What this covers: An unforgettable natural beauty makeover and organic pampering and learning experience in Content Beauty, London
Result: flawless application, new makeup products and an entirely new skincare regime from a newly discovered natural brand.
Buying organic makeup, skincare and natural, clean, green, vegan beauty are not just a big trend or fad – it’s become an essential part of every day life.
The beauty industry has changed and so have the people that work in, use and buy clean beauty products.
Organic beauty world
For the context of the scale and demand for natural beauty globally – in 2013, the sales value of organic health and beauty products UK was approx £37.2 million.
in 2022, the natural beauty market was valued at approx $11.75 billion U.S. dollars worldwide.
(Source: statista.com)
And according to Natural Products Global, the global beauty industry will be valued at $54 billion by 2027.
It’s HUGE and rapidly growing and developing and the best is yet to come.
So it’s a good thing I am fragrance-free and have so many allergies.
I feel like I’ve not only contributed to the beauty and natural food and beauty online and offline economy massively in 15 years but also in my Google searches and demand for organic beauty and groceries.
Challenges being Fragrance-free
I’ve been fragrance-free since 2009 and it has been an incredibly tough and [as mentioned above] costly journey to navigate within.
I cannot go into a department store and have a makeover.
Going through perfumed areas is a risk and the airport duty-free area is an absolute no go zone for me!
I read every single ingredient on beauty packaging before I consider whether I can buy it. Often it’s a trial and error process. I’ll sample and also buy the product first. And then discover whether it’s going to be ok for me or not.
When I discovered a real live store selling clean organic and natural makeup I was thrilled!
I discovered Content Beauty (online and Marylebone store in London) from Googling and I read they have specialist experts that can advise on any type of natural makeup or natural skincare or bodycare product.
And from chatting with them they’re all experts and passionate and knowledgeable about products.
It’s a natural organic beauty emporium that sells organic and fragrance-free products in London.
Stuck in a makeup rut
I treated myself to a makeup consultation before Christmas as I missed that feeling of being pampered and advised /directed on new makeup colours and makeup trends looks for myself. We can all get a bit stuck in a rut with how we apply our makeup or the colours or beauty regimes we do. It’s the same application day in, and night out.
I felt like my skin and makeup kit was WAY overdue a total makeup overhaul to find new colours, products and try new things!
When you’ve been a makeup artist you find that you might not get any time to have a makeover and the idea of sitting down and being the one pampered is a dream rather than reality!
Its always the business and client makeup kit and brushes I stocked up on, getting the best selection for my clients rather than my own makeup!
It’s always a challenge for me booking a makeover that’s why I never do it and haven’t for years. Going into a department store and having a walk up to the counter is a major no go. Can’t tolerate the smells and I’d literally be sick or getting incredibly irritated and have anxiety the headache and brain can’t function properly would start to kick in.
Tips before booking a fragrance-free makeover
- Booking an appointment, I asked whether they minded if I brought my own clean brushes to use. As mine are washed in fragrance-free shampoo.
- You never know if those brushes have been used by someone with fragranced skincare on their face or eyes.
- Or if they’ve been cleaned with fragranced soap or brush cleaner.
- Ask if any candles or incense are on in the store and if yes, would it be possible to have them off for at least half a day before to get rid of the smell.
- Or have the makeup in the morning before the scents go on.
- Ask if you can be away from any hairsprays or perfumes in case a customer sprays something and you breathe it or it goes into your skin or hair.
- I had to ask whether the consultant would be wearing a strong scent that day and could they wash their hands with a fragrance-free or natural organic soap (as you can see this is a BIG deal and can’t be taken lightly. It’s not like I’m a diva I just HAVE to be super cautious wherever I go or whatever I do.
- Ask to use only use water or organic rose water and no fragranced products to spritz.
So as you can see, there’s a lot of pre-work and thinking and asking to do before embarking on a fragrance-free makeover.
Booking a makeup session
I chose from the packages They do a free colour consultation for 45 mins.
My goal was to get knowledge on which new makeup shades would suit my skin tone for winter and education on new products to prevent dryness and ageing. (I’m getting on a bit…) plus:
- Beauty refresh– I haven’t had my makeup done by anyone since my makeup days (as I literally panic at the thought of getting a reaction to products) learn new techniques and how to do my cheeks better or use a better shade for winter
- Update my look and refresh my makeup and skincare bag for winter as my skin was getting dry and my makeup a tad dated.
- Innovations and new brands. I generally use the same type of skincare routine with the same products I feel safe/comfortable with – so wanted to learn new fragrance-free products and what new ingredients or trends and brands were out on the market.
The 45-minute beauty consultation was free with Content Beauty (a 7 min walk from Selfridges in London).
Natural Makeover with Content Beauty
Content Beauty skincare consultant Louise mentioned natural organic makeup can have less pigments in than non-natural for example. This means the application is slightly more subtle than pigments that can give you a dramatic effect straight away. Emelda is the owner of Content Beauty and has an excellent book all about natural beauty (which I also purchased).
Brands used for my makeover which I purchased included Kjaer Weis, Ilia, Alima, RMS, Vapour and lots more.
Personally, for daytime I prefer subtle ‘less is more’ type looks. For the evening I would go for a defined obvious look and build up layers to achieve the desired effect and all the colours and textures used in that session I still use today from that consultation.
Loved my makeover and after some time browsing in the shop and selfies with the brand founders and owners of store, I had a new skincare regime and new makeup products to suit my skin tone and winter palette.
I also met the founder of the Spanish skincare brand Twelve beauty – Pedro as he was doing a conference in London that afternoon. Pedro is a pharmacist, has a PHD and originally developed the range for oncology patients. Pedro did a skin test for dehydration on me by using a special pen applied to my forehead, chin, cheeks, and side of my face. I was slightly dehydrated which could have been due to the cold dry weather or that my skin really needed water…He recommended the Twelve beauty cleanser, serum, eye cream and moisturiser.
Top Skincare tip:
Skin is made up of oils and water. One needs to keep skin maintained with both – not just using oils to nourish. Hyaluronic acid (water) and oils play a big part to help skin look hydrated, dewy and alive.
Highly recommend the makeup and skincare consultation or checking out Content Beauty’s website for ideas. As the name suggests it’s packed full of advice and tips to help people that want to buy and use natural beauty products. The perfect retailer for a massively growing industry!
Pedro (Blog photo shows the founder and CEO of Twelve standing next to his range–level with his shoulder in the background ) and Louise (the fantastic makeup consultant that did my makeup).
2023 update: The store is no longer open now, products are available on their website.
