Now drink your lunch — and be beautiful

MANILA, Philippines - People today are more food-centric. One example of this phenomenon is consumers switching to organic produce, even juicing them as meal supplements or replacements. Well, now you can squeeze fruits and vegetables for all they’re worth.

Organically farmed fruits and vegetables can contain up to 50 percent more vitamins and minerals than conventionally farmed crops. Not to be confused with “natural,” organic food not only comes from the earth, but is also sourced from a farm that replenishes the soil without the use of harmful chemicals. The produce undergoes rigorous regulations as well in order to become certifiable.

And it’s not just what we eat. It’s also what we put on our skin (the skin absorbs 64 percent of what we apply to it). Thus, beauty solutions brand Juice Beauty is on a mission to squeeze out as much skincare secrets from Mother Earth as possible.

Karen Behnke founded Juice Beauty when she became pregnant with her first child at the age of 40. She already had a healthy lifestyle, but seeing lines develop on her skin (add to that the hormonal changes) inspired her to create a beauty regimen faithful to holistic green living. This, especially after she found out that most conventional products contained pesticides, petroleum, formaldehyde, etc.

More than being a serial wellness woman, she wanted to protect her unborn child from these harmful toxins. 

“Karen wasn’t happy with the products on the market,” says Vernetra Young, international sales and marketing manager for Juice Beauty. “Most of them contained chemicals or organic ingredients in a water base, which means they’re diluted. We use an organic juice base.”

The revolutionary formulations of Juice Beauty started with that basic premise: maximizing the healing potential and nutritional benefits of organic ingredients and their juice bases, to create as pure a formula as possible that could lay claim to being almost 100 percent organic.

Eleven years later, the brand continues to serve up four “pure beauty” solutions: Daily Essentials Collection, Blemish Clearing Collection, Green Apple Age Defy Collection and Stem Cellular Collection.

The Daily Essentials Collection is for people who want to go through their day with a constant consciousness about healthful beauty. It includes the bestselling, patented Green Apple Peel that delivers spa-grade exfoliation, revealing a brighter complexion while firming the skin. A spa in a jar (and in the comforts of your boudoir), it is truly a daily essential for all skin types.

For people with oily and blemish-prone skin, there are the Blemish Clearing products. The active ingredients include salicylic acid from willow bark, organic fruit acids, Vitamin C and CoQ10. “There was this customer named Brenda. She used to have really bad acne until she used this collection,” Vernetra shares. “Her skin cleared up in four weeks! She’s a believer. She even quit her job and applied in the company. Now she’s the customer service manager. You can call her and she’ll be happy to tell you her story.”

To maintain youthful skin, Juice Beauty also offers the Green Apple Age Defy Collection and the specialized Stem Cellular Collection, rounding up the regenerating benefits of plant stem cells in an empowering six-step regimen.

Not only do the products work, they support solid eco-values that include purchasing from organic farmers. The products are also manufactured with solar power, using recycled containers printed with soy ink. Five percent of Juice Beauty’s profits also go to chosen charities. 

So with the outdoor season in full swing, getting a healthy lifestyle should be worked on from within and without. “They say it’s organic, so you can eat it.  Don’t eat it, but you can,” Vernutra laughs. “I say, just ‘juice’ it.