Lady LUX

It’s hard to believe it’s been 40 years since we first celebrated Mother Earth. But it has, and celebrations took place all over the planet last week for Earth Day.

Last Thursday, April 22, New Yorkers got to celebrate those glorious annual 24 hours with Earth Day New York. The city-wide celebration found its epicenter at a most logical place: next to Grand Central Terminal, part of the EcoLux boutique, an open air boutique set up on Vanderbilt Avenue. One of the greenest of participants: Origins, eveyone’s eco-friendly skincare and beauty company who was there to show off several new products for the adoring public. They were one of many exhibits and events, eco-friendly clothing and short films, showing the citizens of our fair city how to go green.

Earth Day could hardly be more well-publicized (hey, it affects all of us), and the level of involvement reached an all-time high, with celebrities and experts known to be eco-conscious—like Matthew Modine and Deepak Chopra—getting involved. For Origins, the celebration is even more pointed: The company, who makes not only skincare products but haircare, bath and body care, and makeup, has now been in business for 20 years. When they debuted in 1990, the time was ripe for a company like theirs—one that’s both earth- and skin-friendly. Origins’ pledge: That they are formulated with natural and certified organic ingredients and 100 percent natural essential oils, without parabens, phthalates, proplylene glycol, mineral oil, PABA, petrolatum, paraffin, DEA, or animal ingredients. They manufacture each and every product using renewable resources, wind energy, and earth-friendly practices. In other words, a dream company!

And the new products showcased here the other day did prove that they were all that. Owned by parent cosmetics giant Estee Lauder, Origins slogan, “Powered by Nature. Proven by Science” really speaks to the heart of what they are doing. The company is committed to using the earth as their key ingredient. Over 80 percent of the world turns to plants for their medicine, and herbal remedies have been known to cure everything from arthritis to headaches to acne. To wit: Starting Over, their age-erasing moisturizer with Mimosa (Really??). No, not the champagne concoction, the bark—tenuiflora bark, to be precise, used commonly to soothe and speed the recovery of wounds and burns, stimulating collagen synthesis that contributes to the skin’s firmness. Or Brighter By Nature, a serum that corrects skin tone, and Origins’ alternative to laser. Dark spots, those lovely badges of aging bestowed by Mother Nature, are helped to fade away with a few weeks of application; it also pledges to help prevent further spotting—all with a combination of Japanese Basil leaf, cucumber, and Vitamin C. The resident expert on all that is right with the world, Dr. Andrew Weil, has teamed up with Origins as well to develop a line of products called, “Plantidote”. Harvard-trained, the medicine man continues to wow us with his knowledge, this time of the ingredients that go into looking good: Hypzigus Ulmarius, Cordyceps, and Reishi Mushrooms, Ginger, Turmeric, and Holy Basil. All help to quiet and calm skin and repair its protective barrier. A defense against the cold cruel world? Perhaps, or perhaps just a better way to participate in it.

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