Psychologies Real Natural Beauty & Wellbeing Awards 2018

When you walk into a store, or browse online, we hope to find something that will repay our investment – offering a wholly transparent, pleasurable and efficacious experience, to boot. But, the beauty world has always been notoriously wooly – there is nothing stopping anyone from inventing their own terminology, and when it comes to things such as perfume, it is perfectly legal to sell bottles of the stuff with not the first idea about what is in them (protected as they are, by intellectual property laws, which enable the juice’s ingredients to be kept a ‘trade secret’).

Anyone can call their products ‘natural’ too – it is a wholly unregulated term, sadly – and really does mean that you could be buying something that is full of cheap, questionable and synthetic chemicals, but that simply has a diminutive dash of natural essential oil thrown in, for tokenistic measure. Thankfully, the rising tide of interest in ethical living has led to more and more consumers questioning what actually goes into their products. Change never begins at the top though – it takes a huge consumer movement to apply enough pressure to get biggest corporations to wake up and become accountable (and they tend to do so, only when they know that there is money to be made from change).

This is happening, right now, with consumer appetite for not just ‘real natural’ products growing exponentially (69% of 35-44 year old women now say that buying all-natural beauty products is important to them; source: Green Beauty Barometer 2017), but also our awareness of whether or not these products are vegan, sustainably packaged, biodegradable, refillable or recyclable, and ethical throughout their production line too.

For the first time in our modern social history, almost all of the big beauty giants are paying attention, and almost all have implemented sustainability charters and more transparent communications for their own products. For you and me, though – and those of us who simply want to buy beautiful products that are a real pleasure to use, safe in the knowledge that they are free of harmful ingredients – we must continue to do a lot of our own legwork. Hence, why the Real Natural Awards matter so acutely. Not only are we incredibly stringent in our selection processes, but we also open these Awards up to all brands, free of charge. You do not need to pay us or advertise with us to ‘win’ something. You simply need to be really natural, transparent and totally brilliant – and it’s always clear which products are, because the same products crop up over and over when we sit to review the voting forms that pour in over the summer.

Here, then, we feel incredibly proud to celebrate brands across the board, from tiny one-woman/man operations to largest companies blazing their sustainable trails – as tested and selected by our industry expert panelists. We call it ‘Real Natural’ because there is no greenwashing here. Almost all of our selections are 100% natural. This is different from naturally derived, which means that though the original source of the product may be natural e.g. coconut, the ingredient then goes through any number of chemical processes to make it into another ingredient. It’s a sketchy term – imagine taking an organic apple and using a chemical solvent to extract part of it, then a synthetic preservative to extend its shelf-life it, then additional synthetic chemicals to get it to behave as you want it to, before presenting it to someone as a ‘naturally derived apple.’ We have, therefore, avoided ‘naturally derived’ aside from those products that are almost entirely natural already, but may use one or two safe ‘naturally derived’ preservatives, which are deemed safe and of the lowest possible risk by EWG.org, and two other very helpful consumer beauty apps, Think Dirty and Skin Ninja (I highly recommend you download them to your phone – the barcode scanners which cross-check the product’s ingredients are just brilliant).

There are also certifying bodies, such as NATRUE, COSMOS and The Soil Association, who operate widely within the EU. The US have their own regulatory bodies, overseen by the FDA, which is nowhere near as stringent as ours: 1,328 chemicals are banned from cosmetic usage or sale in the EU, while only 11 are off limits in the US (source: safecosmetics.org). These official ‘stamps’ and labels really can count for a lot – not least of all because companies have to heavily invest in going through the certification procedure, which is costly and lengthy. But, they are not the whole story. Many little guys simply cannot afford certification – but this does not mean that their products are less pure, natural or safe. And, by that same token, simply because a product is natural, does not mean that it is immediately elevated to the holy grail of cosmetics. Some naturals do not perform well at all – they are poorly formulated, might be inexpertly preserved (thereby oxidising, which if applied to skin, can be both irritating and prematurely ageing), or are simply not suited to your own skin (some essential oils can be extremely irritating to some, while others might flourish when using them).

Everything is subtlety and individuality – one size can never fit all. What we can trust, however, is that by making a conscious decision to avoid products that contain questionable ingredients, from non-biodegrading sulphates, to endocrine-disrupting phthalates, we are choosing to support brands who care about these things too. We are also raising awareness of the murkier sides of the cosmetics industry, and entirely boycotting those ingredients that come from the notoriously polluting petrochemical industry (petroleum jelly, petrolatum, mineral oil), and saying, collectively, that we will have no part in that, thank you very much. Here, instead, we understand that we are the product of our choices. And we want those choices to be kind, ethical and safe. In that we really can trust – and with that, I am so immensely proud to present this year’s Real Natural Awards.

Josh Rosebrook Advanced Hydration Mask

HIGHLY COMMENDED

TWELVE Beauty The London Mask

SPECIAL MENTION

Marie Reynolds Dermabiome Mask

Best Face Oil

WINNER

MV Rose Plus Booster

HIGHLY COMMENDED

de Mamiel Seasonal Facial Oil

Best Lip Treatment

WINNER

Twelve Beauty Hyaluroil Lip Treatment

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm

Best Night Product

WINNER

Neom Perfect Night’s Sleep Face Oil

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Amly Rejuvenating Sleep Tight Face Mask & Balm

Best Multi Purpose Product

WINNER

The Organic Pharmacy Rose Balm

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Weleda Skin Food

SPECIAL MENTION

Trilogy Everything Balm

Best Ayurvedic Brand

WINNER

L’Oréal Botanéa

MAKE-UP

Best Foundation

WINNER

Nude by Nature Radiant Loose Powder Foundation

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Best Natural Supplements

WINNER

Wild Nutrition

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Yoni

SPECIAL MENTION

Thinx Period Underwear

Beauty

SKINCARE

Best Cleanser

Best Mist

Best Serum

Best oil-based Serum

Best Face Cream

Best Face Cream with SPF

Best Face Mask

Best Face Oil

Best Lip Treatment

Best Night Product

Best Multi Purpose Product

Best Ayurvedic Brand

BATH & BODY

Best Bath Oil

Best Natural Room Spray

Best Natural Candle

Best Bath Salts

Best Body Balm

Best Body Oil

Best Body Scrub

Best Body Wash

Best Natural Deodorant

Best Natural Toothpaste

HAIRCARE

Best Shampoo

Best Conditioner

Best Shampoo Bars

Best Styling Product

Best Natural Colourant

MAKE-UP

Best Foundation

Best |(Multi-Use) Blush

Best Eyeliner

Best Natural Mascara

Best Lipstick

WELLBEING

Best Natural Supplements

Best CBD Product

Best Probiotics

Best Immunity Booster

Best Teas

Best Natural Remedies

BEST PERIOD PRODUCT

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