这家天然美妆品牌凭什么对la Mer发起了挑战？

    真自然本草公司（True Nature Botanicals）创始人兼首席执行官希拉里•彼得森原本没有什么打造系列护肤品的宏大规划，更谈不上要在临床试验上战胜高端品牌海蓝之谜（la Mer）。这位前零售营销专家只是想打造一些无毒高效的产品，它们既能抚平细纹和褶皱，又不会让她的皮肤饱受化妆品中常见的工业化学品侵害。

    彼得森的职业生涯始于中间市场借贷。后来，和旧金山湾区多数投身创业的高管一样，她去了李维斯公司工作，担任501这个子品牌的零售营销主管。她说：“我在李维斯公司的全部工作就是专注于了解并设法改善客户体验。”

    在生下一对双胞胎后，李维斯公司请她继续留任顾问。她继续工作了一段时间，随后被诊断出患有甲状腺癌，她将这一诊断称为“天意”。彼得森很清楚，她必须放慢工作节奏，和孩子多相处，建立一种更健康的生活方式。

    她还考虑了到底该采取哪些预防措施，才能避免吸入日常家用品和普通化妆品中的毒素（她儿子也患有慢性疲劳综合症）。越是深入研究，她就越发意识到，使用基于石化产品、直接涂抹的润肤霜，或是用那些号称温和、呵护婴幼儿，实际却含有甲醛的洗发水，都对健康危害甚大。

    彼得森不但逃过了甲状腺癌这一劫，多年前还战胜过黑色素瘤。当时皮肤科医生建议她多涂防晒霜。防嗮的重要性无需多言，但很多主流防嗮产品都含有氧苯酮、桂皮酸盐这类化学品。在实验室研究中，这两者都被证明可能会干扰内分泌系统。她感叹道：“看着这些成分我就想，这简直就像是《苏菲的抉择》（译注：一部著名电影，讲述一位女子在两位优秀的男士之间难以取舍）啊。”

    彼得森知道如何向精明的消费者营销产品，也清楚公司融资的窍门。谈及自己的职业生涯时，她说：“我就是个杂家，”随后她笑道：“不过杂家最后都能成为大家！”

    为了寻找下一个职业机遇，同时也希望用上自己新获得的知识和热情，她创立了玛丽•维罗妮卡有机化妆品公司（Marie Veronique Organics），这家位于伯克利市的企业专门生产高品质的纯天然产品。在彼得森和该公司联合创始人玛丽•维罗妮卡•纳多携手奋斗的六年半中，这家公司的营业额每年都会翻一番。

    这对搭档在2014年年底以专业的方式分道扬镳了，此后彼得森开始独立创业，依靠该公司的一款名为“太平洋护肤”的系列产品建立了自己的品牌——“真自然本草”系列。

    “太平洋护肤”系列产品是一笔宝贵的资产，因为它已经经受住了市场的检验。在2013年于南佛罗里达州进行的一项为期45天的随机对照双盲实验中，“真自然本草”系列产品直接对阵传奇高端护肤品牌“海蓝之谜”。这项实验让一群40岁以上的女性（平均年龄为55岁）使用并对比真自然本草的“太平洋面油”和“脸部精华液”与“海蓝之谜”的保湿霜，以检验长期效果和皮肤改善状况，比如脸部能否更好地吸收水分，更光滑等等。

    其结果令人震惊。“真自然本草”几乎在每项实验检测中的表现都优于“海蓝之谜”，如细纹和褶皱减少、毛孔大小和堵塞情况，以及泛红和发炎等。

    彼得森还指出，尽管不是有意为之，但她的产品的确更具性价比。“真自然本草”面部精华液和面油套装是两瓶一盎司的小瓶，总价为230美元，而两盎司一瓶的“海蓝之谜”面霜零售价285美元。她笑道：“不过我们并不想标榜真自然本草是一个低价的品牌。”

    True Nature Botanicals founder and CEO Hillary Peterson didn’t have any grandiose plans to create a skincare line that beat out Crème de la Mer in clinical trials. The former retail marketing professional just wanted non-toxic, high-performing products that would smooth lines and wrinkles without subjecting her skin to industrial chemicals typically found in cosmetics.

    Peterson began her career in middle market lending. Then, like a not-surprising number of Bay Area executives turned entrepreneurs, she moved into a role at Levi’s, where she headed up retail marketing for the 501 brand. “Everything I did at Levi’s was focused on looking at consumer experience, and how do you enhance it,” she says.

    Levi’s asked Peterson to stay on as a consultant after she gave birth to twins. She did, for a while. Then she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a diagnosis she also calls “an epiphany.” Peterson knew she needed to slow down and spend more time with her kids in a way that supported radically healthy lifestyle choices.

    She also wondered what preventative measures she could take to avoid toxins in common household products and popular cosmetics. (Her son has also struggled with chronic fatigue.) The more research she did, the more she began to understand the health hazards of applying petroleum-based products like lotion directly to the skin or sudsing up with supposedly mild, infant-friendly shampoos that are actually formulated with formaldehyde.

    In addition to surviving thyroid cancer, Peterson had survived a melanoma diagnosis years before. Her dermatologist suggested she slather herself in sunscreen. Sun protection is a no-brainer, but many mainstream sunscreens are formulated with chemicals like oxybenzone and octinoxate, both of which have been identified in laboratory studies as potential hormone disruptors. “Looking at the ingredients, I thought, this feels like Sophie’s Choice,” she laments.

    Peterson knew how to market to savvy consumers. She also knew the ins and outs of financing a company. “I’m a bit of a mutt,” she says of her career experience. She adds with a laugh, “Mutts can end up being really great dogs!”

    Searching for her next career opportunity and hoping to apply her newfound knowledge and passion, she found Marie Veronique Organics, a company in Berkeley producing high-quality, all-natural products. Peterson and MVO founder Marie Veronique Nadeau joined forces, and for the six and a half years they worked together, MVO doubled its volume of the business year over year.

    When the duo parted ways professionally at the end of 2014, Peterson moved forward with one of the company’s product lines, Pacific Skin Care, to establish her own brand, True Nature Botanicals.

    The Pacific Skin Care line is a valuable asset, given its proven track record. In a 45-day randomized, comparative, double blind trial conducted in 2013, the TNB product line faced off against legendary high-end skincare brand Crème de la Mer. The independently conducted trial compared True Nature Botanicals Pacific Face Oil and Face Serum against La Mer Moisturizing Cream in women over 40 (with a mean age of 55) in South Florida and tested long-term impacts and improvements, such as increasing facial hydration and smoothness.

    The results are striking. True Nature Botanicals outperformed La Mer across nearly every test measurement, including a decrease in fine lines and wrinkles, pore size and congestion, and redness and inflammation.

    Peterson notes that while not by design, her products are also slightly more affordable. True Nature Botanicals Face Serum and Face Oil duet is packaged in two one-ounce bottles for a total price of $230, while a 2 oz. jar of La Mer cream retails for $285. “But we don’t want to represent ourselves as bargain brand,” she says with a laugh.