Organic Beauty Launch Week
Today sees the launch of Organic Beauty Week, and last week Nic from Black Book Communications kindly invited me to the launch event. Held at Whole Foods High Street Kensington, there was a showcase of Soil Association certified organic brands, and a talk by Hemsley & Hemsley, two sisters Jasmine and Melissa, on a mission to get us all to eat better, real whole foods!
I am a new fan of the Hemsley sisters because they know their stuff and they are not trying to encourage vegetarianism or veganism, which is something that, in my opinion, we see way too much of these days. As a former vegetarian, I feel like I am allowed to say such things! Now, everyone has a right to choose what they eat, but I don’t believe a no meat diet to be sustainable for our bodies, and for those who are concerned about the sustainability of the planet, buy grass-fed, organic meat and steer well clear of intensively farmed cheap meats. If you think it’s too expensive, eat less meat and pile up your veggies, for the truth is most of us eat far more than we need to, and if you eat a smaller portion and wait 15 minutes after eating you will find you reach satiety in most instances. This was a point that Hemsley & Hemsley touched on, and I agree.
Coincidentally, I was looking at Jasmine of the two sisters and thinking, “I know her, I’m sure I know her!” When Jasmine said that she used to be a model, the penny dropped. In what seems a previous life, she had come for a model casting I was holding for a fashion brand I worked for.
We were fed with delicious recipes from Hemsley & Hemsley’s first book, The Art of Eating Well, including Shitake Mushroom Mini Wraps, Duck Mini Wraps, Bone Broth (served in a shot glass and infused with Asian flavour, garlic, chilli, ginger and coriander), and delicious sweets of Tropical Bar (think bounty but free of refined sugar) and Chocolate Avocado Cheesecake. So tasty!
What a great way to kick off Organic Beauty Week, and the Organic September celebrations. I hadn’t even realised the talk was going on, I was just coming to see the Soil Association brands and the new products they were launching. So, to have such a fabulous pair of charming and entertaining sisters give a talk about real foods, just the way I like them, was a fab start.
It was great to see some old and new faces from the brands taking part, as well as fellow bloggers including Lou Dartford, Laura Jane Sessions aka Organic Makeup Artist, Ailish The Glowgetter, Tamara aka Rainbow Feet, and to meet Katie Vibes. It was lovely to catch up with Amanda from Spiezia (winner of the Natural Health International Beauty Awards category I judged, Best Ethical Range), Tanya from Therapi and meet some of the team behind Bamford, Sarah & Josh from Skin & Tonic, and Robert from SKN-RG. Also present at the event were Pai Skincare and Natracare.
This year as well as the #organicbeauty hashtag, there is also #campaign4clarity, aiming to highlight the problem of greenwashing and mislabelling of natural and organic products. At present, there is no rule to say that your product has to be natural to write natural on it, likewise for organic, and there are so many certification bodies now with both natural and organic certification that it is difficult to know what is what. So, as part of Organic Beauty Week and the #campaign4clarity, we’re going to be focusing on our favourite Soil Association beauty brands this week and sharing our past content around the same subject, be sure to stay tuned. Be organic, and be beautiful!