Organic skincare katfood handmade heroes basic theory

We’ve come to accept that organic anything is going to cost a lot more than its non-organic counterparts. A regular tomato will cost 50 cents, but an organic tomato will cost you $3. Ditto for organic skincare and cosmetics – anything with the organic label slapped on is going to be expensive.

But not if you shop local organic skincare brands Handmade Heroes, Katfood, and Basic Theory – the most expensive product in all three brands will set you back a mere $28.90 (this is Katfood’s You Had Me At Aloe Body Lotion, 100ml.) This is despite using organic, natural ingredients and quality packaging. And the product range of all three brands is impressive, considering how all of them have been set up within the last 10 months.

Handmade Heroes offers 9 products for the lips, face, hair and body. My favourite: the Coco-friggin’ Fantastic Lip Tint in English Rose – I use it when I’m too lazy to bother with lipstick; this lip tint adds just enough colour to my lips and I can put it on without a mirror.

Handmade Heroes Balm and Lip Tint
Handmade Heroes Lip Balm ($4.90) and Lip Tints ($5.90 each)

 

Organic skincare Handmade Heroes Nourishing Rice Scrub
From top: Handmade Heroes Deep Detoxing Coffee Scrub and Nourishing Rice Scrub ($18.90) in Chritsmas Mint and Rose Petals ($16.90 each)

Katfood has products for the lips, face, hair and body too, plus pure coconut oil. All products use food-grade ingredients, by the way, and most contain moisturising coconut oil. The must-buys: the Cuckoo for Cocoa Dry Shampoo (tried it, loved it) and the Green Special-tea Handy Hand Salve (super moisturising, in a tiny tub that’ll fit in a clutch).

Organic skincare Katfood
Katfood’s Sea-sons in the Sun Hair Spray ($14.90 – it’s a sea salt spray), bestselling John Lemon Lip Balm ($9.90) and Green Special-tea Handy Hand Salve ($13.90)

 

Katfood organic skincare
Katfood’s #nofilter Makeup Remover ($25.90) and Not a Hint Deodorant ($15.90). Don’t you just love these kooky names?

Basic Theory‘s organic coffee and tea scrubs are their best products – a real treat in the shower after a long day at work, and they leave skin feeling super smooth. The brand’s other wonder: a duo of facial toners, one for oily skin and one for dry, that double as facial mists.

Organic skincare Basic theory
Basic theory’s body polishes in Coconut, Earl Grey and Coffee ($18.90 each) are made from premium organic ingredients sourced from the US and Europe.
Organic skincare Basic theory
Basic Theory Hydrating Facial Toner (for dry skin) and Balancing Facial Toner (for combination to oily skin), $20.90 each

Basic theory’s facial toners double as facial mists to balance oily and dry complexions. In case you’re wondering, every single product in these organic skincare ranges is handmade. Katfood founder Kendra Liew and Handmade Heroes founder Lynsey Lim started brewing their own cosmetics in their teens, motivated by suspicion of chemical-laden cosmetics and the desire to tailor-make products to suit their needs. Toh Sin Yee and Tee Sze Hui, the duo behind Basic Theory, began experimenting with making vegan body scrubs four years ago.

All four take great pains to keep things sterile and hygienic, and they’re all their first users. “I just think of what kind of product I’d need myself, and then I set about trying to make it for Katfood,” says Lieu. This means products thoughtfully created to suit Singapore’s climate and living conditions: facial mists that balance the complexion; dry shampoo for convenient touch-ups; lotions that don’t leave a sticky film in high humidity.

So: handmade, organic, food-grade products with natural ingredients, zero artificial preservatives, no animal testing or animal by-products, all created with tropical living in mind.

At less than $30 per product, it’s an incredible deal.

Lynsey Lim, Tee Sze Hui, Toh Sin Yee and Kendra Liew
From left: Lynsey Lim, Tee Sze Hui, Toh Sin Yee and Kendra Liew

To find out more about Handmade Heroes, Katfood, Basic Theory and their founders, check out the July 2015 issue of Female, out in digital edition and on newsstands now

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