So let’s share our latest great discovery: Soleo Organics. All natural, organic ingredients, yet great quality for good protection. And an issue that hadn’t occurred to us before when talking sun protection: Soleo is biodegradable. Quite honestly, this was a new to us, but thinking about it one wonders why this hadn’t occurred to us earlier. Why would we pollute ecosystems with our sun protection? At least when there’s an alternative! And apparently there are (protected) beaches where this is already becoming mandatory. Although we haven’t heard of any in Europe yet, but let us know if you find yourself on one this summer!

You can buy Soleo Organics in some European countries, check out the website for more information and… enjoy the summer!

How about this on: dairy spa products by Pien. Yes, dairy, they use milk. This is what they explain on the website: “Our specialists have created this product inspired by fresh air, clear water and white milk”. This is certainly conveyed in the clean design of the products, check this out:

-          I really like the milk carton!

And Pien is a good company: The raw materials are made from Latvian farm milk, thus supporting the local producers. And the essences and preservatives added are natural or ecologically produced. In other words: worth trying out in the name of natural beauty!

But there are more Latvian cosmetic brands, for instance Madara eco cosmetics which offers a wide range of certified organic cosmetic products. This company is already present in many countries (not in the Netherlands) and it has a good webshop.

I have a feeling this is not the last time we hear from Latvia…

Tove Antonissen

Last weekend, I celebrated my birthday with some friends and I got a brown paper bag with key-words such as hand-made, fresh, 100% recycled written on the bag.  Inside there were two strange looking but lovely-smelling pieces of “something”. This something was hand-made and organic cosmetics; soap and shampoo in minimum packaging.  Have you seen shampoo in non-liquid form before? I hadn’t but I am a bit sceptical but very curious about testing it.

Shampoo to the left and soap to the right

The brand was new for me, so decided to check it out online and it was love at first sight.  I haven’t visited their stores yet but I do recommend watching their video. It is really contagious and again I think Lush is a great example of how we people can create good products with passion while having fun: “We believe in happy people making happy things”.   The company’s way of doing marketing and PR reminded me a bit of another UK based company called Innocent that produce fresh and organic fruit juices and smoothies.  Another story for another time.

image taken from: www.lush.co.uk

Thank you again Marina & Uri for the present and for opening a new door to organic cosmetics.

Mikaela Ekholm

-       have a look at what I eat in the sense of avoiding E-951, E321 etc…(For those of you not yet aware of what (these) e-numbers are, we’ll get back on this topic shortly in a separate post.

-       have a closer look at the products I use for my skin & hair; one thing important for example is that they should be paraben free.  So, one of my favourite cosmetic brands is the Greek brand Korres that I quite recently discovered.

-       allow a treat every now and then, for example do a visit to the spa or schedule a lovely massage.

In a previous post I wrote about newly launched organic massage candles and that post inspired me to plan a healthy Spa weekend combined with visiting friends in Madrid. So I checked with my friends and did a quick search online what’s available and here you have a summary:

Ëcobar & Spa

Love the concept, I think found where I will do my first treat!  Check out Ecobar & Spa, and their unique concept.  As they state, “Ëcobar & Spa is the first “eco-center” in Spain that combines its three business lines: eco-shop, spa & wellbeing and organic Nordic-Mediterranean and Japanese food“. So my plan is to do a treatment, have a nice lunch and check out there store as well. All in one!

Antaura (at C/Argensola 16) is an organic delicatessen market place. So for those that want to make dinner at home instead of going out, this place seem to have a good selection of organic and good food products.

I have heard a lot about anti-ox products & diets but never really tried them so I found a restuarant called Silk & Soya that caught my attention. They offer anti-oxidant menus at Av. De la Ermita  and I think it is worth checking out.

So, time to start planning…

Mikaela Ekholm

I have therefore made the decision to start trying out some more organic cosmetics and I might start with some of the products that you find at Lovelula.com. I came across this site via another blog and it got pretty good reviews. Love Lula offers everything from organic skin care, makeup, hair care products and organic fragrances to products for men and babies. They have an extensive brand list and you can choose the prizes in almost any currency.

Moreover, they have a list of the ingredients that they try to avoid in the products they offer – this is great (and a bit scary) learning for novices like me: http://www.lovelula.com/cat_ingredients.cfm

The people behind Love Lula seem passionate about their business and say: “We have no affiliation with any of the brands we stock. We have simply pounded pavements around the world on your behalf and chosen the most effective organic skin care products we have discovered (and that we think look pretty cool on our dressing tables too!) for you to enjoy.”

So, when my next salary ticks in, I am off to the organic land to order something a bit better for myself and the environment. Feel free to join me!

Trude Fossum