This article originally appeared in Queen of Wrong Style on Sept. 9, 2019.
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Indie Beauty Expo 2019 in New York City. It’s the first beauty trade show I’ve ever been to and while there was a lot to take in, I had an absolute blast!
With well over a hundred vendors on the floor at Pier 94, I did my best to visit and spend time with as many brands as I possibly could. While all of them had something unique to offer, there were five brands that especially stood out to me.
Codex
Based out of Ireland, Codex marries science with ingredients found in nature to create pure, sustainable skincare.
From the brand:
Codex Beauty is a collective of global skin care brands built on science, natural ingredients, plant-based preservatives, pharmaceutical-grade processes, safety and efficacy trials, sustainability, and consumer transparency—in lieu of celebrities, influencers, or market trends. Our offering is entirely organic, free of harmful chemical compounds, and rigorously tested according to biotechnology practices. We believe constant innovation, refinement, and improvement are essential to transformative results. To that end, Codex Beauty is always in search of new skin care discoveries and technical breakthroughs.
Why Codex stood out
Codex was on my radar before I hit Indie Beauty Expo NYC. Obviously, I’m familiar with American and Korean brands, and have dabbled with Japanese and Taiwanese skincare products as well. But it was refreshing to come across a brand from Ireland, a country that has served as a home-away-from-home for me.
The brand’s tagline is, “Discovered in Nature, Perfected by Science.” While Indie Beauty Expo 2019 was flush with natural skincare products, Codex appeared to be one of the few such brands on the floor that truly embraced its scientific side. Codex claims to conduct extensive testing of its products to ensure that the organic ingredients it harvests are effective and safe for daily use.
The brand’s Bia Collection invoked memories of the Irish countryside for me, from the subtle herbal notes in the Skin Superfood cream to the modest green hue of the packaging (which is also green in the sense that it’s plant-based). I’m looking forward to seeing what else Codex has in store for the future.
What I'll be trying
I received sample-sized sachets of the Skin Superfood, Day Cream, and Eye Gel Cream. Stay tuned for my thoughts on those.