Founder Notes
Why I formulate our products
It is one of the most common claims in indie beauty and one of the least defined. What the phrase usually covers, what it should mean, and the questions that...
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Founder Notes
Is Natural better than Synthetic ingredients
Worry is not free. When every ingredient list feels like a test, even a two-minute ritual starts to feel like somethi...
Founder Notes
Why face oil all year round
The same bottle in January and in July. What changes with the season is not the oil, it is how many drops, and why.
Ayurveda
Ubtan, the original cleanser.
Ubtan is the cleansing paste that predates every cleanser on your shelf. How it is made, why it works, and the honest...
Founder Notes
Ingredients behind Seed Glow face oil
Seed Glow has sixteen ingredients. The number tells you almost nothing, so I go through what each one does, and why t...
Ayurveda
Kapha season
Almost every Ayurvedic seasonal guide you will read online is written for the northern hemisphere, which makes it six...
Founder Notes
Waterless, and what that choice costs
Both my formulas are waterless. That is why neither has a preservative, and it is a consequence of the format rather ...
Ayurveda
Abhyanga: what oiling your own skin actually does
The oldest skincare practice I know is also the simplest. What abhyanga is, how it is properly done, which part of it...
Founder Notes
Why the Universal Balm is not vegan
There is beeswax in the balm, so it is not vegan. What the beeswax is doing, what would replace it, and why I have no...
Ayurveda
Dinacharya: the Ayurvedic daily rhythm, and the three parts worth keeping
The classical Ayurvedic daily routine has a dozen steps and assumes a life without a commute. Here are the three part...
Founder Notes
Why there are no essential oils in anything I make
Every face and scalp product I make is formulated without essential oils. The reason is less principled than people e...
Founder Notes
What "small batch" and "handmade" actually mean
Small batch is not a regulated term and does not automatically mean better. What it genuinely gets you, what it costs...
Ingredients
Where our ingredients come from, and what "ethically sourced" is allowed to mean
Sustainably sourced, ethically made and carbon neutral are mostly undefined terms. What each one has to be backed by,...
Skin Science
Why a higher percentage is not a better product
20% vitamin C is not twice as good as 10%, and can be worse. How concentration, pH and the formula around an active d...
Skin Science
"Clinically proven" and other things the front of the box is allowed to say
Most claims on the front of a skincare box are not regulated the way you think. What each one has to be backed by, an...
Ingredients
When skincare actually goes off, and how to store it
What the little open-jar number means, how to tell when an oil has turned, and the storage mistakes that shorten a pr...
Ingredients
Ten ingredient names that sound alarming, and what they actually do
Cetearyl alcohol, phenoxyethanol, polysorbate, disodium EDTA. What ten of the most misunderstood ingredient names act...
Rituals
How to build a night routine that works while you are asleep
Four steps, in one order, plus the bedroom changes that matter more than most products. A night routine for dry and s...
Skin Science
What actually happens to your skin while you sleep
Skin loses more water overnight than during the day, and repairs itself at the same time. What the research shows, wh...
Skin Science
Does drinking more water help dry skin?
The eight glasses advice does very little for dry skin, and here is why. What actually controls skin hydration, and t...
Skin Science
The nutrients your skin barrier is actually built from
Your barrier is made of lipids, proteins and the nutrients that assemble them. What each one does, where it comes fro...
Skin Science
Does what you eat actually show up on your skin?
Some diet and skin links are well supported, some are folklore, and the difference is not what the internet suggests....
Ingredients
How to read an ingredient list in sixty seconds
INCI lists are in a fixed order and follow rules once you know them. Five checks that tell you what a product is, wha...
Ingredients
Natural vs synthetic skincare: what the words mean on a label
Natural is not a regulated word, and synthetic is not a warning. What each term actually allows, where natural genuin...
Ingredients
Fragrance-free vs unscented: the label difference that matters
Unscented does not mean no fragrance. It can mean the opposite. Here is what each label allows, how to check an ingre...
Rituals
How to patch test a new product properly
Every brand tells you to patch test. Almost none tell you how. The right place, the right number of days, and what a ...
Skin Science
Is your skin actually sensitive, or is it sensitised?
Sensitive skin you are born with. Sensitised skin you acquire, and it can be reversed. Here is how to tell which one ...
Rituals
Balm, oil or moisturiser: what to use, and when
The honest difference between a balm, a face oil and a moisturiser, which your skin actually needs, and whether you n...
Skin Science
Occlusive, emollient, humectant: which one your dry skin actually needs
The three ways a product can treat dry skin, what each one actually does, how to tell which your skin is missing, and...
Rituals
How to fix cracked hands and split cuticles
Why hands crack and cuticles split in winter, why hand cream keeps failing, and the overnight routine that actually r...
Rituals
Slugging, without the petroleum jelly
What slugging is, what it genuinely does for dry skin, and how to do it with a plant based balm instead of petroleum ...
Skin Science
Why skin cracks in winter, and what actually stops it
Cold air, heating and hot showers strip skin from three directions at once. What winter actually does to your barrier...
Rituals
Face Oil vs Moisturiser: Do You Need Both?
If you already use a moisturiser, do you really need a face oil too? They're not interchangeable — here's what each o...
Ingredients
5 Best Oils for Dry & Sensitive Skin - and Why They Work
When I was formulating Seed Glow, I spent years studying which botanical oils truly make a difference for dry, sensit...
Ingredients
Why Cold-Press Matters
The same "rosehip oil" can cost $8 or $80 — and at a molecular level, be almost entirely different. The reason is ext...
Ayurveda
Ayurvedic Self-Care for the Modern Pace
Self-care doesn't have to mean another item on the to-do list. Drawing on Ayurvedic wisdom, here are simple, minutes-...
Ayurveda
How to Use Facial Oil: The Right Way
Facial oil can transform your routine — but only if you use it the right way. Here's how to choose the oil for your s...
Ayurveda
What is Ayurveda
Ayurveda — the ancient Indian "knowledge of life" — has guided holistic wellbeing for over 3,000 years. Here's a gent...
Ingredients
The Powerful Benefits of Prickly Pear Oil
Prickly pear oil is one of nature's most prized facial oils - rich in vitamin E, fatty acids and antioxidants to hydr...
Ingredients
The Myth of Chemical-Free Natural Skincare
"Chemical-free" skincare doesn't really exist - everything, even water, is made of chemicals. Here's how to see past ...
Founder Notes
Seed Glow: Nourish, Repair, Anti-Ageing
Two years and fifteen trials in the making — a closer look at Seed Glow Face Oil, our cold-pressed blend of antioxida...
Rituals
Should body oil be part of daily routine?
Your body is the largest organ you have — so why stop skincare at the neck? Here's why body oil is worth adding to yo...
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Let nature show its magic to you. Naturally derived skincare rooted in Ayurveda, handmade in small batches in Melbourne for sensitive, dry and ageing skin.