What does "natural" skincare actually mean? Is it just greenwashing?

“Natural” is one of the most overused buzzwords in the beauty industry, yet only a few brands truly earn the designation - and for good reason. The term often evokes simplicity, suggesting that removing synthetic elements equates to a product that’s basic in both formulation and design. 

I built this brand to challenge that notion. By blending high-performance, natural ingredients with luxurious formulations, proving that natural beauty can be both effective and sophisticated.

Yet I have taken it a step further than that.

I believe you should be empowered to know exactly what you are putting on your skin, and be confident in its safety, which is why I am dedicated to transparency. Most beauty brands won’t be as open as I am committed to being, but part of my mission is to encourage other brands to be this transparent. 

In fact, it really makes me mad when I see big brands claiming their products are natural, only to find they are still using phenoxyethanol and synthetic fragrance. You should not need to know every single skincare ingredient and its source to determine if it's safe enough to use - you should be able to trust the front of the bottle. 

My promise to you is below and my hope is that one day Olympia & Órla will be big enough and transparent enough that other big beauty brands are forced to be just as transparent as us - what a world that would be!

My promise:

I will never claim my products to be something they are not. Even though I can claim my products are natural (full stop), I am still choosing to be transparent about that claim. On each product page you will find the exact percentage that is natural. All my products are formulated so that they can be certified natural in the future however I am still committed to being completely transparent about what you are choosing to put on your skin. 

I will always select ingredients which are direct from nature or nature-derived. In occasional circumstances where there is no other appropriate option, and always only in small amounts, we use ‘nature-identical’ ingredients (which are accepted as natural according to leading certifying bodies like Eco Cert). I am very transparent about this and specify the percentage of nature-identical ingredients used in each product. 

So, what is the difference between natural and nature-derived and nature identical? Find out here.