2. Gem Stoned
Silver, gold, and platinum are so 2008. Spas around the world
are now boasting the benefits of beauty products infused with
precious and semi-precious gems. New York's Cornelia Day Resort
just launched Jewelry for Skin; Paris adores Lisa Simon's
range inspired by India; and Dubai's spectacular yet soulful
Shiffa range is used in spa rituals at the Peninsula Beverly
Hills and the Trump Spa in Chicago. Whether gem extracts are
as beautifying as the real thing has yet to be determined,
but some spas swear by the subtle healing energies imparted
by them.
3. The Skin-Care Diet
Recently "What are you eating?" not "What products
are you using?" has become the opening gambit of three
out of four facialists (a personal poll). This reflects a
return to the inner-beauty mantra that a good diet begets
good skin. Food, it seems, is the new skin care. Witness a
rise in spa products with a good-for-you message: organic-derived
ingredients; topical probiotics (the beneficial bacteria)
in brands such as Bioelements and Nude; and a growing number
of beauty supplement-like beverages.
4. Antioxidant Free-for-All
All manner of teas (Ole Henriken likes red, Fresh likes black),
hearty alpine herbs like edelweiss (found in Les Fermes de
Marie and Kerstin Florian), and rare fruit extracts (Priori's
coffeeberry, SkinCeuticals's phloretin from apples) will be
joined by more and possibly increasingly obscure sources of
skin-benefiting antioxidants. Next up, suggests an article
in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology: burdock fruit. (A
request for 2010: a free-radical-fighting measurement device,
so we can tell the effectiveness of one antioxidant over another.)
5. Sunscreen Controversy
Are mineral sunscreen particles too small to be safe? Are
chemical sunscreens bad for you? Do some antioxidants boost
protection from UV rays? When will the Food & Drug Administration
finalize the rating system for UVA protection? More questions
are simmering about beauty's most serious skin-care product
than the industry can answer, at least in 2009. So expect
a summer of mixed messages. (That doesn't give you a free
pass not to slather it on every day.)
6. Suds-Free Shampoos
By popular demand, shampoos without controversial sodium laurel
sulfate (SLS) or traditional foaming agents are hitting the
shelves. Even though there's nothing in nature that can foam
like it, brands from California's Sumbody to Paris's Leonor
Greyl, which offers spa treatments for hair, say that this
generation of SLS-free shampoos produces a soft lather or
an emulsification, making washing without suds a more sophisticated
experience than previous versions.
7. Organic Panic
While many beauty brands scramble for a USDA Organics logo,
strip parabens from their formulations, or swap their packaging
for something more earth-friendly to meet consumer demand,
others will use 2009 to better define what shade of green
they subscribe to and tout transparency as their angle. Call
it conscious marketing.
8. Hammams Are Hot
Beautifying bathing rituals from around the globe and the
treatments and beauty products based on them come and go in
popularity. This year hammams are hot: Brand-new spas, from
the Montage Beverly Hills to the InterContinental Montelucia
in Arizona, are hearkening high-caliber hammams, the traditional
Moorish-Mediterranean steam room, with rasoul-mud rituals
and Beber body treatments. And look for beauty products with
skin-nourishing argan oil (Cinq Mondes, Josie Maran, REN),
myrrh (Aromatherapy Associates, In Fiore, and Rene Furterer's
new anti-frizz hair-care range), and even black soap. These
ingredients cite Morocco as their source, a trend that's hotter
than, well, Morocco.
9. Hard Science Sells
There's nothing like proof that a product works to justify
a cosmetic purchase or a higher price point. That's why science-backed
products will be flourishing even in tough economic times.
Look for the drug-company debuts of Botox competitor Reloxin
in 2009, an injectable, and the much-anticipated eyelash lengthener
Latisse by Allergan, along with more growth hormones, skin-penetrating
peptides, and nanotechnology in over-the-counter beauty products.
The marriage of science and beauty will also continue to strengthen
because of the use of biology textbook terms (like cellular,
epidermal, dermal) invading skin care and its labels, reaching
a whole new level of skin-care marketing.
10. Multitasking (and Money-Saving)
Beauty Products
Targeted skin-care products will give way to products that
have two, three, or four beautifying uses, such as SkinFusion's
brightening, anti-aging, protecting foundation with SPF and
Joey New York's Quick CTSM2, an all-in-one cleanser, toner,
scrub, and mask. Along these lines are what I'm calling "fully
loaded beauty products," those that contain virtually
every anti-aging ingredient on the market (Bliss's Youth As
We Know It is a good example). These multitaskers are good
for a drooping face and dropping dollar, so the thinking goes.
BONUS TREND (or the one I didn't
see coming): Niche Nail Polish
Essie, OPI, and CND aren't the only games in town. Deborah
Lippmann has taken off as the bespoke nail bedazzler with
the Lippmann Collection, and makeup artist Michael Marcus
has partnered with the Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula
Papagayo. Even perambulating podologist (a European nursing
specialty) Bastien Gonzales, lover of the bare-and-buffed
nail, has caved, creating a rich, red polish for the One&Only
Resorts.
by Melisse Gelula
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