Green Living

By Andrea McVeigh

There are lots of ethical make-up brands around these days, but very few of them are fun or trend-aware.

Yes, there are lots of subtle beige shades, sensible mascaras and barely-there lipsticks, but just because you want organic cosmetics, it doesn't mean you've stopped wanting your make-up to be a thing of beauty.

We want sparkle, glitter, gloss and the latest fashion shades too!

That's why 2009 is going to be all about Elysambre, a French company which recently made its UK debut.

Not only is this high-quality brand fabulously fashion-forward, it also ticks all the major eco boxes - it's organic, Fair Trade, refillable, recyclable, natural/mineral and favours plant ingredients over synthetic nasties.

It's also the most comprehensive (running to 180 product lines) organic mineral make-up collection to launch in the UK, ever!

There are no unpure ingredients even in its 15 shades of matt, pearly and French nail polishes, which are free from parabens, toluene (a solvent which smells of paint thinners), colophane (a resin used in ink and varnishes) and the chemical compound, formaldehyde.

The major ingredient elysambre does have, is fun.

The unbleached cardboard packaging (made from sustainable sources) is gorgeous to look at, but it's the colours inside the packaging that will excite even the most demanding of fashionistas.

In all, there are more than 80 eye-shadow shades to choose from, all of which are 100 per cent natural and glide on the skin easily (and stay in place until you wield the make-up remover too).

Keeping an eye on catwalk trends, the people behind the brand will be updating their lines on a regular basis, introducing fashion shades on a seasonal basis, in addition to the core range.

Billed as the 'greenest cosmetics on the market', the collection is mineral oil-free and, instead of parabens and other controversial nasties, it uses rooibos tea and vitamins C and A, as preservatives.

You can also snap the individual products into sleek, refillable, copper cases so you don't have throw out packaging just because you finish a product.

Preferring to personally stand over what we recommend, Green Living did its own 'tried and tested' and couldn't be happier with the results. It's great to find a product range that you can trust wholeheartedly, and that's ethical as well as fashion fabulous.

Even its accompanying range of brushes are made from cruelty-free treated horse hair.

Like a tinted moisturiser, the Fluid Foundation Cream gave a lovely even tone, was light enough to wear without that awful 'caked in' feeling you get from some cosmetics and it boasts 99 per cent natural ingredients.

The vitamin-rich mascara (with shea butter and beeswax, so it works as an eyelash treatment too), didn't flake or rub off easily, and comes in two lengths, short lash and long lash.

The water-based liquid eyeliner was a doddle to use, thanks to its easy-application felt tip while the 100 per cent natural eyebrow pencil comes with a pencil on one end and a handy brush on the other.

Other items in the collection include a Pre Make-Up Base; Corrective Cream and a Foundation Cream and Powder (£14.95 refill) for faces.

For eyes, there's Pearl Touch loose eye powder (which can also be used on cheekbones and lips too) plus those fabulous Spangles loose glitter pots.

And for lips, you can choose multi-purpose eye and lip pencils, long-lasting lipsticks (in both matt and glossy) and non-sticky lip gloss (boasting apricot wax and rooibos extract).

Nails can benefit from nail care oil, a hardening base; a double use base (which can be used as a base coat, top coat or on its own), a nail polish remover plus those 15 shades of polish.

You can find Elysambre in some health food stores (and if you can't, suggest that they are stocked) as well as online at Lovelula.com , or phone the stockist number on 08450 725 825 and order by phone.

Prices range from £6.95 for Nail Polish to £17.95 for the Fluid Foundation Cream, Foundation Cream and Pre Make-Up Base.