Sephora: New Brands

The Sephora home page has a definite natural and organic feel – not surprising really, when you discover that natural and organics are one of the fastest growing beauty areas. They’re cashing in. A new brand, Nuts Cream Perfume, caught my eye; the ‘solid’ perfume is encased in a wooden ‘nut’ – from sustainable sources of course. The four scents sound delicious though; Melon d’Eau, Mango Poudre, Y’lang Y’lang Amour and Mimosa Bouquet. The other brand doesn’t claim green credentials but looks exciting none the less; Living Proof is a selection of hair styling products that promise to banish frizz, make hair go longer between washes and give you silky strands without using silicone. It makes much of the fact that its the brainchild of a venture capitalist company and an MIT professor who applies the principles of physics to hair frizz. Anything that banishes frizz is good, but most companies use science based principles (both physics and chemistry) to formulate their products, so brandishing MIT credentials is something of a hollow claim. Further reading finds that the MIT boffin is actually a leader in his field, having made huge medical advances for the greater good. So, what’s he doing making styling cream? Couldn’t be for the cash, surely. You know, if it works, it works – it will sell on that alone, so I’m wondering why the words ‘new molecules’ and ‘breakthrough solution’ leave me blinded by science.