I was a BIG <a href="http://www.thebodyshop.ca/" target="_blank">Body Shop</a> user back in the day. Remember? That was when "no animal testing" was a big deal and fruity-scented soaps and bath gels were a novelty (more on the latter soon, because a number of '80s favourites are coming back!).

But over the years, as beauty became more sophisticated and the natural movement picked up speed, a disconnect started to develop (at least for me) between what the company used to stand for and what it had become. (Could we blame L'Oréal's 2006 purchase of the once-independent chain? Or was it the rather scathing revelations of founder Anita Roddick's shady business practices? <a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=41bea314-6b01-4697-83c1-593f4a22d0c1" target="_blank">This <em>National Post</em> article</a> from a couple years back, by the way, is a MUST-READ.) Whatever the cause, I think the brand went a bit too mainstream... and then saw competitors swooping in to offer substantially more organic, eco-friendly or socially-aware products. Which is kinda sad, right? Because once, The Body Shop OWNED that territory.

Anyway, it's so nice to see the company FINALLY getting with the organic program and introducing a line of Ecocert-certified organic skin care products called <a href="http://www.thebodyshop.ca/nutriganics-skin-care.html" target="_blank">Nutriganics</a>. To me, this seems much more in line with their original hippie-dippie mission statement and the type of environmentally-aware customers they used to attract.

The line includes seven products designed to address the first signs of aging, including a cleanser, toner, serum, day cream, night cream, eye cream and face mask.

<em>Priced from $14-24 and available at The Body Shop stores across Canada or at </em><a href="http://www.thebodyshop.ca/nutriganics-skin-care.html" target="_blank"><em>thebodyshop.ca</em></a><em>.</em>