My love of solid beauty shows no signs of cooling off. My first conscious foray into waterless beauty came in the form of Earth Kind’s solid shampoo, introducing a new format into my haircare routine. And whilst you can nowadays quite easily get hold of shampoo bars, I struggled with skincare – until now. I fell in love with SBTRCT’s Vitamin C Booster – the world’s first solid Vitamin C Serum which actually delivered results comparable to traditional products. With the majority of liquid skincare products being made up of over 80% water, these bulkier formats end up scoring a high carbon footprint. But solid skincare can last longer, come in more sustainable packaging (card boxes or reusable tins), and means you’re spending your money on ingredients that benefit your skin, not on water. So can you build a simple but well-rounded skincare routine purely with solid beauty?

SBTRCT Clarifying Exfoliator

Vegan, cruelty-free and palm oil-free, SBTRCT specialises in solid skincare that delivers results. This generously sized pastel green triangle fits nicely into the palm of your hand and glides easily across damp skin, gently decongesting pores with white willow bark and exfoliating with the help of upcycled rice powder. The non-drying foam leaves my skin feeling soft and smooth, and if used twice a week, can apparently last for 4 months. Just make sure you leave the bar to drain on its dish – if it sits in a pool of water it’ll last a lot less time!

Love Absolute Deep Ocean Facial Mud Bar

A product I discovered during my beauty box subscription era, this facial mud bar leaves skin feeling refreshed and cleansed. Although calling it a ‘facial mud bar’ makes it sound deeply unattractive, it actually looks quite pretty if you ignore the, well, mud colour, with its delicate dried blue and yellow flower petals on top. Encased in an aluminium tin with a vegetable ink printed recycled paper label, the packaging is recyclable although I would encourage re-purposing it as a candle holder.

LUSH Full of Grace Serum

Although best known for their multi-coloured quirky bath bombs, Lush recently opened a new spa in Covent Garden, which is where I discovered their skincare and this gentle glow-giving serum in a bar. Containing antioxidant-rich portobello mushroom, nourishing creamy butters and cold-pressed almond oil, it may sound like a heavy, rich bar, but thanks to its beautifully scented rose petal water phase it doesn’t overload skin. Slowly run over your skin post-wash so that your natural body heat gently melts the bar, then massage it into skin with your fingertips. It might feel a little waxy, but it does absorb quickly without leaving any greasy residue, ready for your next skincare product.

Balade en Provence Solid Night Cream

This was the first solid moisturiser I ever tried a few years ago, and was so impressed with the concept, the application and result that I spent the next 3 months telling my beauty industry colleagues about it. Meaning ‘a walk in Provence’, Balade en Provence bars are certified vegan and organic and packaged in 100% compostable and recyclable packaging. The bar contains nourishing cacao seed butter, kernel oil and my favourite skincare ingredient, rosehip oil. once I apply the bar directly onto my face, it quickly reacts to the warmth of my skin and gently melts to provide a film of moisturising ingredients which I then massage into skin. The consistency is definitely more of a balm than a cream, but doesn’t feel heavy or pore-blocking – just a straightforward moisturiser that leaves my combination dehydrated skin still looking and feeling hydrated come morning.

Balade en Provence Day Balm

The daytime option doesn’t feel wildly different to the evening version. If anything I’d say it sits on the surface of the skin a little more than the Night Balm, like a protective film, which isn’t ideal if you’re after a matte finish. May be best to avoid in hot and humid weather.

Balade en Provence Eye Contour

Surprisingly this was my favourite Balade en Provence product. Surprising not because of its lack of potential, but because of my general lack of interest in eye products. I have fine lines around my eye area, oily lids and dark circles, but these fail to make it onto my skin concerns hit list. But this oval shaped little bar quickly melts onto the delicate eye area without pulling my skin, and the gentle formula provides light yet effective hydration with no irritation. I run the bar around each eye, starting on my dark circles then moving outwards, lingering on my fine lines before finishing off along my brow bone. I can’t vouch for the Eye Contour’s effect on makeup though as I haven’t worn any eye colour cosmetics other than mascara in over a year. My guess is it’s not going to improve its staying power in any way so if you’re a fan of a full eye makeup look, probably best to keep this bar for bedtime application.

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