Beauty by Nature - Are Natural Ingredients a Fashion Trend or Permanent Fixture?

Trend (verb)

• To have a general tendency, as events, conditions etc.
• To tend to take a particular direction; extend in some direction indicated
• To be currently popular
• To veer or turn off in a particular direction: The river trends towards the west.

(noun)

• The general course or prevailing tendency
• Style or vogue (fashion)
• The general direction followed by a road, river or coastline etc.

So is 'green' the new black or have we ditched black altogether never to be seen again thanks to a permanent and deep-set change in our consumer psyche?

Looking at the above I still feel confused as these definitions seem to offer us two ways of interpreting this word:

A passing, transient phase, style or fashion.

OR

A more permanent deviation from what would be a measurable middle line that persists and may become more or less pronounced over time.

Maybe the answer to this dilemma will come if we expand our focus a little.

The cosmetics industry serves all, from those looking or needing products to maintain their personal hygiene to those who see their bodies as works of art, beacons of political light or nurturing and healing gardens. At a basic level all cosmetics must fulfil one or another practical function, this is the science bit, but beyond that we get into the realm of art and that is where things get exciting!

It has occurred to me that this relationship between science and practicality plus art and self-expression is responsible for this 'trend vs. permanent' confusion. The science underpinning the cosmetics industry is evolving rather than trending to green. Peeping outside of our small industry for a moment it makes total sense that we are moving towards more sustainable ingredients, environmentally safer chemical synthesis and smarter formulating. As the global population keeps on growing both in number and prosperity the demands we place on our products increases. Many of us want our skin to look smoother as we clean, younger as we moisturise and airbrushed as we preen. Our locks must be fuller, glossier and more fabulous than before. Everyone deserves the right to look like a star because everyone is a star. However, nobody wants to live with a bitter taste in their mouths caused by wanton destruction, pollution or exploitation of resources for what is, in reality a frivolous triviality. The science behind the glamour had to grow up. It was about time!

But likewise the fashion behind the brand has also matured. We no longer live in a time when there is only one true 'fashion'. Self-expression, individualism and generation 'I' fit themselves neatly into what seems to be a never-ending choice of 'tribes' who, no longer constrained by physical location connect globally via the internet using the power that is social media. The world of self-expression knows no boundaries and that is a great thing!

So, going back to our original question, are natural ingredients a trend or a permanent fixture I think we now have our answer.

The science behind the cosmetics industry is like a great and mighty river veering off on a steady and solid projectorary towards greentopia. Its course ever evolving, shaped by the landscape that it passes through and the people that it meets along the way. Meanwhile the art behind the industry shoots off this mighty river like tributaries, sometimes meandering and sometimes gushing quickly and purposefully, cutting new paths, challenging the status quo and at times making it hard to differentiate 'mother river' from 'daughter'. Everything is possible; everyone is catered for, every part important and relevant. Such is life.

Therefore the answer to this question is yes.

There has never been a better time to get your canoe and start paddling!

Amanda Foxon-Hill

22 April 2013