Natural Skincare, Made Gently in the UK

About Valley Mist

Valley Mist is an award-winning natural skincare and aromatherapy brand, handmade in small batches in Lancashire.

We create thoughtful, effective skincare using carefully selected natural and COSMOS-approved ingredients, including plant oils, butters, botanical extracts and pure essential oils. We never use synthetic fragrance.

Our skincare is made for people looking for a gentler, more natural approach to everyday care, with products that feel beautiful to use while keeping environmental impact in mind.

We specialise in natural facial skincare, including facial oils, toners, moisturisers, cleansing products and botanical treatments, alongside aromatherapy and home fragrance.

Explore our Natural Skincare range

Sustainability Has Been Part of Valley Mist From the Beginning

Valley Mist was founded in 2016 with a simple idea: to create effective natural skincare without creating unnecessary waste.

We began with just four nourishing lip balms in completely plastic-free, compostable cardboard tubes and that early decision has shaped the way we have developed the business ever since.

Today, we use glass, aluminium, paper and compostable materials wherever they are practical.

We aim to be plastic-free wherever suitable alternatives exist, using plastic only where it is currently necessary for the product to work safely and reliably — such as certain lid liners, pumps, pipettes and droppers.

Rather than pretending that perfect packaging already exists, we prefer to keep looking for better options as materials and technology improve.

Our Commitment to Lower-Impact Skincare

We are continually working to reduce the environmental impact of the products we make.

This includes:

• choosing reusable and recyclable packaging wherever possible;

• reducing unnecessary plastic;

• using predominantly glass packaging across our skincare range;

• supporting reuse through our National Glass Return System;

• selecting responsibly sourced natural ingredients;

• using compostable packaging where it performs well;

• and donating 8.5% of profits to environmental charities from our lip balms and candle ranges.

As a small independent business, we continually reinvest in improving our products, packaging and processes, always looking for practical ways to tread a little more lightly.

Our Glass Return System

We believe good packaging should have a life beyond a single use.

Many Valley Mist skincare products are packaged in glass, and our National Glass Return System allows customers to return suitable jars and bottles so they can be cleaned, inspected and reused where appropriate.

It is a simple idea, but one that has grown into an important part of how Valley Mist operates.

Our Facial Oil is one example of a much-loved Valley Mist product available in reusable glass packaging.

Natural Skincare With a Different Approach

Valley Mist grew from my own frustration with conventional petroleum-based lip balms and a desire to create something simpler, more natural and more thoughtful.

That first small range gradually developed into skincare, body care and aromatherapy products designed to work gently and effectively with the skin.

We believe everyday skincare does not need to be complicated.

Beautiful plant oils, butters, clays, botanical waters and carefully chosen active ingredients can create products that are effective, enjoyable to use and kinder in their approach to both skin and packaging.

Small choices may feel insignificant on their own, but together they can make a meaningful difference.

Growing a Conscious Independent Brand

Valley Mist has grown through the support of a wonderfully loyal community of customers and a small network of independent stockists across the UK.

Our early stockists included plastic-free refill shops and ethical retailers looking for natural products with packaging that reflected their values.

Today, Valley Mist continues to grow while remaining proudly independent, small batch and rooted in Lancashire.

About the Maker

Hi, I'm Jo, founder and maker of most things Valley Mist.

I have been making my own natural skincare for almost twenty years, long before Valley Mist became a business.

My interest began with a desire to look after skin in a more natural, thoughtful and less polluting way and over the years that curiosity developed into the products we make today.

I am passionate about the environment, growing food, holistic living and understanding the plants and ingredients that go into the things we use every day.

Valley Mist is very much an extension of those values, combining natural skincare, aromatherapy, sustainability and a deep respect for the natural world.

One of my long-term ambitions is to grow more of our own ingredients here in the UK, strengthening our connection to the land while reducing reliance on ingredients travelling long distances.

Sustainability in Practice

For us, sustainability is not simply something written on a label.

It means continually questioning how we make things, what we package them in and whether there is a better way.

Sometimes the answer is simple, replacing plastic with glass, aluminium or cardboard.

Sometimes it is more complicated. Certain pumps, droppers and protective liners still need materials for which we have not yet found a genuinely suitable alternative.

We would rather be transparent about those limitations while continuing to improve than make claims that do not reflect the reality of making safe, practical skincare.

Our Original Paper Lip Balm Tubes

Our original lip balms were one of the first ways we explored packaging differently.

We even buried used cardboard lip balm tubes in our own compost and documented how they broke down over time.

You can still see parts of that experiment in our social media archives — a slightly muddy but very Valley Mist way of testing whether packaging really behaved the way we hoped it would.

Award-Winning Natural Skincare

In 2026, Valley Mist was named Leading Plastic-Free & Natural Skincare Products 2026 – UK in the GHP Global Excellence Awards.

The recognition reflects the approach we have taken since Valley Mist began: making natural skincare in small batches, reducing unnecessary plastic, choosing predominantly glass packaging and developing practical ways for customers to return and reuse packaging.

We were especially delighted because the award came during a year of enormous change for Valley Mist, including our new branding, new website and the next stage of developing the business.

Looking Ahead

Valley Mist is still evolving.

We are developing new products, improving our packaging, exploring more locally grown ingredients and continuing to learn.

The aim remains the same as it was at the beginning:

to make beautiful, effective natural skincare while leaving as little unnecessary impact behind as we can.