By Kate Duggan
March into Spring
Beauty
From sustainable beauty to the softest make-up brushes and home-made bath bombs, there’s plenty to tempt you this month…
I recently had to request some new make-up brushes as my eight year old son broke mine applying (as he puts it) Goth makeup. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it meant I upgraded my old, rather worn brushes for a sparkling new set from Lily England. The Face Make-Up Brush Set contains five of the softest, most luxurious feeling brushes I’ve ever tried. The set includes a foundation brush, bronzer brush and eyeshadow brush. They’re vegan, look a lot more expensive than they actually are and come in a rather nice white cosmetic bag. In other words, they’d make a great Mother’s Day gift. I’m not letting my son anywhere near these ones. They’re £24.99 from Boots or www.lilyengland.com. Planning to make a gift this Mother’s Day, or looking for an activity to do with the kids? How about a set of home-made bath bombs? The key ingredients are citric acid, baking soda/ bicarbonate of soda and essential oil. You’ll also need something to use as a mould. Special moulds for creating bath bombs are available, but chocolate moulds are fine for creating smaller bath fizzes and they’re available in a range of shapes. (You can also use them to make aromatherapy wax melts.)
Mix one cup of bicarb with one cup of citric acid, and add around thirty drops of essential oil (lavender works well). You can add extra ingredients if you like, such as a tablespoon of almond or olive oil, dried flower petals and food colouring. Then add a splash of water, a few drops at a time, and keep mixing. You want to end up with a mixture that holds its shape when you squeeze it. Push the mixture into the moulds firmly and leave them to dry somewhere warm, like an airing cupboard for a few hours. Then gently push the bath bombs out of the moulds and wrap them in tissue paper. I’m a fan of BYBI for so many reasons. For a start, it’s one of the most sustainable brands on the market. Bottles can be returned to be washed and refilled. Products only contain sustainable ingredients, including seeds that would have been thrown away. And BYBI makes sure that the people who grow or harvest those ingredients are treated fairly. That’s all well and good, but if beauty products don’t work, there’s little point in them being ethical. Thankfully, these do. I particularly love the BYBI Swipe Clean Cleanser (£26). It’s a 100% natural oil-based cleanser that removes make up easily and leaves skin feeling noticeably pampered. When I’m trying a new cleanser, I skip moisturiser for a few days to really put it to the test. This one left my skin feeling ultra-soft, even several hours later. I also like the BYBI Mega Mist (£26) – a hyaluronic acid spritz that leaves skin feeling more hydrated and ‘glowy’. It’s available from Boots or www.bybi.com.
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