Thursday 11 September 2014

Soil Association Organic Beauty event



As part of Organic Beauty week Whole Foods Kensington were hosting a Soil Association event for press and bloggers. I was not entirely sure what to expect from this evening, and even though I arrived at 6.30 on the dot (which was the time on the invite), it looked like I was late as the area was full of people chatting and sipping on prosecco.

Luckily I spotted Amber very quickly, and a few minutes after we were joined by Abi from Odylique (aka essential care). It felt like an informal gathering, a table full of delightful beauty products and a chance to chat with people who created them. Brands showcased were Green People, Neal's Yard, Odylique, Pai, Therapie and Natracare.

In the middle of the evening there was also a more formalised Q&A with a panel of experts (including representatives from above mentioned brands), discussion revolved around organic beauty, certification, ingredients and packaging. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Whole Foods make a point of only stocking products that are certified organic if they make any organic claims. So you can be assured that if you bought something from their stores with the words organic on the front, it is genuinely organic.

After that we had another opportunity to mingle and that is when Amber and I were joined by Tanya from Therapi. I only wish there was more time, as per usual I did not get a chance to speak to everyone I wanted to before we had to leave.

We did not go home empty handed, this was rather unexpected and I am really looking forward to trying everything.



At the same time as the event upstairs, in the Whole Foods beauty department there was an evening of  "organic bubbles and beauty" for all the customers. In the Kensington store there will be a pop up "Green room" from 12th-14th of September, with different guest speakers one of whom is Sarah Brown founder of Pai.

The effort that Soil Association is putting into creating bigger awareness of organic beauty is very impressive and commendable. There are so many amazing brands that make fantastic products, which are head and shoulders above their conventional counterparts, it is a little disheartening to realise how few people truly know about them ( in comparison to brands sold on the shelves of Superdrug). Being in the bubble of the "green" beauty community I sometimes forget that not everyone is familiar with what is in my beauty cabinet, or even with all the different organic certifying bodies. While I have reservations about making organic certification in the beauty industry a part of legislation, I also feel that at present you need to dedicate a lot of time to be able to spot a pretender, and that means that people become sceptical about whether organic products are really worth it.

This event turned out to be not only fun but also very informative, and guess what Pai will be introducing two new products very soon, and they sound pretty fantastic...

VLOG


10 comments:

  1. What an awesome goodie bag, is that organic wine!?

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    1. Yes it is a Rossato! It was greatly appriciated ;) xx

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  2. OOOOH it was a press event! I assume everyone was just going to that Beauty and Bubble thing haha.

    Mayah x

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    1. Yes Amber and I also thought that up until we noticed the lady with the clipboard lol xx

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  3. Super, nice event! x

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    1. Yes it really was, hope there will be more like it for organic beauty xx

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  4. What a great goodie bag, enjoy! :) xx

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  5. Two new products??!! Aaaah! You know, I've yet to try anything from pai yet, should really get on it as I think it would be good for my sensitive skin. Duh. Sounds like it was a great event to attend and very informative. I, like you, forget how many people aren't as informed about green skincare products to the same extent (had one friend say very proudly that she only buys her products from The Body Shop...) so it's great that the Soil Assoc is doing their utmost to spread awareness. More of that please! Great post Tammy :) happy weekend sweet friend xx

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    1. Couldn't agree more! Pai make a really nice toner the rosemary one would be perfect for you (now that you have been converted lol) and their rosehip oil is superb xx

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