A Collection of Exceptional Stories, Tips, Recipes, and Memorable Moments from the Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton
Organic beauty products, of course, are nothing new. They've been with us since antiquity, had a resurgence in the 1960s, and had, by the turn of this century, gone mainstream. By 1990, Estée Lauder had unveiled its first green line, Origins. Seven years later, the company acquired Aveda for a then-staggering $300 million. L'Oréal bought the Body Shop for an estimated $1 billion in 2006 — the same year corporate behemoth Clorox nabbed Vermont-based Burt's Bees.
But even while these brands bloomed, natural beauty regimens remained mostly a fringe phenomenon. Products formulated with cutting-edge chemistry retained their popularity. Plus, synthetic products had silkier textures and more enticing scents.
That's changed, and happily for today's green-leaning consumers, skin care is one piece of the ecopuzzle that's markedly improving. Pure, organic ingredients and effective formulations are no longer mutually exclusive. "Most of the ingredients in high-end organic skin care today were found in the crunchier products of the past, but they're being combined in more sophisticated ways, and in higher concentrations," says Siobhan O'Connor, co-author of "No More Dirty Looks" and a beauty blog of the same name. Call these products ecoluxe: they feel indulgent, the packaging is beautiful, and they work wonders. …
Click here to read more in the Fall 2012 issue of The Ritz-Carlton Magazine