It’s the season for dry, dull complexions. A lack of sunshine and vitamin D, less time outdoors and generally overindulging over the festive period can leave our skin looking and feeling a little less glowy.
Charlotte Vôhtz, founder of Green People and expert in organic skincare shares 6 of the best ‘chrismassy’ ingredients for defying dryness, dullness and congestion, guaranteed to leave your complexion bright and glowing.
CRANBERRY
Cranberries make a tasty Christmas dinner sauce but they’re even more appetising when you know that they also serve skin a winter boost of antioxidants.
Age Defy+ Pure Luxe Body Oil – £27.00 (50ml)
Unlock the secret to an unrivalled skin glow and a beautiful, satin-soft finish with this perfecting organic body oil. Working to deliver a youthful skin tone, Safflower oil, rich in Omega-6, boasts nutrients to support healthy skin and refine texture. Neroli oil revives the skin at a cellular level, boosting elasticity to help smooth and tone the skin and improve sagging. Nourishing and skin softening, Pomegranate oil is known to regenerate and repair the skin. Rich in vitamin C, it helps to even skin tone and reverse the damage caused by sun exposure. With a trio of omega-3,6&9 essential fatty acids, Cranberry oil can moisturise like no other. With super absorbency levels it ensures antioxidants, nutrients and vitamin E are delivered too, leaving a beautiful satin-soft finish.
Charlotte says:
Ruby red cranberries are rich in natural antioxidants, such as tocotrienols (a form of vitamin E). When we use Cranberry Seed Oil in skin care, it delivers a deeply nourishing 1:1 balance of Omega-3&6 essential fatty acids and Omega-9. The result of this is that skin feels instantly smooth and moisturised. Another great benefit of Cranberry Seed Oil is that that it helps to maintain skin hydration by protecting the skin’s lipid barrier, making it an ideal ingredient to use in creams for dry, itchy skin. That’s one of the reasons why we use Cranberry in our Pure Luxe Body Oil, a home-spa body oil that envelops dry, snake-like skin in moisture to leave it soft, supple and radiant.
CLOVE
Commonly used in Christingles, the slightest sniff of Clove scent can conjure up a sense of Christmas, but could it help your skin to find its festive feel-good factor?
Alexandra Kay Time to Ease Body Oil – £29.00 (100ml)
Escape muscle tension with this relaxing organic body and massage oil. A relaxing, herbal body oil blend that creates great slip for massage. Ideal for aches, pains and relieving tired muscles. Combines the phyto active CB2-Skin™ Biofunctional with pure plant actives with pain-relieving properties. This synergistic blend works in tandem to ease muscular tension. Ginger and Black Pepper provide a warming heat relief. Peppermint and Eucalyptus soothe and calm. 98.1% certified organic ingredients.
“Spicy Clove can lighten a low mood, improve memory and fight lethargy and is great for swapping afternoon slumps for a power-hour of productivity. Green People use Clove to make its Alexandra Kay Time to Ease Muscle Relax Body Oil which can be used to ease feelings of tiredness and tension in the body. It also features zesty Lemon Oil which smells fresh and pure and has properties that aid concentration, increase energy and lift the spirits.
ORANGE
Love the zesty, fresh scent of dried orange slices at Christmas? Dry skin does too!
Age Defy+ AHA Radiance Peel Mask – £36.00 (30ml)
Tackle dull, lacklustre skin with the Age Defy+ AHA Radiance Peel Mask. Used twice a week, this gentle exfoliating mask smooths the skin surface to restore your natural glow. Natural AHA’s from five different sources including Bilberry and Maple Sugar promote cell renewal, while replenishing Aloe Vera safeguards the skin from irritation. The result? A luxurious spa-level treat in the comfort of your home, that reveals irresistibly velvet-soft skin.
Charlotte says:
It’s important to exfoliate dull, skin. Otherwise, it will simply sit on the skin and congest the pores, preventing the absorption of your skin care. Orange & Lemon Fruit Extracts are brilliant for bringing brighter skin to the surface and provide naturally occurring Citric Acids to gently exfoliate and promote healthy cell turnover. These extracts are just some of the 5 AHAs that I use in my signature Age Defy+ by Cha Vøhtz AHA Radiance Peel Mask which leaves skin velvet-soft as it promotes cellular renewal and a bright, youthful complexion.
COAL
Famously left in stockings of naughty children, Charcoal, in its activated form, is actually very beneficial for the skin.
Purifying Face Mask – £22.00 (50ml)
A deep-cleansing, mattifying face mask for fresher, brighter skin. Use as a pampering self-care treat or to purify skin that feels out of balance.
- Activated Charcoal deeply cleanses by drawing toxins out of the pores, making them appear smaller
- Bentonite Clay works in synergy with Charcoal to gently draw dirt away from the skin
- Alpine Willow balances oil production to discourage acne bacteria
- Moisturising Oat Lipid* is rich in ceramides and sinks deep to seal in long-lasting softness
- Made with repurposed Coconut shells and packaged in recyclable Sugar Cane plastic
- Refreshing Eucalyptus aroma and 95% certified organic ingredients
Charlotte says:
Activated Charcoal is an incredibly porous natural ingredient that is known to draw out impurities and balance the skin’s oil production. A great ingredient for skin that’s feeling the congesting effects of Christmas indulgences, the Activated Charcoal we use is a fine, black powder which is derived from waste Coconut husks. It is highly porous which makes it very absorbent and ideal for using in deep-cleansing skin care, such as Green People’s Purifying Face Mask.
MYRRH
Reputedly gifted by the three kings, Myrrh has a royally good reputation for helping to heal damaged skin.
One Balm – £21.00 (30ml)
A multi -tasking skin saviour in a 100% biodegradable pot. Cocoon skin in a protective layer of replenishing plant actives with this multi-tasking skin saviour. Green People’s One Balm represents one huge step towards truly sustainable, earth-friendly packaging. Firstly, the box. Made from 25% grass fibre mixed with wood, it is completely biodegradable. Next, the jar and lid. These are crafted from a ‘non-plastic’ plastic; a combination of wood particles in natural plant-derived resin polymers. 100% compostable, it biodegrades to leave behind zero residue. The manufacturing pathway is pure and simple; sawdust is created as a by-product and moulded with a plant polymer to create a 100% biodegradable, plant-based pot. After use, the natural materials are returned to the soil, leaving no microplastics behind. One Balm’s botanic formulation is equally ethical. The sustainably sourced ingredients include a nourishing nectar of skin-soothing Pomegranate, Frankincense and Myrrh. Entirely ethically sourced, the Myrrh is collected by female Himba tribeswomen and fairly traded to support this traditional community.
Charlotte says:
To make One Balm, our multi-purpose beauty balm that soothes and restores dry skin, we blend Myrrh with Cranberry Seed Oil, Orange Peel Oil and Frankincense. Myrrh is known to help accelerate skin healing. By using Myrrh oil, we can incorporate its natural anti-inflammatory benefits into balms that can be used to help heal skin and lips that have been left chapped or cracked by exposure to cold winter weather.
FRANKINCENSE
According to the Christmas story, Balthasar travelled from ‘the land of spices’ to bestow Frankincense on the baby Jesus. We can only wonder if he knew of the skin-boosting benefits of his spice-scented surprise.
Alexandra Kay Me Time Scents – £45.00 (3 x 10ml)
Create your own scent oasis with this 100% natural essential oil wellbeing gift set from Alexandra Kay. Treat yourself or a friend to this trio of essential oil blends and save £15 compared to buying each oil individually. Features Time to Sleep, Time to Relax and Time to Smile. Can be used to boost positivity, calm feelings of anxiety and support sleep. Suitable for vaporising, inhalation and massage when used with a carrier oil.
Charlotte says:
The qualities of Frankincense are more suited for older skin than the skin of a newborn babe. This spicy scent has astringent qualities that make it ideal for rejuvenating mature skin and smoothing out wrinkles. That said, Frankincense also has a calming scent that could be very useful when it comes to helping a little one to settle. It’s so naturally soothing that we use it in all three products in the Alexandra Kay Me Time Scents Pure Essential Oils Collection.
All products are available from www.greenpeople.co.uk
