Sophie Laggan from the Ecologist website has put together some recipes to make your own lip balm, mascara and blusher.

"With no harmful ingredients and no packaging to recycle, DIY make up is definitely good for the planet,” she says.

“Greater awareness of the detrimental effects of parabens, sulphates and other toxins has led to a greater demand for greener, healthier products, while others have decided to forgo commercially produced make up altogether in favour of making their own.”

She suggests you can make lip balm with 1tbsp beeswax, 3tbsp sweet almond oil, 1tsp honey, and eight to 10 drops of essential oil (optional).

Simply melt the beeswax over a low heat with the almond oil and honey. Leave to cool and add the essential oils, then pour it into small pots and store it in the fridge.

For mascara, you need activated charcoal, aloe vera gel and a funnel or piping bag.

Sophie says you just mix the charcoal with aloe gel to form a paste. Then pour it into an old mascara tub and apply using the brush.

To make blusher, take 1 tsp dried beetroot powder, 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil and 1 1/2 tbsp beeswax. Combine the ingredients in a saucepan, melt them over a low heat and pour into a glass jar to cool.

Lavera Produce a range of Lipsticks certified by NaTrue using a wide range of organic ingredients.

You can see the full range along with other natural organic make ups and cosmetics in the Natural Beauty section of Big Green Smile

Danger that hides in make-up

by TIM UTTON, Daily Mail

They may be reluctant to leave home without it, but make-up is putting women at risk of deadly diseases, say experts.

According to a new book, cosmetics and beauty products often contain toxic ingredients that can cause cancer and other fatal illnesses.

Loopholes in Government regulations are being exploited by manufacturers to allow banned chemicals into over-the-counter products, it claims.

Authors Kim Erickson and Samuel Epstein say many ingredients in make-up have been shown to cause cancer in animals and should never be used as part of a beauty routine.

Coal tar colours, phenylenediamine, benzene and even formaldehyde are some of the toxins commonly found in shampoos, skin creams and blushers, they say.

Hormone-disrupting chemicals, which could lower immunity to disease and cause neurological and reproductive damage, may also lurk in everyday cosmetics.

In their book, Drop Dead Gorgeous: Protecting Yourself from the Hidden Dangers of Cosmetics, to be published next month, they claim the adverse effects of cosmetics build up over years of use.

Miss Erickson said: 'Modern cosmetics contain a host of dubious ingredients which would be more at home in a test tube than on our faces.

'These synthetic ingredients are inexpensive, stable and have a long shelf-life. Manufacturers love them, but the results from long-term use could be deadly.'

She said the same poisons that pollute the environment, from dioxins to petrochemicals, can be found in the average bathroom cabinet.

'Many of the same ingredients have been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals,' she added.

The UK cosmetics industry is worth £4.5billion a year and employs more than 20,000 people. It is controlled by the Department of Trade and Industry's 1996 Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations. The regulations approve about 3,000 ingredients for cosmetic use, but many more find their way into the finished products.

One loophole in the regulations allows cosmetics to contain banned substances if they cannot 'reasonably' be removed.

The authors say chemicals get into the bloodstream in a number of ways. Hair sprays, perfumes and powders are inhaled; lipstick is swallowed; eye make-up absorbed by sensitive mucous membranes and others taken in through the skin.

Allergy specialist Dr Jean Munro, medical director of the Breakspear Hospital in Hertfordshire, supports the claims.

In the last 20 years she has treated 8,000 women, nearly all of whom were found to have a sensitivity to beauty products.

Dr Munro said: 'There is no question that people are being damaged by their cosmetics.

'So many things are put into cosmetics now that are carcinogenic, and it is allowed because cosmetics are not considered to be as serious as drugs or food.

'One of the most extreme cases I have seen was a woman whose bone marrow was affected by chemicals used in hair dye.

'The situation as it is is plainly dangerous - unacceptably so.'