More natural than nature?

That natural means untouched, unadulterated and pure seems obvious. But natural, the state of being and looking natural has become so desirable that people are increasingly going out-of-their way to create it and to achieve it. We call that natural constructed.

In beauty we see that more and more people, salons and brands are striving to represent, communicate and be natural. First of all we see that brands leave out harmful substances like parabens or aluminum chlorohydrate and phthalates, even very mainstream brands like Sanex and Dove are starting to do this today and L’oreal recently launched a hair-die without ammoniac; INOA, so now hair can be colored without aggression to the scalp.
Natural ingredients are taking over in beauty product.  Herb extracts and essential oils are replacing ingredients and perfumes and natural oils are being used for hair-treatments i.e. from the argan tree or macadamia nuts. Hair gets healthy treatments like massage to stimulate the blood-circulation of the scalp to revive the hair-follicles. It’s all about feeding your hair to make it more healthy, glossy and voluminous. That equals Natural.
When it comes to make-up the natural or nude look is hot. You might think that means no make-up, but not in this case; it means carefully applying make-up that is all natural colors, to make you look like your better natural self. There are even foundations that contain natural minerals that allegedly improve the health of your skin whilst you wear it. Also foundations have become so light that it’s currently being delivered like a mousse, miles away from the cakes from the past. Make-up is turning aquarelle.

Bare Escentuals - Active soil complex

Bare Escentuals - Bare Minerals

Bare Escentuals - shop impression

So it takes effort to appear natural. It can take hours to create your natural look.
We think it’s a reaction to the recession, and all the glam and opulence that we had before it. Being natural represents the idea of a new cleaned up and pure state-of-mind. It’s more relaxed and casual (or so it seems). It suggests living in a more modest setting, causing less harm and costing less money.
We anticipate that beauty-products and treatments will get closer and closer to the edible as what is edible cannot be harmful to the body and skin. If it’s good for the inside it must be good for the outside too. So food and beauty will start to integrate and become on system or approach that are closely connected. We already see a lot of beauty-food i.e. like Borba and collagen drinks, and Aveda branded salons also house cafe's that reflect identical values.

Beauty is going to be a reflection of general health & wellbeing, the challenge for Philips will be to deliver product/service solutions that support, enhance or strengthen the natural systems involved in beautification. Seems like the most natural thing to do.

Published in edited form in trends section of New Value News by Philips Design July 2011

Cave a manger - natural wine

Winebars of a very different kind. After a decade of lounge I thought I could not tolerate another wine-bar. But Ze'Bar (FR-La Rochelle) is different, it's not only a wine-bar that has an excellent wine-card with lots of biologic wines which are hard to get by. It's a cave a manger, which is a new culinary trend in France. The Cave is usually where you buy wine, a cave a manger is a wine-bar that has extended it's service to also include simple foods. Another such cave a manger is Mon Oncle le Vigneron in Paris (Belleville).

Philippe - Ze'Bar, La Rochelle, France

Ze'Bar's owner Philippe has come over from Paris and brought with him the cave a manger concept. Philippe is a super friendly host, that immediately creates a convivial and warm atmosphere. He knows everything about wine, and when I say everything, I mean everything. Maybe only just a little bit less than the wine critique that was sharing the terasse with us. Together with wines the minuscule kitchen makes and serves simple plates of local charcuterie or cheeses. The food is honest, pure and unpretentious. It's also possible to order a hamburger made of pure minced meat mixed with fresh spices. A new and completely different hamburger experience.

The interior, the bar radiates that same frankness. There are old-fashioned and solid charcuterie cutting-machines like a butcher would have and scribbled chalk boards that call out names and prices of wine in the same way you would find it in the local farmer-market.

People come from far (like myself) to taste the rare and special biologic wines from his card, such as the infamous Petit Jo coming from the la Roche Buissiere. (Vaucluse) Petit Jo is a biologic wine made from biologic agriculture which means no pesticides have been used to kill weed, no pesticides have been used to prevent diseases in the plant and finally in the production no additives have been used. In particular no sulfit. That is what makes biologic wine and Petit Jo so special. The taste is so pure that you only taste grape and soil. Nothing else. The grapes create a rich palette of different deep full fruity tastes like blackberries, and the taste of soil translate into a mineral taste, a certain dryness. There is absolutely no trace of bitterness or acid as you can often experience with wine. The Petit Jo is just a delightful, wonderful wine. As pure as it gets.
The lack of sulfit means that this wine won't grow better as it grows older, you better drink it within the first 2-3 years. Also it should be conserved in a cool environment to prevent it from going bad.

The cave a manger and the bio-wine are both examples that point in the direction of a renewed interest in the country side and local produce. It's suddenly ok, not to say to have a farmer-like wine-bar in Paris and la Rochelle, whilst wine has of course mostly been associated with connoisseurs of high standing.

Eating flowers

Cookies made with lavender? Cookies made with roses? I was lucky enough to be in Paris last month, and just by coincidence passed this pastries shop in the street. They where selling cookies with lavender and roses as ingredients. Not the most traditional cookie ingredient, but why not, I have a book at home about how to cook with weed too. But the idea of lavender and roses is slightly more enchanting, it makes you feel a little bit like entering the universe of a fee or princess.

Self-healing materials

Nature has always been a great source of inspiration for designers and scientists. Now we have spotted some of the first commercial products on the market that have self-healing properties, comparable to how your skin heals itself. “It’s very exciting” says Sandy Spaan, Philips Designs Material & Finishing innovation consultant at Philips Design. “It means for example that if your car gets a scratch it can repair itself”.
source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1901520,00.html