6 Slow Intentional Beauty Trends
Slow beauty is the pushback from constant rapid dupes and the creation of products that are powerful and intentional to an everyday skincare regime. This is a trend with staying power because it's not only great for healthy skin but will leave the planet a less trashy place.
Waterless Formulas
Let’s be honest: no one wants a watered-down product. Why can’t we just focus on the good stuff?
Waterless beauty products opt for our jelly-based formulas that is more concentrated (and therefore, last way longer!). Not only do you get MORE product in a smaller, sleeker package, but you can also save on copious shipping and packaging costs. (As it turns out, water can be pretty heavy!)
Waterless beauty products give back to the environment, as well. Having a smaller, more efficient product lowers the product’s overall carbon footprint. We are even able to remove many other filler ingredients since materials such as preservatives, waxes, and stabilizers wouldn't be necessary.
Zero-Waste Packaging
If you’re like us, tossing out a plastic bottle probably breaks your heart. Think of all the plastic (or even glass!) bottles that you’ve thrown out in your lifetime. Multiply that by a few billion people, and it’s not hard to see how all those beauty packaging materials add up fast.
When you aren't trying to keep up with product launch after product launch you can really choose the right package for the right product. Design for functionality and pleasing aesthetic can compliment a product and become a treasured keepsake instead of a buy and toss linear product. For slow beauty, zero-waste packaging is quickly becoming a fan favorite. For DEW this meant developing robust primary containers with lightweight plastic free paper with the intention of buy once and refill. All materials compostable and recyclable with materials that don't pollute and easily circulate instead of landfill. Zero-waste packaging helps close that nasty, wasteful loop that so many companies fall into in the name of convenience.
Multi-Use Products
Skincare has stepped more into the spotlight this year, but a lot of people get stuck on those 1o to 12 step routines. They’re expensive, complicated, and hard to keep track of.
In 2022, we’ll see some love for simplified skincare routines that are nice on your skin, your schedule, AND your wallet. The easiest way to simplify your routine is to incorporate products that serve multiple functions at once. You can find products that tone, tighten, brighten, clarify, cleanse, hydrate, and more!
Zero Tolerance For Greenwashing Antics
If a company spends more time and money convincing you of their 'green' practices, chances are they aren't actually sustainable. Greenwashing essentially puts marketing and profits first before implementing good practices toward a lower impact to our planet. Many companies start by selling and then announcing recycling programs. We began DEW by creating and structuring our company around high sustainability standards and practices around the beauty products we create. Everything thought out and well tested so each item is essential.
This year, consumers are cutting to the chase: we don’t want vague “made with recycled materials” or “green” or “naturally-based”. We want the kind of change that matters, which can be uncomfortable. 2022 is the year where brands need to put their money—and their messaging—where their mouth is.
Diverse And Inclusive Brands
We’ll be frank here: you simply CAN’T be eco-friendly without also being inclusive. Caring for our environment is a community-centric endeavor, so if we’re not helping everyone, we’re not helping anyone.
This is an especially contentious topic in the beauty industry due to manufacturers’ aggravating exclusion of people of color from their marketing focus.
Sometimes, these companies start in product development (for example, including a variety of darker foundation shades). Other times, it starts in production by focusing on locally-sourced materials and anti-exploitation labor laws. And finally, sometimes beauty brands make the most difference by representing all body types and cultures in their marketing. Customers want to be seen and heard!
Artisanal Creation
In a consumerist market where bigger ends up not being better, some slow beauty brands are making the radical shift away from large batch manufacturing (kettles that hold thousands of pounds of mass product!). Large batch manufacturing leads to more variability (and with it, lower quality standards) in the resulting product.
For example there at DEW we embrace the artisanal approach instead. They focus on creating small batches, laborious but handmade processes, and lovingly crafted products that use the cleanest, ethically-sourced ingredients).
Under this model, each batch is slowly created similar to that of couture fashion. Artisans spend years perfecting their artwork, and it was no different for the creation of each product in the DEW family!
More To Come?
Living intentionally and creating with that mindset is what we wholly encompass. The best is yet to come.
Collab with Nicole Warner
