Talking Faces
My MO is to bring absolutely outstanding beauty, body care and cleaning products to everyday households in reused packaging. That means the set up needs to be simple, the packaging needs to hold up to use and cleaning over and over again. Something that the beauty industry just doesn’t tend to even consider, just call it recyclable and chuck the bottle in the bin or recycling….problem solved, right?
Consciously created for skin, body and hair, for minds that care for the planet that we share.
Creating descriptions for my product pages is an interesting coin. It’s the opportunity to revisit the product again after a gap between when the product is finalised, labels and packaging is planned (fortunately I keep that kinda simple….that’s sort of our thing), labels are being designed / printed and so on. All at once I get to go back to what’s in the formulation and why. I love that opportunity to sit back with the finished product in hand and get to relish in the good stuff.
The flip side of this is that now the pressure is on. We need to get the item into sale after months of preparation. This is a royal ‘we’ to a certain extent as I run last drop by myself but The Last Drop really is a family operation; Myself, Kelly - founder and all round refill reuse addict, Muma and Papa Drop - they’ve got the grit that gets all the jobs done, returned bottles cleaned, prepped and tested for refilling, the filling, packing up for market stalls, trading at the markets…..just EVERYTHING basically, my S.O Chris - we’ve been together for 15 years (since I was 18 years old) he’s the cosmetic chemist in the family and has worked with our manufacturer for 6+ years and consults within the natural cosmetics industry when he’s not balancing on a roof or up a church spire somewhere around the south west. He also gets the labels ready for print. Likewise his sister and one of my best friends Samantha has a further 7+ years in cosmetic industry operations, she’s my sounding board and external hard drive for all of the juice that’s buzzing around in my head most of the time, she’s worked with some of the most thoughtfully and consciously produced skin care brands’ producers and creative fragrancers out there and really knows her stuff.
My MO is to bring absolutely outstanding beauty, body care and cleaning products to everyday households in reused packaging. That means the set up needs to be simple, the packaging needs to hold up to use and cleaning over and over again. Something that the beauty industry just doesn’t tend to even consider, just call it recyclable and chuck the bottle in the bin or recycling….problem solved, right? As a family we’ve been refillers of our kitchen and bathroom cleaning products for years but I always struggled with the fact that the mainstream skin care products had zero thought put into where its packaging ended up. I struggled with hormonal skin as a teenager, team that up with the fact that I was always covered in mud, sweat….maybe some tears, haha, and my skin was never content, always irritated and I treated it with very drying, aggressive treatments, that inevitably just made it worse, and did absolutely nothing to address the balance my skin needed meaning I suffered with breakouts for years.
Once the skin was already damaged, blinded by the industry buzz words that made me buy those products in the first place, I persisted with them not realising that they were doing nothing to remedy the damage that my skin life cycle was suffering…..which of course just leads to more breakouts and incorrect treatment.
That’s why as I sit here writing about our new Castaway Kaolin clay and Bamboo charcoal Decongesting powder mask I’m overwhelmed with all of the ingredients I want to talk about. For The Last Drop we are encompassed by our namesake, we are only as good as the last drop that means the last drop that touches our skin, the liquid that runs down the sink-into the ground-into the waterways, the individual ingredient and where it is sourced from, the bottle and what it’s made from and where it ends up, the order’s shipping and delivery. The reason I care about this stuff is because I want consumers to trust that we care as much as they do and for us to take some of that environmental anxiety off of them.
I remember really enjoying creative writing at school. It’s a skill that I’ve totally forgotten in adult life, despite my career being based around sales, having to present a product and make it sound attractive, the ticking off of pros and cons can be quite tedious. Mostly it’s just important to get the information across to potential customers but one day I’d like to be able to tell a story to customers about our skin, hair and body care. Maybe a day in the life of one of The Last Drop team? I think the reason that I’ve been destined, if you will, to run my own business is because of my desire to be known for integrity and honesty and I really really hope that those are morals that stick with me as I develop into a business owner.
It’s been a strange old end to 2022 but one that I can only hope has happened for a reason. My desire to bring amazing skin, body and home care in zero waste form started in the summer of 2021 and came to being by the end of that year. I still worked full time in the brewing industry until November, sadly that company recently closed.
During the upheaval of job changes and soul searching I realised that I hadn’t kept a diary in so long, years, so I decided to do just that. Even for someone like myself, that generally has the opportunity to and is quite good at prioritising a good night’s sleep and taking some time to take care of myself. I've been learning to take 10 minutes at the end of the day before bed to write in my diary. It can be a quick download of my day / a little to-do list of the next / something I’ve achieved…someone that’s annoyed me!
Having been restricted to bullet points and abbreviations for years, I’m learning to be more creative with my long form. I’ve even been trying to explore more sources of listening and learning to strengthen my vocab. Some of my favourite new podcasts are:
Who knows, maybe today’s writing is about Castaway Kaolin clay and Activated Charcoal Decongesting powder Mask and soon it’ll be short stories and poetry…but for now….check out our new skin care and read up on their epic real and active ingredients and fine our what they might be able to do for you and your skin.
Waste-less-mas
Plastic free, waste-less tips for Christmas
Christmas Plastic Saving Hints
It can be frustrating when you spend every day trying your best to reduce your plastic use only to see it all unravel at times of year such as Christmas when we’re driven to buy and consume so much more and in turn create even more waste that will most likely end up in landfill.
But it’s not the time to give up or feel defeated. Let’s do everything we can to empower our planet savings habits into the New Year.
1. Give gift wrap a funky and arty edge using newspaper and experiment with different reused ties. Got that broken camping tent lurking in the shed following the summer holidays, past repair? Why not claim the guy ropes and use them as new tag ties?.....Got a running buddy that would totally appreciate this year’s gift tied up in last season’s race laces!?
2. It’s party time! And there are countless ways to save pounds AND the planet. Checkout your local charity / vintage / second hand stores for the next glam Christmas party outfit….Do you have a favorite charity shop that’s too good to share…….mine’s Dorothy House Bath (Sshhh)!
3. Looking for styling tips? Checkout our friends over at @clobberandqueens www.theclobbercollective.co.uk not only for bad ass reused clothing but how to wear it like a true queen too!
4. Have you got some clothes that just aren’t up to scratch for the charity shop but too good for the recycling….chop them up for some festive gift wrap.
5.While we’re sticking with the charity vibe….how about picking up some beautiful old bottles and making your own diffusers? Don’t have time to make up your own solution…here’s the answer https://www.amournatural.co.uk/category-s/1959.htm Glastonbury based Amour Natural have a huge range of oils and mixed diffuser refills. Orange, clove and cinnamon has a fantastically festive feel or while you’re at it team up the scents from Amour Naturals ‘Happiness’ and ‘Breathe Ease’ wax melts that feature in our skin care gift sets.
6. Gifts for Green fingered friends. Nothing upsets me more than chipping a mug..ok, maybe a few things. But nothing makes me happier than rehoming a little cactus into the defunct crockery.
7. In the UK alone we’re estimated to throw out more than 230,000 tonnes of food waste at Christmas. Hold up on this ludicrous habit and be strict with that shopping list! Get to your local refill store and stock up on all those loose snacks and get creative!
Show off with Pistachios dusted in vanilla sugar or almonds in a smokey paprika coating.
8. Think of the children!!! 41% of children’s toys bought at Christmas will be broken or ditched by March! Our overindulgence of loved ones might be a tad counter-intuitive when it’s to the detriment of the future generations we’re trying to save the planet for.
9. Christmas jumper swap! Ok so maybe you want to reinvent your Christmas jumper game at work but there’s no need to reach for fast fashion in such an emergency. Hubbub warns that acrylic fibers were found in ¾ of the jumpers found on the high street or online stores.
Arrange a christmas jumper swap party and bag a new look for free!
10. Finally, switch to reuse brands for your gifting! Checkout our shop for self care that cares for your home, family and the planet, all at the same time.