The Truth Behind Why I Started Olympia & Órla

It all started because I desired natural products made with quality ingredients that didn’t use synthetic fragrance or preservatives, or weren’t packaged in brown and green glass jars with plain, uninspired labels. I was frustrated at the lack of beautiful options that were actually natural (most were misleading), and decided to make my own. The vision: beautiful, ‘Sephora-shelf’ worthy products made with certifiable natural and organic ingredients, that deliver visible results and use only natural fragrance. 

That is the truth. 

It goes deeper than that though. 

When I was just 22 years old, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and told I would need to be on strong pharmaceuticals for the rest of my life, just to manage the excruciating pain I was experiencing on a daily basis. Stubborn me didn’t like the sound of that and so I decided to advocate for myself and found the world of natural healing and wellness. I am in remission and off all medication now (thankfully!) but not before experiencing a great deal of suffering.

I vividly remember the excitement in finding a natural body wash that looked pretty. 

By this point in time, I had removed as many products from my life that had the potential to cause issues absorbing into my skin so finding something like this felt like a break. A break from the constant pain and struggle being so young and having my life ripped from under me. Removing all the luxuries from life and subjecting myself to the world's most boring and challenging diet, it really did come down to the little things to keep me going. So, in the shower I stood, body wash bottle in hand, looking forward to this seemingly insignificant, yet significant to me, moment, I flipped the cap and turned the bottle upside down. I squeezed the bottle. 

Nothing. 

I squeezed again. 

Still nothing. 

This natural bodywash was housed in some sort of environmentally friendly plastic bottle that was more rigid than standard plastic bottles. My painful, weak hands could not squeeze the f***ing bottle. Defeated, I fell to the bottom of the shower, crying. 

All I wanted was one moment. A moment where I felt like a normal girl who enjoyed a bit of bodycare. One moment. 

After that, this thought stayed with me, always in the back of my head. Why do I have to miss out on luxurious, indulgent, feminine body and skincare products just because I want to choose something that doesn’t contain nasty and synthetic ingredients?

It didn’t seem fair, but what could I do about it? I kept trying all the different shampoo bars and boring body washes with the same old scents. I have had the most uninspiring skincare products for years, never happy with the results but accepting these all because they were the best natural options I could find. In recent years, I started getting fed up, seeing so many beautiful products and having to put them back on the shelf because they contain sketchy ingredients or advertise as natural yet still contain synthetic preservatives and fragrances. Until one day, I decided, enough is enough, I am just going to make my own. 

And I did! That is why Olympia & Órla is here today and why it means so much to me. 

Do you have a similar story, or have you found reprieve in having access to beautiful products that you don't need to worry about the long term impact of using? Please send me an email (hello@olympiaandorla.com) and tell me about it. It would mean so much to me to hear from you.