Kokova Magazine

Competition now closed. Congratulations to our winner, Diane Cotton (East Sussex).

For five spectacular days from Tuesday 18th - Saturday 22nd June 2013 Royal Ascot, one of the highlights of the Flat racing calendar, will bring together the very best of fashion, style, sport and entertainment. Over the past 300 years, Ascot has established itself as a national institution; with Royal Ascot becoming the centrepiece of the British social calendar and the ultimate stage for the best racehorses in the world. Few sporting venues can match the rich heritage and history of Ascot Racecourse.

Calling pubs up and down the country to start planning for Cask Ale Week 27th September to 6th October 2013 and get people celebrating Britain's national drink at your pub. The theme, the Great Big Taste Challenge gives plenty of scope to highlight your cask offer, run promotions and put on events. Get your chef to recommend cask ales to match each dish on the menu; involve your local CAMRA branch in an event; get loyal cask ale drinkers to 'introduce a friend' through promotions or sampling activity; give prizes for the best descriptions of the taste of each cask ale you sell.

Lately we have found the trend towards 'natural & organic' skincare a little confusing and in light of the recent report from the Soil Association regarding the harmful chemicals found in organically labelled products, we decided to look a little closer at the synthetic market vs the natural choice. The International Institute of Anti-Aging (iiaa) are the official UK distributors of Environ Skincare, Jane Iredale natural mineral make-up and the Advanced Nutrition Programme (ANP) beauty supplements, so we visited their Skin3 salon in Swiss Cottage, London and began trialling their range.

In the approach to this weekend's Allergy & Free From Show at Olympia (7-9 June), which is regarded as a major highlight in the free from food retailers calendar, Fria, Sweden's most successful, award-winning gluten-free bakery and the market-leader in the Scandinavian countries, has announced that its products are now available in the UK through more than sixty online and independent retailers including GoodnessDirect.

Recent news from the Soil Association highlights further concerns regarding the beauty industry and the number of harmful chemicals found in beauty products labelled as 'organic' and 'natural' or 'nature inspired'. According to the Soil Association, ingredients often found in antifreeze, floor cleaner, oven cleaner or car oil and ingredients banned in children's food and toys are making their way into non-certified beauty products labelled as organic or natural due to a lack of industry regulation.