Plant-powered beauty

Treat your skin to pure, unadulterated goodness with these naturally nourishing superheroes

Vitamin sea
If you’ve ever accidentally damaged your skin barrier through over-cleansing or exfoliating (it happens to the best of us), you’ll know how easy it can be to compromise your skin’s natural ecosystem. Just as any living organism needs its own complex set of conditions to thrive, taking care of your complexion is all about preserving its delicate natural balance — and when it comes to maintaining and nourishing an organic habitat, the Earth’s own answer could be a solution for your skin too. Seaweed, or marine algae, are a fierce superfilter that works hard to preserve our oceans every day. From generating vital oxygen and releasing life-sustaining nutrients to absorbing harmful substances like carbon dioxide, they’re a real botanical powerhouse for our planet. So, what happens when you infuse all that marine magic into a cream, and make it your new skincare staple? With the cult favourite Transformulas Marine Miracle Crème, you get next-level hydration, improved skin tone and visibly diminished fine lines and wrinkles, as well as the collagen production boost your skin needs to bounce back to its supple, youthful equilibrium. A true miracle indeed.

Coco cult
Remember the coconut oil craze? It was the 2010s, and everyone from A-list celebs and beauty bloggers to culinary afficionados around the globe was suddenly stocking up on huge jars of the stuff. C-oil content saturated the internet with recipes for transformative hair masks, revolutionary skin salves, teeth whitening treatments and health-conscious dishes with one ingredient at their core — and while today the trend has reached a more sustainable level (we’re no longer raiding supermarket shelves or eating coconut oil by the spoonful), the sweet-scented cult beauty formulas we enjoy as a result prove there was method to the madness. Now, coconut is a staple in skincare as brands switch to organic, plant-based ingredients and customers want a fill of its natural moisturising, healing and cleansing benefits. With the Saltee SPF30 Body Sea and Sun Lotion, even your holiday sun cream can be supercharged with addictive Bounty-scented hydration while protecting against UVA and UVB rays — plus, it will naturally enhance your summer tan too!

Aloe gorgeous

From breakthrough anti-ageing formulas to injectable treatments, today’s beauty industry is simply brimming with solutions to fix up any skin concern. And yet, for all the amazing man-made improvements to our skincare, you can’t beat the good, old-fashioned wisdom of mother nature to give your complexion exactly what it needs. Aloe vera has been praised for its soothing, anti-septic properties for centuries, and the ancient Egyptians even doused the dead in its juices to preserve their youth — but whether you’re on a spiritual journey to the afterlife or just braving a long-haul flight, it makes for an unbeatable natural salve for dry or irritated skin. Our top pick for an aloe-infused moisturiser is the Skin Generics Aloe Vera Sleeping Mask, which doubles as a soothing aftersun to regenerate the epidermis while you snooze; or the Clinique All About Moisture Set, serving up your daily aloe super-dose with a solid 72-hour hydration hit.

Clay time
Excessive oiliness and blocked pores often call for a radical switch-up in your skincare routine. But before you plunge into the world of pore-unclogging acids such as salicylic or glycolic acid (these can be overly drying and too harsh for sensitive complexions), you may prefer to start with a gentler, naturally effective way to purge impurities and give your skin a clean, fresh start. The beauty world has been obsessed with the Sand & Sky Porefining Clay Mask: starting as a viral internet sensation, this pretty-in-pink exfoliator is just as soothing as it looks. First, it is packed with organic minerals and antioxidants — courtesy of nutrient-rich Australian clay — which offer a deeply nourishing cleanse. Next, it enhances the clay’s natural detox properties with Aussie superfoods like pomegranate and Kakadu plum to add hydration and leave skin looking revitalised. And finally? It’s 100 per cent au naturelle, with no artificial ingredients in sight. 

Shea perfection
The moisturising properties of shea butter have been harnessed for centuries, and some of the best-selling balms on the shelves today still rely on its power to relieve dehydrated hands, cracked feet and flaking pouts. What’s the secret behind this ultimate skincare saviour? There isn’t one, really — it’s just pure, unadulterated nature doing what it does best. Shea butter is extracted from the nuts of the West African shea tree, and carries a hefty dose of vitamins A, E and F, as well as plenty of fatty acids. Put to use in a moisturiser, this makes for a potent mix that sends all of those precious nutrients deep into the skin’s top layer, as well as forming a protective barrier to lock in hydration, enhance collagen production and leave skin looking and feeling supple. Parched paws will love the award-winning L’Occitane hand cream, generously infused with 20 per cent shea — find it in the travel exclusive Best of Provence Hands Kit, ideal for moisture top-ups throughout the day.