The past five months have been a journey—either an emotional roller coaster, or a time of quiet bread-making contemplation, or both. But through it all, one thing has remained constant: our own faces staring back at us through endless Zoom calls, not to mention the bathroom mirror. Unless you consider a spa facial an essential service (we don’t judge), you’re likely still at home in endless DIY skincare mode.
The good new is the beauty industry has taken note of our collective stress and offers these new mindful skincare launches to address some of the issues affecting us of late: dryness, firmness, and stress. A more-than-skin-deep antidote for the times.
Guerlain
For many, the image of the French perfume, cosmetics and skincare house Guerlain is one of staid classicism, but the truth is it’s been mindful and ingredient-focused for nearly 200 years, though its official messaging around this has been largely under the radar until recently.
The house was founded in 1828 by Pierre-François-Pascal who committed from the get-go to growing his own flowers for his fragrances, and that ethos continues today. On the tiny wind-swept island of Ouessant off the coast of Brittany, Guerlain has partnered with UNESCO to undertake massive stewardship of the island’s black bee population. Here, the bees’ sustainable habitat, free of pesticides and over-farming, ensures a steady supply of the purest of honey for Guerlain’s iconic Abeille Royale skincare line.
This month Guerlain introduces new products to its Royale Abeille skincare line. Harnessing honey rich in amino acid and oligo-elements from the island’s stocky black bee, two new additions include a Fortifying Lotion to help ward off stress and pollution with 98 per cent naturally derived ingredients and a Cleansing Oil Anti-Pollution made for the face, eyes and lips with a fine oil that turns milky when in contact with water.
Of note for any Guerlain product, the company allows consumers to trace ingredients back to their source. A scan code on each box lets the buyer know why a particular ingredient was picked, where it’s from and even the factory where the packaging is made. Products are then shipped to shelves by electric truck or to North America by boat—not plane—to meet Guerlain’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2028.
Goop
Image courtesy of Goop.
History has always had a complicated relationship with strong women who offer advice. Think Hilary Clinton, Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow to name just a recent few, but it’s the latter which feels particularly perplexing to me. Paltrow comes with neither strong political bent nor insider trader status so I’ve never understood the sea of hackles she raises, though I suspect it’s related to her commitment to empower women’s health and sexuality through her game-changing lifestyle brand, GOOP.
If you’re for mindful dialogue around easy-to-follow, natural skincare, then this is the brand for you. With the new Goopgenes All-in-One Nourishing face cream and All-in-One Nourishing eye cream, you can address the four key signs of skin health: hydration, firmness, smoothness and glow. The two-part line supercharges your skin with active, plant-based ceramides, seven active botanical extracts, oils and nutrients—all vegan, cruelty-free and gluten-free.
Fenty
Inclusivity has always been at the heart of Rihanna’s business empire. Her lingerie line Savage x Fenty exalts women in all shapes and sizes, while her inclusive beauty line single-handedly revolutionized the industry when it first introduced an unheard of 40 different shades of foundation in 2017.
And while we’ve all been hunkering down during COVID-19, Rihanna got busy hosting a global house party to celebrate the launch of her debut skincare brand, Fenty Skin. Last month, partygoers virtually came together from around the world to “meet up “in the Fenty Skin house, where Rihanna surprised her loyal fans with live video chats and an introduction to her clean, vegan, earth-conscious, multitasking skincare line.
Called Fenty Skin Start’rs, the stable encompasses three hero products: Total Cleans’r Remove-It-All cleanser, Fat Water Pore-refining toner serum, and Hydra Vizor Invisible moisturizer broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen. Each product is oil-free, vegan and gluten-free, and all are mindfully made with earth-conscious ingredients.
Used together, the lineup aims to brighten your skin, reduce the look of pores, and target dark spots, with the ultimate goal to simplify your skincare routine. Because life is complicated enough right now.
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