Botanical makeup a natural for health-conscious shoppers

Drug Store News,  Nov 12, 2007  by Antoinette Alexander

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Aiming to appeal to consumers' desire for skin care products that have botanical elements or are positioned as natural or pure, manufacturers continue to look for ways to marry science and Mother Nature in hopes of bolstering sales in the skin care aisle.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Shoppers who increasingly seek out healthier options, such as organic foods in their diet, are expected to purchase more skin care products that are marketed as organic, natural or pure," stated Euromonitor International in a recent U.S.

Skin Care research report. Such innovation will be important, as retail sales of skin care in the United States are expected to show minimal growth between 2006 and 2011. Value growth, according to Euromonitor, will be supported by nourishers/antiagers due to the growing number of aging Americans seeking a more youthful appearance.

Thanks to the technological advancements within the mass skin care market, consumers increasingly are turning to such retailers for their skin care needs. In fact, mass skin care products accounted for 67 percent of skin care value sales in 2006, up slightly from 2000.

"An improvement in quality has allowed mass skin care products to increase their value share," stated Euromonitor. "... Such 'masstige' products may incorporate elements first developed within the premium segment, such as peptides, feature botanical elements, or be described as 'natural' products."

One such example is Alberto-Culver's St. Ives brand, which is introducing in January a skin care line "inspired by the Earth's timeless principles of purity and balance."

St. Ives' Elements is a five-SKU collection of scrubs and cleansers targeting the beauty shopper at Sephora or department stores. The line also provides retailers an opportunity to trade up the current St. Ives users, according to the company. Print and television ads will begin in February.

Through its packaging and ingredients, the collection likely will appeal to those beauty shoppers looking for nature-inspired products. Products include olive scrub, olive cleanser, thermal scrub, microdermabrasion and a leave-on SPF 10 cleanser. The SPF 10 cleanser cleans skin but leaves behind SPF 10 protection without a greasy feeling or residue. The technology, which provides both UVA and UVB protection, currently is available only in the prestige market, according to the company.

E.T. Browne, which is best known for its Palmer's Cocoa Butter products, also has infused olives into some of its products with its line of olive butter and olive oil formulas. The line includes Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Concentrated Cream, which is formulated with extra virgin olive oil and vitamin E to relieve extra-dry, flaky skin; Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Lotion and Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Organic Body Balm.

Juice Beauty, which markets at mass its organic juice-based product line for women, Juice Organics, recently expanded its Juice Beauty line sold exclusively at Sephora.

Launching into facial care as of September, Juice Beauty now has expanded into the body care segment with its Green Apple Body Brilliance Collection. The collection utilizes Juice Beauty's antioxidant technology that combines such ingredients as alpha lipoic acid, coenzyme Q10, peptides, fat-soluble vitamin C and essential fatty acids. It uses natural hydroxy acids directly from organic fruits.

The body care line includes Green Apple Mousse Body Cleanser, Green Apple Body Peel and Green Apple SPF 20 Antioxidant Body Moisturizer. A new skin care line called pur-lisse has hit the market, aiming to give women the skin solutions they need using centuries-old Chinese beauty secrets and modern science.

The brand officially launched in September at the C.O. Bigelow Apothecary in Manhattan, and creator Jennifer Yen said she is looking to expand distribution within apothecary-style retailers nationwide.

Yen set out to create her own line of skin care products after her quest for the ideal products came up short. Working as an actress, her skin had begun breaking out as she spent hours under the bright lights in heavy makeup. She found that the formulas on the market made her skin worse as they contained dyes, fragrances and other harsh ingredients.

After about three years in development, Yen has officially launched her pur-lisse line, which is a translation from the French words for "pure" and "smooth."

The collection includes gentle soy milk cleanser and makeup remover, hydra-balance moisturizer, essential daily moisturizer SPF 30, age-delaying skin serum, quadra-benefit eye serum, ultra skin brightening serum and daily lip nourisher.

The products contain five key ingredients: lupine peptides, blue lotus flower, white tea, soy proteins and sea silk.

To accompany the skin care products, there's also the blue lotus organic white tea, which is blended with organic blueberries and pomegranate. Yen recommends that beauty shoppers drink two to three cups a day.