For the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure of testing some of Beyond’s range of organic skincare products on my tired winter skin. My skin was a challenge for the products, but they’ve worked wonders and I’m very pleased with the dewy results.

All of Beyond’s products are completely organic and certified with the Biodynamic Agricultural Association. The ingredients that they use are organic, wild-crafted, fair traded and environmentally sustainable. No parabens, nothing unnatural. Packaged in glass rather than plastic. Skincare like this doesn’t come along every day.

The signature ingredient in the Beyond range is Sea Buckthorn which has been shown to promote cell generation, great for helping skin stay fresh and new looking, and even for healing wounds. Perfect for my thirty-something skin.

Here are the products that I’ve been using:

Rose & Almond Organic Moisturising Day Cream
The cream was light and non-greasy, disappearing quickly but leaving my skin feeling moisturised all day, even when I was out in the weather. It smells good too. So good in fact that my husband kept coming closer to catch a whiff of it, a benefit that Beyond doesn’t mention on their website.

Cocoa & Mallow Organic Regenerating Night Cream
This cream was very rich without being greasy, and although I wasn’t all that taken with the fragrance, the results were very pleasing. My skin was dewy fresh each morning.

Sea Buckthorn and Rosehip Organic Rejuvenating Serum
I applied this every night under the Cocoa & Mallow Night Cream. I’ve been a fan of Rosehip oil for years, so I was sure that this was good stuff before I even tried it. Combined with the Sea Buckthorn, it certainly packed a punch.

Calendula & Propolis Organic Rescue Salve
This worked so well on healing little rough patches on the edges of my lips. I have been fortunate enough not to have had any other reasons for needing to use it, but I’ve got it handy just in case my daughter’s eczema flares up.

All round I liked Beyond’s organic skincare products very much. They were a real treat for my skin, which was feeling a bit weather beaten. Thumbs up!

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I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a film that’s byline is “A toxic comedy about global warming”, but whichever way you look at it, it’s not very funny. Everything’s Cool documents the story of the huge gap between what the scientists say and what the US government chooses to publicise about the global warming phenomenon.

The film starts by examining how climate change is already affecting Americans, and then goes on to catalogue how the coal industry has spent millions positioning global warming as a fringe idea, how coal and oil interests have called global warming the greatest single hoax and have continued to fight global warming policy that threatens the economy in any way. Bill McKibben, the activist who has been nicknamed global warming’s poet laureate, points out that these industries have conditioned us to look at the economy as being more real than the physical world, demonstrated by the fact that the real world, and the planet, doesn’t get nearly as much attention and care as the economy.

The movie goes on to look at the television coverage that both sides of the global warming argument have had over the past few years. On one hand The Weather Channel brings in climate scientist Heidi Cullen to talk about the science behind the weather, and on the other hand Fox News has an Exxon funded scientist saying that America is being tricked into energy poverty by the environmentalists.

Woven through the documentary is the story of Ross Gelbspan, the first journalist to take on global warming, Rick Piltz, government censorship whistle-blower, Bill McKibben, activist, and another likeable chap who works for a ski resort and wants to make his own biodiesel for his car and the snow cats to run on.

Everything changed when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and everybody started talking about global warming. Climate scientist Heidi Cullen now has her own show on The Weather Channel instead of the 3 minute slot she had before, Ross Gelbspan came out of retirement, and some interesting newcomers appeared on the scene. Michael Schellenberger and Ted Nordhaus say environmentalists are getting nowhere and bring out their Death of Environmentalism paper.

To say I enjoyed watching this film wouldn’t be accurate. In parts it was tortuous, not because it’s not a good film, but rather because while watching I was brought face to face with some very uncomfortable truths about how the trusted government of one of the world’s superpowers has so successfully pulled the wool over it’s own peoples eyes for years. It also brings home the fact that still not enough is being done to protect our future on the planet, and the lengths that the US government is prepared to go to to protect the large corporations over the well being of the man on the street.

I don’t understand where the idea came from that this film is a comedy. Am I missing something? It is definitely worth watching though. If you’ve seem An Inconvenient Truth it will fill in the gaps between when scientists and environmentalists first trying to bring the world’s attention to what is happening to our planet, and when we all finally sat up and realised that everything wasn’t the way the world leaders were trying to persuade us it was, thanks to Al Gore.

If anyone would like my review copy of the DVD Everything’s Cool, leave a comment and I’ll pick a name out of my party hat on the 1st of January. Please be aware that this is a region 1 DVD (US), so may not work in your DVD player. I had to watch it on my laptop.

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I recently fitted one of these Solar Duo Security Lights above my back door. It’s from The Solar Centre, who sell all sorts of solar things for homes and gardens.

It was very easy to fit as it is fairly lightweight and came with all the necessary screws and wall plugs. I’m pleased I didn’t need to get an electrician to fit it for me. All I needed to do was drill two holes into my outside wall and attach it.

Although I installed the light on a flat wall, its design means that it can also be fitted to either side of a corner, so if this is where you need lighting, it will save you the expense of a second light fitting.

The light was quite dull at first but I realise now that the batteries needed time to charge during daylight (something that there isn’t all that much of at this time of year). After a few days the brightness of the light has increased to resemble the light of a full moon. It’s not as bright as our neighbour’s electric security light, but it also doesn’t cost us anything in electricity or carbon emissions. I wonder if it will be brighter during the summer months when there is more daylight? An interested to point to note is that if the place that you are installing the light is in shade all day, it will still work because you can situate the solar panel up to 5 metres away to catch the sun.

All in all, I’m pleased with the ease of fitting this light, and happy with its performance which is adequate for our small garden. It didn’t cost me anything to install, and it doesn’t cost anything to run. The only dubious points are that it is plastic and made in China, but this is also reflected in the price.

Advertisement: Reduce your CO2 footprint by as much as 2 tonnes/year & save up to £150 on your energy bills.

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