UpCircle skincare

UpCircle was created with the belief that beauty products can and should be produced without harming the environment. It's a family-run business, founded by brother and sister team Will and Anna.

The UpCircle name is a nod to the circular economy, and to the process of 'upcycling' – making something better from things that already exist. UpCircle transforms ingredients that would otherwise be discarded into natural, organic beauty products.

All UpCircle products contain a repurposed ingredient, from chamomile stems – a by-product of the tea industry – to fruit waters from the juicing industry. This has prevented hundreds of tonnes of leftover natural ingredients from ending up in landfill.

We were sent two award-winning products to review. The multi-award-winning Organic Face Serum contains coffee oil from repurposed grounds. The caffeine brightens skin, while rosehip, sea buckthorn and raspberry seed oils hydrate, support skin elasticity and boost collagen. It's lovely to use – gliding onto the skin and providing an instant boost.

The Face Moisturiser with vitamin E is deeply nourishing – ideal for combatting the damaging effects of winter weather. It has a luxurious texture, and smells gorgeous too. The cream is made with finely-ground powder from discarded argan shells – a natural by-product of the argan oil industry, and naturally rich in antioxidant vitamin E. It also contains cocoa butter, aloe vera and blood orange.

This product was winner of the Responsible Beauty award in the CEW Awards 2022, as well as Best Moisturiser in the Natural Health Beauty Awards 2021, and winner in the Beauty Shortlist Awards 2021.

All UpCircle products are made with natural, sustainable and vegan ingredients, and without palm oil, parabens, phthalates, silicones, mineral oil or parfum.

The packaging is eco-friendly too. Packaging across the range is 99% plastic-free, and uses 100% recyclable glass bottles or jars. Outer cardboard boxes are FSC-certified and can be recycled. And plastic-free refill options are available too – empty packaging can be returned for refilling at a 20% discount.

But UpCircle doesn't stop there. The company is certified Plastic Negative by rePurpose Global. This means that for every product sold, a percentage is contributed towards vetted impact programs that will remove more plastic waste from the environment than is created in the company's packaging and operations.

Through a partnership with rePurpose Global, UpCircle funds an impact project in Goa. Project Saaf Samudra (“clean sea” in Hindi) has so far removed nearly one million single-use plastic pouches from Goa's coastline. This project benefits local communities too, providing an additional income stream to waste workers so they can gain access to better education and healthcare.

UpCircle also donates to a number of charities. Last year, this included domestic abuse charity Refuge, Save Elephant Foundation, and The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.

All this makes UpCircle an excellent choice if you're looking for ethical, planet-friendly skincare products. Considering the quality of the ingredients, it's a good value choice too.

We will be buying UpCircle products again, and look forward to trying more products in this planet-friendly range.