The other day I blogged about the increasing use of some silly sounding marketing terms by beauty companies. Well, there’s another term that’s been showing up in a lot of makeup and beauty products lately: organic.
Worldwide, more than 15% of new beauty products launched this year either claimed to be organic, ethical or all natural, according to a new study by Mintel Beauty Innovation, a big marketing research firm. In 2007, that figure was 11%. And in the US, it’s even higher. Almost 30% (that’s one in three!) of US beauty products launched this year made some kind of organic or natural claims, up from 23% in 2007.
I think we all like the idea of companies using pure, natural ingredients in their products.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. El Hub got home safely last night, and Tabs (that user!) even showed up for a late dinner of Fancy Feast tuna in gravy at Chez Karen. Must be nice being a cat… when everything’s on your terms, and people serve your meals and give you free room and board and health care. Of course… they also snip your kitty balls, so I guess it’s a fair trade.
Holly says
Hi Karen,
It must be nice to have el hub safely home, it must be really hard being apart at a difficult time like this. I hope you both can at least feel a little better now that the surgery is done with!
On the subject of organic beauty products is it bad that it actually kinda puts me off?!?!?
I always kinda think its a bit of a gimick and the skincare consultant in me makes me think that its not going to work without some sort of lab made chemical input! Gosh im brainwashed by Chanel!!
In other news im sooo excited because I have managed to persuade my parents to hire a car for a day while we are in NY in Jan so that we can drive to NY state to a HUGE outlet village which has a CCO and better still we are going to go to a Target nearby while we are there woooooo ive been wanting to hit one for soooo long! So you will have to give me the ultimate Target shopping list!! I cant believe im going to NY and am more excited about visiting a suburban Target hahah!!
Almira says
My face is very, very prone to breakouts!
So anything that’s going on my face (not including eyeshadows or lip treatments, stuff that only covers a small portion note prone to breakouts) has to be EXTREMELY gentle and absolutely can not be heavy.
A lot of the time, organic makeup and other such products are easier on my face.
But otherwise, I don’t care =3
ines says
hey karen!
good to hear everything is good with you and el hub.
in terms of ingredients… for me effectiveness is a bigger factor indeciding whether or not i’d buy something. for example, tea tree oil claims to clear up your breakouts but on me it’s completely ineffective! so, id choose a chemical-based one containing benzoyl peroxide or salicylic/glycolic acid. on the other hand, body oils containing natural oils seem to absorb better on the skin, so i’d go with something containing apricot kernel, jojoba, grapeseed, marula or monoi oils, rather than one containing mineral oils.
it’s always nice to think your beauty products come from plants and herbs and such, but sometimes there just isn’t an effective alternative… what matters is that it works, right?
Almira says
Wait, surgery!? Oh no!
I am glad he’s okay.
Boym the things I missed while I was too busy to read!
Katharine says
I just wanted to say…
I love the image of Tabs and the corncob pipe. Classy : )
Vivian says
I don’t see this organic stuff as a hoax as I’ve bought some for myself. Of course being organic means that sometimes like foundation or powder not working as promising as other brands who’ve added preservatives. I bought a organic lip color in nude, a wrong color for my pigmented lips.
However, i heart Physician’s formula eyeshadow duo. I tried on the tester and both colors go on silky smooth! When I bought one and use it, they have good color payoff, what’s in the pan is what I get. Me love thy duo!
Karen says
Hi Holly,
Yes! I am so psyched for your day trip out to the CCO and Target. For sure you’ll have to pick up some Sonia Kashuk brushes, some creme blushes and her eye shadow quad in Lagoon. OoO, and some Pixie Lip Blush and Lip Conditioner!
While you’re at the CCO hopefully they’ll have a few MAC brushes there. Last time I went I saw a skunk brush and I’m still kicking myself for not getting in.
When you are leaving for NY?
Karen says
Hi Almira,
Mine is too. Have you tried Philosophy’s Purity Made Simple Cleanser? It is really gentle and takes everything off without stripping.
Karen says
Hi Ines,
Tea tree oil by itself didn’t do anything for me, either. I have used products that combine it with other acne fighting ingredients (DDF has a tea tree oil and 5% BP gel that’s amazing, but it’s kinda drying) and they work great.
I haven’t tried marula oil before as a body moisturizer. What’s it like?
Oh, and how were the rest of your tests?
Karen says
Hi Almira,
El Hub didn’t have surgery, his mom did. But thank you for the nice thought! 🙂
Karen says
Hi Katharine,
LOL… he’s exploring his country roots!
Karen says
Hi Vivian,
Physician’s Formula has some good stuff. I will have to try that duo. What color did you get?
Mariah says
I really only would go for a “natural” product if it was proven to work better than a similar product. Whatever’s best for my skin, you know? I mean, sometimes “natural” products have irritating fruit or plant extracts and things like that.
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Holly says
Hey Karen,
I have added all of those things to my NY list thanks!!
Im not going until 10th January but I feel that a lot of planning and list making is needed for a successful shopping trip haha!!
MAC is already so much cheaper for me in the US compared to the UK so im going to be in my element in the CCO!!
Karen B says
Glad that the hubby is back home safely.
I do think that natural ingredients appeal more. The more natural the better. Then again I am on a student budget so it’s not always possible to take that in account.
Karen B´s last blog post..What colour today?
Katee says
Once again, your pictures totally make me laugh (in a good way)!
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Almira says
Oh, okay! That makes more sense then, I do remember reading that. =3
No, I haven’t tried it, my acne regimine now is perfect =3 and since I shower at night, getting makeup off isn’t a problem.
ines says
tests were painful, but they’re like band aids: you just get it over with ASAP. i think i did pretty decently 🙂
marula oil is wonderful, very silky and has a fruity scent (kind of like… passionfruit?). the body shop is big on it being a moisturizing ingredient in a lot of their products (lip gloss, hi-shine lip treatment, monoi miracle body oil – a blend of marula/argan/monoi, the african spa line…).
funny marula oil fact: when the fruit of the marula tree ripens, it naturally ferments and turns into an alcoholic dessert. animals in africa will purposely eat the fruit and get trashed under the trees! if you youtube drunken monkeys you can find a number of nat’l geographic clips on it! humans will do the same – except we buy our marula in the creamy alcoholic drink called “amarula”
Jen says
Hey Karen,
Im glad he’s home well… and Im glad the surgery went well. Sigh of relief. Good wishes to you and your family still.
Vivian says
hey, karen, I got the PF organic green eyeshadow duo, real pretty
Jen says
On the subject of Organic beauty, I am a firm believer! I just found a website called curativewoman.com and love it! I have called them several times about products and they are extremely helpful and knowledgeable when I am trying to pick products out. They carry most of the mainstream organic brands and some smaller ones (that I actually like even better). I have ordered from them 3 times, and they always send free samples from other brands. I definitely think that organic is the way to go, and my skin has never looked or felt better!
beth says
I love natural and organic products – my fave at the moment is the little pot of lip balm from figs and rouge and the trilogy rosehip oil – both fab ! try them – beauty gu.com you really will be so impressed !