On this last day of Earth Month, I bring to you a crazy cool new company I was introduced to earlier this month called Zue Beauty! "Zue", a word meaning the "origin of life" to the indigenous tribes of South America, creates quinoa-based skincare that is vegan, gluten-free, GMO-free and cruelty-free all while creating jobs and partnering with the Paez indigenous tribes in Colombia. These quinoa farmers are given tools and training to more effectively harvest their quinoa crop so there is enough for commercial and personal use. Zue Beauty is also a Certified B Corporation which from what I have read, seems even harder than an EcoCertification! Not only must your products themselves do no harm to people and the environment, but the company's actions and conduct as well! There is green beauty and then there is GREEN beauty and this company caught my eye because of how committed they seemed to not just their products, but to the big socioeconomic picture!
PR samples
I have used very few products with quinoa in them, let alone products where this is the featured ingredient as quinoa-based skincare is still not well researched. While there were plenty of journals citing the nutritional benefits of this gluten-free, high fiber grain, I had a hard time finding anything referring to the skincare benefits. Quinoa is high in protein, flavanoids, B vitamins, amino acids and minerals and does show promise as not just a clean ingredient, but an effective one too. The B vitamins could act to repair cells, reduce hyperpigmentation or treat acne (Newsweek, April 2018) and the magnesium could promote skin elasticity and cell regeneration (Truth in Aging, April 2018). Quinoa is still fairly new to the skincare game so because of my love for it in food, I am really rooting for it to work topically!
Zue Beauty currently has five products in their line up and I am sure there will be more, but with these five you will be mostly covered in terms of your skincare needs. The only thing(s) missing for me are serums. I gotsta have ma serums!
Oh! Before I forget, with every purchase of a Zue Beauty product, a portion of the sale will go to the "Give Back" program where you can choose a project to fund! It could even be something happening right in your city!
Before I start, one thing I noticed is that quinoa seed extract (Chenopodium Seed Extract) is either the second or third ingredient in all five products unlike what I have seen in the past with other cosmetic products. Oftentimes, quinoa is at the halfway point or LOWER on the ingredients list which is kind of pointless if that's the ingredient you are featuring.
The Purifying Facial Cleanser* is a cream cleanser which I use after my oil cleanse. It is gentle enough to use even on my eyes and smells really refreshing and clean because of the fennel and verbena leaf oil in the formulation. While it leaves my skin feeling clean and balanced, this cleanser also has shea butter to hydrate and calm the skin. Though this is a cleanser for all skin types, cream cleansers are often really nice for dry or sensitive skin.
This was my FAVOURITE product! The Exfoliating Facial Scrub* is a physical exfoliator used on wet skin that uses both quinoa and apricot seed powder to gently polish the skin. This part, I know we have all heard before, but what really enhanced the exfoliation process for me was the glorious scent! The verbena and rosemary leaf oils made this scrub smell so invigorating! This is not a dense scrub so even though you only really need to use it 2x a week, you can massage this all over your skin for up to 3 whole minutes and your skin won't start tearing at the seams! Ahem, St.Ives Apricot Scrub circa 1996...
Firstly, whenever I see a toner in a spray bottle, I am already halfway to a thumbs up because I despise using cotton pads now. So much waste on both the cotton pad side and the product side! I found the Soothing Facial Toner* to be fairly neutral. It had almost no scent even though there is cucumber fruit and peppermint leaf extract so those whose eyes cannot handle mintiness, I wouldn't worry! The only thing I didn't like about this toner was that it wasn't as hydrating as I would have liked it to be as I am used to having more moisture in my toners now.
This Daily Facial Moisturizer* was much nicer than I thought it would be. I was expecting something that was either too thick or wouldn't pair well with my foundation, but the finish and quick absorption rate MINUS any sort of dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane made me really happy. Not only did it hydrate, but it also smelled so good! I had never smelled this scent before so when I looked at the ingredients list, I saw that there was something called Styrax benzoin resin extract which is a resin from bark of Styrax trees. It is often used in perfumes and incense which in combination with the ylang ylang oil made for an aromatherapeutic experience! The scent does disappear instantly when the moisturizer is applied to the skin.
The Restoring Night Cream* was very similar in texture to the Daily Moisturizer and absorbed into the skin very quickly without leaving a greasy residue. Ingredients wise, there is the addition of gotu kola which is an herb that protects skin from free radicals and is a great addition to body lotions for improved appearance and stretch mark reduction. I have a body oil with gotu kola and it's so nice to use! Other ingredients of importance are seaweed extract (antioxidant) and retinyl palmitate, which is a much gentler form of retinol. These three ingredients are what would make this a "night" cream as at night is when skin repairs itself so we should be using products which promote and work with this goal in mind.
Final verdict: With regards to pricing, no complaints here for products that are clean and green on multiple levels. I love that in addition to the products themselves, Zue considers the entire socioeconomic impact of what these products mean for the quinoa farmers and their families in South America. This is one of those product lines where it is hard to separate the high level of community involvement from efficacy, but what I WILL say is that although I cannot attest to whether the quinoa made a massive difference in my skin, I CAN say that the products did what they promised. The night cream I could have used more time with to see whether my skin felt MORE refreshed with a quinoa-based moisturizer, but as a whole it hydrated my skin well.
I am a hyper skincare nerd so not having a serum was something I really would have liked, but I understand that serums are the HARDEST things to formulate especially using just green technology. For a basic skincare routine, I think Zue Beauty hit all of the important steps with the scrub and daily moisturizer being my favourites. Whether you believe in the power of quinoa or not, these are still great green beauty/regular beauty options!
You can find Zue Beauty in Vancouver at: Victoria's Health | Nutraways | Greens Organic & Natural Market | Vitamin Centre and a number of organic markets outside the Greater Vancouver area.
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