Today, women (and men, too) around the world continue to benefit from the many wonders of plants via beauty products that offer answers to just about every beauty problem you could think of on the face of the earth.
Air-brushed beauty J Lo, famous for her all-natural butt, swears by Creme de La Mer. No ifs and butts about it. "Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize," J Lo recites her beauty mantra.
Max Huber – aerospace physicist from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the man behind La Mer – certainly knew what women want (and need). Having attracted a cult following, Creme de La Mer was actually the beautiful outcome of a tragic story. Huber suffered third-degree chemical burns on his face and eye area when rocket fuel blew up in his face. In the course of treating himself and recovering from his unfortunate accident, Huber became obsessed with skincare and made studies out of his own laboratory at home. Six thousand experiments and 12 years later, the miracle cream Creme de La Mer came out in 1965.
There are no miracle ingredients in this wonder product. Huber simply used fresh sea kelp sourced from the Pacific Ocean. He used the minerals extracted from fresh sea kelp and then mixed them with other all-natural ingredients like calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, lecithin, vitamins C, D, E and B12 as well as extracts from citrus, eucalyptus, wheat germ, alfalfa and sunflower. When kelp and vitamins are combined, they produce micronutrients that help energize the skin.
But a lot more goes into making Creme de La Mer. Quite a genius, Max Huber stumbled upon a breakthrough bio-fermentation process that preserves and strengthens the integrity of organic ingredients. Most skincare products, manufactured at high temperatures and pressures, end up like overcooked vegetables zapped of most of their nutrients. But with La Mer, all the key ingredients are locked in to deliver moisture to the skin and provide continuous rehydration. It is compatible with all skin types and can be used in conjunction with all other skincare products. Ooh La Mer!
Creme de La Mer moisturizing cream, moisturizing lotion and oil absorbing lotion are available at Rustan’s Makati.
Naturally nature – Clarins is totally committed to beauty as well as to helping preserve a healthy environment. This is evident in its recycling and waste treatment program, coming up with recyclable packaging and recyclable paper where all its product literature is printed.
A staunch environmentalist, Clarins has been using natural vegetal complexes instead of all animal-origin extracts since it launched its 100 percent pure plant extract oils. Thus, since 1987, it has stopped animal testing, way ahead of the European Union’s directive prohibiting such. Elle Woods would certainly be pleased to hear this. Clarins South Africa is a member of Beauty Without Cruelty.
Clarins’ plant-based skincare line has a specific formula for every type of skin: Dry, combination/oily and dehydrated. This range of face creams and face oils helps maintain the skin’s natural balance and promote a more radiant appearance.
Then there’s Clarins’ aroma body care range with essential oils. For 100 percent natural exfoliation, Clarins has its Toning and Relaxing Body Polishers. Their unique combination of natural sugar and salt crystals lusciously melts over the skin to make it smoother to the touch.
Fact is, you can transform your home into a Clarins spa with the L’Aromaphytosoin Corps Clarins.
Clarins products are exclusively available at Rustan’s.
Coffee, tea or Origins White Tea?
Origins was the first cosmetic company in the world to harness the power of white tea (which contains an antioxidant known as polyphenol) in a facial skincare product – make that a whole line of A Perfect World products to protect the skin against environmental damage that can lead to visible signs of premature aging. There’s A Perfect World for Eyes firming moisture treatment with white tea extract, boswellia extract, vitamin A, white birch extract, bifidus, among others plus essential oils, to help brighten the dull, sallow skin around the eye area – a boon to career girls keeping late hours at work, if you ask me. And if you want to make a difference, there’s Origins Make A Difference skin rejuvenating treatment that boasts a major botanical breakthrough formula to give skin dehydrated a second chance – certainly a lift not just to the skin but to one’s spirits as well.
No wonder Demi Moore wants more and more of Origins (she applies Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask) to keep her skin looking flawless and fresh.
Origins is exclusively available at Rustan’s.
And now, for the first time, you’ll find an array of potent skin-repairing plants in just one product: Sisley. It’s got echinacea, arnica flower, shea butter, phytosqualane and wheat proteins to nourish skin and make it more thoroughly moisturized, soft and feel exceptionally comfortable. Speaking of comfort, it’s got Confort Extreme, a nighttime formula that promises cellular regeneration with its fatigue-eliminating ingredients.
For combination, oily and problem skin, Sisley has come up with this solution: Tropical Resins Complex with its purifying, matifying and balancing "blotter" action. And for the most fragile areas, there’s the Sisleya Eye and Lip Contour Cream. Bye-bye, under-eye circles and puffiness!
Enhance your skin’s immunity and make it shine like snow flakes, so says Sekkisei.
It’s lightweight, non-greasy, will not cause breakouts, and seems to vanish pores. It’s really a good night cream. You’ll love how your skin looks in the morning. So go just a few testimonials for Sekkisei, whose popularity has spread by word of mouth.
Sekkisei uses extracts from Japanese and Chinese plants which have been used since ancient times and are said to have beneficial effects on the skin. For instance, there’s the Sekkisei Cream Excellent, which incorporates a capsule-type base that allows the ingredients to remain within the skin and leave it ever fresh.
Sekkisei products are available at Essenses, Rustan’s.
There must be something extra good about organic extra virgin oil that W.S. Badger Company uses it in its balms, potions and natural remedies. Yes, it’s high in antioxidants, essential fatty acids, minerals, vitamins, natural enzymes and ferments. It’s absolutely one of the finest skincare oils ever produced.
Says Badger Bill, "We don’t test on animals. We don’t use genetically altered materials. And we don’t use any artificial preservatives or synthetic junk. What you read on the label is what you get."
You can get these creamy, dreamy and botanically bodacious balms, potions and natural remedies only at Essenses, Rustan’s.
No wonder all-natural beauty products are all the rage these days.