Beauty Clinic: Pampering presents for my mum please!
Q Please give me some ideas for presents for my mum who likes natural skincare and being pampered!
A Just what we love too. Some truly lovely products come from small artisanal companies, which often literally started off on a kitchen table. We’re urging Beauty Bible readers to support them as the pandemic has hit hard.
Evolve Sparkle Stocking Filler /£12. This organic, nourishing and rejuvenating Bio-Retinol Gold Mask is suitable for all skin types and comes beautifully packaged from a British company that hand makes all its products in small batches. There’s a Hydrate Stocking Filler too, also £12, contained their multi award winning Hyaluronic Serum. (Several Beauty Bible Awards have gone to this.)
Alara Apothecary Moisturising Body Cream /£10 for 50ml or £34 for 200ml. Luxury natural skincare at an affordable price from a pharmacist-led company based in Somerset. This is Sarah’s favourite body product: a lavishly large (200ml) glass jar of skin smoothing, scented pampering. In five options, each £34: Rose Geranium & Vanilla, Rosewood & Grapefruit, Lime & Petitgrain, Jasmine & Citron and also Honeysuckle (heaven…. but only available in the big size), which has a matching Bath Oil /£26 for 250ml.
OV Naturals Vital Botanical Facial Oil /£16 for 10m or £34 for 30ml/ This is actually the original Triple Rose Facial Oil, which we’ve loved and recommended since the lovely Lucy Stevens, facialist extraordinaire and founder of Orchard View Naturals, launched it some years back. The scent is heaven and the handmade oil is a wonderful treat for the skin, especially during winter cold and wind.
Soapsmith Bloomsbury Bath Soak /£25 for 500ml. We love this SO much; scents of fresh roses, honeysuckle, primrose and peony with skin softening coconut milk powder, oat powder and cocoa butter on a super relaxing base of Dead Sea salt and Epsom salts. Like bathing in a flowerbed, which was apparently the thinking behind the formula. If your mum loves lavender, she might prefer Lavender Hill - bathtime bliss too.
Living Sea Therapy Hand Cream /£21 for 100ml. This rich hand cream, in a big 100ml tube, is packed with over 60 marine minerals and a trio of seaweed extracts, hand harvested from pure Cornish waters. It won a Bronze Beauty Bible Award BP (Before Pandemic!) but never have we needed hand cream more than now. The company donates a percentage of profits to ocean charity the Blue Marine Foundation.
Aromatherapy Associates Seasonal Saviours/£25 for 3 x 9ml. No longer a small company, by any means – but we’ve known this brand since it WAS a kitchen table start-up, founded by our late friend Geraldine Howard and her business partner Sue Beechey. We can honestly say their products are still true to Geraldine and Sue’s vision, formulas unchanged – and this is a lovely little Christmas treat, featuring three ‘essential’ Bath & Shower Oils for this time of year: Light Relax, De-Stress Mind and Revive Morning, each promising a pampering oasis of calm amidst the seasonal frenzy.
