Every so often a skincare range comes along that delivers visible results and is founded on sound ecological principles.
I am a big fan of natural products which have solid ethical credentials so when UpCircle was recommended to me by one of the RiverTribe contributors, one of the UK’s top journalists, Anne Ashworth, I knew the range was worth a try.
Anne is normally straight on the phone to me as soon as she finds a product worth buying. She is often my eyes and ears when it comes to staying ahead of the tide with the most effective skin care solutions. So, a couple of days ago I climbed out of bed, headed for the bathroom to wake up and smell the coffee –the core ingredient @upcirclebeauty.
It was like downing a double expresso downed at speed. My skin literally tingled with a super fresh feeling I normally only associate with the odd occasion when I do a bit of open water swimming.
The soap was a triumph of mild lather and the scrub that followed made me feel like I literally had new skin. I took a quick picture to see if my skin looked fresher. It is not often I am driven to do this – but I was curious to see how my skin looked less than hour an hour after getting up and devoid of any make-up. I was amazed – after all I am no spring chicken.
UpCircle was started by Entrepreneur Anna Brightman just over 3 years ago when her brother William (co-founder of the brand) asked his local coffee shop what they did with their waste coffee. He was shocked to hear that they were producing so much that they had to pay the council to have it removed and disposed of on landfill sites.
Anna knew that coffee had loads of great skincare benefits and decided to repurpose the coffee into sustainable circular skincare products? They began by collecting coffee grounds from one coffee shop and now collect from 100 coffee houses across London.
As the UK entered Lockdown UpCircle’s bricks-and-mortar retail partners closed their doors but their online sales quickly escalated. The founders focused their marketing on the importance of self-care during times of uncertainty and shared their favourite DIY skincare recipes via their blog. For many, weekends spent at home meant less makeup, less alcohol, less fast food – so it was a good opportunity for a skin detox.
They released a new hand wash with a 100% natural formula and they made it with gentle, nourishing ingredients. They also donated £1 to the domestic abuse charity Refuge with every bottle sold. They chose this charity because of the increase in domestic violence during lockdown.
“We’ve had wonderful feedback from our community on the initiatives that we’ve launched since the Covid-19 outbreak. It’s been very moving and reassuring to see how keen people are to support small businesses during these difficult times. We’re using our stories on Instagram to shoutout the other small businesses that we work with – like independent boutiques, coffee shops, subscription boxes etc. as a way of showing our support and encouraging people to “shop small”.
“We’re also keen to do our bit to support the heroes working on the frontline during this time. We offered pamper parcels as a token of our gratitude. We announced the initiative on our newsletter and had more than 1000 requests within the first hour, and our gesture was mentioned by press giants like The Independent, Hello and Refinery 29 – to name a few. We were also interviewed about live on BBC Radio London.
“Our intention is to keep on innovating. Our most recent range was made from upcycled powdered fruit stones, and at the moment we’re working with surplus fruit waters from the juicing industry and rescuing flower petals from local florists,” she added.
This is a really impressive brand on several levels so give it a try. You’ll be supporting young entrepreneurs, an ethically sound brand which has a philanthropic outlook….and your skin will get a wake-up call like no other.
@upcirclebeauty
