Nude Skincare Bares All The Right Connections
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 07.24.07
We here at TreeHugger, like you, prefer to keep the lotions and potions we put on our bodies pretty pure and simple. The purity of Nude Skincare is displayed not only in its branding and natural ingredients, but also in its pedigree; Nude has been raised in a very well connected stable indeed. This new beauty range has been created by Bryan Meehan, the co-founder of the British organics store Fresh + Wild, who after selling to Whole Foods for a cool $38 million in 2004 decided to look for a new eco-friendly business challenge. The fact that Nude spelled backwards is Edun should give you some indication of Meehan's high profile connections. He says in a recent interview with The Evening Standard Magazine, "Ali Hewson and I were discussing her ethical clothing range Edun. When I told her I wanted to get into natural skincare, she suggested using the name Nude. She and Bono are now my investors." Just when we thought Bono couldn't possibly fit in any more planet saving activities we discover the man is helping to bring us organic moisturiser!
Nude has launched here in the UK this summer and will be appearing on the US horizon this autumn. Judging by its current and upcoming outlets, Harveys Nichols and Whole Foods in the UK and Barneys in the US, it's aiming for a very big market. We love the natural, organic and probiotic ingredients, the sleek and minimalist styling, the minimal packaging which uses post industrial recycled plastic and is fully recyclable, the non-GM biodegradable cornstarch sleeves and the fact that a brand has finally taken its principles right through to the sales staff who are kitted out with organic cotton uniforms. We're wondering if they are designed by Edun ?
If you've read our guide on How to Green Your Personal Care you'll know that there are quite a few untested and potentially harmful ingredients that go into many mainstream skincare products. Any brand that proves how unnecessary it is to include these nasties in their ingredient lists gets the thumbs up from us. The fact that Nude are setting themselves up in very large department stores next to other giant skincare brands shows everyone that natural products do not mean lower quality products. Meehan told the The Independent "I'm doing this because I believe the product itself is very good, but in doing so, I would like to think I can put a message out to the cosmetics industry and say, 'if I can do it, so can you'. Yes, the packaging has been thought through, but it shouldn't just be eco-brands doing that." It looks like Nude will be showing natural skincare products in through the mainstream door, and they'll be leading by example. :: Nude Skincare :: The Evening Standard :: The Independent.
i'm on board to try some of the products from nude. I've been looking for some anti aging products that are paraben and PEG and mineral oil free.
I think between this and Stella McCartney's line, it's a great start. What frustrates me though, is how come it takes a well meaning celebrity to fund a line like this? Shouldn't the major cosmetic companies be leading the charge?
That's sad.
I don't believe this is a line I will be using or promoting anytime soon. Although many of the large 'chemical' sounding names are natural ingredients, many of them are not! This line still has laurates, stearates, fragrance (which encompasses 4 000 items, many of which are carcinogenic), glycerin, etc.......there is definitely cleaner skincare lines out there.
I just wanted to answer the query about some of the ingredients in nude's products. I can assure you that the laurates, stearates and glycerin you see in our ingredient lists are all plant derived and not synthetics or derived from mineral oils.
We use:
sucrose stearate (sugar, palm oil and corn)
lauryl laurate (palm and coprah)
glyceryl stearate se (palm rapeseed and sunflower)
glycerin (plant sources)
All our fragrances are also natural rather than natural identical and therefore are non-synthetic and non-carcinogenic.
I hope that helps to clarify.
To be fair, Nude is doing a pretty good job, we scrutinized all the ingredients in Moisture Balance and listed them on our site Truth In Aging (http://www.truthinaging.com/2008/07/nude-hydration.html). You will not find dubious parabens, sulphates, PEGs, phthalates, or silicones in Moisture Balance. That is still pretty rare.
Stem Organics is another good, natural brand and gets good reviews from readers http://www.truthinaging.com/2008/07/reader-review-stem-organics-gentle-cleansing-milk.html