The Green Beauty Guide

Things are getting litigious on green skincare front. Stella Nude by Stella McCartney, a new fragrance to be released later this year, has come under fire from Nude Skincare founded by Bono’s wife, Ali Hewson.

I’ve been watching the case development with great interest. First of all because I am a huge fan of Stella McCartney and her dedication to all things green. Her skincare line CARE is so pure, you can eat it as a health supplement. Not a single synthetic ingredient in sight. Secondly because I’m not such a huge fan of self-proclaimed “organic” brand Nude who uses synthetic preservatives in their products.

Nude claim its skin care range is ‘free from the chemicals your body would rather avoid’ and these include, sulphates, PEGs, phthalates and GMOs. However, the latest check of Nude ingredients revealed ethylhexylglycerin and phenoxyethanol - something my skin would rather avoid.

The funny thing about the lawsuit is in the essence, of course. Nude skin care brand is suing Stella McCartney Limited and L’Oreal over the use of the word “nude” in the fragrance’s title.  According to Nude, they hold copyrights to the word “nude” to be used as a trade mark specifically for perfumery and skincare

I couldn’t help but ask myself: apart for publicity reasons, who would sue over the use of a common word? Why don’t you use Revlon over the use of the word “nude” in its descriptions of lipglosses and nail polish shades? Or Maybelline - they use “nude” to describe their foundations? And Neutrogena also dared to use “nude” in the name of one of their lip balms? The possibilities are endless!

According to the new release dating August 20^th, Nude lost the case against Stella McCartney. “Nude was not granted an interim injunction to prevent the launch of Stella Nude,” the press release by Nude says.

 And speaking of alleged trademark infringement, let’s take a look at the bottle of Nude fragrance by Bill Blass, launched in 1990. The beautiful scent of bergamot, rose, narcissus, jasmine, ylang-ylang and musk remains popular despite decades on the market.

Nude by Bill Blass

And here’s a logo of Nude Skincare:

Now, don’t they look just a little bit too similar?

Hey Nude, don’t be rude!