Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic

Welcome to our new weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk  Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned.  To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.

January 10th, 2010: Parabens free make-up

Q Do you know of any make-up brands which don't contain parabens and which are not too expensive as I am on a budget?

A The short answer is ‘yes!’, we most certainly do.  You will find everything we know about natural beauty products in the new paperback edition of our book The Green Beauty Bible, as well as some products in our budget guide Beauty Bible Beauty Steals. 

But for the moment here are our suggestions for some beauty staples.  Lily Lolo is a really fun brand with products at very reasonable prices.  Lily Lolo Foundation, £12, a loose mineral powder that you apply with a kabuki brush, has a little shimmer for a fresh-faced glow.  There’s a choice of 21 shades from very pale through to shades suitable for black and Asian skin tones.  Our testers’ comments included: ‘with a flush of blush and this I have truly caputed the no make-up make-up!’ • ‘took away most redness’ • unbelievably natural finish, with a fabulous glow‘. 

You could try another fab brand Nvey Eco, from Australia.  Their Organic Powder Blush, £14.80, which comes in a stylish black compact, in Plum (shade 951, with a slight shimmer) suited most of our testers well.  Testers said: ‘looked natural, seamless and glowing; people said how well I looked’ • ‘needed blending but looked natural and stayed on all day’ • ‘love the packaging’. 

Inika is another Australian brand, which currently offers a good value collection of natural mineral cosmetics.  The Starter Kit, which comes in four colour combinations (Light, Medium Light, Medium and Dark), contains a certified organic Pure Primes, two shades of Mineral Foundation, a Mineral Bronzer and vegan Kabuki Brush, plus a DVD guide with professional make-up artists providing applications tips and techniques in a cosmetic purse.  It costs £47.83, ex VAT, from www.inikacosmetics.co.uk.

We recommend that you try Dr. Hauschka Volume Mascara, for lashes, which is priced £18.37 (and performs better than most natural mascaras) – and the final brand we suggest you look for is Santé, which among other products our testers rated, has Eye Shadow Powder, which contains certified asbestos-free talc.  Ours testers liked a palette called 71 Terra, £5, with bone (shimmery), taupe (gentle sheen) and a matt chocolate-y shade.  Sante is available online from www.beautybazaar.co.uk 

We . . .


Neal’s Yard Remedies Power Berry Facial Mask, £24 for 50 ml.  Neal’s Yard tells us this range is targeted at younger skins, to enhance radiance and defend from environmental stress.  We say they’re missing a trick: with its extraordinary, almost ‘bouncy’ gel-like texture, this antioxidant-rich berry-powered mask – with acai, grape, blueberry and cranberry seed powder – delivers instant glow to more mature faces, too.  Click here to find it at www.nealsyardremedies.com. 

Where to find products 

Lily Loly Foundation, £12 for 10g, is available to purchase online from www.lilylolo.co.uk;  click here. 

Nvey Eco Organic Powder Blush, £14.50 for 2.5g, is available to purchase online from www.lovelula.com. Don’t forget your exclusive 5% discount with all online orders, when you enter the code bb10 at the checkout. Click here… 

Inika Starter Kit, £47.83 ex VAT, is available to purchase online from www.inikacosmetics.co.uk. 

Dr. Hauschka Mascara, £18.37, in Black or ‘Pearl Anthracite’ (a dark stone colour) is available from www.drhauschka.co.uk, if you click here. 

Santé Eyeshadow Powder, £5 for 10g, is available to purchase online from www.beautybazaar.co.uk 

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive

January 3rd 2010 - Cosmetic Dentistry

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive 2009