I feel like Organic Septemeber has been making me feel a little nostalgic. It is hard to talk about my reasons for choosing organic, discuss brands, some of which I have been using for years, without all the memories flooding back. I met Amanda Barlow, managing director of Spiezia, for the very first time a few weeks ago at the Soil Association's Campaign for clarity event. When she asked me if I was familiar with the products, I felt compelled to tell the story of how I first came across them in a Vogue article, before I was even consciously choosing to go organic, I found the brand intriguing. It turns out that Spiezia have been around for just over 15 years (and as I have mentioned in some other posts, they were the first beauty brand to get SA organic certification across the entire line of products).
I think this was the first year since I've created this blog that I did not do a post about my birthday, well it was way back in June and I turned thirty. Maybe becoming older has been making me think about beauty in a different light. There was no sudden lightning bolt or anything like that, I think subconsciously I have felt this way for some time, but it's just this summer the veil was slowly lifting, and I could finally put it into words. You see I think my skin is just fine, I know what products make it look it's best, I really don't need to be searching for a mythical unicorn of beauty products, I have found a few. I like to try new things because I love natural and organic skincare, I love lipstick, and I love finding out about people behind the brands. I love being part of the green beauty community. But here is a funny thing, while I wouldn't endorse an organic product that doesn't perform, I also can't support an amazing product sold by a company who's ethics I don't agree with. Beauty industry is a complicated creature, with multiple faces, and not all of them are pretty.
Brands like Spiezia give me hope. Their products are still hand made in Cornwall, they have an impressive commitment to sustainability, and I admire their approach to sourcing ingredients and packaging. They are one of very few brands that create 100% organic beauty products, not just a few but the entire line. In 2009 Amanda Barlow established Made for life foundation, set up to provide integrative support days for those diagnosed and recovering from cancer (the days are all sponsored by Spiezia and their trade partners).
The range of products is actually quiet big, with all the types of things that you could imagine in a spa, plus a baby range and even a few products for the guys. The face range for the ladies has been my fail safe Christmas present for years. My mom, who is not big on skincare, absolutely loves the Rose & vanilla face oil (the scent alone is pure heaven, you can guess who introduced her to this oil).
In the goodie bag from the event I found Spiezia calming lavender spray and a 10ml tin of soothing leg and foot balm. Both of these were completely new to me, and while I'm not the biggest fan of lavender in my skincare, I often turn to aromatherapy to help me sleep, so I was quiet excited to try this room spray. The name of this spray is a bit of an oversimplification, that I think doesn't actually do justice to the scent. When I sprayed it (without reading the ingredients list) I detected a sweet flowery bouquet with a hint of chamomile and of course lavender. It turns out that the sweet floral scent is from Damask rose, and while my nose correctly picked chamomile (the presence of lavender was expected from the name), I completely missed the presence of sweet orange, but I can see how it rounds out the fragrance. I'm not sure why the quality of this room spray comes as such a shock to me, after knowing how lovely Spiezia face and body products are, but I was really surprised. I've been spraying it in the bedroom a lot, I think the overall scent is calming yet romantic. For people who are not fans of Rose, this isn't your typical roses scent, I have a pretty attuned nose and I wasn't even sure if it was there until I read the ingredients.
The leg & foot balm has been coming in very handy as after getting it I've had a pretty busy week. Feet really don't get enough love, they work incredibly hard, especially if you wear high heels. I try to give them a short massage every night with some sort of balm. The essential oils used in a product make a big difference, and I can feel a little tingle after applying this balm, which improves circulation and warms up the muscles, making everything feel a little less sore after a long day.
The current Spiezia range has a lot to offer, and while I'm working on my beauty stash, the range of room sprays is something that I am very happy to explore. However, I'm keeping a close eye on Spiezia beauty products too, because some exciting things are going to happen in the near future (but shh, you didn't hear it from me).
Have you tried anything from Spiezia? Would you like to? Let me know in the comments.
*the room spray and the foot balm came from an event goodie bag, no one asked me to write a review or anything about Spiezia. As with all my posts everything is from my personal experience, in my own words, and while not everything I like maybe to everyone's taste, I would never recommend something that I thought was rubbish, or a bit blah.
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