Beauty Foods Head West

Posted: June 3, 2008

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Tarte Cosmetics recently introduced its spring 2008 line with a t5 Super Fruit Complex. The blend combines extracts from five active "super" fruits, including: açai, goji berry, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate. Açai is included for its antiaging and antioxidant benefit, while pomegranate serves to reduce both redness and wrinkles. The t5 Super Fruit Complex is included in the Dose Berry Boost & Gloss.

Recent additions to the Helena Rubinstein Life Ritual line include moringa seed extract. Long revered in Ayurvedic medicine, the moringa tree is reportedly a rich source of vitamins A, C and E, and protein and potassium. The ingredient is given prominence in the product description of Helena Rubinstein Life Ritual De-Oxidizing Fresh Cleansing Milk and other new additions to the line.

Beauty supplements are not a new idea but their visibility at cosmetics counters and boutiques is a new appearance. Supplements are appearing as stand-alone items as well as an integrated part of a beauty brand’s range.

Among the new premium-priced beauty supplements appearing in Europe is Bio-Recherche Oxyprolane Complément Alimentaire Régénération Cellulaire (Skin Regeneration Dietary Complement). An exclusive to Sephora in France, the product is marketed as a dietary supplement to improve skin regeneration after cosmetic surgery and as an antiaging supplement. The formula—which contains amino acids and micro-peptides from hydrolyzed fish proteins, fish and krill oils standardized in Omega 3, caroteno-proteins and vitamin E—is said to encourage synergistic dermal turnover and skin healing. Formerly, the capsules were available only by prescription at French pharmacies.

Skin Nutrition ++, a skin care brand from South Africa, recently launched its Body Beautiful Nutrition range in South Africa and the United Kingdom. The line of supplements is sold alongside other Skin Nutrition ++ products and promotes the brand’s holistic wellness approach. Its Body Beautiful Complex is formulated with N-acetyl glucosamine, which is said to reverse age spots and improve natural collagen regeneration. Other claims purport improvement to the hair, nails and skin, as well as increased energy levels and protection from free radicals.