Green People have been making their Gentle Tone for years, but spring 2012 sees it get a whole new lease of life, with a more appropriate new name, gorgeous revamped packaging and new certified organic formulation. 

It was always a bit of a funny product. You expect your toner to be a liquid in a bottle or a spray so a gel based toner seemed a bit weird.

In fact Gentle Tone has always been a serum, a lovely lightweight gel formulation that adds a wonderful hydrating boost to any skin care routine. But for very oily skins or hot and sweaty summer skin it’s sometimes just right on its own, to give skin a lovely refreshing moisture hit without a hint of oiliness.

This new formulation is a real treat for the skin featuring seaweed and South American Tara Bush extract which have powerful moisturising properties to help your skin feel firmer and more elastic.

Fans of the original Gentle Tone are sure to love this super charged new version but with its now more fitting name its set to attract a whole new following too.  The gentle alcohol free formulation is suitable for all skin types; use it for face, neck and décolletage in conjunction with facial oil or moisturiser. It makes a lovely make up primer too. 

A World first in Organic Hand Sanitizers for Bentley Organic...

Bentley Organic, the family-owned Yorkshire personal care products company, has launched the first organic hand sanitizer proven by the UK Government's Veterinary Laboratories Agency to kill the H1N1 Influenza A virus, more commonly know as swine flu. The 'Anti-bacterial Moisturising Hand Sanitizer' is made with 90% organic ingredients and contains Aqualin, a product which replaces synthetic preservative systems such as parabens and phenoxyethanol, with natural fruit acids and plant derived surfactants.

Several hundred thousand pounds have been put into developing the formula and tens of thousands spent on the necessary testing to ensure that the product becomes the market pioneer in hand sanitizers.

The Bentley Organic Hand Sanitizer, which The VLA identified as being non-toxic to the test system as well as killing the H1N1 virus, also kills 99.9% of other germs and can be used in the absence of towels or water, with no stickiness or residue to the user.

It has also been certified by the Soil Association as have other personal care, household cleaning, and baby care products in the Bentley Organic Range.

The products are sold widely in the Independent Health Food sector in the UK, Europe and the US and the range has also been recently awarded a national listing with a large US retailer.

Jamie Bentley, chief executive of Bentley Organic, said: "I am extremely proud, as the founder of Bentley Organic, to have developed a retail product that is the market pioneer worldwide"

"We are launching it at a time when swine flu is coming back into the spotlight, with the winter months fast approaching, we hope that people we use the new product, confident in its abilities to kill the H1N1 virus whilst also being gentle on the user"

"After a culmination of years of work, we have developed a product that is affordable, organic, moisturising, and really works"

"As the CEO of  Bentley Organic, I am delighted that here in Yorkshire we are able to develop a world class product that not only benefits the employees of the Bentley Organic, but puts Yorkshire manufacturing where it should be - at the forefront of technical innovation."

Buy Bentley Hand Sanitizer at www.SoOrganic.com for £2.99 for a 125 application bottle. Save £1 when you Buy 2.

At So Organic we are always on the look out for new and innovative organic and all natural body care products. From organic cotton tampons to moon cups, we look for natural personal hygiene products that are chemical free, safe and that work. We've recently discovered that one of the best new lubricants on the market is in fact organic.

Yes products are a revolution as far as intimate lubricants go. They are high performance, premium lubricants certified by the Soil Association. They contain no parabens, glycerine, glycols, hormones, silicones and petroleum products often found in traditional lubricants like KY Jelly, Durex Play and Replens. (Glycerine found is in nearly all big brands and can cause thrush as well as irritate and dehydrate the skin. Glycols help pull other chemicals through the skin into the blood stream).

Has powerful moisture retentive properties and is bio-adhesive to mucus membranes (inner skin environment). There are two types. Water based and oil based. The water-based version is scent and taste free. It is made from aloe vera, flax extract (beneficial for the mucous membranes), and plant based gums guar, locust bean and xanthan (to provide the deep velvety texture).

The oil-based version is hypoallergenic and good for water play. It contains cocoa butter and shea butter, sweet almond oil and sunflower oil, organic bees wax and vitamin E to provide an extra sensuous feeling as well as having a skin-nourishing effect.

Not everyone feels the need to use a lubricant but for some it's essential in order to enjoy sex. Others use it to warm up or enhance pleasure. You just have to take one look at the feedback from those that have used Yes products to get an idea of how amazing this product is.

‘You're lube is the best thing that ever happened to my post hysterectomy sex life.'

‘I've never tried anything like this... I trust people who are concerned about chemicals. I have had breast cancer for 15 years, and I believe I have had better health throughout it by avoiding toxic chemicals and sticking with natural products.'

‘By using your water-based daily for five or six weeks now, I can report a distinct increase in the plumpness and moistness of my labia and vagina. I am as surprised as I am delighted - I didn't know this was possible, but the difference is impressive. Not just a lubricant - more a rejuvenator!'

Today we interview Sarah Gibbs, co founder of Trilogy, advanced natural skincare.

How did you and your sister Catherine go about developing the Trilogy range?
It all started with rose hip oil. We discovered the properties of rose hip oil with the manufacturing business I had and we found it was a fantastic skin regenerating product. We saw we really should be formulating with this.

Did either/both of you work in the skin care industry before you started the company?
I had in terms of ingredient supply. I ran the ingredient manufacturing company that my father owned. Cath was a fashion beauty journalist.

What do you love most about your work?
The ability to be so creative. We can sit down with a pen and a clean sheet of paper and come up with an idea and see it through to fruition. It's about creating. That's what's exciting if you look at it from my perspective but everyone would be different.

What are the most commonly asked questions you get about your products?
‘How natural are they' is the hot topic of the moment. Customers are so confused about what natural and organic means these days. So the hot question is ‘how natural and how organic are your products?'
‘How do they compare to traditional thinking' would be the other big question. To answer that we use 100% natural actives but we do use a synthetic preservative and we're happy to do that from a safety perspective. We're very attractive, functionally, to traditional thinking. There's a big shift towards making more natural choices in everything that we do. That goes for everything. It's a great alternative to what's been happening in the past.

Do you know of any other skin care range that use rose hip in such an all-embracing way?
Actually we don't anymore. When we started the first certified products we do were the closest but in actual fact probably two thirds of our range now doesn't focus on rose hip oil but other natural actives. The new age proof range for example has marula as the active ingredient. But yeah there are other ranges that use rose hip oil. I think Weleda have one, Barefoot Botanicals are another that have a rose hip focus. Even in everyday [conventional] skin care products will have a rose hip content; perhaps not as high as ours.

Where do you source your rose hip oil from?
We source our seeds and oil from two sources - one in Africa and the second in Chile. So we're buying them from both continents actually. They're certified organic from seeds to bottle.

Favourite product in the range?
Aaahhh that's so hard. It appeals on what my needs are. I guess I always have Everything Balm with me but I can't get out of bed without hydrating toner.

Best thing you've heard about one of your products or your company?
That's even harder. We get so much feedback every single day from all around the world. On our website there are dozens of them. We've posted our favourites on our website. Literally we get them all day everyday.

What is your favourite organic brand excluding your own?
I really like Today Was Fun. It's a fantastic tea brand that's carbon neutral and organic. I love that tea. We don't have it down under but it's always stood out in my mind as being absolutely sensational across the board.

"Maximum effect on your skin, minimum effect on our environment" (Trilogy's mantra) Can beautifying ourselves save the planet?
The thing we're really mindful of at Trilogy is that this category does involve packaging, it does involve manufacturing - there's no getting away from that. Hence why we have a minimum effect on the environment as part of our mantra because we are aware that we do have an impact on the environment. So can beautifying ourselves save the planet? Not simply no.

Who's your eco role model?
I still say Anita Roddick, mainly from an animal testing stance. She really does stand out. It sounds odd but I also like what Richard Branson is doing in terms of biofuels. He's looking at it comprehensively rather than in isolation. He's impressive that guy even though he runs an airline he's going to be leading the way in terms of how we develop biofuels.

You were first company in Australasia to be certified carbon neutral and use fully recycled packaging - do you have any eco-focused activities moving forward?
We would like to in the future give back in a recycling sense rather than recycling downwards. How could we be recycling upwards, I think that's the next charge for us and the next charge for everyone. We have to make it into a better thing. I think that's how we're evolving. There is always more to do on sustainability and traceability. Always. We can never let that down given that agriculture is a moving thing.

From an environmental perspective how do you envision the world in 30 years time?
30 years time? Naturally I'm an optimist so I've got to be optimistic. But there are big chunks of the world that aren't on board which is really worrying. I think some cultures will be forced by legislation to do things, which I think is perfect - that's what we should be doing. Some will be forced to come in to line but others won't. Maybe I'm a bit more of a realist on that than an optimist.

What are your predictions for the organic beauty market?
The future couple will know what they're shopping for. It will be like they're buying food. I think that will be happening really soon. It's already happening but it will become a mainstream way of buying skin care.

Natural will be successful if it's functional. The functionality aspect in beauty has got to be there and natural skin care products compete now. They will continue to grow; I think it will outgrow traditional techniques. The world will continue towards making more natural and organic choices, particularly if they become more educated.

The ladies in the Greenwich store waited with bated breath last week as the post man dropped off a delivery from one of our new mineral make up ranges Inika. And weren't they a sight for mascara barren lashed eyes. Beautifully designed powder pots and vegan loving brushes, bright flamboyant eye shadows and alluring sun inspired bronzes. The stand and products didn't let them down. But that's not even the best bit.

Inika cosmetics are made from crushed minerals found in the barren lands of the Australian earth. Mineral make up is often recommended for people after cosmetic surgery, chemical peels or laser re-surfacing as they have none of the harsh chemicals that conventional cosmetics have, thereby gentler on the skin. They are also high in zinc that contains properties that calm and soothe.

You'll find no sign of parabens, talc, fragrance, bismuth oxychloride or other harsh chemicals in this mineral make up range and Inika do not dilute the mineral pigments, which is why the colours are so rich and you don't need to use much to get good coverage.

Inika cosmetics founders, Miranda Bond and Jenni Williams, created the range after discovering what was really hidden in their make up bags - a whole lot of chemicals that slowly toxify our bodies. At the time they started investigating alternatives there were no all Australian natural make up products and those they found abroad were either performance or colour poor.

Miranda explains, "People who want natural cosmetics still want them to be sexy and fun. With Inika you can achieve the natural look many women want but you can also really go to town with flamboyant colours and versatile products. That's how and why we came up with "Naturally Decadent" sort of an oxymoron but it just explains Inika."

All Inika cosmetics are 100% certified Vegan and animal cruelty free. The ladies have ensured their cosmetics are carbon neutral so that even importing them to the UK we know we are balancing our CO2 emissions. Also box packaging, brochures and other paper stock used are made from recycled materials or sustainable forestry.

The best bit is the performance - they are brilliant, you can achieve very good coverage that feels weightless, with non of the clogging and cakey feeling you would get from similar coverage with a conventional make up.