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All about Australian Women
All about Australian Women
Almost every woman I know has some form of beauty routine. In fact the majority spend thousands of dollars every year investing in beautifully packaged cosmetic products that promise to keep us looking young, fresh and beautiful. It’s easy to buy into cleverly crafted marketing messages when those messages are spouted by fresh-faced, photoshopped models and celebrities in glossy magazine spreads and alluring TV commercials.
According to Nourished Life creator, Irene Falcone, many of our much loved top selling brands contain the kinds of toxins that do the absolute opposite of what the brands themselves promise. Hence, Irene has dedicated the last few years living a toxic free life, finding natural alternatives and sharing her discoveries.
We chat to Irene about her journey so far.
What is Nourished Life all about?
Nourished Life is a natural online shopping destination. I sell natural and organic alternatives to everything we have in our homes that are made from petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances and parabens. I believe there are two key differences with my store – I will only sell products that are 100% natural, certified organic or the most natural products I can possibly find. I don’t compromise and sell products that are 98% or 99%. The second main difference is that I stock a really wide range of products that we need across all areas of our lives. So you can buy a beautiful certified organic “Classic Red’ lipstick, a bottle of natural clothes detergent, a natural kids bubble bath and a natural toothpaste from the same place.
You started off blogging before setting up an online store, what’s the story behind it?
I spent my 20s and early 30s obsessed with beauty products. But by the time I has reached 35 I found I was really struggling to get out of bed each day, my head was foggy by midday and I was always tired. I started looking really closely at exactly what it was that I was putting in and on my body. There was a moment where I suddenly realised that every product in my home was loaded with chemicals. All of my beauty products looked gorgeous from the outside but inside they were nothing more than a cocktail of petrochemicals & parabens. I don’t know why, but before that day I never thought about reading the back of the label or finding out what these chemicals actually were. At that moment I threw everything out and I started my blog as an online diary to document how I felt and looked after quitting these products.
I found within a few months there were thousands of women feeling the same way who also wanted to live a more toxic free life. But they just didn’t know where to start when it came to replacing all of these products. So I started putting my energy into researching and seeking out the safest, most effective, beautiful, practical & affordable alternatives for us to use instead. That is how my shop started, I wanted a place where my community could buy all of these natural products in the one place and have it delivered to their door quickly. It really grew from there.
Where do you source your products?
I source my products from all around Australia and the world, for example, I have beautiful certified organic cosmetics & fake tan from Australia, certified organic skin care from Paris, natural hair care products from New York and vegan lip balms from a small fishing towns in America.
What were the biggest lessons learnt in your journey?
The biggest lesson I’ve learnt is to read the back of the labels, not the front! Products with “organic” and “natural” on the box does not mean they are. I have also learned that what we put in and on our bodies is directly linked to how we look and feel.
What does a typical day look like?
I bounce out of bed now and start my day with my Carla Oates Inner Beauty powder, followed by a big tablespoon of organic coconut oil. For the rest of the day I am rushing around with the kids, researching products, returning emails, ordering products and packing orders. At night I’m on facebook talking to everyone in my Nourished Life community about natural products and healthy recipes.
What are some of the most popular products in the market that we should probably avoid?
A really great starting point is to avoid anything containing parabens, mineral oil and petrolatum, sodium lauryl, propylene glycol and synthetic fragrances.
Women rely on so many of these top-selling everyday products, where and how does one begin to detoxify?
Keep it simple. Next time you need to replace a beauty product like a mascara or shampoo, seek out a 100% natural or certified organic version rather than race to the department store and replace it with the same one you have always used. Experiment with all of these amazing natural products and have fun finding the ones you love the most and enjoy how much more energetic and healthier your feel.
What’s next for Nourished Life?
My store is still very new and I have a huge list of new products and brands that I can’t wait to add to the range.
About Irene Falcone
Irene Falcone is passionate about inspiring women to choose natural and organic products over the old petrochemicals ones we’ve used for years. She is a full time working mum with 4 kids, attempting to live a toxic free life in Sydney. Last year Irene turned her “Living Toxic Free In The City” blog into her dream online store “Nourished Life” where she sells her favourite natural and organic discoveries to women across Australia.
Connect with Irene at:
Website: www.nourishedlife.com.au
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/nourishedlife
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