Garnier Nutritioniste At-A-Glance
Strengths: Well-formulated moisturizers (those in non-jar packaging).
Weaknesses: Lack of sufficient UVA protection from the sunscreens; mostly irritating cleansers; no products for blemish-prone skin; no products to address uneven skin tone or skin discolorations; ineffective BHA products; jar packaging.
Debuting with permanent hair dye and then making the segue to a full line of hair-care products emphasizing carefree, casual styles with can’t-miss-it colorful packaging has been Garnier’s formula for penetrating the U.S. market. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker has a dual role as spokesperson for Garnier’s hair dyes and now for their skin-care products, and appears in television commercials beckoning viewers to listen up, because this is big news. (Actually, the long-awaited Sex and the City movie was much bigger news, at least for fans of the show.)
Unfortunately, the only news to report is that this group of products hasn’t got much going for it except Parker. The amount of fragrance is perhaps forgivable for a French-owned product line, and in most of the Nutritioniste products it’s not too intrusive. What is deplorable is the lack of sufficient UVA protection in the sunscreens. A skin-care line has no right to speak about the anti-aging benefits and “breakthrough approach” of its products when they cannot get this fundamental aspect right.
It’s also disappointing that some products contain irritating peppermint, which made me wonder whether the dermatologists who consulted for Garnier had any idea of what’s good for skin and what isn’t. It seems they didn’t, because what they ended up with is a mix of pro and con products that make it impossible for consumers to assemble a sensible skin-care routine, not to mention products that make skin-lifting claims most dermatologists would dismiss as cosmetics puffery.
The hook for this line is the way it is said to bring nutrition and dermatology together. The products are “fortified” with antioxidants such as lycopene and nutritional ingredients such as fatty acids, vitamins (A and C, never present together in the same product!), and minerals. Garnier wants you to think this is a revolutionary idea, but it isn’t—did they also overlook that everyone else, from L’Oreal (Garnier is owned by L’Oreal) to Estee Lauder and Clinique, has been using such ingredients in their products for years? And why consult a nutritionist (as Garnier did) when their training and professional expertise has little to do with application of anything to the skin? The whole scenario proves Garnier was more concerned with creating an attention-getting story for this line rather than formulating truly breakthrough products.
Despite my disdain for the way Garnier’s marketing takes precedence over making the products as good as they could be formulary-wise, there are some bright spots. Because Garnier is owned by L’Oreal, it’s no surprise to find that there are lots of similarities between the better and worse aspects of L’Oreal’s skin care and makeup (though Garnier is not offering makeup yet), as well as with L’Oreal’s department-store sister company Lancome. In some ways, Garnier’s formulas best those of both companies by including a greater array of antioxidants and intriguing skin-identical ingredients. The occasional jar packaging choice reduces the effectiveness of some of these products, but other than that, Lancome users should take note of the happy face–rated products in this line. You’ll be getting a better product for considerably less money here (though, at least for now, no free gift with purchase—but you can buy Lancome foundations or mascaras instead when gift time comes around).