conscious.kin is setting the bar for ethical, conscious and sustainable beauty and wellbeing in Australia. The Brisbane based business run by three sisters celebrates Australian and New Zealand made products and has curated an incredible line up of natural skincare and make up brands who share their own ethos around conscious beauty. Their flagship store in James St in Brisbane has recently been joined by a new showroom on the Gold Coast. I chat to one of the owners Melissa about self care, conscious beauty and finding balance as a working mum.
Tell us a bit about conscious.kin. When did you start your business and why?
We are a natural beauty & wellness business that seeks out, curates and supports brands that align with our vision to guide and empower each person to discover conscious beauty. Conscious Beauty to us reflects both from the inside and out. It in the choices we make as individuals and in the way we operate our business. Conscious Beauty includes purity of ingredients, compassion, sustainability and environmentally focussed.
The brands we choose to work with are natural and organic, and they are also cruelty free, transparent and effective. We abide by and have always guided ourselves and the brands we support by the Real Beauty Manifesto.
My sisters and I started our business because honestly, we wanted to be able to make choices about the products we used based on these values but there was none. There were a few of online retailers but we really wanted to give people the opportunity to touch, smell and experience the products before buying them.
Natural beauty and wellness is so important and we wanted to make it accessible to everyone. We wanted to provide a space for people to discover how effective and luxurious natural products have become in a calm and sophisticated environment.
What makes your store unique?
That’s a great question! For us, it has always been so important to create a calm, sophisticated, safe space for people to discover conscious beauty. We modelled our showrooms to meet our community where they are at.
We have our core non-negotiables.. all our products are cruelty-free, 100% transparent, and use clean and sustainably sourced ingredients. From there we really want to give our community the opportunity to make their decisions based on their own values - whether that be supporting local business (which we personally are passionate about), or Vegan, Certified Organic or even just effective skincare into maturity. The options are there and the choice is too.
Our role is to guide and empower each person to discover conscious beauty and we aim to do so from a place of acceptance and education, never ever judgement or exclusion.
Why all natural and organic?
Simply because we, humans, are natural and organic. It does not make any sense to me at all to put anything not natural in or on our bodies… that pretty much sums how I make all the choices surrounding food and products I select for my family and I to use.
What is it like working as sisters? How do you work as a team?
It can be incredibly rewarding and satisfying but it can be challenging as well. Alison, you know all three of us – and I am pretty sure you would agree, each of us are vastly different in our personalities and strengths but our core values are unwavering and that is why it works I think.
I like to describe us as the three corners of the same triangle. The only time when we have ever come to heads is when our communication channels have failed in one way or another… but because we come from a strong base, we have always been able to navigate and build through stronger.
You are also all mums, how do you each balance work as a mums and business women?
Ah!... I am actually typing this answer one handed as I nurse my new baby boy Gabriel who just woke up from his nap!! It is really great that we ALL ARE mums to be fair.. we all understand the shifting priorities of being a mum and owning your own business..
We all have each other back when it comes to balancing work and family life. We take it in turns for the most part for standard things like who is on-call for the team on the weekends all have the best interests of our business front and centre too.. if one of my kids needs me for any reason I always feel supported by Em & Beck to be there for them, because I would (and have) been there in a heartbeat to them and they know that too.
After all, their kids are my family too and we all want our children (and our nieces and nephews) to know their family has their back 100% too. Family dinners are super funny for us, as we all have so many stories we love telling to our nieces and nephews about their mum when they we just kids!!
Why do you think there is so much interest in Australian boutique natural skincare brands at the moment?
Australia has some of the highest standards in the world and our products are extremely popular overseas because of that. I think Australian skincare brands have really set an incredible standard of sophistication, effectiveness and customer experience.
Each of the brands conscious.kin supports create each and every one of their products with deliberate intention and forethought. That transfer of energy comes across in the delivery of the product, and the end user experiences the whole journey when they choose these products. It is an incredible privilege to be part of that process.
You’ve just opened a store on the Gold Coast, tell us about the new space.
Well this showroom is just wonderful!... it is in the Brickworks Centre in Southport right next to The Source Bulk Wholefoods. It is a beautiful space, with a focus on edible / internal beauty as well as wellness and skincare rituals, natural makeup and clean, conscious beauty. We have had such great feedback on this space.. it is such a great healthy minded community down there!..
Why do you think more and more people are feeling called to support ethical, transparent and conscious brands?
I genuinely think that we as a wider community really have to get behind these brands because they are doing business the right way. Every time we make a purchase, we make a choice as to what impact that product cycle has on a wider scale.
We as a community cannot pretend that we have no responsibly for how a product is made. I am thrilled that there is a massive push right now to ban single use plastics, to hold the big businesses to account for their actions and to take responsibly for our place in the supply chain.
When we support ethical, transparent and conscious brands – we stand up for the environment, for animal rights and support the people who are doing the same!
Why do you think self care is so important?
I love the analogy about putting your own oxygen mask on before assisting anyone else.. Our children model themselves from the role models around them – We help mould their opinion of the environment whether they see us throwing rubbish out a car window or if they see us picking up rubbish on the beach.
We help mould their opinion of themselves whether they see us looking in the mirror saying how fat and ugly we are or if they see us giving ourselves a calming lymphatic face massage and taking time and space to centre ourselves in the world. This to me is why my own self care is so important.. I am so aware they my children see everything and I genuinely have to love and respect myself if I have that wish for them
Why do you think people are feeling the need to simplify their lives?
For me, I tend to think the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to worry about and your possessions end up possessing you. I think our society has just come through a massive cycle of consuming for consuming’s sake.. and now we have come to a point of realisation that ‘things’ cannot make us happy. Yes, we get the instant endorphin release when we buy something new, but it is short lived and in the end does not fill the space inside us that we thought it would… and we are all so busy now, that stuff tends to just make life more complicated – the less stuff you have, the less you have to worry about.
Whenever I look at an item in my life or even before I go to bring it into my life, I usually run through ‘Use, Love, Need’ in my head… Do I use it? Do I love it? Do I need it? If I can’t answer yes to one of those questions, with 100% confidence – then I either donate the item or don’t buy it in the first place..
What does the word 'sacred' mean to you?
Sacred is something we treasure and something we honour. We hold that which is sacred dearly and we look after it.
What are some of your own favourite sacred daily rituals?
I have a little mantra actually! I find that this always centres me, lifts whatever is weighing down on my mind/heard/soul and allows me to continue on with clarity. I made it up and I am happy to share it with you and your community. To be the most effective, it is best to actually visualise as well..
I am just one person, in a big city.
Brisbane is just small city in a big country.
Australia is just a small country on a massive planet.
Earth is just a small planet in our entire Solar System.
Our solar system is just a tiny spec in our galaxy.
The milky way is just one of billions of galaxies in our universe.
Our universe may even just be one tiny spec of endless multiverses.
There. Then I feel better and my problems seem not so big.
What is your favourite Alyssum Alchemy product and why?
Ooo that is a really tough one between the Clarity Remedy Oil and the Rose Radiance Face mist… both I use for entirely different times during my day. I love the Rose Radiance Face Mist because it is a beautiful mist to hydrate my skin but also because it has organic herbal extracts and antioxidants (such as green coffee seed, kakadu plum, green tea and vegetable glycerine) - it acts as a hydrating bond which is perfect for setting makeup.
Then, I have to give honourable mention to the Clarity Remedy Oil as It has and always will be my go to whenever I need to stop, focus and get energy. I have one sitting on my work desk at home and I also have one for my daughter to use when she does her homework to help her if she struggles with the work.
Visit the conscious.kin online store at www.consciouskin.com
Or drop into one of their stunning Queensland based showrooms:
Brisbane: 4/22 James Street FORTITUDE VALLEY
Gold Coast: Brickworks Centre, 5/107 Ferry Road SOUTHPORT