By Andrea McVeigh.

With a busy mind, a 'things to do' list as long as our arm, and not enough hours in the day, Green Living never gets enough zzzzzzz's.

So we're all for anything that will help us relax at bed-time.

We've tried switching off the computer after 9pm (although Facebook is soooo tempting) and all the usual herbal and hot milky drink remedies, but nothing really works.

So thankfully we discovered the great new Primavera Sleep Therapy range of sleep-inducing products, made with Fair Trade and certified organic ingredients.

It's 100% natural - there are no synthetics, parabens or genetically modified plants used in the products, just food grade and organic emulsifiers, all-natural fragrances and a natural preservation system, to keep the formulas pure and wholesome, just as nature intended.

Primavera was the first company to receive a NaTrue certification, the new harmonised standard set up to overcome consumer confusion about the organic, ecological and natural credentials of products.

With aromatherapy products, it always takes a little while to get used to the different scents and properties, but we really did find we were more relaxed using them at bedtime and much more ready to slip into a peaceful slumber.

The products are created using essential oils of Organic Lavender Fine to soothe and calm, Organic Neroli to relieve tension and stress, and extracts of Organic Honey to help quiet the mind.

Desperate to drift off, we've been using three products every night (late night Sugahfix Style Spotter viewing sessions leave us too excited about fashion to drift off).

With the Roll-On (£11) you just dab it on your temples, wrists, neck and under your nose, for instant calm.

It's a great portable product for on-the-go relaxation, so we'll be packing it on our holidays too.

Then it's time for a squirt of the Pillow Mist (£8.75) to create a soothing atmosphere (and Mr Green Living didn't even complain about the smell like he usually does about Mrs Green's unctions).

And finally, during this night-time ritual (rituals are also very calming, let it be known, so it's well worth developing a bedtime routine) we used the Balm (£11), applied to the chest, temples, wrists and back of the neck for a deeply soothing experience.

With the Balm, there's also a little trick you can try to help you slip off to sleep. Find someone willing (or use bribery) to massage the balm into the soles of your feet and then pop on a pair of cotton socks - it works a treat.

Also available in the range is the Blend (£8.75), which you add to a diffuser so the aromatherapy oils fill the room.

The collection is suitable babies and young children as well as adults and you can get the range, along with Prmavera's face and body products, from health stores and online and by mail order from www.primaveralife.co.uk . Sweet dreams!

By Andrea McVeigh.

Why be merely organic, when you can be Beyond Organic?

We're currently loving the fab range of products from Cornwall-based firm, Beyond Organic Skincare (www.beyondskincare.co.uk), and founder Marianne Tregoning's passion for purity.

Green Living tested the Moisturising Day Cream and Firming Eye Cream (from the handy five-piece Trial Travel Pack, £29.61) on a winter trip to chilly Rotterdam and our skin stayed moist and protected throughout, despite the really harsh weather.

Beyond Organic's cute turquoise pots are packed with herb, plant and wildflower extracts, most of them harvested off Cornwall's beautiful wild shores near Marianne's workshop.

And there isn't a single paraben or hard-to-spell chemical among them.

But don't just take our word for it - the company is coming down with awards.

Its Regenerating Night Cream (which also comes in the Travel Pack and which we also loved) features new skincare superstar, sea buckthorn, which contains the rare omega 7 (as well as the other skin smoothers, omegas 3, 6 and 9) that keeps skin plump.

So it's not surprising the product was a winner in the Best Facial Skincare category at this year's Natural Health Magazine Beauty Awards.

And the company recently clinched its 5th award, as Best Newcomer in the Natural Health Beauty Awards, for its Mandarin and Lavender Uplifting Toner (£15.04 for 100ml).

"By hand-blending herbs and flowers in-house, in synergy with each other, we have come up with a holistic formula that I believe goes 'beyond' organic," says Marianne.

"You don't need to add any 'fluff' or chemicals, because, really, nature gives us everything we need to nurture ourselves."

Rosehip, rose geranium, sea buckthorn, cornflower, burdock, mallow, yarrow, horse chestnut and fennel are just some of the natural 'skin foods' that go into the formulas.

Other products in the range include the award-winning Cocoa and Mallow Regenerating Night Cream, the Rejuvenating Serum (sea buckthorn and rosehip) and the skin-healing, calming Rescue Salve (calendula and propolis).

Beyond Organic features a list of natural ingredients that could tempt even a not-so-green goddess to ditch her big brand name skincare and go organic.

For the full range, including face, body, mother & baby and Beyond Organic's delicous body butter bars (which are handy when travelling and perfect for summer festivals and camping trips), visit: www.beyondskincare.co.uk .

By Andrea McVeigh.

If there's one thing a green goddess never forgets, no matter how tried she is, it's her night-time cleansing routine.

So when some fab new Inlight products - an organic face cleanser and night balm - dropped on the Green Living desk, we couldn't wait to try them out.

The range comes with excellent credentials - created by Dr Mariano Spiezia, a medical doctor, homeopath and herbalist and his wife Loredana, it uses only the finest, ethically-sourced, 100% organic and mostly food-grade ingredients in the products.

It's billed as 'skincare that works not only on but with your skin' and those food-grade ingredients are captured at their most potent to create the best possible diet for your skin.

Yep, that's right - a diet for your skin, or, in this case, we're talking 'beautifood'.

That's because Inlight treats your skin from a medical standpoint and all the products are considered to be ongoing treatments rather than a temporary cover up.

Our skin acts as a detoxifying organ, releasing toxins and waste from inside to out. So for our body's natural healing process to be effective, skin must be in tip-top condition.

And nothing makes you look more beautiful than inner health and wellbeing.

So much for the science - the products also work fantastically well too.

They're filled with a rich blend of antioxidants and nutrients - omegas 3, 6 and 9, beta carotene, vitamins A, E and D, chlorophyll and anthocyanins.

There are no unnessesary extras (so no synthetic, water or alcohol 'fillers') - each carefully selected ingredient provides all the care that your skin needs.

As a result, the products are naturally absorbed and welcomed by your skin.

We found that to be true of the Organic Face Cleanser (£25.95) - made with coconut oil to moisturise and rosemary to purify - which melts in your hand so you can then massage it deep into your skin, before cleansing with a damp face cloth or cotton wool and water.

It's also true of the Organic Night Balm, made with lavender to soothe and macadamia to regenerate (£35.80), which features tiny white granules of condensed shea butter - a happy sign of the nature of the raw ingredients.

Rather than clogging your pores and forcing toxins back inside, Inlight lets your skin radiate from within - that's just one of the reasons why we are loving this range so much right now.

Other products include an Organic Daily Face Oil, Organic Line Softener, Organic Firm & Tone Oil and an Organic Restorative Body Butter - all 100% organic and 100% GM free - plus ointments and teas.

Check out www.inlight-online.co.uk for the full collection. It's all also suitable for vegetarians, while the oils are perfect for vegans too.

My guilty pleasure is snuggling up on the settee with a bar of raw choc and watching 'based on a true story' movies. So this box set from the True Stories Collection (www.truestoriesonline.co.uk) totally fits the bill. It has 6 movies in it, all real life dramas, starring the likes of Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst. With film titles such as Baby Snatcher and Darkness Before Dawn, this will be my indulgent treat - perfect for those 'DVD and duvet' days.

I love vintage, I love fashion and I love reading - so I know I'll love Mike Brown's books on Fifties and Sixties fashion. Every fashionista with her finger on the pulse knows that those decades are filled with fashion fabulousness. The 1950s Look: Recreating the Fashions of the Fifties and The 1940s Look (£16.99, www.sabrestorm.com , Amazon and local bookshops) look like great guides to the trends and signature styles of the era.

By Andrea McVeigh.

Fashionistas and rock types are all about Meat Free Mondays these days.

Sir Paul McCartney is a fan, as is his daughter Stella, plus music slebs including Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and singer Sheryl Crow.

But you don't have to be a vegetarian to indulge - in fact, that's the whole point.

Veggies will have their meat-free Mondays every week, but the aim of this campaign is to encourage carnivores to tuck in with tofu.

The idea is to have at least one day a week totally free of meat.

It's good for your digestion, good for variety and good for the environment too (it helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions) - check out the website at www.meatfreemondays.co.uk to find out more.

Green Living has taken the smart gals' approach and is currently glued to the box watching The Healthy Vegan DVD (£14.99 inc. UK P&P from www.thehealthyvegandvd.com ).

It shows you how to prepare starters and sides, main courses and desserts and there's even a special section on plant-based 'living' raw food - yum!

We can't decide between delicious sounding dishes such as Quick and Easy Thai Curry and Seafruit Salad, and we're torn over whether to try the Chocolate Mocha Brownie or the Pears Poached in Fruit - so we may just have to get busy in the kitchen trying out them all!