DALLAS — Three former veterans of Natura Bissé have teamed to introduce a clean and green luxury treatment line called Ayuna.
“There are a lot of beauty brands that are natural, organic, green, etc., but consumers’ biggest complaint is they just don’t see the results,” said cofounder and general manager Tathiana M. Cornejo. “We wanted to cater to the growing eco-luxury niche by providing them a product that was 100 percent natural, but still had science behind it and would provide the kinds of results that we’re so used to seeing.”
In keeping with its “Less Is Beauty” tag line, Ayuna offers only five products, each consciously sourced, free of concerning ingredients and biodegradable save for natural minerals. Organically grown materials make up 40 to 69 percent of the products, according to cofounder Isabel Ramos, a Ph.D. chemist who was technical and research, development and innovation director at Natura Bissé.
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The idea is to nourish the skin to vitality instead of layering on serums and creams, noted Cornejo, who previously was director of spa development and education at Natura Bissé.
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The brand’s third partner is Begoña San Juan, who previously served as Natura’s director of global education and technical assessments.
The trio formed Bit Beauty as the parent company and introduced Ayuna at Indie Beauty Expo in Los Angeles in January. Manufactured in Barcelona and distributed from Orlando, Fla., they aim for $500,000 in first-year sales.
Ayuna’s most unusual offering is the Essence exfoliant, priced at $145 for 80 ml. Applied as a thin paste, it employs alpha amino acids in a non-irritating chemical peel. Once dried, Essence rubs off as a scrub that relies on cellulose microfibers instead of grains. The finish is a sheen of olive oil serum.
The company says its two moisturizers — Cream I and a richer Cream II — are the first beauty products to incorporate plant-based peptides for antiaging benefits. Infused with botanical cell factors, each cream is $198 for 50 ml.
The brand also uses activated carbon and volcanic glass in its detoxifying Balm mask, which is $130 for 80 ml., and charcoal powder in a $38 bar soap.
Devising the formulations was extremely difficult because only about one-tenth of cosmetic ingredients met Ayuna’s clean and green criteria, said Ramos, who worked on Natura Bissé’s Diamond, Inhibit and The Cure collections during her 1997 to 2009 tenure with the luxury company.
“The most challenging issue has been the preservation of the products,” she said, noting that even some natural alternatives can be allergenic or irritating.