CAP Beauty co-founder Cindy DiPrima shares her Top Ten LA wellness picks
Excerpt via Vogue.com
When CAP Beauty opened in a tiny West Village storefront in early 2015, the brass-trimmed cabinetry painted a not-yet-christened shade of fleshy pink, its vision of wellness was a radical one—at least for downtown New York. The curation of skin care and makeup was rigorous (no synthetic additives, full stop), and the focus on adaptogenic herbs and healthy fats put pantry items (if hard-to-pronounce ones) squarely in the beauty regimen. For cofounders Cindy DiPrima and Kerrilynn Pamer, watching the jewel-box shop quickly become a destination in the booming naturals space was an affirmation of their shared mission. “This is modern; it’s not just alternative or fringe or for hippies,” DiPrima remembers thinking as the business started to take off. “It’s actually what everyone wants.”
If much of that devoted fan base hails—and online-shops—from wellness-obsessed Southern California, CAP’s much anticipated West Coast debut. Tapped to be the de facto beauty counter inside the revamped Fred Segal, opening late next month, CAP find sitself right at home in Los Angeles, a city whose influence has long played out on the flagship’s shelves, where Shiva Rose face balms and raw ZenBunni chocolates sit alongside jars of Sun Potion he shou wu, a skin-nourishing herb stirred into the house recipe Beauty Elixir. “I feel like what we did with CAP Beauty was bring a little piece of that L.A. experience to New York,” recalls DiPrima. Now, with the cross-country expansion, there’s almost a sense of homecoming. “It’s kind of a cool full circle,” she says. DiPrima shares ten CAP-approved wellness picks below.
Top 10 LA wellness picks from CAP Beauty
1. MAY LINDSTROM The Jasmine Garden
$70
On the CAP shelves since opening day, this line by Lindstrom, a former model turned small-batch skin-care maker, is a perennial top-seller. “My favorite is The Jasmine Garden, her hydrosol,” says DiPrima, calling out its boosted antimicrobial properties, thanks to silver in the formulation. “It’s a beautiful product for the warm weather because it’s purifying but also energizing.”
2. Nucifera The Balm
$40
Meredith Baird, a plant-based chef with a recent cookbook centering on coconut, has turned that superfood into the hero ingredient in The Balm, the first product in her collection, Nucifera. “It’s super rich and hydrating—great for body and, really, for anything,” DiPrima says of the nourishing blend that also includes avocado oil and mango butter, with notes of sandalwood and palo santo.
3. Odacite Synergie(4) Immediate Skin Perfecting Beauty Masque
$59
Founded by Valérie Grandury, a French native now based in Topanga, Odacité is a “freshness-based line that’s really hydrating and good for aging and sensitive skin,” DiPrima explains, alluding to the range’s cold-pressed face oils. In addition to the Intensive Hand and Heel Therapy (“minty and rich”), DiPrima also recommends the new Synergie mask—an “active and effective” formula that includes enzymes, charcoal, and vitamin C.
4. Bodha Modern Wellness Smokeless Organic Incense in Ground
$28
There’s a similar ethos at play with CAP and Bodha, run by Emily L’Ami. “We’re both so committed to the idea of bringing more ritual-type practices into your life,” says DiPrima, describing L’Ami’s eye pillows, oil diffusers, and incense (the Ground scent is a CAP favorite). “Everything she makes is thoughtful and well-conceived,” she adds.
5. Moon Juice Rainbow Juice Seed Crisps
$6
Amanda Chantal Bacon’s juice empire has famously expanded into a line of herb-based Moon Dusts, but it’s the former chef’s addictive and good-for-you nibbles—everything from maca-dusted walnuts to fermented seed crisps—that DiPrima loves most. “They’re the most handy, grab-it-and-go snacks,” she says. “Really delicious and truly healthful.”
6. Canyon Coffee Chochajau Guatemala Medium Roast Coffee
$21
Why coffee in a wellness-minded beauty store? “We debated about this for a long time,” explains DiPrima, “but some people do incorporate it into their rituals, and it is very high in antioxidants.” The key is finding a company like Canyon that is committed to sustainable sourcing. “They’re young and smart and have such a beautiful brand,” she says of the founders Ally Walsh and Casey Wojtalewicz. As for DiPrima’s favorite: “Chochajau is the roast that I love, but that’s just a matter of taste!”
7. Shiva Rose Blue Crystal Eye Cream
$95
“Shiva Rose—her line is just so cultish and amazing and high-vibe,” says DiPrima of the Santa Monica–based beauty and lifestyle guru. The Glow Face Balm, packed with rosehip seed oil and shea butter, is a standout, but the CAP cofounder finds herself “obsessed” with the eye cream, which features anti-inflammatory blue tansy. “It doesn’t feel greasy on your skin,” DiPrima notes, “but you can feel it working right away.”
8. La Tierra Sagrada Treatment
$44
Hairstylist Stefani Padilla created this natural hair-care line, which taps powerful healing plants, including ayahuasca, and traditional scents like palo santo (holy wood). DiPrima recommends the treatment oil, which is “really, really beautiful and healing for me, in particular, because I have thicker, drier hair.” Apply it for 20 minutes before a shower, she says, or leave it on overnight for deep nourishment.
9. ZenBunni Spirit Weavers Bar
$3
“ZenBunni’s chocolates are all biodynamic, which is exciting,” says DiPrima, with a word of praise for the inspired, in-tune flavors; Spirit Weavers includes blood orange, hibiscus flower, and elderflower. “The other ingredients are always really high-vibrational and beautiful combinations,” she notes. And the petite-size bars and colorful, free-spirited packaging are just right.
10. Wildcare Golden Hour Glowing Body Oil
$26
The scents in this line, based in Ventura, are “very California—that’s what made us fall in love with them,” DiPrima says, explaining that the founder, Cortney Herrera, is committed to sustainably wildcrafted plants, which she features in delicate hydrosols. “There is a body oil called the Golden Hour that’s gorgeous,” DiPrima adds. “It smells like the desert and has some gold in it, which always gives your skin such a beautiful glow.”
