Plants have been used to treat the skin and enhance wellbeing for centuries. So, it’s no surprise to hear that botanical beauty products are having a renaissance. Beautifully scented, they shape spa gardens and, of course, create products to be used in treatments and skincare routines.
From prickly pear and Blue Tansy flower to rose seed oil and Turmeric, we are seeing a shift towards natural ingredients that are gentle on both our skin and the environment.
Key botanicals: Yuzu oil, ginger, mango, pomegranate, almond and seabuckthorn oils
Espa’s Yuzu and Ginger Cleansing Sorbet smells so good you’ll want to eat it. The balm-to-oil is gentle enough for daily use and turns creamy and silky once you add water.
Softening Yuzu oil - a hybrid of mandarin orange and ichang papeda from East Asia – and zingy ginger are blended with a mango-derived cleansing agent to help to melt away impurities and make-up, leaving the skin super clean.
Enriched with Espa’s Vital Nutrients Omega + Essential Vitamin Complex, the sorbet packs a punch with potent blend of green goodness - broccoli seed oil, spirulina and extracts of kale and spinach. An uplifting mix of skin-loving pomegranate, almond and seabuckthorn oils help to shield your face from premature ageing.
iNLight Beauty – Super-Food Mask (25ml, £39)
Key botanicals: Spirulina, rose seed oil, carrot root, barley leaf
This deep frog-green, chlorophyll-rich mask, smells like nature in a pot. Use the spatula to apply a thin layer to the skin. Massage in and embrace the strange green glow as antioxidants spirulina, rose, baobab and hints of astringent frankincense work their detoxifying and repairing magic.
The 100% organic Super-Food Mask also performs a gentle exfoliation, leaving tired skin with a radiant glow. Don’t be put off by the size either; the small, violet glass pot goes a long way (15 applications).
Natura Bissé C+C Vitamin Cream (75m, £106)
Key botanicals: Vitamin C, Turmeric oil and MacroAntioxidants®
Natura Bissé’s beautiful citrus-scented Vitamin C cream promises luminosity, firmness, elasticity and vitality – we’ll take it! This vitamin cocktail includes three forms of Vitamin C, E & F along with provitamin D – said to help improve the skin’s natural defence against free radicals, stimulate collagen synthesis and help fight dark spots.
Added SPF10 offers the mildest protection so remember to top with proper sunscreen. Superfood Turmeric oil has been added for extra anti-everything – anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and an abundance of antioxidants.
Comfort Zone Sacred Nature Cleansing Balm (110ml, £35)
Key botanicals: Organic Buriti Oil
Part of Comfort Zone’s new vegan Sacred Nature range, this gentle oily cleansing balm uses organic buriti and almond oil to remove dirt and make-up from the face and eyes, without stripping essential moisture.
The bright orange, organic Buriti oil is extracted from the fruit of a palm tree that grows in swamp-like conditions in tropical South America. Known as the ‘tree of life’, the fruit blooms from December to April and is loaded with high levels of antioxidants, vitamin E and has the highest natural occurrence of pro-vitamin A.
Apply a small amount of the fragrance-free cleanser with the wooden spatula, massage into the face and neck and rinse. The oily balm will leave skin soft, silky smooth and hydrated.
Temple Spa Truffle De-Light Hydra-Gel Moisturiser (50ml, £90)
Key botanicals: Strawberry seed oil, prickly pear extract, botanical caviar, kombucha
The newest edition to the Truffle collection, Truffle De-Light Hydra-Gel Moisturiser comes in the decadent bronze coloured tub with gold writing and easy pump dispenser for optimal moisturising. It feels like silk on the skin and can be used before make-up as a primer. Its lightweight consistency makes it perfect for the spring and summer months– leaving skin hydrated and glow-y.
The botanical banquet of ingredients includes: champagne extract which gently exfoliates, black truffle to brighten the skin tone, and kombucha to improve tone and texture. Prickly pear extract soothes irritation, whilst strawberry seed oil purifies and refreshes. Botanical caviar is also on the menu. Harvested from seaweed and hugely popular in Japan, these sea grapes (as they are known) are said to significantly improve skin hydration and elasticity.
Lunar Nectar Moon Boost Lash & Brow Enhancing Serum (4ml, $75)
Key botanicals: Aloe Vera juice and extracts of bamboo, red clover and horsetail
Ditch the lash extensions or hormone-based serums - Lunar Nectar’s Moon Boost Lash & Brow Enhancing Serum claims to give you thicker brows and longer lashes. What’s more, the botanical serum is 100% natural, organic, vegan and cruelty-free. It uses silica-rich bamboo and horsetail extract (of the plant variety) to help build collagen; Gotu Kola – pegged as the ‘herb of longevity’; and Red Clover extract, rich with isoflavones that act like estrogen to prolong the cycle of the hair follicle.
Apply the formula before you go to bed and let it work it’s Rapunzel-esque magic while you get your beauty sleep. Our Spa Spy noticed an increase in growth and strength of her lashes when using it, plus thicker and softer brows.
OTO Ritual CBD Serum (30ml, £69)
Key botanicals: CBD, Blue Tansy flower, Evening Primrose oil, pomegranate oil
CBD is a booming ingredient in botanical skincare. So much so, that the CBD skincare market is forecasted to grow at an annual rate of 21.47% between 2019 and 2028. But why is the chemical found in the Cannabis Sativa plant so popular? Advocates report an array of benefits from potential anti-ageing, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
OTO's Ritual Serum blends pure CBD with botanicals like pomegranate oil – renown for protecting the skin from UV and free radicals and evening primrose - to help clear acne and ease eczema. Moroccan Blue Tansy flower, containing calming antihistamine properties, is responsible for the serum’s unique blue colour.
Apply the serum to freshly cleansed skin as part of your morning skincare routine. Use the oil-like serum at night for some deep hydration.
Scarlet Spy
23rd April 2021
Spy Likes:
Nature-inspired spas, cold water plunges, sound baths, deep tissue massage, delicious food.
Spy Dislikes:
Thin walls in treatment rooms, lounger hoggers, soggy robes, bright lights.
