Veggies Invade the Skin Care Market

For years, skin care companies have scoured the globe for ingredients, sending scouts to places like Madagascar or the Amazon jungle in search of the next shea butter or Dead Sea salts. More recently, the beauty industry has been exploring a less exotic location for inspiration: the supermarket produce aisle.

While industry watchers say cosmetic-grade fruit and vegetable extracts have been around for a while -- with brands like Burt's Bees and L'Occitane paving the way -- they note that beauty formulations with ingredients like tomato (Philosophy Big Mouth Semi-Matte Lip Plump and Primer) and mushroom (Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Plantidote Mega-Mushroom Skin-Calming Face Mask) have been appearing with increasing frequency.

Their appeal lies -- at least in part -- in their familiarity.

"It's easy for consumers who've been bombarded with information about anti-oxidants and vitamins to transfer that knowledge to beauty and personal care," said Taya Tomasello, senior beauty analyst for Mintel International Group, a market research firm that tracks the cosmetic industry. "They understand these products."

"It's a part of the whole organic, natural movement," said Dr. Leslie Baumann, a Miami Beach-based dermatologist and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Dermatology. "People are looking for the same things in their skin care that they know are good for them in their diet."

Take, for example, spinach. According to Mintel, only two beauty products contained spinach as an ingredient in 2007. This year it appeared in 10, including CosMedix Purity Clean Exfoliating Cleanser and MAC Studio Moisture Cream.