Q. I was wondering whether you guys have any great opinion on the best organic make-up brands? I like organic make-up but I’m not so sure on which ones to choose from.
A.There are brands that make organic claims, or mention organic ingredients on their packaging – and there are those which are fully organically-certified.  We’re going to focus on those, first, because to be honest, we like claims to be backed up, and not to feel like the word ‘organic’ is simply being used as a mere marketing tool.

The most comprehensive certified organic range is Green People, and products that we rate in that range include Pressed Mineral Foundation SPF15 and Eco Lipstick (the Cherry shade is one of Jo’s favourite lipsticks of all time, especially over a clear lip balm).  You might also like to check out the new, certified organic foundation from (yes!) Bourjois, called Healthy Mix Serum Foundation.

For a short-cut to hand-picked natural brands (many of which do contain a percentage of organic ingredients), we suggest you check out www.lovelula.com, one of our Beauty Bible ‘approved’ websites, where they do a great job of reading the small print and screening out brands that are simply jumping on the natural/organic bandwagon. They now feature the UNE range, from the same parent company as Bourjois, which – in terms of performance – is the natural range that in our experience (which is pretty wide!) most closely rivals mainstream brands, performance-wise.  A great neutral palette of wearable shades, too.

Dr. Hauschka is all-natural, meanwhile, but has not opted for organic certification (even though the products are produced with biodynamic ingredients); we consider that Dr.Hauschka Volume Mascara is absolutely the best natural mascara (most of them flake and crumble terribly, in our panda-eyed experience).

So:  happy ‘green’ shopping…

• Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum, £10.99 at www.boots.com  – buy here

• Green People Makeup, £11.25-£20.45 – buy here from their page at www.lovelula.com (and remember to use the code bb12 at checkout for your 5% discount)

• UNE, £5.29-£14.49 at www.lovelula.com – buy here (see above for discount details)

• Dr.Hauschka, £12.95-£34.75, at www.lovelula.com (ditto), including Dr.Hauschka Volume Mascara, £19.95 (see above for discount details) – buy here