I have this text chain going, in which we often alert each other Skin Food is on sale at Whole Foods again. Before becoming a chronic user, Id heard about the little green tube of skin salve that supposedly cured everything and never left the medicine cabinet once it found permanent real estate there. Friends of mine are so into this product that their praise about its supposed effects seem to crescendo once a tube has been polished off their feelings about its virtues tend to sound like something of a eulogy.

Yes, were talking about a cream.

If Victoria Beckham uses it, its good enough for me, one friend texted me after using the stuff for more than a year. Another fired off a litany of praises: The scent is amazing, fresh and fruity, almost addictive. It kind of doubles as a perfume. I love that it has all clean ingredients no scary chemicals in it! This point about the smell is really contentious among chronic users. So I asked Rob Keen, the CEO of Weleda North America, to describe the smell. He pauses, and replies: Thats the hardest question Ive ever been asked. Like everyone and their mother who has an opinion about the cream, he presses on: Its a vibrant, floral, [with an] almost vanilla and almost citrusy undertone to it. Every time I smell it, my blood pressure drops.

This citrusy wizard paste, also known as Weledas Skin Food, has had massive success in recent years. Its a little gem. When I was first introduced to Skin Food, it was explained to me as the best-kept secret in the industry, Keen tells Teen Vogue. Its affordable at around $19, and its price per mileage is pretty astounding; Ive used my tube every day over the course of six months.

But Keen says a lot of the success of Skin Food, and by extension, the entire brand, has to do with greenwashing, a kind of marketing tactic that has been used to convince buyers that a product and its policies are eco-friendly. People are so confused by what's on [their] shelf. Its hard to tell whats really natural, whats not natural. When somebody finds a product that they can really trust like that, that is, you know, the real thing, is it has a big impact, Keen says.

It can also be hard to know if something is environmentally friendly when its value is essentially determined by how many influencers are telling you it is. Even so, the popularity of Skin Food has reached new heights in recent years, something Keen and the company are proud of: You know, when you see somebody like Gwyneth Paltrow who we love! or like a Rihanna or, you know, some of these makeup artistsKatie Jane Hughesthey say that this is a must carry in their bag. It just blows us away."

According to its website, Welda is certified by Natrue, a Brussels-based nonprofit committed to promoting and protecting natural and organic cosmetics worldwide.

The cream is made with a few key ingredients: viola tricolor, calendula, and chamomile, in a rich, thick base of oils and beeswax, according to the product listing on the companys site. Keen says the cream is supposed to mimic whatever the skin needs when it falls out of balance; the product promises to give skin a healthy, hydrated glow. People are just searching for products that they can trust. Once they find it, it becomes almost [vital], Keen says.

Originally posted here:
What Is Weleda Skin Food and Why Does Everyone Swear by It? - Teen Vogue