Homemade mavericks

25 Jan 2010 06:00 AM | Posted by Editor

Think all the best beauty buys come from overseas? Looks like you need to up your dosage of national pride coz some of our much-loved brands hail right from our very doorsteps.  So let’s give a good old Aussie shout-out to some of the brands flying the flag both here and abroad.

 

Bloom

When Natalie Bloom started hobby selling homemade cards, candles and gift ideas to small stores just over 16 years ago, she never imagined she’d one day be heading up a global beauty company. “I didn’t have a long-term strategy and simply created quality products that I was passionate about and that had a strong design sensibility,” she says. “At the time, I never dreamed that Bloom could become a global success story with over 300 products in its range.”

From Australia, Dubai and Bangkok, to London and Beverly Hills, Bloom is now a brand that is stocked across the globe (meaning you can get your product fix almost anywhere in the world!). So what’s in store for the future? “In 2010, Bloom has some very exciting product launches that tap into the brand’s heritage of botanical ingredients and essential oils and will increase our presence in the organic arena. Watch this space!”

Why we love it: Give me a girl who can resist Bloom’s every-colour-of-the-rainbow make-up range and I’ll give you a man who can multi-task! Not to mention their fabulously affordable skincare and beauty tool range. Oh and did I mention we also love the super cute packaging too?

 

 

 

The Purist Company

Will Evans, founder and technical director of The Purist Company (the big mama of beauty brands [Al’chemy] and [A’kin]) always had an inkling he’d end up amongst the flowers. “My mother often reminds me how, as a child, I was always out in the garden smelling the flowers. So it was no wonder that I became involved in the development of natural cosmetics,” he says. In fact, Evans was so taken with his study of plants and natural cosmetic chemistry, that he even owned and operated the herb farm where the plants used to make the products were grown and processed – now that’s what we call beauty at your back door!

When his studies started to reveal that a large proportion of ingredients used in everyday cosmetics contained toxins, Evans made it his quest “to develop a comprehensive range of naturally-based skin and haircare formulations that were uniquely pure and safe as well as effective and luxurious to use.” That was over 30 years ago and he’s still going strong – “I’m still as passionate today about continuing to produce the safest and best skin, body and haircare products money can buy as I was back then,” he confirms.
 

Why we love it: With every [Al’chemy] and [A’kin] formulation being developed in Australia and tested on Australians, it almost feels like each product has been tailor-made especially for us!

 

 

 

Griffin & Row
Yvonne Row and Marcia Griffin have been friends since the late 70s and founded Griffin & Row together because they saw a growing demand in the Australian market for natural beauty products. “We both hold a deep-seated belief that all women should have access to quality skincare that, like great food, should be natural, free of harmful chemicals and be based on plants that have healing and health-giving qualities,” they say.

Keeping in mind that the average Aussie woman doesn’t have the time (or money!) for a million and one different skincare products, Yvonne and Marcia based their range on five daily essential products to effectively produce beautiful skin, at minimal cost to consumers. “Our brand does what it says it does – delivers real results at a very, very affordable price. [It’s perfect] for busy women who have limited time but still want to look younger for longer!”

Why we love it: Never mind the fresh, minimalistic packaging (guaranteed to match any bathroom), Griffin & Row uses a combination of modern technology and traditional medicine to bring out the best from Australian botanicals and deliver it right to our skin!