Prologue

Do you ever get overwhelmed by the vast array of marketing and products available on the shelves? I know that I did. As someone who has suffered from, what I will rather generously call, “problematic skin” aggravated by an obsessive compulsion to wash and use every product going, I had somehow become estranged from my own body. Instead of treating it with gentle love and respect, I was frantically assaulting it with a myriad of harsh scrums, masks and creams. Alas, every time I consulted a magazine or sought advise, I seemed to end up with further reason to do battle with my “petulant” skin; the list of faults steadily increasing – acne, wrinkles, dry patches, bags, puffiness, uneven tone, sun spots, scarring.

If I went for a facial, instead of leaving with the radiant, glowing skin I so desperately craved, I left with a large list of expensive potions and the feeling that I must do better. In a society that demands perfection, I had somehow failed to fit in.

One day, whilst waiting in the queue in Space NK (basket laden with the latest wonder products), I overheard a conversation between a sales assistant and someone seeking product advice:

“You see I have been staying up really late, over indulging at office parties, smoking quite heavily, not removing my makeup and night-time and drinking very little water, what do you recommend?”

“Oh you definitely need Serum X it contains hyaluronic acid combined with a collagen peptide, it is amazing and will sort out all those problems so you don’t have to worry!”

A little voice inside my head thought “That is complete snozwangle! You need to start respecting yourself lady.“ I then gazed down at my basket, which contained the same magic Serum X. Hmmmmmm.

Now whilst I don’t drink alcohol or smoke, it struck me that I was also neglecting my body, stupidly paying out for product after product, without investing in myself. Worse than this, did Magic Serum X display the Leaping Bunny logo?

I generously pretended to myself this had been obscured by one of the chemical ingredients panels (*cough*). When exactly did I sell out and become this selfish person who is happy to turn a blind eye to animal testing (which sadly does cause actual blindness: Bright Eyes Burning with Fire)?

I returned the products to the shelves, put down my basket and left the store.
My journey into natural products, those made with love and respect for both consumer and the natural world, had begun.

I discovered the most amazing products in the Dr Hauschka range; and I truly believed this is where my own personal skin care journey ended. However, one more packaging logo, or rather the absence of a logo, had other ideas….

The Vegan logo (together with the Leaping Bunny) is what initially attracted me to Tropic Skin Care (ok, I admit, I had also watched the Apprentice, so was intrigued when Lord Sugar invested in Susan Ma after all). I attended the recent Hatfield launch to discover more about the company and its values. I was seriously impressed. I wanted to try the products for myself.... even the Face Smooth Polish. My distrust of any exfoliants is well documented (“Stop Scrubbing -Your skin is not the bathroom floor”), but I know sugar is considered incredibly healing for the skin (the product, not the person!), Susan is such a radiant advert for her own products and most importantly there is just something special about the company, that magic ingredient that money can’t buy – love.

Last year, for Dr Hauschka, I created a blog based on their 30 days to radiant you collection. It had struck me how lovely it was not just to simply review products, but to create an entire journal of my day to day experiences. To repeat this exercise for Tropic seemed an excellent way to understand their products, so without further ado, let the Tale of Tropic Bunny begin…..