nuance by salma hayek

The problem with some skin creams, whether they're out on drugstore shelves or found locked behind the counter in the exclusive beauty section at the department store, is that they can actually be greasy or heavy. But such is not the case with Salma Hayek's brand-new Nuance Renewed Radiance Moisturizing Day Cream ($17).

Score for the SPF 30, but add a quadruple score for making a cream that feels light on the skin, adds a bit of a glow, still hydrates, and costs under 20 bucks. Includes natural licorice extract to brighten, and blue agave and prickly pear extracts to treat dryness and improve firmness.

For a multitasking option, try Salma's AM/PM Anti-Aging Super Cream ($20). Not only does it smell fresh and bright, but thanks to a key ingredient (bark from the tepezcohuite tree), it's antioxidant rich and works to tone the skin — and at a very reasonable price. I think we can all get behind that.

Salma Hayek unveiled the long-awaited products from her eponymous line for CVS last week in NYC. The effort, which has been a three-year-long labor of love for the actress, will finally arrive at outlets of the retail chain this August. Salma revealed that the items are en route to stores in a February interview with T Magazine, saying that her grandmother, who passed down beauty secrets during Salma's youth in Mexico, served as inspiration for the cosmetics, skin care, and hair care collection. She presented a range of merchandise including hydrating and toning cleansers, gels, and towelettes as well as shampoos, conditioners, masks, and volumizers. Her makeup includes brighteners, "eye pods" with four eye shades, and lots more — Salma and CVS also plan to introduce additional goods as the partnership grows. Salma said:

• On her grandmother being her inspiration: "There is another woman in my life, and I almost want to stop and not talk about her because I'm afraid I might cry . . . which is my grandmother, who was so important to me . . . I can say she was my inspiration, but I can never explain to you in how many ways. But I can say to you that she lived in a time, in a country, when being a woman was even a lot harder than it is today. And that, even though she did not go to college and study medicine . . . she was so smart. And, in many ways, life did not do justice to her genius. She was very close to me because I was her hope. And through this line, I feel I do a little bit of justice to her."
• On being actively involved in creating her products: "I wasn't willing to say, 'Why don't you put a little aloe vera in the creams? I hear it's good for you.' I wanted to go into the lab and work with the people, which by the way I'll tell you, once we picked the lab, some of them were like, 'What?!' Some of them were not happy to have me in there. Even though some of them were very impressed when I sent a list of ingredients . . . they said, 'Does she have a background in chemistry?' or 'Where did she find this stuff?' In the witchcraft stand of the Mexican markets, that's where I found some of it!"

To see what else Salma said about the line, just keep reading.