Have beauty, will travel

Elyse Glickman is US west coast editor of Lucire. Leyla Messian is a senior writer for Lucire.

There’s just something about in-room amenities—even at some fine hotels—that often leave us want something better. While some are branded with names we recognize, the stress tied to travel leaves us wanting products enabling us to better care for ourselves. This year’s edition of the Organic Spa 2019 LA Experience Wellness & Travel event at the Viceroy l’Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel may have had less food and fewer vendors than previous outings, but there was plenty of inspiration to feed our curiosity.

Costa Rica, the marquée sponsor, embodies everything the wellness traveller could ever want in a vacation (down to the ‘Pura Vida’ tagline). From camping sites to luxury spas, it comes fully loaded with distinctive wildlife, landscapes and micro-climates adding up to six per cent of the known biodiversity in the world and status as a leader in sustainable practices. Reps dispensed the purest form of hot chocolate, provided mini-hand treatments with chocolate paste, and cute merchandise (notebooks waiting to be used as travel diaries) to get the point across. Reps from Accor Hotels were there to promote its luxury hotel and resort spas at the soirée, and it was no surprise they provided incentive to book reservations with luxe amenity kits, including one created by top-tier skin care brand Le Labo.

New participants included the Tides, a Dutch ‘modern apothecary’ line made with native ingredients; vitamin line Frunutta’s easy-to-swallow nutrients; California-bred CBD collection Papa & Barkley whose topicals, terpine waters, and tinctures addressing aches, pain, inflammation and stress can be found at retailers like Saks Fifth Avenue; luxury CBD line Winged’s women’s health remedies; and American-made resort wear clothing line Sita Couture, crafted from sustainable fabrics and dyes.

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Other products’ environmental raison d’être prompted a few important environmental conversations. Ama Sea Beauty Organic Thalasso Therapy Skincare’s beauty longevity products, derived from wild harvested California sea plants by ocean farmers, drew attention to the cause of protecting the world’s oceans. Young Living, whose essential oils are staples in yoga studio gift shops, introduced fans and newcomers to its Savvy Minerals make-up collection in response to popular demand for “clean”, chemical-free beauty. Shea Moisture, perhaps the most affordable lines presented, introduced its Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil Lush Length collection, that works to condition and strengthen hair with its rich concentration of omega fatty acids and vitamin E.

Swedish beauty gadget innovators Foreo this year provided demonstrations of its Luna line to inventing a whole new way to mask at home or on the go in lieu of single-use masks. Columbia Skincare (a division of F. C. Sturtevant Company, America’s oldest family-owned holistic pharmaceutical firm), which manufactures one of the most effective remedy creams for burns and injuries, strived to take their reputation to the next level with a probiotic line of topical skin care.

Other returning favourites include Lather skin care, entering its third decade with new formulas and packaging as well as custom-fragranced essential oils; vegan nail care from Sparitual; BioSil’s amazing hair, skin and joint vitamins; and adorably packaged Mad Hippie collection (though we we wished the reps showed up with their “peace” signs and overview of the new products). That said, there were guest speakers who endeavoured to have us meditate on some of the luxury products and vacation destinations being presented, and a panel anchored by Organic Spa’s publisher to discuss what was trending.

With the samples in our possession, we will be meditating on which products will put us at ease when we hit the road. •