Organic Beauty View

We still have plenty of spring fashion coming at us over the next few weeks (London, Milan, Paris), and I know you’re up to your ears in beauty trends. But here’s a seasonless trend that I thought might perk up your ears: beauty products that are pure enough to be eaten. Edible beauty? I know, you’re thinking, ‘No, thanks.’ But consider that your body has been consuming beauty products all along, by mouth (courtesy of those addictive balms, glosses and lipsticks) and via skin (you moisturize daily, right?). Now a few beauty brands have taken organic, food-grade ingredients that you might otherwise find in your kitchen (look for the USDA Organic certification if you’re skeptical) and spun them into an ‘edible beauty’ movement, which the beauty industry is touting as one of its next big things. So who’s at the forefront? Yes To Carrots, which advertises its lip balms as being ‘good enough to eat,’ Natural Organic Edible Cosmetics, whose name echoes the trend, and Intelligent Nutrients, which stands behind the consume-ability of its organic products, whether that be through the skin or through the mouth (the line’s founder famously sipped IN hairspray diluted with water to prove his point). Intellimune Oil, a core product in the IN line, is a blend of seed oils designed to be swallowed by the teaspoon as well as applied as a facial oil- and it shows up as an ingredient in nearly all of the brand’s products.  Edible beauty does feel like a trend that I can stand behind, if only for the fact that it will push natural products to be the safest they can be (in spite of the fact that we won’t actually be chowing down on them). You’ve heard it before, but what we put on our skin inevitably gets into our bodies. If you’re looking for some edible beauty in an instant, you might try an at-home recipe, like this whipped whitening mask (just don’t eat the raw egg whites!). Writer :: Jolene Hart