemicals and colourants. This is hard to find in most toothpastes on offer on supermarket shelves. The toothpastes aren't cheap at £3.15 but buy now and you'll get 10 per cent off.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Today I'm in the mood for a splurge and so I recommend Cowshed. It's not cheap but none of their products contain parabens, sulphates, petrochemicals, artificial fragrance or colours. Try the Juniper Berry Detoxifying Body Cream. It fights the free radicals that damage your skin whilst moisturising. Made with essentials from juniper berry, grapefruit and black pepper and is enriched with avocado oil. I love this - and it gave my skin a real healthy glow. Enjoy!

Friday 13 January 2012

Now it's time to look after your face. Superdrug offers a Tea Tree face scrub and some cleansing wipes, which are great for taking the make-up off late at night. And the important thing, both paraben-free! The scrub is a bargain compared to most eco-friendly products at only £2.99 for 75 ml.



Both of these products contain lots of natural ingredients including peppermint and tea tree so enjoy! If you're not a fan of tea tree or find it too strong for your face then I'd recommend Good Things Cleansing Wipes Raspberry and Cranberry £3.49. These are free of parabens, mineral oils, Sodium Laureth Sulphate and Animal Ingredients. Also available at superdrug.com.

Thursday 12 January 2012

There's been lots of argument over whether or not deodorant causes breast cancer but lots of popular brands contain parabens. But there are some lovely alternatives.

Neal's Yard do two natural remedies in Lemon & Coriander and Lavender & Aloe Vera. £7.50 for 100 ml at nealsyardremedies.com or you can order by phone - 0845 262 3145.





It's not just Parabens you're avoiding here. Neal's Yard is a wonderful company who never test on animals and all their products are organic and made in Gillingham, Dorset. Over the last 50 years, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been developed. We absorb these chemicals from our food, our toiletries and our environment so surely it's no coincidence that rates of eczema, allergies and cancer have increased?

Neil's Yard do lots of baby products, body scrubs, shampoos and soaps that are all paraben-free and organic. Needless to say I'm a fan!


Now I've started I could barely wait to start my next blog. My next product is The Body Shop's Earth Lovers Showel Gel range. It comes in lots of lovely flavours including Watermelon and Eucalpytus, Fig and Rosemary, Apricot and Basil, Cucumber and Mint and my personal favourite, Pear and Lemongrass.
These products are so refreshing and are currently in the sale. Just £2.50 for 250ml at thebodyshop.co.uk.
Lots of every day items contain a horrible little chemical called parabens. Lipsticks, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, bubblebath, baby products, the contraceptive pill, vitamins, ham, bacon and pastries. It's put in things to try and prolong their shelf life, but now experts have linked them with cancer.

Scientists at the University Hospital of South Manchester examined breast tumours taken from 40 women - and found parabens in nearly every one. The experts have not confirmed how they got there - but in my view, it's better to be safe than sorry.

So what I'm going to attempt to do here is to teach you all a little about parabens - and learn more myself.

The aim is to come up with a catalogue of paraben-free products for everyone to use and hopefully, along the way, we'll encourage more big firms to offer healthier alternatives.

And so I start today with a mascara. Maybelline's the Colossal Volum' Express. Most of the range DOES contain parabens but this one is a welcome exception. People rave about this mascara so why not give it a try.




And so, I've made a start. The key thing is to look at the ingredients on what you buy. Parabens can be spotted fairly easily Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Methylparaben and Propylparaben though there are some relatives which I'll come to later.

Thanks for reading my first post. Please come back - my aim is to post at least one new product a day.