10 years ago, green beauty was still so niche (in the UK) it barely got media coverage. Ad space was dominated by the Proctors & Gambles and Olays and Niveas while the only green brand names consumers might be able to reel off,back then, were the Neal’s Yards, the Weledas, the Dr Hauschkas and of course The Body Shop (semi-green, but a fierce, committed Fairtrade campaigner).
How…things have changed! Weleda, NYR and Dr Hauschka still proudly fly the natural flag but the number of start-ups in the clean, green, organic space (whatever tag you give it) is quite honestly mind-blowing. Every year when I collate the results from the judging sheets for The Beauty Shortlist Awards (on Friday 1 March this year, not long to go now) it’s just astonishing how many new clean beauty brands keep launching in what is frankly a saturated and intensely competitive beauty ocean. But bring ’em on! Because there’s always room for the really stellar green brands and the greener our face masks, nail polish, planet – and lives – the better.
We inhabit a worryingly fragile planet. Plastic is the new Enemy No. 1 – not forgetting global warming, radiation, the dangers of 5G, shocking levels of pollution, Big Pharma drugs that just bandage but don’t cure, because there’s more money to made in bandages and life-long repeat prescriptions than cures – ahem – then there’s our pesticide contaminated food, genetically modified crops and drug-contaminated water…what a long and depressing list.
Green is not the new black. It is the only way. It’s the only solution – if only we’d all get on board. Instead of “recycling” unrecyclable plastic we just shouldn’t be using it – single use plastic is the cancer of the oceans. Zero waste is an aspiration but how many of us really live “zero waste”? Especially if you’re time poor, chances are zero waste goes out the door.
I’m not sure where the 10 years went – i.e. 2009 to 2019 – but I do know that getting to know many of the brilliant beauty brand founders who have so much heart, passion and tenacity has been a joy. As well as discovering their beautiful artisan products. New loves to share and put in the spotlight.
The Beauty Shortlist Awards have become an annual treasure trove of beauty delights – it’s all about the products worth spending money on, which we believe hand on heart you will love too. There’s no advertising, no sponsors, no behind the scenes secret “alliances”. If an indie artisan brand gets ranked higher than a big brand, the small brand wins.
Expect a day full of surprises on Friday 1 March, there are more “wows” this year than in any previous year, and more 10 scores than ever (also a fair number of no-shows – not just formulas but also faulty, excessive or impractical packaging).
Nature is the best healer
Thank you for supporting The Beauty Shortlist over the years, especially the open-hearted, community-orientated, team-playing bloggers (not the ego/fear-driven competitive ones!) in the very early days. For all your Instagram and Twitter messages, for voting for me into the latest Top 25 Who’s Who in Natural Beauty (Natural Beauty News) – thank you!
#THANKYOU too, to every beauty brand founder or PR who’s entered for 2019 and in the past), to the Beauty Shortlist judges in the UK, US and Australia and to everybody blazing the green trail and supporting ethical brands be they fashion, food, beauty…
I’ll leave you with a few thoughts along The Beauty Shortlist journey:
…even if you have to work two jobs for a while (in my case 3 years)
Ageing is a privilege, a gift many never get
Vote with your wallet!
One of my happiest discoveries: Morocco, Moroccan hospitality and a whole new, old, slow world. I flew to Fez one February evening for £19 and woke up in a B&B in the countryside, birds chirping, sunshine streaming through my wrought iron wooden shuttered windows, breakfast by the pool (because it was warm enough!).
I still remember the sheer joy of having escaped a freezing, dreary, dragging British February only to discover a sunlit smiling land of flowers (in Feb?!) I can still see the sunlight painting wrought iron swirls on the terracotta bedroom wall. Of all the countries I’ve been to (and I’ve lived in 16 different places on and off) Morocco – particularly Essaouira – and Ireland top the list for hospitality. I think they share a fair number of key traits: the storytelling, the sharing of food, endless cups of tea, a fantastic sense of humour, a big love of music, their kindness to strangers, close-knit communities and the warmest of hearts…
Kitten testing the rugs in Essaouira
photo: The Beauty Shortlist