Turning the world green through beauty – and the revolution has already started in Sevenoaks

I KNOW what you are going to say, you have seen and heard it all before… teams of product champions, inviting you to parties where after a few drinks and nibbles the organisers give you an entertaining talk before trying to sell you Tupperware, beauty products, clothes, or even titillating items from places like Ann Summers.

Tropic Skincare Ambassadors Francoise De Smet and Lucy Talbot

So, why should the people pushing Tropic Skincare be any different? They too will visit you in your own homes or other local venues for a party, a one-on-one pampering session, or will even help prepare you for your wedding day. It’s just multi-level marketing, or what’s becoming better known as social selling, isn’t it?

Well the difference may surprise you if Francoise de Smet and Lucy Talbot are to be believed. The two friends, who are acting as Tropic ‘Ambassadors’ in the Sevenoaks area, say they don’t mind if you don’t buy anything, as long as you go away having been educated about the chemicals and toxins we are putting in to our bodies just through the use of every day products.

Lucy said: “I had always considered myself well educated and in the past always chose beauty products I believed would not do me any harm as I know there is a lot of stuff out there with nasty toxic chemicals in them.

“But then Francoise encouraged me to look at an App called Think Dirty. You can put in the name of a product and it will list all the ingredients and give it a rating. I was horrified that a facial wash I was using because it was fragrance free, scored very badly on the App. So, I looked up some of the other products I was using because they claimed to be organic, and again these scored very badly.

“I felt like I had been duped, and I thought if I have been duped there are probably lots of other people out there who have been too.

Francoise added: “The Think Dirty App isn’t just for beauty products. It covers things like cleaning products. Take a spray for example. Not only do you probably end up inhaling it, but droplets land on your skin and 60 – 70% of these products can be absorbed into your blood stream very quickly. Plus, these chemically laden products are washed off our bodies down the plughole and into our eco systems and oceans.

“If people go home from our get togethers having loaded up the Think Dirty App this makes me happy. Just listen to what I have got to say and if you want more information that’s fine, and if you don’t that’s fine as well.

“I would love people to try the Tropic products and essentially, we are giving people the knowledge behind them. Therefore, I don’t see it as selling and I certainly don’t see it as social selling. It’s just an extension of everything I do and that is ‘how can you best look after yourself’. It’s just as much about education.”

Tropic Skincare was started by Susie Ma. After appearing on BBC TV’s The Apprentice in 2011, Susie was given the chance to team up with Lord Alan Sugar after she impressed him with her vision for natural and cruelty-free skincare. Lord Sugar invested in her business as a 50/50 partner and they set up a Social Selling business platform aimed at enabling people to start their own beauty business with Tropic products. Tropic can be used by both sexes and there are male and female ambassadors.

Francoise said: “Susie Mar has an aim and that is to create a healthier, greener, more empowered world. She has looked at every aspect of the business and how it affects our planet, not just the health of the people who use her products.

Francoise and Lucy are aiming to help turn the world ‘green by educating people about what they are putting in and on their bodies

“Going green used to be viewed as attracting only those with a hippy, alternative lifestyle. But now people are becoming increasingly aware of the damage we are doing to the planet and so want to be more environmentally friendly.

“Plus, a lot of companies say they don’t test on animals themselves but will then use ingredients or components that have been tested on animals by other agencies. So strictly speaking they are not cruelty free. Nothing used by Tropic has been tested on animals and everything is made in its own ‘Beauty Kitchens’ in Surrey.”

Tropic also claims its skincare products are vegan friendly and are designed using the richest, most nutritious premium natural ingredients to ensure they are effective on all skin types, even the most sensitive.

Lucy said: “I was always quite interested in what products had in them, but I became even more interested after I became a mother. When you have a new born baby for example, you spend a lot of time with that baby resting on your skin, so you don’t want to pass on any nasty chemicals.

“But what really kick-started my interest in natural skin care products was when my youngest son reacted to a sun tan lotion. He was a bit prone to eczema anyway and he had a terrible flare up. I tried some other brands and had the same problem, so I was on the lookout for something a bit different. I started to investigate natural sun tan lotions and this eventually led me to Tropic. I then started using the products myself because they are so beautiful – the feel on your skin, the smell of them, everything.

Francoise’s background is in health and wellness. She has been a personal trainer and she holds a nutritional diploma. She said: “I have always taught people about being well and I extended this to thinking about what you put on your skin as well as in your body which is why I started using Tropic products. I opened my own account to benefit from the discount that gives you, but once I understood Suzie Ma’s message and the Green Beauty agenda she was trying to push, that was it. I decided I too wanted to educate as many people as I can.

“The Green Beauty Revolution is a term Suzie uses quite often. This revolution has been simmering under the surface for quite a while.

“People are becoming more educated especially now we can download things like the Think Dirty App which highlights how chemically laden some products are. This makes people stop and think about all the products they are using on a daily basis.”

If you would like to arrange a Tropic Skincare event or find out how to become one of the company’s ambassador’s you can contact Francoise and Lucy using the following details:

Francoise – email: francoise.desmet@me.com Tel: 07447 469679

Lucy – email: LucyMoore459@hotmail.com Tel: 07841 163671

For more information on Tropic Skincare products go to: