Luxe for Non-Luxe Prices

by Karen Elizaga | Posted: November 11th, 2009 | No Comments »

I recently went shopping for skincare products. It was quite a liberating experience because I shopped at the grocery store.

I love shopping for all things beauty. I love the colors, the textures and the fragrances. I love the density of the offerings – so much stuff to choose from in such a small space. I love the way beauty products can transform and am fascinated by how lotions, moisturizers and balms can feed the skin. I always told my mother that if I hadn’t gone to law school, I would have gone to school to learn to be an aesthetician.

As a confessed beauty product junkie, this excursion was a diversion from my usual routine. At Whole Foods, I loved the low-key atmosphere, with attention from a down-to-earth and un-made up associate interested only in my needs, rather than what he could up sell. I looked at beauty products containing organic ingredients that would nourish my skin in the same way organic foods to nourish my body. Bonus? These beauty products, despite their high quality, were a shocking fraction of the cost at my regular beauty haunts on Madison Avenue.

Why the change? Don’t get me wrong. I still love my current products from SCO (check out www.scocare.com which has really done wonders for my skin – their eye cream is the BEST I’ve tried!) and also have loved exotic and expensive products from La Mer, Natura Bisse and Decleor. You name it. I’ve tried it. But I’ve just realized that while I pay so much attention to whether food products are organically or conventionally produced, I pay no attention to that same issue with my skincare products. The thing is, our skin absorbs the nutrients in anything we apply to it – just like when we eat our foods!

Now that I’ve had this aha moment, I’m on the lookout for organically made products and products that don’t contain ingredients like parabens in my face cream, my lip gloss and my body lotions. There’s a ton to choose from!

And there’s the added bonus of cheaper during times when we’re all trying to shave off some expenses. Whole Foods. Your local health food store. Check them out.