Unilever Is Launching a New Drugstore Eco Brand — and It's Going to Help Save the Planet

Real talk: the environment is scary as hell right now. It feels like every month there is a terrifying new natural disaster from the fires to earthquakes and hurricanes. It can leave us feeling pretty helpless and at Mother Nature's mercy.

You've probably heard the idea that every little bit counts when it comes to making the planet more eco-friendly and hopefully combating some of the global warming happening. One way you can do this is via your beauty routine. And Unilever — the parent corporation that creates drugstore products like Dove, Pond's, and Simple — is about to make it easy and affordable for you to do your part. Oh yeah, and you'll smell fantastic and have commercial-ready hair in the process.

This month, drugstores near you will carry a brand-new hair and body line called Love Beauty and Planet. Over a year ago, Unilever put together a dream team of execs and creatives to dream up the ultimate environment-friendly mass beauty line. To make a long story short, Love Beauty and Planet was born. It marks the first time a major corporation has considered every element of the products from the naturally sourced fragrances to recyclable packaging and special rinse-out technology (to shorten your shower time and waste less water). As someone who has "seen it all," I can confirm that this movement feels fresh.

Here's what you need to know about Love Beauty and Planet:

There are 18 haircare product and eight body products in the offering, all priced between $3 and $9. The range includes everything from detoxifying shampoos to smoothing styling balms and second-day dry shampoos (yes, that is a new category). On the bodycare side, there are creamy body scrubs, cleansing mists, and luxe body washes.

Even though there are six collections, within each family, the offering is not overwhelming. Expect up to about five products in each to deal with your most-important needs — be it frizz or dry skin. Part of being more eco-conscious is pairing down, and we're seeing minimalism as a trend for 2018.

As an early tester of Love Beauty and Planet, I was genuinely blown away by how elegant and modern the fragrances are. While we all love our drugstore fragrances, they are often too saccharine (like everything labeled "vanilla coconut") or miss the mark when it comes to sexy musk. These scents were all infused, ethically sourced oil or extracts, meaning they offer a much more elevated sensorial experience. I would compare the fragrances to products you'd find at high-end natural boutiques, such as Credo or even Whole Foods, rather than classic mall chains.

There are six fragrance families that include Coconut & Ylang Ylang, Tea Tree & Vetiver, Coconut Water & Mimosa Flower, Argan Oil & Lavender, Shea Butter & Sandalwood, and Murumuru Butter & Rose. The Argan Oil & Lavender is my absolute favorite as it smells like honey and lavender from the South of France. It's not overly pungent (as some lavenders can be), and it immediately calms my mind when I inhale it.

Ingredients for the fragrances were obtained by Givaudan, a fragrance supplier that focuses on responsible sourcing and supporting local farming communities. Basically, these are the perfumery "good guys." Expect ingredients, such as French heirloom lavender, Moroccan mimosa flower, or Bulgarian rose.

The coolest factor about the brand is it has special hair-rinsing technology that speeds up the process, with the idea being that if your shower is quicker, you won't use up as much water.

"Many people know that showering requires a lot of water," Matthew Seal, research & development partner for Love Beauty and Planet, told POPSUGAR. "It is not difficult to reduce shower time, but to do so while not sacrificing the benefits you get from conditioner is what makes this technology so revolutionary. Our patent-pending, fast-rinse technology can help you save water, while also delivering all the desired beauty benefits you've come to expect from a conditioner." He also noted that during tests, the new fast-rinse technology for the conditioner reduced rinsing time by up to 20 percent.

"If every person cut just 10 seconds from their shower time, that would save 750ml of water — or one wine bottle!" Seal added.

All of the pretty and colorful labels on the 100 percent recycled plastic are easily removable. If those labels can't be taken off, then a bottle cannot be recycled, so many things that claim to have this property actually don't.

Read on to see every product in this exciting new launch!