In My Back Yard

Back in April, Bodhi & Birch tweeted out asking what percentage of our skincare was British. Now if you’ve not been staying abreast of what’s going on out there in the green, natural, organic beauty world then you really are missing out on some amazing brands which are gracing our shelves and screens with some “must have” items and even more exciting is that a large proportion of those are British. Just take a look at this year’s entries for the Skins Matter Awards. It’s exciting times !

I never knew when I started blogging that there were quite so many small, medium and large British brands out there offering you everything from pure oils and balms to therapeutic blends to enhance body and mind.

So when Karen from “In My Humble Opinion” took this tweet one step further asking us to see which British brands we had in our back yard, I just knew I had to join in. And you know it’s only when you actually start looking do you find some fabulous small, artisan brands just waiting to be discovered.

Image Courtesy of Good For Me Good For You

 

So what is ‘In My Back Yard’?

If you’ve been reading my blog recently then you will know that one of the brands I am blessed to have literally 5-10 minutes down the road from me is Circaroma. Circaroma was founded by Barbara Scott, an aromatherapist and their range spans skincare, bodycare and candles. If you’re interested in finding out more then you can read my post here.

Now, I live in West Dorset but I’m very close to the Dorset / Somerset border so I have decided to look within what would be about an hour’s drive of me here and I’ve found a treasure trove of British Brands some of which I knew about and others I didn’t.

Just down the road from me in the Bridport area is Oleo Bodycare run by Olivia Chapman, again an aromatherapist who I now see regularly on our Saturday market in Bridport. I really must pop by and purchase one of her range because as yet I haven’t indulged. If you’re holidaying in the area this summer then you should say “hi” to her. Then, there is Natural and Nourishing a small, artisan brand with a small, handmade range of products who are again in the Bridport area. I often see their range in some of our local shops which is lovely to see.

Have you been watching Master Chef recently? Then you would have seen the lovely Angela Langford from Somerset who is about 20-30 mins from me. She makes gorgeous, award winning formulations and one of the brands I will be posting about soon. And like so many brand founders I have had the pleasure of either meeting or talking to, she is a really lovely person to boot.

Then we have one of my favourites, Lyonsleaf and then Milla Maddern also in the Mendips. Annie from Hello Purple Clouds shared OV Naturals from Ilminster, all in Somerset which also made me realise that Annie from the blog, Hello PurpleClouds and I live pretty close to each other too.

 

Then we head back into Dorset and we have Love the REAL You in Bournemouth run by Lara Williams, who produces natural skincare for teenagers and who I stock in my online boutique, Herb and Hedgerow founded by Lorraine Dallmeier, who also teaches skincare formulation. There’s Naturally Nourished in Iwerne Minster, White Lilac Bodycare and Herbal Harmony in Poole, Chilly B Soap Company in Bournemouth, Anousta in Wimborne and Green Herb Angel in Glastonbury.

And last but by no means least is the lovely Neal’s Yard Remedies in Gillingham, Dorset at their Peachmarsh headquarters.

So there you have it. That’s what’s in my backyard and I have to say I feel truly blessed to have quite so many small British brands within an hour of me here. Some of their products I have used and others are yet to be discovered, so I think I’m in for some real treats in the coming months.

I wish I could have gone into more depth for each one, but with so many this post would have been very long. I’ll therefore leave you to have a browse of their website’s yourself and perhaps we can all start giving these small brands some love.

It’s fair to say that the natural, organic skincare market is pretty saturated at the moment but what’s exciting is that there are so many British brands making their presence felt, winning awards and producing some stunning product ranges. Long may that continue.

And what percentage of my skin and bodycare is British. I’d say it was currently about 80%. Can I get it to 100%? Well, with what’s in my backyard I feel there’s no excuse for me not to try !

There are some other green bloggers who have linked up to this linky, so I have mentioned them below. If you’ve blogged about what’s ‘In Your Back Yard’ then let me know and I’ll add you to this list below.

Have any of you tried any of the Brands I mention above? I’d love to hear from you so leave me a comment below.

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend everyone. Until next time x

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Here are the links to other green, beauty bloggers who have written about what’s in their back yard:

Within the UK:

Karen's original post inviting people to join in here

Karen's post from In My Humble Opinion here

Hephzibah's post from Good For Me, Good For You here
Annie's post from Hello Purple Clouds here

Ana's post from Ana Goes Green here 
Sarah's post from Sugapuffish here 
Amber from Amber's Beauty talk here

Outside the UK: 

Caitie from Naturalla Beauty here