UpCircle first made it onto our radar with a clever scheme to repurpose coffee grounds from coffee shops into body scrubs. But oh, this brand – founded by a brother and sister duo, Will and Anna Brightman – has really come on since then. They were a bit ahead of their time, actually – but as our beauty-hounds’ desire grows to be much less wasteful and tread more lightly on the planet, but without compromising on the ‘treat’ factor of the beauty products we use, UpCircle’s time really has come.

They promote the idea that beauty can be part of the ‘circular economy’, repurposing ingredients that would be discarded – from apricot stones to raspberry seeds, blueberry extracts to oat powder, date seeds to chamomile stems and more. The soaps, for instance, are made with chai spices that are left over from making chai syrups.

And these new body products are just lovely, upcycling flowers in beautiful bodycare. We’re taken with the Hand Cream with Hibiscus Flowers, which uses upcycled hibiscus flowers, protective marshmallow root and nourishing shea butter to create a cream with a perfect, nourishing-but-not-greasy texture. (It helps brighten skin, actually, because the hibiscus flower acids naturally contain 45% AHAs, to stimulate cell renewal.)

We’re also enjoying the Bath Salts with Epsom, Sea and Himalayan Pink Salt/£19.99 for 350g, which offer the relaxing, calming benefits of those mineral salts, heaven-scented with upcycled rose petals.

Packaging is 100% plastic-free, in many cases refillable, all certified vegan-friendly and cruelty-free – and beyond that, UpCircle has jumped through the hoops it takes to become a certified B-Corp.

And what UpCircle is really saying to the beauty industry is: when it comes to waste, you should be upping your game.

Hand Cream/£19.99 for 75ml – buy here

Bath Salts/£19.99 for 350g – buy here

Prize Draws