The skincare brand Origins is making its cannabinoid beauty debut this week with “Hello, Calm,” a face mask created in collaboration with Sephora that launches online tomorrow (Sept. 18) and in the beauty giant’s stores on Oct. 5.
According to an Origins press release, the product (pictured above) will be infused with cannabis sativa seed oil, aka hempseed oil, rather than its of-the-moment cousin, CBD oil. Hempseed, like CBD, is non-intoxicating, and while research has shown it to have several health-promoting compounds, Origins’ claim that Hello, Calm “helps to soothe the mood and de-stress the senses,” may be a bit of a stretch.
Origins is the first label under Estée Lauder’s massive brand umbrella to introduce a product containing a cannabis ingredient. But as the cannabis industry continues to grow, it’s no surprise that Estée Lauder is joining the frenzy alongside its conglomerate competitors and savvy indie beauty brands. Indeed, the Hemp Business Journal reports the US market for hemp-based CBD products was worth $190 million in 2017 and could reach $1 billion by 2022, according to a report by the Brightfield Group, a research firm.
Indeed Sephora, which is working with Origins via its “Clean” platform, has quietly been selling cannabis-related products in stores over the past year. Fresh beauty, owned by LVMH, sells several “cannabis-scented” perfume products in Sephora stores, as does the L’Oreal-owned Maison Margiela (the products do not appear to contain actual cannabis-derived ingredients). Meanwhile, Unilever’s Murad already sells a serum that contains hempseed oil, and Milk (which is independently owned) retails a makeup line that contains hempseed. Sephora did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, Origins is a standout as the first premium legacy brand to launch a cannabis product. While it did not comment on Estée Lauder’s overall cannabis strategy—or whether any future Origins products will contain hempseed or CBD oil—the move seems to be an effort to snag a piece of the cannabis pie. Introducing a slightly more edgy product like Hello, Calm could be an effort to modernize the Origins brand—which presently skews towards middle-aged women—and attract some younger customers. If it’s successful (and as laws around cannabis-derived products become increasingly lax) other premium brands may well follow suit.