The glam side of green
There’s something deflating about buying a $70 jar of face cream in a grocery store.
But the crowded aisles of natural food markets are exactly where beauty buffs in search of high-end organic or synthetic-free products have been forced to forage. Sure, stores such as Barneys New York and Fred Segal Apothia have been adding to their stables of swanky, chemical-free beauty lines lately, but these brands are still in the minority at major beauty counters, sprinkled into a larger mix of conventional labels.
Enter Vert -- the first beauty outpost in L.A. to exclusively stock upscale beauty lines that are 100% free of synthetic ingredients. The airy, Zen-inspired boutique on Venice’s hippie-chic Abbot Kinney Boulevard is the brainchild of Renata Helfman, a veteran makeup artist for film and TV who conceptualized the store after growing weary of tracking down her favorite eco-luxe beauty products in varied locations across the city.
In fact, she had the idea for Vert (which means “green” in French) while in her car. “I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a place that has all these brands under one roof,” she says. “It dawned on me one day -- what a great idea.”
Helfman, whose partner in the new business is her mother, Jane Helfman, said her interest in all-natural products started when she developed a sensitivity to fragranced skin care and makeup. “After I started using all-natural products, I started feeling better and looking better,” she says.
But Helfman is also a glamour girl and wasn’t about to replace her high-status beauty products with dowdy-looking, low-performing lines. Finding cool, cult-inspiring products also became a mandate for Vert. And they don’t come cheap. Prices for skin care start at around $50 for day creams and can hit $300 for a three-step skin-care system from the boutique brand Tracie Martyn.
There’s also organic skin care from Stella McCartney CARE, woodsy-scented organic lotions and oils from Jo Wood (wife of Rolling Stone Ron Wood), all-natural lotions and cleansers from Aesop and Buddha Nose, heady fragrances from Patyka and L’Artisan Parfumeur (including its new organic scent, L’Eau de Jatamansi) and hair care from John Masters Organics, Anita Louise and Hamadi.
All-organic products are a major trend in beauty right now. For example, this week Origins is coming out with FDA-certified organic lines. About a third of Vert’s brands is labeled organic, but all are sans synthetic dyes, odors, cleansers and softeners.
The chic, concrete-floored shop also carries home-cleaning products from Caldrea, organic baby skin-care lines Erbaviva and Vedababy and even a chemical-free dog line called Groom Dog.
Helfman also stocks her favorite mineral cosmetic brands, Jane Iredale and Bare Escentuals, and plans to soon carry model Josie Maran’s new organic makeup line. “There will be a makeup artist in the store every day to advise people on how to use the products,” Helfman says.
What you won’t hear? “Cleanup on Aisle 5.”
