Suki - 100% Natural Skincare
by Leonora Oppenheim, London, UK on 07.27.07
For those of you in the States who got excited about our post on Nude Skincare earlier this week, but were frustrated that it won't be arriving on your side of the pond till the autumn, here is a homegrown treat for you.
Suki Kramer decided to create her own line of natural skincare products after years of suffering from eczema and the frustrations of it being made worse by the readily available products on the market.
She says, "The majority of products I tried either did nothing for me or worsened my condition and of course, as my knowledge of how the body processes ingredients has grown and I learned more and more what most products contain, it became impossible for me to knowingly use toxic or challenging products."
The Suki range is made from 100% natural products using organic herbs, botanicals, plant extracts, and essential oils. They are particularly recommended for people with sensitive skin, acne, eczema, dermatitis or rosacea.
Suki says she was "Fustrated with the lack of 100% natural products and 100% honest information, I was motivated not only to bring something totally different to market, but to inform my peers as well." We've seen this first hand here at TreeHugger as Suki took the time to post a comment on our How To Green Your Personal Care guide, telling us to be extra vigilant about brands which market themselves as natural, but with ingredients lists that don't match up. There's lots of helpful information on the Suki website about which ingredients we should avoid in our skincare products. Furthermore she not only details all the ingredients she uses in her products, but also how and why they work. The only information we can't find is about the type of packaging used. Suki is available to buy at the Merz Apothecary in Chicago, at Harvey Nichols stores worldwide and online. :: Suki
Would it be possible for you to write about some more affordable green solutions for personal care? I think that over 40 dollars for a tinted moisturizer is extravagant at best. The Suki cosmetics look good but they probably don't fit into most people's budget.
I agree with Elise that the prices are extravagant....and that the continual trend of natural/organic products being overly priced has negative impacts on the way outsiders view the trend. I am of the mindset that we want to gather supporters to the natural/organic cause, not shoo them away because you have to be wealthy to partake.
Another question: are there any natural facial products out there that include sun protection?
I don't know what you guys spend on products right now, but I just want to defend the (for rea, 100% natural, and clean) cosmetics industry a little...well, everyone except Wholepaycheck Foods.
When you think about what you spend on pruducts now, how they are manufactured, what's in them, etc...products like Suki aren't that expensive. Unfortunately, until the rest of the world catches on, we have to pay a little extra I guess.
and, I haven't found a whole lot of pruducts out there that are clean and provide sunscreen. I've use bareminerals, which has minerals that act as sunscreen, but I know they aren't the cleanest brand out there...
I can personally attest to the quality and value of the Suki line. I used to work in cosmetics, and I've seen it all. I've tried TONS of other all natural lines, and TONS of not natural ones and this is my favorite so far. I'm an "ingredient reader", and this stuff is real deal all natural and packaged in eco-friendly recyclable glass. Plus, it's AMAZING. This line is borderline perfect. My skin just heals itself.
I started with the mini-kit, and went on to purchase both cleansers, the Transformative Clay, the Velvet Facial Cream, and look forward to trying the makeup soon. As I run out of products, I'm just replacing them with Suki. I have gotten family and friends hooked as well. I couldn't be more pleased. Try the mini-kit for 22 bucks & you'll see that it's worth the price. I LOVE SUKI!
I use Alima Cosmetics makeup, it is mineral too but in a powder form that i find much easier to use than suki's creams which i tried and didn't like at all. Alima is nicely priced too and has much better colors than suki. suki's face makeup made me look orange and didn't blend well. i do like a couple of her skincare products though.
i love suki products. i use both kinds of moisturizers and i'm totally pale. i think the makeup is different and you have to get used to how to apply it lightly. anyway, you can't have it all, cheap, really pure, organic and environmentally sound in one product. that is the problem with our culture. that's why walmart organics, which is not organic at all, sells. people want to believe in it cause it's cheap. then companies who truly do the right thing and have to charge for it end up suffering.
i love suki! the reality is purity costs $$ and with all the lines out there this is one worth every dollar. i love the fact that you can customize the color to match your skin type perfectly, that the concealer gives such great coverage, and the colors are not all vavava voom - just elegant.
I do agree with some of the comments that going green is a good thing. Using natural and organic products are better however not everyone can afford big bucks like Suki's cosmetics.
Try earthscience essentials and for make up I do like zuzu luxe and gabriel's lipsticks.