Natural Deodorant Co.

Natural deodorants, I have tried loads. They never work on me, it's not that I sweat particularly profusely, they just don't quite seem to do the job. I'd transferred my eco ideas somewhere else as I was just wasting money on products that weren't working. But somewhere I saw the Natural Deodorant Co. recommended and I went to have a look at their website, as you do. Cleverly they sold sample pots and their choice of smells appealed to me so I ordered some sample pots - Orange and Bergamot, Coriander and Lime active and then at the last minute I added a sample of the men's deodorant. The sample pots were £2.50 each.

Skin Owl Maqui Berry Beauty Drops PM

One of my friends is a bit of a skincare obsessive, like me. And like me her skin doesn't like a lot of things but luckily for me our skins like different things so I get a lot of her rejects and one of them was this Maqui Berry beauty drops oil from Skin Owl.

Now, I've said it before and I'm saying it again, it's quite rare for me to have an immediate wow from skincare but I've been feeling pretty wowed by this. I have to confess to not having really looked into Skin Owl before. I'd heard of the brand but with so much skincare available now it's hard to keep up especially when you buy 95% of the products yourself (fact). So I didn't know anything about the brand, I don't think much happens with oils so I just whacked this on one night when my skin felt like it needed a real hit of moisture - the weather has wreaked havoc on my dry skin. Woke up with skin like a baby.

Ilia Illuminator

The Ilia Illuminator in Cosmic Dancer was on my wishlist of products to try in 2017 and I was lucky enough to be sent a whole bunch of products to try from Ilia including the illuminators in Sway and Polka Dots & Moonbeams and I've used them both lots since I received them.

Though it's always lovely to be sent exactly the thing you want where's the challenge in that? When I first saw these two I thought I'd try them once and then formulate and opinion as neither would really suit my skin tone but, though I think Cosmic Dancer is probably the right colour for me I have worn the other two a lot. Polka Dots & Moonbeams probably does need skin darker than mine to show up - for those who want a silver-y highlight but Sway is a really pretty way to add a bit of bronzey shimmer to my pale skin and in fact is probably the most universal colour even though it looks scary.

Ilia Multistick

Ilia is one of my favourite brands of the moment and I have been using their multistick pretty much daily since I received it a few months ago. Even though the colour, Tenderly, isn't necessarily one I would choose myself it blends so beautifully I'm a complete convert to a paler pink.

I've never been much one for multisticks - I can see their usefulness but I'm not that into matchy-matchy make-up though I do keep meaning to try this as an eyebase, it would probably work well under a taupe. This has completely converted me, it has such a beautiful finish, lasts for ages and is so incredibly easy to use. I've even dug out my old Kiko one that I bought and never really got round to using.

The multisticks are made using Shea Butter and Vitamin E so they feel great on the skin but these seem to last a lot longer than other cream blushers that I've tried. Really easily blendable too you can draw it straight onto your cheeks and blend out with your fingers or use a brush if you prefer. I think this would a great - if pricey - place to start for those who want to try a really natural-looking cream blusher.

Sukin Purifying Facial Masque

I was sent this so long ago, when I had just had Jim and my skin was peak-tomato and I wanted to try everything and anything to make it stop. I used this once, my face went red and angry and I returned it to the 'sad box of things' in my bathroom. Then recently when I decided that doing nothing to my skin wasn't helping at all, I added this mask to my Sunday night skin routine to see if it genuinely did aggravate my face or was it, as I suspected, everything I used that had been making my skin red and sore. I was right, it wasn't the mask, the mask is just lovely and now sometimes I sneak it on in the middle of the week as well as Sunday just for a little mid-week face treat.

Masks are everywhere at the moment - collagen masks, sheet masks, dry sheet masks. Clay masks were huge in 2015/6 and a lot of brands bought out 2 or 3 to be used on different parts of the face at the same time. I've always loved the relaxing ritual of a face mask but rarely see any real results from those I've used at home so I rather got out of the habit of using them*.

Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner

As much as I love wearing a bright lipstick, most days I want something that is going to be minimal effort, maximum comfort and will pull the rest of my make-up together without me having to think about it. A tinted lip conditioner is just the thing for this and the one from Ilia is my current favourite. And for so many reasons.

Firstly, and without wanting to go into too much detail as I want to do a whole piece on the Ilia as a brand separately, it's so nice to find a cruelty free, ethical, green brand that makes good products. The packaging is lovely, doesn't feel cheap and is in fact very similar to another high end brand, but it uses recycled aluminium. And the products that I've tried are genuinely great to the extent that I'd recommend the brand to anyone even the products I haven't tried out yet. But more on those to follow over the next couple of months. I believe that the tinted lip conditioners were the first product launched by Ilia so it feels right that  these my first product review from the brand.

Lavera Soft Eyeliner

I don't spend enough time researching and using 'green' makeup and beauty products. If I'm honest I usually assume that the quality isn't as good and therefore spend my money on products I know and trust. Makeup isn't cheap and there's nothing worse than buying something that turns out to be crap and as a makeup artist once I've found something that works, is long lasting and that works well on a lot of peoples skin I tend to stick with that product.

Recently I was sent a couple of products to try from biggreensmile.com so I've been testing them out one at a time and the first one I've been using I'm really loving. Lavera soft eyeliner has the staying power of eyeliner but the blendability of kohl - you get a lot of product for your £8.95 and it's suitable for vegans, contact lens wearers and is Natrue certified. It comes with a smudger at one end so it is a great, quick way to get smokey eyes and is available in black, brown and grey.

What is great about biggreensmile.com is you can see all the ingredients for the product so if there is anything you are allergic to you can tell right away and anything you are not sure about you can research it before buying. I personally don't find the website that appealing to use but I'm going to save it to my bookmarks and try, once I've tested out their other products, try and reorder from there as much as I can - they don't only do makeup but hair care, deodorants, cleaning and baby products and stocks a couple of well known brands like Neals Yard, Burts Bees and Dr Hauschka.

I really recommend checking out this site and the Lavera eyeliner for those of you who have sensitive eyes or want more eco-friendly products.

What You Need to Know - Lavera  Soft Eyeliner

• £9.50
• 6 shades
• Sponge smudger on one end
• NaTrue certified
• Available from Big Green Smile, Pravera, Holland and Barrett