Organics

Grown Organic Beauty

November 30, 2009

New Zealand born businessmen and brothers, Keston and Jeremy Muijs have always had an interest in health and wellbeing but didn’t necessarily always set out to form a beauty company.

They founded successful activewear company Orca but turned their attention to cosmetics when they observed a close friend react badly to her usual cosmetics while she battled cancer. It seemed that as her resistance levels dropped, her skin would flare up. The boys were spending a bit of time in Miami (why - I can’t remember) and it was there that they started to think about the connection between what goes on your skin and what happens internally. Jeremy experienced this first hand when he had garlic rubbed into the sole of his foot. Minutes later he could taste it in his mouth (don’t try this at home, kids).

Fast forward almost a decade and here we have GROWN a bio active skincare range that targets primary skin concerns: fine wrinkles, uneven skin tone and age spots with 100% organic essential oils and plant based ingredients.

It goes without saying that these products are free from parabens, Lauryl Sulphate, Glycols, Petrochemicals, artificial fragrance, silicones and other notable nasties.

But what should be mentioned is that yes todays organic skincare ranges are far superior to yesterdays (advancements in technologies mean that organic ingredients can be stabilised and preserved a lot better now than before), however those with sensitive skin should still test first. Because although fragrances are pretty much near the top of the list of skin aggressors. So too are essential oils. Essential oils can be havoc with skin of a more delicate nature, so read the back of the packaging first.

And then we come to the packaging - bottles modeled from old apothecary shapes - but there’s been quite some consideration given to them. The tubes won’t leach harmful plastic into the formulation as they’re old school aluminium and the bottles are a safe kind of plexi-glass, meaning that each product remains as pure as possible.

While not supermarket cheap, Grown will be available at selected Life Pharmacies, Smith and Caughey, Ballentynes and beauty salons. Prices range from $36 - $69.

I’ve only used a couple of products in the range - the body wash and hand cream and I really enjoyed both. I liked the fragrance and the way my skin felt. What I like about this range is that it makes an impressive gift -which is handy given Christmas is just over three weeks away.

Tamsin xo