Beauty pro division

Have you noticed the vegan cosmetic marketing press that has been coming out the past few months? Are you like me, you go back and forth on being an ever-pure ingredient virgin? You want to be organic in skin care, you love how it sounds and want to be a part of the green movement, but then you get an invite to a Botox party and you accept. The results are just a little more fabulous that that aloe vera cream you have been sleeping with.

Even more basic, someone gives you a face cream with collagen from an animal source or even a placenta extract from a lamb (oh come on!) and you are intrigued so you apply it and your skin looks amazing. Animal oils against epidermal tissue as anti-vegan, as they may sound, actually are quite luxurious. Yes, even more basic, you clean your bathroom with green ingredients and trash out the bleach you have used for the past three decades to find after you clean, that your bathroom still isn’t quite clean. You now realize that green maybe isn't all it's cracked up to be.

There are naturally based beauty brands I have PR’d that have graced the editorial pages of every organic article from Elle to Natural Health, Oprah to Good Morning America. They have preached the “no talc” law. But come to find out they use carmine in their lipsticks. According to new industry trends (those created by the people marketing vegan makeup) beetle blood is out. Will brands be forced to reformulate again?

In the 80’s we were told not to use mineral oil, then in the 90’s it was propylene glycol. Then the 2000’s no parabens. We had the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that launched and scared the royal hell out of everyone. Some of their findings were on par – the nail polish formulations, lead in lipsticks, etc.

Seriously, if you are going to go pure and I mean organic or vegan, then go for it. As an esthetician who has treated acne, wrinkles, sun damage and beyond, there is nothing that can help a wound heal faster than petroleum. While critics argue that parabens cause estrogenic effects on the body, research shows that it is only in large doses, not small cosmetic ones.  I personally am not jumping ship; I love my collagen creams, parabens and animal by-products. Yesterday, I had eggs for breakfast, a BLT for lunch and a chicken salad for dinner. If I can put it in my body to eat why I can’t put in on my face? Look at the food chart for a Vegan, seriously, look at it. It appears quite miserable doesn’t it? Beans and fruit with grains – yes that is what your skin care should be made of. I am certain I am going to get some hate mail over this but I for one am just simply tired of being told what we can and can’t use and what makes us right and righteous. 

Here is our list at Pierce Mattie of products that break the green laws but for some reason remain unformulated to trend and oh yes – best sellers!

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream – this breaks the mold on ingredients the critics would have you not use, but it remains one of the best selling creams of all time, why? The formula is quite perfect. Key ingredients: Petrolatum 56.8%, Lanolin, Mineral Oil, Fragrance, & Propylparaben! (we love it!)

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing - Mineral Oil, Propylene Glycol, Lanolin Alcohol, Petrolatum, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. It remains their best seller of all time, Glamour Magazine & Allure Magazine both have noted it with a readers choice award.

Natura Bisse’s Essential Shock Night Cream - is formulated with hydrolyzed elastin usually naturally derived, water-soluble protein of bovine origin and it’s truly one of the most elegant and rich creams your face will ever try. 

St. Ives Collagen & Elastin Essential Moisturizer – it packs mineral oil, soluble collage and hydrolyzed elastin (most likely from animal) along with several paraban preservatives.  

Lastly, and this one truly takes the cake – but if you use it, you will really love it. Hydroderm Fast Acting Wrinkle Reducer this little gem has amniotic fluid, placental protein, calfskin extract, urea (urine), collagen and parabens. It’s not to be used by the anti-green newbie.  

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