The Mecca Cosmetica Beauty Blog

Eco-Chic with Mr & Mrs Smith

With the launch of luxe skincare range Eve Lom, and the arrival of some brand new botanical blockbusters from the likes of Ren, Nude and Darphin, we’ve gone gaga for all things green. Pair this with the fact that it’s the middle of winter and we are all in desperate need of a little time away… Enter boutique travel specialists Mr & Mrs Smith with their in-the-know edit of original, inspiring and intimate places to stay… and the best beauty products to pop in your pull-along.

1: Carbon canny: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa, Blue Mountains, Australia

Where can you spot an albino wallaroo? Ride like a cowboy through 4,000 acres of pristine wilderness? Or just laze in the spa with views of Jurassic Park-style canyons? The answer is 40-suite Wolgan Valley retreat, less than three hours’ drive from Sydney in the Blue Mountains, accredited as Australia’s first conservation-based luxury resort by carboNZero. Pastoral fencing has been removed, 175,000 indigenous trees planted and native wildlife re-introduced. Soak up the sumptuously styled pool villas, then explore the sun-blessed escarpments with a spot of mountain biking or wildlife touring with trained field guides. Ps The Sartorialist crew loved it here.

Mecca beauty booty to bring: Nude Skincare Nude Lips

Keep your lips kissable, even after that wind-swept wildlife walk or canter among the canyons. As cute as a button, this organic salve includes sensual Tahitian vanilla, and comes care of an ethical and eco-friendly skincare label to boot.

2: Eco design: Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali, Indonesia

You may know Bali’s rugged southern Bukit Peninsula for its legendary surfing, but now there’s a new natural high. Alila Villas Uluwatu is a cool, contemporary cliffhanger which delivers dramatic eco-friendly design in a jaw-dropping setting cantilevered over the Indian Ocean. Its 61 minimalist white pool villas embrace the outdoors, using only locally sourced, recycled and sustainable materials. Singaporean architects WOHA harnessed open-plan lay-outs, flat lava rock roofs and bamboo ceilings to allow sea breezes to circulate. Stir in personal butlers, a superb spa, fine dining and a hip lounge bar, and you’ve got a seriously seductive cocktail.

Mecca beauty booty to bring: This Works Deep Calm Box

You’ve surfed the waves and chilled out in the clifftop lounge bar. Now retire to your pool villa and light this serenity-enhancing travel candle by natural aromatherapy pioneers This Works, which teams non-toxic soy wax with soothing vetivert, camomile and lavender.

3: Ethical eats: Masseria Torre Maizza, Puglia, Italy

Fresh, seasonal and homegrown are the culinary buzzwords for savvy hotels, with the locavore movement leading the way. Perched on the coast of Italy’s shapely heel in Puglia, the 28-room Masseria Torre Maizza takes ethical eating as seriously as style. Most of the food served at its restaurant Delle Palme is grown on site or sourced from regional producers according to a ‘kilometre zero’ policy. Guests can pick olives and veg at the Masseria’s cookery school or enjoy a luxe spa treatment drawing on garden herbs. Surrounded by an ancient olive grove, this 16th-century bolthole boasts tasty modern decor for added zing.

Mecca beauty booty to bring: Darphin Stimulskin Plus Divine Lifting Cream

The Masseria may be ancient, but you don’t need to feel (or look) old too. Stay as fresh as the food you’re eating with botanically-boosted anti-ageing skin cream from respected innovators Darphin. Truly divine.

4: Radical recycling, keeping it local: Ace Hotel New York, New York, United States

The 262-room Ace is proof that you can be urban and still stay green. There’s a recycling policy in place for wood, glass, metal and plastic and interiors harness a savvy mix of vintage, salvaged and preloved pieces, as well as accessories and decor commissioned from local designers and artists. In-house restaurant the Breslin’s food is all locally sourced too, and yummy. Bursting onto the NYC boutique-hotel scene with a thrum of guitar strings, this is one for the creatives, with turntables in rooms, scrawlable chalkboard walls and a youthful air of hipster chic.

Mecca beauty booty to bring: Ren Active 7 Eye Maintenance Serum

Soothe those up-all-night NY eyes with this cooling gel, which blends fig, ginseng and sea grass to reduce dark circles. Meaning ‘clean’ in Swedish, Ren’s cutting-edge range uses only recyclable containers and avoids synthetic ingredients. Phew!

5. Botanical bliss: the Prince, Melbourne, Australia

Pamper yourself at Aurora Spa Retreat, the cred urban day spa upstairs at the 40-room art deco Prince hotel in buzzy, bayside St Kilda. Signature treatments are inspired by the seasons, including the heavenly hour-long Kitya Karnu salt exfoliation in a private steam room, which will leave you revived and rebooted. The first Australian spa to join the Green Spa Network, its own-label, botanically-based Aurora Spa Rituals product line contains no nasty synthetics and uses recycled packaging. Afterwards snaffle a table at revamped restaurant Circa, where two-hat toting chef Matthew Wilkinson serves up tapas-style sharing dishes from gourmet produce grown in the Prince’s own kitchen garden.

Mecca beauty booty to bring: Aurora Spa Rituals Travel Essentials Set

This eco-sussed travel kit ticks the big four boxes – shampoo, conditioner, body wash and moisturizing cream – while guaranteeing hand luggage-friendly 50ml bottles. Perfect for urban upkeep on the run.