Finally, the world (well, most of it) has realised it’s NOT OKAY to test beauty products on animals, it’s NOT OKAY to rub toxins on our skin, and it’s certainly NOT OKAY to keep flushing chemicals down our drains that damage ecosystems! Can I get a ‘heck yes!’ ? Or maybe a high-five if that’s more your style?

The rise in demand for cruelty-free, toxin-free, natural, organic, and sustainable products has meant places that do the hunting, research, and ingredients reading for good products so you don’t have to, have become essential to thousands of people worldwide. If you’re a New Zealander or Australian, you’ll know that one of the main go-to places doing exactly this, is Nourished Life.

I’m really proud to be one of their ambassadors.

Sometimes it’s hard to sort through the green wash, and difficult to find awesome (but tiny) eco companies through Google searches. Nourished Life won’t serve you up greenwashing, and they stock many different baby brands so they’re easier to find - not to mention combined shipping is blissful for the budget-friendly shopper too.

WHO ARE THEY?

Essentially, Nourished Life is Australia & New Zealand’s home for toxin-free shopping. Think of them like your virtual eco pharmacy. They have 7000+ toxin-free, natural, organic and sustainable products in their online store, ranging from beauty, skincare, haircare to wellness, health and home. Started by Irene Falcone as a humble organic beauty blog, Nourished Life has skipped leaps and bounds to end up as one of the world’s leading environmentally friendly platforms.

THE BEST PARTS

Shopping with confidence - Ingredient checking has been done for you
Excellent loyalty program with exciting member benefits
FREE Standard AU shipping for all members
Large range of vegan-friendly items
118,000+ customer reviews (easy to find out what each product is really like)
Fast shipping (seriously fast: I have witnessed this!)
Reliable and motivated customer support (I could honestly talk to the NL team all day

PACKAGING

While they’re not completely plastic free; they’re trying their darn best at reducing waste and making sure the least amount of plastic and packaging will end up in landfill. As a consumer, it’s really hard to know where and how to dispose of every single piece of packaging: Nourished Life allow you to send all your empties back to them (that’s if your product isn’t already plastic free), and they’ll recycle them in a partnership with Terracycle. I especially respect their concern for the emissions involved in returning the packaging: “We would urge you to save up your empties in a box until you have a full package to return to us, to save on excess carbon emissions!”

MY EXPERIENCE

I’ve used Nourished Life mainly for makeup products, and most recently conducted an honest mascara review.

My personal product favourites are the Ere Perez Jojoba Eye Pencil- Black, PATCH strips (bandaids), and the fact they stock my all time favourite brand; Ethique (solid, plastic free bars of beauty products- try them, trust me).

Another item I’ve had the pleasure of being gifted as a Nourished Life ambassador, is an essential oil diffuser. After searching for a second hand one I liked the look of for several months (maybe even a year!), I finally settled on the Nourished Life Aromamist Ultrasonic Mist Diffuser - Beech. This suited the aesthetics of my home, had all the features I wanted (not loud, 1-3 hour setting, and lights!), and knowing Nourished Life’s ethos and careful quality control: I knew it would serve me well for years (hoping for decades!) to come.

I’m super impressed with it so far…

Nourished Life Essential Oil Diffuser.JPG

I asked Irene Falcon, Nourished Life founder and owner, a few questions about NL and some tips to help people like you, make the transition to a toxic-free beauty routine…

1. What is your biggest inspiration for starting Nourished Life?

In the beginning, Nourished Life actually started out as my own personal blog – I had just decided I needed to go completely toxin-free and I was deep in research, trying to make sense of ingredients and find clean alternatives. At the time it was really hard to find simple or reliable sources of information, so I decided to start my own blog and Facebook page and share my product recommendations in the hope that I could help anyone else in the same position. That was my only goal, but from there it just turned into something bigger than I ever could have imagined.

2. What is the #1 beauty product you could not live without?

Gosh, that is such a hard one but I think it would have to be The Beauty Chef Probiotic Skin Refiner. I always describe it as my “desert island” beauty product. I have been using it for years now and it’s the one thing that has made the biggest difference to my pigmentation. I actually don’t think I could go without it now.

3. Who do you look up to?

I have always looked up to women in business who get knocked back, but keep trying. When I first started Nourished Life, I was constantly inspired by interviews with other women who had started up their own small businesses and turned them into these amazing success stories, even though they had people left, right and centre telling them they would fail. Anyone who never gives up on their idea, no matter how big or small, is a massive inspiration to me.

4. If you could describe Nourished Life in 3 words, what would they be?

From my personal experience… Life-changing, inspiring, everything!

5. Your first piece of advice for someone beginning to turn their beauty cabinet into a more cruelty-free/eco space?

I would say that you don’t need to rush – start small. It’s much easier to start by replacing the things you use every day, like a moisturiser or serum, but do this gradually as you finish each product. From there you can build it up as you find natural alternatives, and only replace what you actually need.

If you’d like to shop at Nourished Life, use code ETHICALLYKATE for 15% off. SHOP HERE.

I really hope this discount helps you try some new eco-swaps!

Note: As an ambassador, I receive a small commission when you make a purchase. So, thank you for supporting me in being able to spend many hours sharing about places I believe in.

Finally, I will leave you with a picture of my mascara face: don’t laugh, I know you have one too :)

As a rule, I only work with brands I love, use, and can whole heartedly back. I send the brand a large list of questions to answer first, and trial the product properly before saying yes to anything. This is a sponsored blog (I can't pay my electricity bill with free products), but 100% my own words, photos, and opinion.

Main Image taken by Nectar Photography.