I discovered the joys of silk some years ago. I feel the cold easily and find that layers of cotton tops often don’t give me the warmth I need. Woolly jumpers are of course the answer, unless – like me – you find them a bit scratchy and stuffy directly next to your skin. I used to put t-shirts or a long sleeve cotton vest underneath which helped a lot. One day when I needed a layer that was less bulky than cotton I decided to splurge out on a silk long sleeved vest.

It’s amazing what a difference this fine layer makes. I feel warmer immediately after putting on the vest (something cotton never quite did for me in the same way) and it is possible to wear even the hairiest woollen jumper without starting to itch. It’s thin enough to wear under blouses too and – with the right lighting – you can get away with wearing the black version under a dressier jacket in the evening.

The vests are made from GOTS certified organic silk so you can be sure that no harsh chemicals or dyes are used in the harvest of the silk or in the manufacturing. Very comforting for something that is close to your skin!

It’s nice to have two vests on the go but if you want to keep financial outlay to a minimum one will suffice. Hand wash the vest in the vest in the evening and it is dry and ready to go the next day. (Don’t worry, you can also wash them in the machine on a cool gentle cycle and make sure to use a detergent especially designed to wash delicate fabric like  Sonnet Olive Wash – just put them in a pillow case or laundry bag so they don’t ladder.)

Needless to say I have now also added the silk long johns to my collection. They are doing the same great job as the vest – keeping me warm without making me look like the Michelin Man. They are even thin enough to be worn under skinny jeans …. As my daughter keeps telling me!

As you may have guessed from previous posts here on the Greenfibres blog, I am having a never ending love affair with essential care.

So, equipped with the essential care skin care and make up range, we grabbed a natural beauty of a model, stuck her in a chair, pointed some cameras on her and did a demonstration video on how to cleanse, tone, moisturize and use the make up.

It’s an easy to follow step by step guide on how to prepare the skin and apply make up.

With simple tips and tricks on how to apply the products so they last and how to assist sensitive or problematic skin types in the process of preparing the skin for make up.

If you have any questions you can email us at mail@greenfibres.com. If you would like to purchase any products you have seen in this video or to view the whole essential care range click here

Essential Care skin products used in this demo:
Creamy Coconut Cleanser – This cleanses the skin and removes make-up, gentle and effective it’s perfect for sensitive skin.
Rose Petal Tonic – Works as a toner on the skin to help balance and calm the skin and assists in drawing the moisturizer into deeper layers of the skin.
First Aid Lotion – Apply to blemishes, great for problematic or sensitive skin.
Rose Moisturizer – Moisturizing cream for all skin types, can also be used as an eye cream
Superfruit Concentrate – Luxurious facial serum. Mix with the rose cream to achieve a tinted moisturizer or use alone sparingly as a deep treatment for the skin.

Essential Care make-up used in this demo:
Gold Shadow – For a healthy glow lightly dust across forehead, cheeks, chin and nose
Sand Eye Shadow – Apply to the eyelids as a base layer to stop make-up from smudging or falling
Lagoon Eye Shadow – Apply to the eyelids for a smoky effect
Black Eye Pencil – Apply as a eyeliner
Marshmallow Lipstick – A neutral lipstick

Organic Muslin Wash Cloth – Perfect for cleansing the face or taking off masks. Due to a more netted texture, these face cloths gently exfoliate the skin and open the pores.

Spring time, bird songs, first rays of sunshine    … and super streaky grey windows. I guess it isn’t just the cultural expectation of cleaning and renewing your house, your life, your body with the new season. There is, shall we say, a physical necessity to scrape off the dust and dirt of the long winter months.

I usually manage to hold back any cleaning urge until about now. Yes, the windows look a bit grey and yes, there is fuzzy life behind the radiators – though not as we know it. Yes, the curtains smell dusty and yes, there is clear evidence on the sofa of TV dinners had on long winter evenings. But let’s be honest: what’s the point in cleaning windows just before an April shower, brushing off inches of fluff on the skirting boards, when you will just have to put the heating back up at night during a cold spell, and if I wash the curtains now, who knows, if they will ever dry.

Come late April and I am starting to run out of excuses and, quite frankly, start to become bothered by what I see around me.  From complete inertia I move straight into hyper-activity. Like a wild woman no rug is left unrolled, no picture frame re-arranged. Once I get going I don’t stop. Strangely enough after about the first half an hour I am thoroughly enjoying myself. There is something cleansing, almost purging and liberating about tidying and cleaning your environment. It ceases to be a chore! It is this ‘enjoyment’ of cleaning – and I know this will sound strange to many – that first attracted me to the Sonett products. By enjoyment I don’t mean standing ever ready to catch the first breakfast crumbs in mid-fall or disinfecting your hall every time the phone rings. I mean giving this activity the respect and thought it is due.

Click on the image to view the full Sonett range

Sonett approaches cleaning not as a necessary evil but as an activity deeply rooted in human culture. We clean out of respect for ourselves, for our fellow men and to honour the environment in which we live. This attitude determines the nature of their products. They are as environmentally benign as possible and are gentle on the skin. They are pleasant to use and scented with organic essential oils (a neutral non-scented range is also available) and they do a very convincing job. My absolutely favourite product is the scouring fluid. It is the first scouring product that does not irritate my skin! I’m also a big fan of their laundry wash and dish washing liquid. They are both very effective and have a lovely, subtle scent. If you would like to find out more about Sonett have a look at their YouTube video.

I think they managed really well in this clip to bring across what makes their products so special and such a pleasure to use. Give them a go! You might not fall into a state of transcendental oneness every time you do the dishes, but hey, you have to do them anyway, so you might as well make the best of it.

Happy Cleaning,

Gaby

I keep hearing how wonderful bamboo clothing and towels are, but have always had reservations about the processes the raw material goes through to become a fabric.

I see some of the products labelled as ‘Organic’ and wonder about it, so here are some facts to consider.

Bamboo as a plant can be organically certified, but the fabric produced from it rarely is (even though the socks or t-shirt you buy may claim to be made from organic bamboo).

True bamboo fabric can be made from the fibres of the plant (known as Bast fibres), however, the vast majority of bamboo fabric you see will have been made by a chemical process, the same way as Rayon or Viscose.

According to the Federal Trade Commission bamboo fabric “typically is made using environmentally toxic chemicals in a process – known as the viscose process – that emits hazardous pollutants into the air. While different plants, including bamboo, can be used as a source material to create rayon, there’s no trace of the original plant in the finished rayon product.”   Have a look here for a wonderful – and comprehensive description of this process.

The magazine Ethical Consumer has also recently written about bamboo and you can see that article in issue EC134 Jan/Feb 2012*.

Bamboo thread after the bamboo has been spun

In the USA, the Federal Trade Commission has ruled that the viscose and rayon made from bamboo can NOT be described as ‘bamboo’. We just need the UK and EU to follow their lead, at present neither the Soil Association nor the Global Organic Trading Standards certify the fabric as it is almost all rayon.

So, do I want a pair of soft comfortable socks made using toxic chemicals? Or should I continue to support small farmers making a product from natural textiles.  I think I will stick to the natural fibre options of organic cotton and wool and forego the option of rayon bamboo.

What choice will you make?

Thanks for reading / Rick

* If you would like to learn more about buying clothing ethically, check out their buyers guide

I always liked to wash my face with water and never really got on with creamy cleansers that you simply wipe off. I just never really felt ‘clean’ afterwards. Now all the cleansers that are washed off with water are either soap based or made from some form of synthetic cleansing agents which – if you’re lucky and you’ve done your homework – are derived from natural raw materials and are not too aggressive to your skin. The mantra to ‘always take off your make-up and wash your face no matter what’ was instilled to me by my mother from an early age, and it’s always been the most important part of any skin care regime for me. Thorough yet gentle was always the ideal!

I wish I could do the ‘just wash with water’ routine but a mix of combination skin and not always being in the purest, freshest environment means that a bit more than just water is required to get my face feeling clean, (do the people who just wash with water never take the London underground or wait next to a busy road for the lights to change?!?)

Now Ghassoul enticed me through its simplicity. Its ingredient list is short, it is made from ‘hectorite’. Hectorite is a clay (well…it’s a particular type of earth really – first impressions are often correct!) which is found in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. The earth is dried in the sun and then finely ground into a powder. It’s been used for skin care in the Arab world for centuries. Apparently a particular part of the mountain is reserved for all the Ghassoul needs of the Moroccan Royal Family. Kings and Queens need to wash their faces too! The hectorite found in the Atlas Mountains is particularly high in silicon, magnesium, calcium, sodium, iron and silica.

The powder requires no preservatives or any other chemicals. It is scent –neutral. As a powder it can be stored indefinitely (ignore any best before dates on the package – a legal requirement for cosmetic labelling – it is already a few million years old!).

How does it work and how do I use it?

Ghassoul needs to be mixed with water and made into a paste. I used to do this before every use but soon became tired of it. Partly it seemed a bit fiddly and time consuming, but mostly because the powder works best when it has had time to fully soak up the water. The mix then becomes quite silky and saturated and loses any of the more powdery feel you may get initially. This is the texture you’re really after. It’s very pleasant to use and means that the Ghassoul is in its optimum state to absorb dirt, oil and dead skin particles, because this is basically what it does; like a sponge it draws all the icky bits from your skin without interfering with the natural ph balance.

You can buy this wash clay ready mixed or loose so to mix it yourself. Simply add a small amount of water to the amount of wash clay required and mix until it forms a paste. You can then use it as a soap alternative, as a shampoo or a facial cleanser. Just remember to wash it off after use! It also makes a fantastic natural bath and sink cleaner. The Logona wash clay is an effective cleanser in many ways.

That’s when I started preparing my own Ghassoul goo in advance using a little plastic container. It has a lid so the mix doesn’t dry out and can be used for a few days. Sometimes I add a bit of rose petal tonic or other facial toners. I have even added olive oil or sweet almond oil when my skin gets a bit drier in the winter. If you add oil, remember that the mix won’t keep as long as the oil can go off in hot and humid bathrooms.

I apply it like soap and wash it off with water. If your skin is very oily or you suffer from breakouts leave it on for a minute or two before rinsing it off. You can even use it as the base for a face mask and experiment with adding various lotions and potions to it. Nothing should stop you from using it all over your body in the shower or as an addition to your bath. It can also be used to wash your hair, although this never really worked for me. (It seems the shorter your hair, the easier it is.) My skin feels clean, fresh and healthy. It isn’t dry or excessively oily. I enjoy my twice daily ritual of using the Ghassoul and I know that I am sharing in a very old tradition of skin care.

So, my facial cleanser is a brown, slippery mass in a screw-top Tupperware, no gold lids, no French writing anywhere. And yes, I have had more attractive products on my bathroom shelf! It has raised a few questions at the airport security check too, but so far no one has asked me to demonstrate what I use it for. If pushed, I would.

I like my Moroccan earth.

Best wishes / Gaby

You wouldn't want to walk barelegged in a field of chemicals brushing against your skin, so why wear clothing that's been made using harmful chemicals? Greenfibres sell a range of tights and socks that are free from harmful chemicals so you can wear them with the knowledge that no damage is being done to you or the environment.

Recently I tried a new product from the Greenfibres socks range and I am really pleased with the quality and style.

The fine knee high socks are long length to the knee and the knit is fine enough to give a cosy fit under high dress boots, but are equally suitable for wellies. Although I also find the more robust knit of Greenfibres Walking Socks a great match for wellies. These versatile socks can also be worn under trousers, or fashionably with a shorter skirt and even to bed on those cold winter nights.

The fine knee high socks are a blend of 70% sheep wool, 28% cotton and 2% elastane to keep them up to the knee. They can be machine-washed, but I have found that hand washing with Sonett’s olive washing liquid for wool and silk does prolong the life of woolen socks and only takes minutes.

These wool/cotton knee high socks are great value at £11.90 a pair and a great discovery. They are soft to touch and available in black and navy blue. The fine knee socks have a high wool content so they are perfect for keeping your tootsies toasty.

Should your old knit socks need mending try watching the Greenfibres darning video – a helpful and easy to follow video showing you how to make your socks live a long reusable life just when you thought they could no longer be worn!

The ylang ylang plant benefits sensitive skin types with its antiseptic and calming properties. It is also used for its relaxing smell, perfect for unwinding in the tub after a long day while the sweet orange ingredient will leave you smelling and feeling fresh, clean and revitalised.

Due to having highly sensitive skin it has been near impossible for me to find a body loving bath product.

So many unnatural bath products can cause allergic reactions in various ways. Such as rashes, blotching, thrush, urine tract infections, skin irritation and many more uncomfortable and some times embarrassing flare ups.

The only way to avoid all of the above to wash in plain water or to use a completely natural product made for sensitive skin.

I have tried a wide variety of body washes, bath oils and natural soaps. But all leave me rather unsatisfied.

Either they have been too weak in how they cleanse, or too strong with active ingredients that aggravate my eczema.

Some products have smelt like farmyards and we all know that we are well past the stage of believing that living economically means having to smell bad!…as SPIEZIA so rightly prove with their incredible earthy floral scented balms and oils.

Last winter for my birthday I was given a bottle of SPIEZIAS Sweet Orange & Ylang Ylang Bath Oil. As I got in the tub I realised that this was an immense treat!

The smell was so incredibly beautiful it had me ”umming” and ”ahhhing” as if I was in a very popular shampoo advert.

The water that mixed with this gorgeous oil felt like it had turned to liquid satin and my skin felt AMAZING! (so good it deserves capital letters!)

When I got out of the bath I still smelt of this beautiful sweet floral and fruity scent.

From being soaked in the slightly oily water my skin had become highly moisturised and felt like silk. Every time I bathed in this bath oil there was absolutely no need for me to use a lotion on my body afterwards, and my skin gets incredibly dry!

It is so highly moisturising it leaves your skin feeling and smelling just incredible.

However, I really do not recommend you wash you hair in the same water you have bathed in with this oil, as it will leave your hair with an oily residue that can make it appear greasy.

This bath oil is perfect for a relaxing time in the tub when you need to unwind and be a little spoilt.

SPIEZIA are based in Cornwall, England. This makes us very happy also as we love to support local companies.

Their stunning range of skin care products are 100% organic to boot.

Although most of their range are oils and oily balms, learning to use just the right amount will leave you having a very pleasurable moisturising experience.

Spiezia sweet orange and ylang ylang bath oil

I think you will agree with me that this list of ingredients is highly luxurious and really makes it no surprise at all this is such a beautiful and impressive skin care product that is so pleasurable to indulge in.

We sell the SPIEZIA sweet orange and ylang ylang bath oil for £19 a 100ml lovely glass bottle.

Now on this chilly eve I am off to indulge myself in a nice warm soak in the tub, and joining me of course is SPIEZIA.

Marcia

read more from Marcia here

This time I decided to try some thing I never thought I would have any interest in what so ever – The Organic Superfruit Concentrate.

As Well as hydrating the skin, the oil from the sea buckthorn plant also has an orange tint which gives your skin a healthy summer glow all year round.

Although my skin has a keen appetite for all sorts of beauty products and I love to try new things, my day to day routine is kept simple and pure.

I wash my face with water and I like to moisturize with the most gentle and basic types of oils or balms. I keep well away from facial masks and other such “miracle make-over” type products, because to put it bluntly…I just don’t believe in them. The majority of the time they have only put my skin into a frenzy and set my eczema off on a mad one.

I had two reasons for avoiding the Superfruit Concentrate:

1 – It looked far too serious for my skins liking! On the packaging it says to use “sparingly” and gives the choice to use it as a night time “treatment” or as a weekly “boost”.  All those words only set my eczema mind into a skin care disaster panic!

2 – When my curios mind led my wandering hands to pick up the bottle and squirt a little of the super fruit juice into my hands it came to my surprise how orange this product is. “fake tan trauma” was the next thing that came to my mind and also the 2nd reason for putting me right off this product.

However, as the months went by I couldn’t help but feel constantly drawn to this product. The tester sitting on the shop shelf would always intrigue me on the days my skin felt tired and hopeless.

“maybe a little colour would do me some good today” my mind told me, “perhaps some highly concentrated super fruit is just what my worn out skin needs”.

Try as I may I couldn’t resist the temptation of this intriguing and unique product any longer.

So I grabbed a little sample pot and filled it up. Took it home and tried it out the moment my skin was cleansed.

To my surprise I completely fell in love with it and instantly too.

But did it stand the test of time? For me I can only personally approve a product if I was able to use it for a week without any disastrous eczema flare ups!

yes, yes it did!! It passed with absolute gorgeous orange flying colours.

On the packaging it reads: “helps protect against UV and free radical damage promoting skin cell regeneration and collagen synthesis for smooth radiant skin”

Now I can’t tell you if it has promoted skin cell regeneration as I am not entirely sure how to go about finding this out, and I also cant say I look like my face has been filled with collagen type delights.

But what I can tell you is my skin is absolutely loving this stuff! All year I have had dry patches around my nose and eyes that have completely cleared since I have been using this Organic Superfruit Concentrate.

My skin tone has also evened out an incredible amount.

I use two drops, rub it together in my hands and then smear all over my face rubbing it in gently until evenly distributed and fully absorbed. With a cotton pad I dab away any excess oil ready for my daily make up routine to follow.

It leaves my skin feeling hydrated and smooth all day.

My skin is like a camel…thirsty thirsty thirsty and I seem to be on one endless mission to find a satisfying cream or moisturiser to keep my skin hydrated all day long.

You can use the super fruit concentrate alone on a daily basis or under your usual moisturiser. I use it alone, and my skin is dry! I just don’t feel the need to put anything else on.

I have also come to love the very subtle glow this product gives you. Its just the right amount of boost to make your skin look glowing and healthy.

Once fully absorbed it doesn’t leave your skin looking oily and shiny, just soft and fresh.

The price for this one is  a lot higher than I would usually ever pay (purely because of my bank balance!) so it is definitely more of a “treat” for my skin than a daily regular moisturiser.

Here at Greenfibres you can buy it for £33.50 for a 30ml bottle. However, due to only using 1-2 drops a time, the bottle lasts for a very fair amount of time.

It  doesn’t run out too quickly but it can also be used up in a good amount of time before the product starts to go off.

One bottle has lasted me two months so far and it’s still going.

The smell is pleasant. It doesn’t have a strong perfume like scent and it’s not overly sweet. It smells natural and earthy with a slight fruity hint to it.

essential care - Organic superfruit concentrate

The ingredients are:

Persea gratissima fruit oil*, Simmondsia chinensis seed oil*, Rosa canina fruit

extract*, Punica granatum seed extract*, Hippophae rhamnoides fruit extract*
*Organically grown/produced (100% of product)

If like me you struggle to understand the language of most bottled products here are the ingredients…translated:

Avocado Oil, JOJOBA Seed Oil, Dog Rose Extract, Pomegranate Seed Extract, Sea Buckthorn Extract.

So, once again I am massively impressed by essential care for getting me hooked on yet another one of their absolutely beautiful and pure skin care products!

I’m sure you will all love it too.

Marcia.

read more from marcia here