Updates: Future Visions

We are officially launching La Luminata this week, and in celebration of this we have created a book called 'Future Visions'.

We asked some of the top and most influential Eco Designers, Bloggers, Photographers, Ethical Brands, Artists, Trendwatchers and Style Mavericks one simple question...

'What is your vision of the future?'

The result is this book. Full of conceptual ideas, potential future trends and insights, all wrapped up with beautiful images from our hand-picked, chosen few contributors.

You can buy it here!

Health & Beauty: Mineral Makeup for Mother’s Day

Mineral makeup is the new revolutionary trend within the cosmetics world, made entirely from the natural ingredients of the earth’s surface, with no harmful chemicals, fillers or parabens.

Purity Cosmetics are leading the way with their luxurious range of mineral makeup; from mineral foundations, blushers and bronzers, to eyeshadows and natural nail polish, all coming in a fabulous range of colours and shades to suit your skin tone.

I have been using their Mineral Foundation which is easy to apply and offers good blemish coverage without the feeling of heaviness like other powder foundations. The foundation looks and feels natural and gives your skin a glowing complexion that lasts all day.

Why not treat your Mum to some gorgeous makeup gifts for Mother’s Day? The Mineral Eyeshadows cost just £3.50 so there’s no excuse not to embrace mineral makeup!

Carly Gordon

Lifestyle & Home: Pots of Paint

It’s not a phrase you usually see stamped on household paints: ‘Just because I look and smell divine, don’t be tempted to eat me’.

But that’s exactly what it says on the tins produced by Pots of Paint. Each contains sustainably produced raw materials such as beeswax, milk, casein and linseed oil, and natural plant and mineral pigments.

“We think our paints are a joy to use. They smell of the plant and fruit extracts used to make them, from zesty citrus peel to mellow clove oil,” says Edward Bulmer, the man behind the company.

An architectural historian, interior designer and passionate environmental campaigner, Edward worked with Europe’s leading traditional paint maker to develop this easy-to-apply, eco-friendly collection. There are 50 gorgeous colours to choose from, with names like Dove, Pea Green, Lavender, Clove and Ethereal Blue.

The formula, which contains no harmful emissions, allows the walls and woodwork to breathe – as well as the person doing the painting.

Pots of Paint is available in a number of finishes from www.potsofpaint.com

Jane Lee

Updates: Terra Plana Sample Sale Today Only!!

Get thee down to 124 Bermondsey Street, London Bridge SE1 3TX as today there will be a huge sample sale of Terra Plana's footwear which retails at between £90 - &190. Some of the shoes are as low as £30.

Today only!!

Health & Beauty: Great Elm Physick Garden – Organic Herbal Skincare

At this time of year your skin needs a little help to look and feel restored and revived. Great Elm Physick Garden, producers of organic herbal skincare from the country gardens of Somerset are here to help!  

Over the past few weeks I have been trying out their Mallow and Immortelle Nourishing Face Mask, and their Lemon Balm and Blackcurrant Intensive Face Care.

The face mask comes in two parts; the fragrant liquid and the gentle oats, petals and clay mix. When blended together they create a nourishing, chemical-free mask made from traditional skin-calming ingredients; including soothing violet leaf, nourishing almond oil and the detoxing ingredient Immortelle which is known for its reputation as a pain-reducing anti-inflammatory and an effective cell-regenerator.    

I loved this face mask, not only was it fun to make (rather like mixing up a potion), it left my skin feeling nourished, soft and smooth.

The Lemon Balm and Blackcurrant Intensive Face Care did not disappoint either. The roll-on oil is packed full of natural ingredients including blackcurrant seed oil, health-giving vitamins borage and high levels of fatty acids, essential for cell-growth. After using this every night for the last few weeks I really have seen a difference in my skin’s tone and appearance, and even by the morning my skin still feels hydrated and moisturised.  

The Great Elm Physick Garden products are a joy to use and beautifully packaged. Check out the full range here for some fabulous gift ideas for Mother’s Day!

Carly Gordon

Health & Beauty: ALGOVITAL – CANNES THERAPY

A trip to the beauty salon is a truly wonderful experience; putting yourself into the hands of a skilled professional who can scrub, knead, treat and tend, dedicating time and care to you.  However, for most of us a trip to the salon is just an occasional indulgent sojourn into a magical world of white toweling and new age music.

So, if you can't make it to the spa, why not bring a little bit of the spa into your bathroom, and enjoy the same products that the professionals use. Algovital from Cannes, France, make beauty therapy products using only natural, certified organic ingredients, and 29 years of scientific research into natural skincare.

I liked the Algoderma body cream, the almond oil and vitamins have anti-ageing properties that leave your skin smooth and protected, with a lingering summery scent of magnolia and tiaré flowers. And 14 euros for a 100ml pot seems pretty reasonable for a luxurious daily cream.

I was intrigued by the Gel draining body scrub, for use in the shower; lavendar, ylang ylang, thyme and crushed apricot pits for friction sounds like a heady combination of scents and texture!

There are a whole range of interesting products which cater for different skin types, all of which not too expensive and are recommended by spa therapists.

Algovital products are available to buy online from their website (delivery from Cannes takes around three to five days) – click on the British flag for English translations.

Sophy Colbert

Forever Fashion: Jean-Pierre Braganza at London Fashion Week

Just 8 days after the death of Lee McQueen, London Fashion Week is upon us. La Luminata were lucky enough to attend the opening night show of Jean-Pierre Braganza, who has designed dresses for the likes of Cheryl Cole.

Fashion designers, models and celebs were out in force to catch a glimpse of Jean-Pierre’s ‘Cylonatron’ collection inspired by geometric symmetry, the utilitarian lines of Bauhaus and the curves of a woman’s body. Keen to preview the looks for A/W 10-11 were the stunning supermodel Erin O’Connor and socialites Pixie Geldof and Jaime Winstone.

In a unique collaboration with Rives Paper Collection, Jean-Pierre has challenged the use of materials with his new collection by using FSC certified paper to create sculpted corsets and cuff styled bracelets accessorising his architectural pieces.  “I have always pushed the boundaries and explored ways of working with alternative materials, and the new Rives Collection presented an interesting challenge in sculpting fashion pieces from paper which complement elements of my new collection.”

The show opened with Jean-Pierre’s signature look; the futuristic black dress. A mix of contrasting materials and cut-outs create sharp linear silhouettes. Punches of rich burgundy then appeared in the form of strong power dresses with accentuated shoulders (a trend that seems to be here to stay) and oversized knitted cardigans. The rock chick look made a brief appearance before morphing into a series of psychedelic dresses inspired by science fiction. Molten metal and cybernetic organic patterns fused with a mix of greys, ink blues, purples and dashes of orange. Accessorised with the engineered paper corsets and cuffs, sculpted hair and killer heels.

Jean-Pierre’s bold use of colour, intelligent use of contrasting materials and immaculate attention to detail has resulted in an inspiring, strong and yet wearable collection. I admire Jean-Pierre’s ambition to push the boundaries of material while creating a collection that would flatter the figures of everyday women.

Let’s hope we see more of Jean-Pierre’s work in the future!

Carly Gordon

Photographs from Everynight Images and londonfashionweek.co.uk