Being green doesn’t necessarily mean turning all granola and whipping out the hippie card, racing to hug the next tree. Nor does it mean having to drive a Prius (are they even available here?) or curbing your shopping habit to save the earth from consumerism. In fact, part of going green in my book, is by using natural products created by ecologically aware beauty brands which help protect the earth and keep you looking gorgeous at the same time.
The green movement is rooting itself all over the world with just cause. If everyone paused for just a moment and did a little something, the world could be a better place. People could look better too. From the land down under that brings us hottie Hugh Jackman, succulent lamb chops and fuzzy koala bears, is an unconventional skincare brand that makes being green not only highly effective but super cool. The trend toward green has definitely had a boost since Al Gore’s flick but niche Aussie brand Jurlique has been formulating lovely natural beauty products for over twenty years.
An alternative beauty company, it firmly believes that beauty comes from beauty. Since the products are formulated with herbs and flowers grown on Jurlique’s own farms, they consider these organic farms “the source.” It’s a 150-acre farm in Adelaide Australia where 90 percent of the herbs and flowers used in the products come from. The rest of the products come from other farms which are either biodynamic, organic or natural. Sounds cultish, but they do tend to and sustain the source to grow beauty from life. The method they employ to work the fields is through biodynamic farming, working alongside the earth’s cycles to produce nutrient rich soil, optimising the living energy in our plants to deliver beauty from energy. This energy connects our skin to Mother Earth creating a natural source of balance to create beauty from beauty. While there are some opinions that natural products aren’t as effective as chemically based products, this does not hold true for Jurlique. Their products are just as effective and results can be seen in the same amount of time. In fact, using chemically-based products creates build up — within one year, 4.4 pounds of chemicals are added to the skin when using unnatural products.
Fortunately for us, Peter Stockdale, the GM of the international market and the duty free market, jetted into town with Xiaoping Shen, the director of international marketing for the boutique launch to help broaden our knowledge of the brand.
With so many irksome stress aggressors hovering over us and as seasonal changes wreak havoc on our skin, the philosophy behind Jurlique is achieving balanced skin with its gentle product line. Though Jurlique can boast of scores of products in its extensive skincare range including hair and baby care, I do have my select faves. One of the most amazing products in the entire line is the Herbal Recovery Gel, an incredibly lightweight serum that practically melts into the skin. A transparent gel — made of rose to balance, chamomile to hydrate, rosehip oil to revitalize, gingko to act as an antioxidant and ginseng to enliven — provides the right amount of moisture and keeps the skin luminous at the same time. According to Stockdale, Jurlique recommends that the products be applied gently by using the ring fingers to tap the product onto the skin. These fingers are generally the lightest of them all ensuring a kinder touch.
Not one to neglect my digits, the Rose Hand Cream is always a blissful moment for my hands upon application.
Since the products are all natural, there is an expiration date to consider. Products last for about two and a half years with safe preservatives added to the formulations to prevent spoilage. Currently Jurlique is looking to remove all the preservatives. I’ve given the aforementioned products a test drive and am psyched to say that I’m pleased with the results that I’ve witnessed so far. They’ve been effective and non-irritating on my skin — a pleasure since my skin has been on the fritz lately. I’ve felt a boost of moisture and have noticed that my skin is more supple after continued usage.
Even the packaging is earth friendly, with its uncanny knack to bring you closer to the “source.” Using recycled fibers for their origami boxes doesn’t make you feel guilt ridden when you rip them open. Right now they are made of 80 percent of recyclable material and that will soon go up to 100 percent. It’s like being a kid again on Christmas. Plus all the plastic and glass is recyclable as well. The photos of the herbs and flowers on the packaging have been taken on the farm to show exactly from where the product has been spawned. The logo is too cute to boot — the baby letter ”I” has a bud peeping out of the top while the tail of the ”Q” is about to set its roots in the ground. Call me crazy but I’ve got the urge to hug a tree now!
The Jurlique boutique is now open at Greenbelt 5, Makati.