I had heard a lot of good things about the company Lush. It’s absolutely great that they are vegan and environmentally minded, but there is something about the vivid, radioactive colors of their products that sets off my alarms.

It turns out that in addition to lots of synthetic coloring, they include many questionable ingredients like sodium lauryl sulfate, ammonium laureth sulfate, and parabens. Parabens in particular are something that I have concerns about due to the connections to cancer that a lot of researchers have found.

Here in Paris, I like to take a back-to-basics approach and go with Savon D’Alep. This is the original way soap was made, dating from Antiquity where it was created in Syria with olive oil and bay leaf oil. You’ll find this soap at any natural foods store in town.

It’s a very natural-feeling soap, but sometimes, when you want something that is more scented and fun I love Raw Gaia. Not only are they 100% Vegan and organic but their products are raw, which like with food means it’s not heated to more than 40ºC, and therefore maintains its antioxidant properties. They have really nice smelling creams too and everything they make is very pure and simple.

Raw Gaia is based in England, so now that the pound is slumping it’s the perfect time to exploit your powerful Euro by buying from their web site!