Hi Lovelies,
Welcome back! And welcome, if You are new here xo
Plastic Free July posts have been done to death, so I wasn’t going to contribute, until someone from Irish Independent asked. Here are my picks of (mostly) plastic free, sustainable, refillable natural products. We will be covering everything from make up to skincare, to body care to hair care. Let’s have a look?
SKIN CARE
Face oil
Living Libations Best Skin Ever
Lots of formula variations to choose from. Glass bottle, bamboo lid, but plastic pump though. You can use it as a face wash & make up remover (hot cloth method) AND as a face AND body oil, so it replaces so many other products. Other serums are gorgeous too. Face creams, serums, toners, masks, so many other products are in glass, even toothpaste. Newer toothpaste comes in sugar cane derived plastic tube (customer’s request for travel) that took them 4 years to develop.
I buy online either directly from the brand or from Live In The Light or The Dutch Health Store. Links at the end of the blog post.
Related post
Green Life In Dublin loves Living Libations Sea Buckthorn Best Skin Ever [AD]
Face Cream
Evolve Organic Beauty skin care & some body + hair care
Natural, affordable, very conscious of plastic problem and dedicated to sustainability. B Corporation UK certified. Pump free options available, plastic free refills too.
Nearly all skincare in glass packaging, as well as hair oil, hair mask, body butter, scrub, as well as body oils. ALL products absolutely gorgeous, my favourite brand ever.
Again, I get them online, either directly from them or from Dutch Health Store or Live In The Light. Links at the end.
Related post
Brand overview – Evolve Organic Beauty – Green Life In Dublin
Dr. Hauschka Rose Day Cream
My uber sensitive skin can’t get enough of this product. I try so many other face creams, but I always come back to this. Metal tube, plastic lid. Widely available in health shops and pharmacies.
Related post:
https://greenlifeindublin.blogspot.com/2017/10/drhauschka-rose-day-cream-review.html
Face Balm
Bare Skin Wellness Whipped Tallow Balm
This is Irish brand with tallow range that is 100% natural and sustainably produced, making it a clean, eco-friendly skincare choice that supports both your skin and the planet. My skin absolutely loves this tallow balm, I really see the difference when I use it. Helps with dermatitis patch too. Tallow is actually very compatible with our skin. Hey, if our ancestors used it, it is good enough for me too.
Under Eye Cream
Evolve Organic Beauty 360 Eye & Lip Contour
Toner/ Floral Water
Alteya Organics Certified Organic Chamomile Water
Alteya Organics Certified Organic Rose Water
These are organic floral waters from Bulgarian organic beauty brand. They grow their roses in The Rose Valley in Bulgarian mountains and manufacture their products in house. Adore all of their face mists, especially rose waters. Organic, real, gorgeous. I love their Alteya Certified Organic Rose Otto Cleansing Milk, which also comes in glass. Some other serums are in glass bottles too. I get this from Ecco Verde. Amazon has the brand too, but I am boycotting Amazon. Personal choice, You do You.
Related post
Face wash
Either Living Libations Best Skin Ever or their Bed Of Roses facial soap or Alteya Certified Organic Rose Otto Cleansing Milk or Evolve Organic Beauty Cleansing Melt or Evolve Organic Beauty Kalahari Dream Cleansing Oil. All glass packaging.
Face mask
Anything from Evolve Beauty or my own DIY with manuka honey and some sort of superfood.
Related post
Solid face serum
Ballade En Province Solid Night Balm
This whole natural range from France is awesome to feature for Plastic Free article. Everything from skin care to aftershave balm to solid shampoos are solid cosmetics in carboard packaging. Vegan, too. Affordable.
MAKE UP
I have a blog post on my own plastic free make up collection, You can see it here:
https://www.greenlifeindublin.com/2019/10/plastic-free-natural-organic-make-up-it-can-be-done/
Some natural & organic brands I would recommend are Couleur Caramel, Zao, Benecos, Ere Perez, RMS Beauty, Hynt Beauty, Living Libations, 100% Pure, Pure Anada and a few more. All natural brands, some are easier to access than others, but all have proven themselves worth the money.
Foundation
I was going to recommend Madara, but it looks like they recently changed the packaging and I can’t tell if it is glass anymore.
For that reason I am going to go with 100% Pure, they have liquid foundations in glass and cream foundations in aluminium tins. Bear in mind their products only last 6 months after opening. Don’t save it for special occasions.
Concealer
Hynt Beauty Duet Perfecting Concealer – my nr1 for a decade+
Ere Perez Arnica All Cover Pot
Both in glass pots. The lid is plastic, but it does not touch the product. Formulas are creamy, very natural, full coverage that last and don’t crease. Can’t ask for anything more, really.
Related post
https://greenlifeindublin.blogspot.com/2016/05/hynt-beauty-duet-perfecting-concealer.html
Blush
Pure Anada Pressed Blush in Forever Summer
Refills available, You can create Your own palettes, comes in cardboard box. This Canadian brand is very pigmented, natural and easy to work with. Love.
Ere Perez Carrot Colour Pots
Great multiple in glass packaging. Natural, stays all day.
Bronzer
Ere Perez or Couleur Caramel
Palette
Zao or Pure Anada or 100% Pure or Benecos
Mascara
Hynt Beauty and Living Libations have glass tubes. Plastic free wand is yet to be invented (I think) but we do our best here.
Related post
Living Libations Raven Maven Mascara first impressions review – Green Life In Dublin
Lipstick
Couleur Caramel or 100%Pure
CC has refills, 100% Pure offer lipsticks in metal cases. Both great natural formulas with pigmented, smooth texture.
Multiple
Ere Perez Carrot Colour Pot or Pure Anada Lip & Cheek Rouge
Natural, glass packaging and good staying power. RMS have it too, but on me they last about 5 minutes.
See my previous blog for a lot of brands & products reviews here:
https://greenlifeindublin.blogspot.com/
BODY CARE
Bar of soap
Many natural brands have good soaps, they are easy to find in local markets and health stores. We definitely don’t need shower gels. These do the job, sans water filler and plastic waste.
Body Oil
A lot of food grade natural oils can be used for skincare. Coconut oil, hemp, almond oil from health food stores will double up as body oils. If You aren’t up for that, here are some great shop bought options.
Evolve Organic Beauty Wild Divine Bio Retinol Body Oil
Weleda Sea Buckhorn Body Oil
Holos Blossoms Body Oil
Body Butter
Fushi Wellbeing Organic Shea Butters
All variations are good, but for different reasons. See more in this post below if You want to know more.
Related post:
Evolve Beauty Tropical Blossom Organic Body Butter
Related posts
Body Lotion
Neal’s Yard Remedies Lavender Body Lotion
Great natural line, most of it is in glass.
Deodorant
Natural deodorants were my first Irish Independent feature, they even sent a photographer that time. I’ll link that post below if You want to see it, but first let’s discuss a few natural options. Deodorants are a bit tricky in a way that they might work differently for people (different ph of our skin) and if they have baking soda in them, they might give You a rash. Don’t be scared, it is rare and avoidable if You do a small patch test before.
- Naturlig Deo
- Organic Elsa’s Skin Foods
- Natural-Deodorant-Co
Weleda-Citrus-Deodorant
Related post:
Irish Independent, Natural Deodorants & Me – Green Life In Dublin
HAIR CARE
Solid Shampoo
There are many available, but 99% of them make my hair limp and straw like. The only two that make my hair salon worthy are{
Pure Anada Balancing Shampoo Bar
Elisabeth Shampoo Bar With Cloudberry
Hair Oil/ Serum
Evolve Organic Beauty Nourishing Hair Elixir
Hair Mask
Evolve Beauty Superfood Shine Hair Mask
One of my favourite brands in the whole wide world, that is why my list is full of their products.
Special recommendation for men – one size fits all product
Balade En Provence Vegan All-In-One Soap Bar For Men
One product that does it all, for men who don’t like complicated skincare or a ton of products. This plastic free vegan bar will work as a facial and body cleanser, shaving soap and shampoo too. 100% natural and certified organic too. Sounds like a lot of claims but this one delivers on all counts. Many of similar bar products fail in one area or another (usually as shampoo), but this one works impressively well. Tried, tested and approved by Mr. Green Life In Dublin, who usually does not like any products. Under a tenner too. Big thumbs up from me.
A few thoughts. I am all up for plastic free, refillable, sustainably packaged products. Big thumbs up for that. But for me, personally, the products have to be natural, preferably organic and what's more than that, they have to work exceptionally well. Yes we do have abundance of solid shampoos. But 98% of them leave my hair tangled mess and straw like. I am yet to figure out how to make solid conditioners work. They leave my hair limp and sticky. Yes I do rinse them well. Many vegan brands offer refillable make up options. But vegan does not mean natural. So there's a lot of aspects to look into. I will only talk about the products that worked out for me. For reference, my skin is uber sensitive, dry and dermatitis prone. Mature too. Yes, I know I won the genetics lottery. Hair, fine, but lots of it. I won't be linking all the products, because that would be a lot of work for uncertain reasons. Keeping up correct links on blogs is a lot of work behind the scenes. The brands move shops and websites constantly, some close. Some indie online shops chance affiliate codes or systems, so it is not do-it-once-and-forget-about-it thing. The links are correct at the time of publishing, but if You read it at later date and find something no longer there, let me know in the comments or on my IG page and I will do my best to find it for You.
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. I appreciate You spending Your time visiting my little corner of the internet.
See all the products I consider my Holy Grails
Check out my favourite online shops:
The Dutch Health Store for Living Libations, Evolve Beauty, RMS Beauty and more
Live In The Light code DUBLINLIFE15 saves You 15% For Living Libations, Evolve Beauty, 100% Pure and more
Living Libations This link gives You 10% off, no code needed
Fushi Wellbeing GreenLifeInDublin gets You 15% off
iHerb code CDI1500 saves $£€ for the first timers
So that’s it for today, thank You for reading! I really appreciate You taking Your time of the day visiting my little corner of the internet.
Sending LOVE & LIGHT!
Renata.
