Back in September, during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City, a small group of beauty bloggers and editors (including yours truly) gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Columbus Circle to meet pint-sized Mexican actress Salma Hayek, who was unveiling her new cosmetics and skincare brand available exclusively at CVS: Nuance Salma Hayek.
As far as modern day beauty icons go, few rank as high as Salma Hayek, making her an ideal candidate for this type of entrepreneurial endeavor.
Hayek first seduced audiences with her voluptuous figure, luscious black curly mane, and alluring almond-shape eyes when she appeared in Robert Rodriguez's cult hit Desperado (1995), playing a mariachi-guitarist-turned-gunslinger's love interest. After a few lovable albeit forgettable roles in romantic comedies like Fools Rush In and Breaking Up, Hayek amassed the type of fan base (and the bankable star factor) to suss out meatier roles that allowed her to prove herself as more than another pretty face — a herculean feat when your face is that striking.
And yet she accomplished this goal, far surpassing the expectations of naysayers who dismissed her as an interchangeable piece of eye candy. In 2001's TV movie In the Time of Butterflies, Hayek brilliantly played the idealist, fiery, fearless Dominican revolutionary Minerva Mirabal who, along with her two sisters, worked to overthrow dictator Rafael Trujillo's oppressive regime during the 1960s. Then, in 2002, Hayek turned critics into putty in her hands with her stoic portrayal of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, a figure as intriguing as she was tortured, in the Oscar-nominated film Frida. Her dramatic skills unchallenged, Kahlo then showcased her comedic chops via such roles as that of Jack Donaghy girlfriend on Season 3 of 30 Rock (watching Hayek go to-to-toe with Alec Baldwin led to some side-splitting scenes). And, in a natural progression, she took a stroll behind the lens, producing the short-lived but much beloved, Emmy-winning series Ugly Betty, about a plucky but homely college grad whose charm and inner beauty allow her to succeed in the superficial world of fashion, and directing The Maldonado Miracle, an independent film about a small town in which an unexplainable religious phenomenon causes residents to reexamine their faith.
Nuance, then, seems to be a fitting name for her skincare, haircare, and cosmetics brand since, after all, she's been slowly but surely revealing small nuances of her own personality. She has also unveiled different stages of beauty, aging gracefully in the youth-obsessed world of film.
At 45, Hayek still manages to outshine any woman in the room — even the 20-something neophytes with the perky breasts and blinding smiles. Sure, a few laugh lines and crow's feet are visible if you examine her complexion closely, but Hayek has done nothing to erase them, instead considering them mementos of special moments, vital pieces in he map of her life journey. If anything, the wisdom and self-assurance she has developed over time have only bolstered her appeal, making her appear all the more radiant and exquisite.
The secret to her good looks? Well, genetics aside, Hayek says she credits her grandmother for teaching her some age-old beauty rituals involving plants and spices she found in her native village in Mexico. When developing Nuance Salma Hayek alongside CVS, then, Hayek envisioned a line that would incorporate many of these ingredients sourced in Mexico — among them: blue agave, the base ingredient of tequila and an excellent skin purifier, de-clogging pores, refreshing the skin, and restoring skin's natural pH level; cape gooseberries (known in Mexico as tomatillos or camapús), ripe fruits that boast anti-aging benefits due to their high vitamin C content; and tuna, not the fish type but a species of prickly pear that possesses anti-inflammatory properties.
The Nuance Salma Hayek line, then, is a tribute to Hayek's grandmother and a way of bottling some of the homemade beauty remedies Hayek learned as a young girl in Mexico. In fact, Hayek says she jotted down many of her grandma's recipes from memory while developing the products in the line, then traveled to Mexico to learn more about these ingredients and how they could be cultivated en mass, and discussed her ideas with the chemists and the product development team at CVS until they finally arrived at cost-affordable recipes that remained true to her vision while also boasting longer shelf lives and allowing for bulk manufacturing.
One of the star products in the line is the Nuance Salma Hayek Cucumber & Rosewater Dual Phase Makeup Remover ($7.99 at CVS.com), which removes makeup while toning, refreshing an softening the skin. The gentle liquid cleanser has a rosy tone when packaged in the bottle, and it's formulated with soothing chamomile and lavender extracts, along with cooling cucumber, and refreshing rosewater, a natural toner and antiseptic that reduces redness, brightens the skin thanks to its vitamin C content, and fortifies the delicate, wrinkle-prone area with its concentration of flavonoids and tannins. Mimosa, blue agave, camapú, and prickly pear extracts, meanwhile, work to stimulate collagen and elastin production, moisturize the skin from within, and tighten the complexion. Last, glycerin both moisturizes and softens skin.
The hypoallergenic, fragrance-free Nuance Salma Hayek Cucumber & Rosewater Dual Phase Makeup Remover feels gentle on even the most sensitive skin. Unlike so many makeup removers that are saturated with drying alcohols and harsh chemicals, this one feels as refreshing and delicious as a spritz of water with just a hint of botanical oils. To use, you simply pour some of the makeup remover onto a cotton pad and swipe it over the skin. Initially, you might feel a slight oily residue but it quickly dissipates as the botanical extracts seep into the skin. Best of all, after you remove your makeup, your complexion actually looks brighter, with a nice healthy flush.
At $8.00 per bottle, less than half of what most makeup removers cost, it's a fantastic purchase for all you frugal beauty hounds.
