Hello lovers!
This week we want to ask you a question: is "slow beauty" the new clean beauty?
Q: "If every brand claims to be clean, where does that leave the consumer?"
A: "I want you to think of lip care and beauty the same way you think of food. Few of you would spend $100 on a fast-food menu item, let alone without reviewing the ingredients. Slow is better than fast. So why do you do that with your cosmetics?"
At a recent event in Los Angeles with our chemist, the above distinction was made between ‘clean’ and ‘slow’ beauty. I loved it so much I had to share. Of course you already know that ‘clean beauty’ is the latest phrase that has skyrocketed to the top of the beauty dictionary. You probably also know that when put under the microscope, many brands can so easily market their products with jargon such as ‘clean’, but this is misleading because there is no official clarification and like the also over-used term ‘natural,’ it’s unregulated by the FDA. As a result you’ll find hundreds of products prettily-packaged in eco-conscious labels with ingredients that have been sourced from ‘organic’ and ‘botanic’ sources, but still contain such harmful and synthetic properties.
So let us turn a page and use a term that we believe gives ‘clean’ a good run for its money: slow beauty. It resonates for us because the term is in reference not just to the manufacturer, but also the consumer. Slow beauty, like slow fashion, is about investing in products that have been lovingly crafted using sustainable methods and intelligently sourced ingredients. Those products are then selected in thought-based quantities by consumers who have time to consider what they purchase, and why.
Many purchases (wrongly) believe that Madame Gabriela started with three shades because of scale. Wrong. My personal ethos and one that I hope you share, is that three beautifully crafted shades that are well loved and able to be crafted into hundreds of combinations is far better than twenty tubes rolling around my bag that never see the light of day. This is why we have less than thirty ingredients, not 100+, and you can pronounce every single one! This is why we know every single ingredient supplier by name. I treat my lipstick, my team, my beauty bag and therefore my lips, like items worthy of research, care, and consideration.
Now we invite you to take a slow dive deeper into this trend too. Take note of other slow beauty brands encouraging you to be more mindful about the way you shop, and that inspire you to take time away from the digital world and relax—to literally slow down and make better - not more - purchase decisions. That’s the true kiss of a life well spent.
x G.