The crisp winter air can leave our lungs refreshed, our cheeks flushed, and our hearts beaming with the positivity and hope brought by the New Year. If your 2020 resolutions happen to include committing to a skincare routine, you might find that highstreet brands just don’t cut it. With cold temperatures, humidity levels drop, and so the water in the skin evaporates more quickly, making it feel dehydrated and tight no matter how much moisturiser we put on in the morning.
That’s all completely natural, but not the best experience when it begins to impact our confidence. Beauty, write natural skincare brand Orsú, is the result of health and self-acceptance, no matter the stage of life – Orsú’s mission is nourishment of the body and soul.
‘Orsú originated from the pleasure of self-care. The initial pleasure of two friends sharing the love and scientific knowledge of nature, the pleasure of making and inventing environmentally-friendly packaging, the pleasure of using and gifting skincare, of finding sustainable solutions for a business, of growing plants, of handling and folding glassine paper…’ says founder Elisa Cane. Designed to gently condition and support the healing of all skin types, Orsú products are handmade using sustainably sourced, organic ingredients known for millennia for their moisturising and revitalising properties. Paired with nutritious oils and butters essential for protecting the skin from the cold, the marigold – Calendula Officinalis – is the prime ingredient of all Orsú products.
Apart from working wonders in soothing and healing those cracks and irritations that our skin is especially prone to suffer from during the winter months, the marigold is extremely efficient to grow. ‘It does not need the addition of fertiliser, does not need to be watered, and can be grown together with weeds and other edible plants, so it does not need pesticides. If grown in companion-planting fashion, it protects other plants from pest attacks, as it withstands herbivore insects feeding on it without being much affected,’ Cane explains.
The hands creating Orsú products, she says, work towards deeper awareness of the complex system of nature; learning, educating, and maintaining the firm decision to not contribute to the world’s plastic usage. All Orsú products and bundles are packaged in compostable or reusable materials, simply because it is a possibility, Cane explains, a pleasure to see how the packaging transforms into a source of nourishment for the Earth. Besides, paper and glass have a much more satisfying texture, she adds.
The appearance and health of the skin is a combined effort of genes and dietary and lifestyle choices. Nature knows what it’s doing, and holistic healing practices are on the rise to give it a little push towards desired outcomes. Recent market analysis led by Euromonitor International has shown a growing preference for natural, sustainable, and ethical beauty products among the general public. ‘A lot of people never followed typical western consumerism, always used “natural” cosmetics and made them themselves, but I doubt these people are included in market research. The shift toward compostable packaging may be more pronounced,’ Cane says. This shift is, in fact, taking place, too, with a 50% increase in biodegradable packaging purchased by UK businesses in the last year, and not just in the world of cosmetics.
In the short term, the plan is to have Orsú products sold loose in bulk stores. Marigold oil available on tap, lip balms scooped out from stainless steel ice cream containers, marigold balls picked from a jar – zero-waste heaven. ‘Long term plans are about establishing a few bases around Europe for manufacturing and becoming very locally distributed,’ Cane says. She explains how this will scale down the ingredient sourcing, formulating new products with local ingredients, and, eventually, allow Orsú to grow their own organic marigolds.
If you feel like nature needs some help in protecting your skin from the cold this winter, Orsú has your back. After all, there’s more to beauty than keeping up appearances.
JOIN OUR INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN #100SUBLIMEBRANDS AND BUY FROM THE BEST SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES
@SUBLIMEMAGAZINE @SUBLIMELIFESTYLE