The first thing I noticed when I tried the new Beyond Organic skincare range was the deliciously fresh fragrance that jumps out of every product as soon as you open the tin. With scents like mallow and Lady's Mantle, burdock and yarrow, these aren't smells you get to experience every day, and the quality is no disappointment either.
Unlike some paraben-free moisturisers, there's no chalkiness or stickiness to the moisturisers, which are super-smooth and blend into the skin like a dream. The replenishing hand cream (£11.25) is great for overworked hands, and worked wonders on my dry and cracked fingers. Another favourite of mine from the range I tried is the exceptionally light moisturising day cream (£14.50), which quenches delicate facial skin without a hint of greasiness.
All products in this range are certified organic, free from parabens, petrochemicals, GM materials and artificial colours and fragrances. This makes it ideal for sensitive and reactive skins, so why not give it a try? You can buy all products online.
ReForm School is my latest eco-discovery, and has one of those captivating sites that could quite easily eat a morning...Selling everything from toys to crockery to clothing, all you'll find here is recycled or re-claimed, and spruced up with the appliance of some really strong design talent.
Their recycled wood treehouse is particularly impressive, and would make a good home for dolls, toy furniture, small rodents or any other knick-knacks you'd care to put in it. It's crafted from recycled European cherry and elder wood. There's also some original art made from re-claimed materials, posters and prints to check out.
Bikes are faster than cars if you commute in cities -- it's official, and proven to us by none other than Mr. Gas-Guzzler himself, Jeremy Clarkson. But we didn't need him to tell us that.
So what could be faster (and greener) than a bike that does half the work for you? The new Powabyke commuter bike with lithium batter is the first in a series of electric bikes we put to the test.
You'll be sorted if you get caught out in a rainstorm with the Eton Radio; not only is it a windup radio with great reception - it will also charge your mobile, work as a torch and make an almighty racket with its siren feature. Alex Roumbas of Shiny Shiny and I had a play with it in the office.
Last week, we discovered that more than 60 per cent of Hippyshopper readers are wary about using cosmetics that contain parabens. There does seem to be a general shift away from questionable chemical ingredients in cosmetics, so how do you feel about aluminium? We tested some of the best known aluminium-free deodorants (during the one week this year that the sun reached Britain) and compared how much they made us smell...here are the results!
We've had loads of interest in the 3-second fast-boil kettle from Tefal since we first wrote about it last month, so I decided to put one through its paces, comparing it with some of the other innovative energy-saving kettles you can buy.
Here I am with Susi Weaser of Shiny Shiny, testing out the Tefal Quick-Cup and the Eco-Kettle from Powergen.
Oxygenating (or 'aerating') shower heads are said to reduce the amount of water your shower uses, without hindering its performance. In our video review, Katie Lee puts an Oxygenics aerating shower to the test, direct from her bathroom: this one is available at £59 from Natural Collection.
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