And the winner is...

Think sky scraper heels parading up red carpets, champagne clutched in perfectly manicured hands and platters of pretentious sized hors d'oeuvres that wouldn’t even fill up Kate Moss. Yes that’s right! – It is Beauty Awards Season and from the most recent short listing announcement, it looks like us lot at lavera are going to have to go shopping for a new dress! (Any excuse!)

Ahead of celebrating its 25^th Silver Anniversary next year, lavera has got plenty cause to celebrate after being shortlisted for more awards than Stephen Spielberg!

Pure Beauty is the UK's most popular and successful beauty retail trade magazine. It delivers widespread breaking news on the hottest trends & latest products to people across the industry. (In other words, you could think of it as “The Lady Ga Ga” of all Beauty Magazines.) So we were delighted to discover that we were nominated for no less than six awards from a magazine of such magnitude!

The spotlight is on our Basis Sensitiv Q10 Moisturising Cream, Trend Sensitiv Make-Up collection, the All Round Cream, our Basis Sensitiv Foot Cream as well as our Q10 hand cream and last but not least, our old reliable Trend Sensitiv Tinted Moisturising Cream.

Our impatience in finding out if we are winners increases each day in the run up to next Thursday’s Gala Dinner when the announcements will be made. To be nominated alongside the big boys of beauty such as Dove, Nivea and Elizabeth Arden is adding pressure to our already heightened anticipation! Help lavera, meaning “the truth” in Latin become the truthful winner of the Pure Beauty Awards by voting here: http://purebeauty.co.uk/awards/pure-beauty-awards-have-your-say. Follow us on twitter @laverauk or facebook,  http://www.facebook.com/ laveranaturalskincare to find out if we are winners next week!

Argan Oil: Natural Beauty at its best

Unfortunately, ageing is an inevitable natural process that affects us all. Mother Nature may have created this unavoidable and unfavourable progression, however being the darling that she is; she has also provided us women with a wonderful natural solution. Make way for Argan oil!

This awe-inspiring oil has created more excitement and anticipation in the beauty world lately than when Marilyn Monroe pioneered her classic red lip look in the 50’s!

Beauty Bloggers, Magazines and other Queens of the Cosmetic Kingdom have recently caught on to this natural anti-ageing agent and us lavera lot are pleased to report that our magic make-up also boasts this “it” oil. Our make-up range appropriately named “Trend,” enhances your natural beauty in allowing you to create up-to-date looks using our chic product range. The fact that it also naturally assists with anti-ageing by including argan oil as a natural ingredient is another reason for us to be proud of our product!

Sourced in Morocco, the oil is produced by pressing argan tree kernels and is packed full of vitamin E and carotenes along with 80% unsaturated fatty acids. – No wonder it’s a wonder!

So next time you apply your lavera mineral sun glow powder, remember the glowing ingredient you have to thank, growing in Morocco and in popularity!   

"Walk the Walk" and do a deodorant swap!

The Friday feeling is mounting quicker in the office than the excitement we get when we have a new lavera product to try out. This weekend is an extra special one on the calendar for us lavera lot.
This Saturday (11th June), the charity that we are honoured and proud to sponsor, “Walk the Walk,” have a Moonwalk scheduled in Edinburgh. It will see over 10,000 wonderful women setting off from Inverlieth Park and completing either a full 26 mile or 13 mile half marathon route in and around the city. Some of whom will do so boldly brandishing their bras', along with (if past walks that we’ve been involved with are anything to go by) a big smile and an inspiring sense of camaraderie prompted by the brilliant cause.
We are honoured to be able to sponsor the charity which has raised in excess of £64 million for vital breast cancer causes across the UK. Founder of ‘Walk the Walk’ and breast cancer sufferer Nina Barough, has been dedicated to actively encouraging women, men and children to become more aware of their own potential for healing and prevention through maintaining health and wellbeing. This is a sentiment lavera hugely admires and it is reflected through our brand.
At Saturday’s event we will be diligently devoted to providing 100% natural deodorants to any aspiring organic cosmetic users and any perspiring walkers! We think the fact that conventional deodorants contain chemicals that can irritate the skin and are less environmentally friendly than natural deodorants, quite frankly, stinks! There have been recent reports to suggest that parabens that can be found in non-natural deodorants may be linked to an increased risk of the development of cancer. With this in mind, the Walk the Walk cancer charity is an important opportunity for us to promote the benefits of our 100% natural deodorants. Our “deodorant amnesty” has the scent of success in offering walkers the chance to swap their non-natural deodorants for one of our organic deodorants at half price to contribute to promoting health and wellbeing, in line with the ethos of the entire event which we so admire.

http://bit.ly/izJbhV

Sun protection - Can natural protect me enough?

The sun is out and we should all be outside enjoying the great weather! But here is the important part, if you're out in the sun it's essential that you apply sun cream with a good SPF to ensure you stay protected.

Part of our range at lavera is to provide 100% natural and organic sun protection. It's the range we're most well known for around the world because of it's effectiveness and gentle formulations for skin sensitivity.

Our sun care can be used by babies, children and adults and is fully certified by NaTrue. Our maximum is an SPF 20 which is a good factor to keep yourself protected in the sun.

"SURELY AN SPF 20 WON'T PROTECT ME, I USUALLY WEAR AN SPF 50 IF THE SUN IS REALLY HOT"

These are comments we come across quite often, but here is a fact:

An SPF 20 will protect you from atleast 95% of the suns UV rays. An SPF 40/50 will only provide minimal more protection of about 2%. Although it may seem an SPF 40 should provide double the amount of protection, this is not the case. So ALWAYS ensure you get an SPF 15 or higher to ensure you have enough protection.

DID YOU KNOW: That a conventional sun cream is only effective 20 minutes after application? Now you do. lavera sun creams/sprays are specially formulated to lay on the surface of the skin (like an elephant throws sand over itself to stay protected from the sun) so they are effective immediately after application.

Make sure you stay safe this summer, remember to try and keep fully protected with sun cream and/or protective clothing i.e. sun hate during the hottest hours of 11am - 3pm.

For more information on our sun products visit http://www.lavera.co.uk/

What should you look for when choosing genuine natural skin care

We recently commissioned some market research to find out what people look for when they choose natural skin care. One discovery (that shocked us here at HO) was that people DON'T look for certifications to verify the authenticity if the natural and organic claim, and instead just look for the word "natural" somewhere on the packaging.

If you see the word ‘natural’ on a skin care or beauty product, you would assume that the ingredients in there are natural...WRONG! Many of us in the natural beauty industry know how misleading this can be. Did you know that a skin care product can have the words ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ on the packaging even if only 1% of the ingredients it contains are natural and organic? This means that 99% of the ingredients are not natural at all, and the product is mainly made up of synthetic ‘nasties’! It's a sneaky tactic, and people genuinely wanting to turn to natural due to skin conditions and lifestyle changes should beware.



TRESemme NATURALS markets itself as "natural" and contains "lower sulphates"

which means it still includes chemicals

So here is a quick guide that shows you what certifications to look for when choosing your natural products. The main genuine certifications are: NaTrue, BDIH, EcoCert and Soil Association.

NaTrue, BDIH and Ecocert are international certifications used around the world, they not only verify that the item is natural and organic, but also that the product (and the ingredients it contains) is not tested on animals. Soil Association is a UK based certification. These are the logo’s to look out for:

All of these certifications guarantee that your chosen skin care or beauty product will only contain natural and organic ingredients and NO harmful chemicals.

Certifications will always be printed on the product if they are genuine



Aqueous Creams make eczema worse

I was reading an article online the other week and found it really interesting! As you may be aware but skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea and psoriasis etc is on the rise in the UK. Many people that go and visit their GP are prescribed rich emollient creams such as Aqueous Cream BP, but research has found that this cream can make the condition worse and doesn't help your skin at all.

Although aqueous cream has been prescribed for millions of sufferers from childhood, it is the first time research has been carried out on the ingredient "SLS".

In a study by Bath University researchers, aqueous cream reduced the thickness of healthy skin in volunteers by more than 10% in just four weeks and water loss was increased. SLS is a detergent used to mix oils into water-based moisturisation creams to give a nice creamy texture. It’s also used widely in shower gels and other cosmetics. So to use this cream on eczemous skin, which is already thin and vulnerable to irritation, is likely to make the condition even worse.

Many people have been educated to believe that these creams are helping the skin, but when you think about it, these products are jam-packed full of nasty chemical ingredients so it's no wonder that it doesn't work alongside your skin. Look at the link below for further information:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1321559/Moisturiser-aqueous-cream-BP-cream-make-eczema-worse.html

Always opt for a natural option (certified natural) as these products guarantee no SLS/ petrochemicals or any nasty chemicals for that matter. The lavera Neutral range won The Natural Health Award in 2010 for "Best Eczema Range", so we know that natural is always best.

Jayne

lavera MY AGE Restoring Day Cream and Regenerating Night Cream

Each week one of us at lavera will review certain products and give you our honest opinions. We believe that the best way to know more about a product is to find out what other people really think.

This week Jayne Roberts will be the first on our review panel. Jayne deals with the Finance and Accounts within Pravera Ltd (UK distributor for lavera) She is 30 years old, a vegetarian and a complete shopaholic! What Jayne had to say about lavera's MY AGE Day and Night Cream:

"I love to try out any new natural skincare lines so I was happy to review the lavera MY AGE range!

The Hype
An organic anti-ageing skincare line that really works!

The Facts
The MY AGE Restorative Day Cream & Regenerating Night Cream did work perfectly on my skin! The day cream absorbed almost instantly, evening out my skin tone and leaving it with a lovely glow. Even several hours after application my t-zone was still shine free!

The Regenerating Night Cream is an absolutely amazing product! It's not like a cream, but more like a creamy balm. From the minute I applied it my skin was left feeling softer and looking fresher and better than it has done in a long, long time.

After using these products for a number of weeks I did find that they helped reduce my fine lines (I'm lucky enough to not have many wrinkles...yet) So I would recommend these products for anyone looking for an organic anti-ageing alternative. And with competitive prices starting from £11.90, it's a beauty all-rounder!"

lavera natural skincare UK: lavera Beauty News

lavera natural skincare UK: lavera Beauty News: "Welcome to the lavera natural skincare blog! At lavera we have become increasingly aware of how important social media is, so as well as ou..."

lavera Beauty News

Welcome to the lavera natural skincare blog!

At lavera we have become increasingly aware of how important social media is, so as well as our facebook and twitter pages, we have now set up this blog to keep you up-to-date with any news, offers and new product launches.

For those of you who aren't aware of lavera and what we do, please let me give you a small introduction:
lavera is a German brand which has been manufacturing 100% natural and organic skincare for nearly 25 years. All products are made on-site at the lavera factory in Wennigsen - Northern Germany. Over there, lavera is the market leader for natural skincare and in the UK it is one of the top genuine natural and organic brands on the market. It was introduced to the UK about 10 years ago by the company Pravera Ltd., who also import a number of other organic brands.

Some of you may think that natural brands are a bit 'greeny' or 'for hippies' (and some of you may not be confident to switch brands, because you're not sure that natural products are as good?), but lavera prove that natural skincare and cosmetics can be just as 'high street' and glossy as any other conventional brand, check out our make-up:

In addition to skincare and cosmetics, lavera also has a fab sun care range - 100% natural and just as effective as any conventional brand, (without using any harsh chemicals), plus it starts working as soon as you apply it, no waiting for 20 minutes before getting out in the sun. Check out the self-tan too, it has lots of fans. 

So, that was a small introduction to the brand. Each product is certified 100% natural and organic and gurantees NO ANIMAL TESTING!