Lippie Chat - Nicola Elliot NEOM Luxury Organics

As it is my first "Organic Weekend", I thought this month's Lippie Chat would be with the founder of one of the loveliest organic ranges I've found recently: NEOM.  Please welcome Nicola Elliot, who has very kindly agreed to take part this month.

Hi Nicola, can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

Originally from Yorkshire I moved to London to pursue a career as a journalist. I worked for In Style magazine and Glamour magazine for years before I decided to launch NEOM. I relocated back to Harrogate, Yorkshire where we moved the head office 8 months ago – the NEOM team and I are also obsessed with getting your chemical count down!

How did you end up in the organic “beauty” industry? How did NEOM come into being? 

I was working as an Editor for Glamour at the time when Oliver (my business partner) and I decided to launch NEOM. Working for magazines I was always surrounded by gorgeous beauty products, however I always wondered how effective they were and most importantly what was in them. Suddenly I saw a gap in the market for a product which was not only luxurious and effective but was also completely organic too.

NEOM was 18 months in the making and we launched in 2005 with 5 candle scents. NEOM now has a candle scent library of 12 as well as home treatment mists and an organic bath & body range too.

A lot of previously “high-powered” women are increasingly giving up their lucrative careers in order to get involved with organic products at the moment, do you have any thoughts on why that may be?

I think we are seeing increasing numbers of people becoming more aware of organic products, whether it is food produce or beauty which is great. This awareness brings more businesses and individuals launching within the organic world.

What are the philosophies behind NEOM?

To be luxurious, highly effective as well as completely organic…Our  NEOM promise is no petrochemicals, parabens, PEGS, silicone, SLS or synthetic fragrances – in fact no nasty chemicals whatsoever!

What makes NEOM unique?

All our products are organic and are made with the highest concentration of essential oils and the finest ingredients – no toxins, paraffin wax or synthetic scents. They also act as holistic treatments, so they make you feel relaxed, more energized or just a whole lot happier depending on which scent you choose. The candles are hand-poured in the UK and the wax burns completely evenly so you really do get to use all of the wax.

Who are you targeting the NEOM brand at?

The NEOM customer is sophisticated and stylish and interested in organics but won’t sacrifice the quality of a product just for its organic status. NEOM Luxury Organics places huge emphasis on the efficiency and luxury of any product, because the ‘gorgeousness’ of any beauty product is fundamental to its success.

What do you hope is in the future for NEOM?

We hope to continue to grow and develop more products. We have just launched our two new candle scents Serenity (Vanilla & Sandalwood) and Sumptuous (Rose & Neroli). We are launching some fabulous travel kits in the summer as well as reed diffusers and a gigantic four wick candle in September too - so watch this space.

What’s your beauty regime?

I am always up early with my son Charlie who is 2, so my regime is pretty minimal. I make sure I always light my NEOM ‘Refresh’ (Sicilian Lemon & Fresh Basil) candle to wake me up; even at 5.30am in the morning it does the trick! I apply some radiance face cream from Burts Bees and a dab of Bobbi Brown concealer before making sure Charlie is dressed and ready. Carrot cleansing butter from Organic Pharmacy is a great product for the evening as it wipes away everything in one easy step.

What is one cosmetic product couldn’t you live without?

NEOM Luxury Organics Complete Bliss body oil, I completely swear by this product. It is amazing to quench the skin and the Moroccan blush rose scent smells absolutely divine too. 

What advice would you give Get Lippie readers?

Your skin is the biggest organ so know exactly what you are putting onto it – don’t trust any marketing blurb!

Organic Weekend - Natural & Organic Products Europe Show

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to attend the Natural & Organic Products Europe (NOPE) show at Olympia, as a guest of Balm Balm, who you've heard me talk about on several occasions before.

Dedicated to bringing together the brightest and the best of organic and natural products, NOPE is a trade show, which allows brands to showcase their wares to interested buyers and suppliers.  They first introduced a Beauty and Spa section in 2008, and that was the part of the show I was most interested in seeing!

Naturally, I made Balm Balm my first port of call, and having a chat with Glenda, Hayden and the rest of the family was certainly one of the high-points of my day.  I'm delighted that they're expanding their range even further with a new facial collection including a super-light and delightfully refreshing coconut cleansing oil which I'll be talking to you about in a bit more detail in a later post.

I then moved on and had a little chat with the lovely girls at Lily Lilo, who spent some time talking to me about a lot of the new products they have coming up later this year, including mascaras, pressed foundations (really interested in those!) and some balms. The brand has really expanded in the last few years, I'm happy to see, and I'll be giving it a proper look-over in the months to come.

I popped over to Melvita who I'm sure you're familiar with by now! I had a gorgeous hand massage, and a nice chat with their therapists, which was really lovely.  I have some products out with some lovely, lovely guest reviewers at the moment, and they'll be giving me their feedback soon!

At this point, I thought I should have a look at the organic food side of things, however, I was distracted by this:

Yup, Heather Mills-McCartney (as was) doing a cookery demonstration.  I didn't hang around long enough to figure out what she was cooking, whilst I was there she was chopping carrots very s l o w l y and lecturing people on categories of vegetarianism.  And Omega three, for some reason ...

I then popped along and had a chat with Phillip Martin's Organics who have a range of hair care, skin care and cosmetics.  Hailing from Italy (Phillip Martin sounds so Italian a name, dontcha think?), the products reminded me a great deal of John Masters ranges, and they look like they'll be something super-interesting to look out for.

I went and found the Spieza stall and chatted to the girls again after meeting them recently at The Vitality Show, this time I actually got around to trying some of the products! I have to say that I think their rose and chamomile scrub is one of the most interesting products I saw on the whole day. Utilising chamomile stamens, it's an great use of what would ordinarily be considered a by-product of organic cosmetic production!

I also had a chat with Sarah of Pai, I've been trying one of her moisturisers since we met, so look out for a review of that soon, and Sarah has also agreed to be featured on my "Lippie Chat" series, so we'll be hearing more from her soon!

There's plenty more, but this is running long, so I'll bring you the rest next week ...

Clinique Anti-Blemish Foundation

This post is a promotional feature.

Okay, I very rarely feature products before I've tested them, but I'm making an exception for this one. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of Clinique's patent 3-step skin-care system, but I've always liked their cosmetics, and I believe their spot-care range (can you call it that? You know what I mean, I'm sure) is second to none.

Certainly, when I first developed adult-onset acne at around the age of 27 or so, I found that their spot-clearing gel was one of the few things that helped clear my zits up.  I found adult acne a profoundly depressing experience, not helped by some profoundly insensitive friends making jokes about it, and I hated that most cosmetic ranges were either targeted at the already beautifully smooth skinned, or were for spotty teenagers and were simply guaranteed to wreck my already - by that time - hyper-sensitive skin.

Anyway, what I'm getting around to mentioning is that Clinique have brought out an Anti-Blemish Foundation, which promises to feel fresh and natural, AND help clear "blemishes".  What I wouldn't have given for a foundation like this a few years ago! I used to cake (and I do mean cake) myself in Estee Lauder Double Wear, and the heaviest layers of powder I could manage, and hope no one would notice the crater face underneath! Here's a video featuring an independent makeup artist showing some hints on how to use the latest release from Clinique's foundation stable.  Please take a look:



Now, I've noticed that my skin is going through one of it's periodic "insane" stages, meaning a crop of breakouts is, sadly, one the way - I can already feel a couple of humdingers cropping up on my jawline, so I'm going to be giving this foundation a go for a couple of weeks. Want to join me and let me know how you get along - and I'll be grateful to hear from anyone else who's already tried the product! - then click here to buy yours.

Clarins Instant Sunlight Applied (FotD)

It's okay, I got rid of the quiff, look!

Now, I'm sure you're all as sick of the sight of my face as I am right now, so this'll be the last FoTD for a few days, I promise.  I created a slightly more traditional take on a smokey eye with this one - the colours were a fair bit darker in the flesh than they appear here, and there's a lot more gold visible on the skin than my camera can pick up, it seems.  The Cream Eyeliner in the quad has a lot more gold than expected, and it's not quite as creamy as I'd like it to be, meaning it's slightly claggy to apply, but it's a very nice colour indeed, and worth the slightly painstaking application process.  Incidentally, don't even bother using the eyeliner brush they give you in the palette, it's very small, and combined with the not-very-smooth liner, you'll be applying it for hours before you get a visible line.

Oh! Can't believe I forgot to show you this when I showed you the palette the other day!  This is the lipbalm that also forms part of the Clarins summer collection.  Isn't it pretty?  Something to do with jellified oils and, polymers and, er ... something,  but it's basically a clear - literally - lip balm, and it's very very nice. It's not a particularly fantastic lipbalm (you'll have to prise my Sisley Nutritiv from my cold dead hands, frankly), but it is a fantastic looking lipbalm, and as such, it has a place in my Lip Balm Hall of Fame.  I'm wearing it in the pictures above, if you're wondering how it looks applied.  A very soft, gentle wash of slightly glossy colour.  There's also a red and a pink version, but the orange is the most pigmented, I found.  I may have to sneak back and get the others too.

Whassat? Can't hear you!

So, that's three summer collections I've shown you in a great amount of detail now, what's your favourite?

Get A Movie Star Hair Cut!

I've mentioned my love of Cult Beauty - and the Cult Beauty girls themselves! - a few times before.  If you've not had a chance to look around the site yet, please do,  there's a treasure-trove of rare, and usually wonderful  beauty items to be found on there, I've filled (and emptied!) many a virtual shopping basket on the site, and there's always something I've never heard of that pops up and arouses my interest, which is no mean feat these days!

At the moment, they're running a competition to win a haircut from Tara Smith, who is legendary in Hollywoodland circles for her skills.  Don't believe me?  Ask Demi Moore, Anna Friel, Natalie Imbruglia, Yasmin Le Bon, Neve Campbell, Rosario Dawson, Marisa Tomei, June Sarpong (how did she get on this list? - Ed), Angelina Jolie, Teri Hatcher, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nicole Kidman, Angelica Huston, Patricia Arquette, Rosin Murphy or Toni Collette, all of whom she's worked with in the past. She's also done the hair for both the Sex and the City movies!  And you have to admit, she has a pretty fine head of hair herself ... Ordinarily, a haircut with Tara would cost £450 - if you can even catch her in a salon - so this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if you ask me.

The downside?  Well, in order to enter all you do have to do is buy a minimum of  five items from Tara's hair care range (and I'm not going to lie to you, that does seem just a little excessive) but the products all cost less than £5, and, whilst I haven't tried it myself (yet!) I have heard good things about the range generally, and excellent things about the Base Coat Serum in particular. Personally, I've been delighted to notice that all the shampoos are SLS-free, which is great for what is, essentially, a fairly budget-priced range. I'll be picking some items up soon, and I'll keep you posted on what I think.

The competition is running for six weeks, and the prize can be taken in London, New York or LA. But, er, there are no travel costs included, sadly!

Will you be entering?  What would you pay for a movie-star haircut?

Estee Lauder - Bronze Goddess Applied (FotD)

There were a lot of comments about the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess collection that I showed you the other day, so I thought I'd show you how that little lot looks applied too.  Yeah, no idea why I thought a quiff was a good idea either, anyhoo, onto the pics:

Again, the pic is enlargeable, with the usual caveats (cold, terrible hair, and so on...).  For reference, I used the Shimmering Sand and Ultra Violet shadows - which blend out pretty well, actually - alongside the Exotic bronzing blush and the Wild Orchid lipgloss, which is beautifully wearable, and surprisingly versatile, bearing in mind it's rather ... er ... scary shade in the tube.  Tastes nice too, light vanilla scent.

Don't worry, I've got other things to talk about as well as showing you my ugly mug (again) today ... back later!

Wherefore Art Thou Organic Wednesday?

A few people have been wondering where Organic Wednesday is ... well, it's gone walkabout!  I was too ill to post much last week, which is why it didn't happen then, but don't worry! It is coming back, just not today, sorry!

That is because I'm moving my organic slot to Saturdays from now on (for reasons far too boring to go into here), and it's going to be called "Organic Weekends". This is mainly because I like having a feature I can still refer to as "ow"! -yes, I am a child, thank you -  OW has been a really interesting feature for me over the last seven months, and it's one I love, so it'll be back, large as life (larger, even!), and with a nice big fat report of how I got along at the Natural Organic Product Show at Olympia recently.  This Saturday 24th April, I'll see you then!