Founder of leading Australian toxin-free e-tailer Nourished Life, Irene Falcone, has collaborated with Melbourne pharmacist Danielle Glover of DNA Elements to create their first all-natural skincare line, Simple As That.
The 100% natural skincare range is a combination of all-natural, fairly traded, vegan ingredients, suitable for sensitive and allergy prone skin, born from a passion for nature, beauty and helping consumers navigate the often mis-labeled natural beauty market.
Each product was created with the desire to formulate the most effective combination of all-natural ingredients: Shea Butter, Coconut Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Cacao, Jojoba Oil, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Orange Blossom Rose Otto Water and French Lavender Oil.
I caught up with Irene to find out a bit about about the brand, its ingredients and why it’s worth adding to your beauty bag…
What inspired your collaboration?
I collaborated with Danielle earlier in the year where she developed a beautiful range of body oils and masks exclusively for Nourished Life, they fast become amongst my highest selling products. Customer were very vocal about loving the simplicity of the products, that they were vegan, natural and housed in glass rather than plastic. We also had a lot of comments from customers saying how pretty the bottles looked in their bathroom! This lead us to develop an entire skin care range based just on that feedback!
What were some of the hurdles, if any, of developing an all-natural skincare range that’s also effective?
This is the beauty of working with an experienced pharmacist, Danielle was able to identify the most effective combination of basic ingredients from a much larger list and formulate a range that was incredibly simple, but just works!
Can you describe how long it took from idea to product and how you respectively added expertise to the brand?
The entire process took over six months of research, testing and planning. Danielle is an experienced formulator and was able to fine tune the products till they were perfect. My background is in marketing so while the products were being tested I was able to work on the brand name and design. It was important that we conveyed the simplicity of the brand, as well as its effectiveness.
How do you preserve the formulations?
The preservation happens within the unique combination of ingredients. The range contains no fillers like water and petrochemicals which often require chemical preservatives. That is the beauty of this range!
What are some of the ingredients and why were they used?
My absolute favourite product in the range is the Vapour Rub, it is a simple base of fair trade Shea butter and coconut oil, which are two of the healthiest moisturisers found in nature, absolutely brimming with vitamins and good fatty acids. Added to this is a unique combination of pure essential oils to aid congestion and a restful night sleep!
The organic movement has been wonderful for the beauty industry and there has been amazing developments, however it has caused a lot of confusion and many of my customers didn’t know exactly where to start when converting from mainstream products to natural.
What is at the heart of the range and why will people love it?
The organic movement has been wonderful for the beauty industry and there has been amazing developments, however it has caused a lot of confusion and many of my customers didn’t know exactly where to start when converting from mainstream products to natural. People love this range for two reasons; It’s easy, it just takes the confusion out of “going natural” and it works!
What are your personal favourite products from the range?
In addition to the Vapour rub, I love the moisturiser! It soaks right in, it’s hydrating and primes the skin perfectly for applying make up in the morning, and at night it helps with cell turn over and rejuvenation so you wake up looking beautiful and plum.
Is it exclusive to Nourished Life?
No, we really wanted this range to be available to everyone and we’re excited about all of the interest from other beauty stores!
Danielle on the Simple as That Collaboration
“My love and passion for organic skincare started years ago when working as a pharmacist I became increasingly aware of all the ‘crap’ and synthetic additives that lie lurking in our personal care products, so I decided to do some research. What I found was not pretty. Words like ‘carcinogenic’, ‘endocrine disrupters’ and ‘irritants’ are all commonly associated with the ingredients found in our everyday skincare products and worst of all, it’s completely legal! Yes seriously! We are legally allowed as skincare manufacturers to put any ingredient in our final products as long as the ingredients are listed in descending order on the packaging. And it’s that simple. There’s no man or woman in a white coat testing that the products are safe, no legislative body auditing our products and no restrictions on what ingredients we put in our final products (or leave out for that matter!) I don’t know about you but I think that’s pretty scary stuff and that’s where SIMPLE as That comes in. Time for change.
I’ve created is an affordable, organic, fair trade and vegan skincare range without all the crap. Less ingredients equals more potent product and less chance of any skin reactions.
So what I’ve created is an affordable, organic, fair trade and vegan skincare range without all the crap. SIMPLE as That. Less ingredients equals more potent product and less chance of any skin reactions. Each ingredient in every product has been purposely included to do a job and ultimately foster the health of your skin to keep it looking vibrant and glowing, not to mention safe. I’m hoping that this humble brand of mine is the start of a journey where one day organic skincare is ‘the norm’ and we no longer have to worry about what we’re putting on our skin, but for now this is my contribution to a healthier world and planet.”
