Organic & Natural Beauty Show

I recently visited the Organic and Natural Beauty Show at the Excel Centre in London's beautiful Docklands. A truly flying visit (I could sadly stay only an hour or so), I arrived by cable car from North Greenwich - any excuse to ride on, what in my mind is a by far more fascinating experience than the very popular London Eye (but let's keep that between ourselves...)

In comparison to many trade shows, this one was pretty small, with only about forty exhibitors. This is the first Natural and Organic Beauty show and so I imagine as it gains more interest potential future shows will have a larger turnout from companies.

The majority of the exhibitors were independent Skincare companies mostly from mainland Europe and the UK, there were also a few cosmetic manufacturers and packaging companies plus a small number of make-up lines. In all honestly I didn't spend much time taking in the Skincare/production side of things, knowing how little time I had at the show I focused mainly on the make-up.

My first stop was the large Bellápierre stand at the entrance. I first encountered Bellápierre mineral make-up a few years ago at another trade show - they do a fabulous line in highly pigmented loose powders and stacking powder towers. I did have a play with a number of the products however I was put off by the rude staff on the stand (and slightly concerned about their approach to product hygiene too if I'm honest) so I made a sharp exit!

The brand I was most excited about seeing was French company Zao. This beautifully packaged line is new to the UK and is utterly lovely! I admit I had a heads-up on their presence at the show as I have been in touch with their UK director and his team over the past few months, however it was great to see the range in full and have the opportunity to play with the products. If you haven't come across Zao as yet then do check out their website; these are great products with a refillable system and are priced at the lower end of the market. I have a Zao post coming up in the next couple of weeks, so keep your eyes peeled!

I had a brief introduction to Lotus Cosmetics, an American line I had heard about. Unfortunately their display stand and products hadn't arrived at the show and so there were only a few items to look at however they had some beautifully pigmented and packaged eyeshadows that would be great for a personal make-up bag.

Another French company at the show was avril. A budget priced, ECOCERT organic brand looking for a UK distributor, I have ordered a couple of their foundations in the past from Le Monde Bio and so it was great to try out the range in full. This as another line that is priced at the younger market and would be a great introduction to organics for teenagers. The owner of the company was very enthusiastic at getting the organic message to younger people, which was great to hear. Sadly they weren't selling any of their products until the end of the day and so I missed up on stocking up my kit.

Being pushed for time on the day, I didn't have a chance to spend as much time talking to the exhibitors as I would've like, however I thoroughly enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere, fingers crossed there will be another show next year!

Images courtesy of: Laura Jane Sessions - Organic Make-up Artist