Barbara Filokostas, the visionary and founder of the Botáni range is a passionate problem-solver. She was inspired to take up naturopathy after learning traditional Greek healing techniques from her Yiayia (her paternal grandmother), and what sets Botáni apart from so many naturally-based products on the market is that it was formulated by Filokostas as part of her professional practice, in direct problem-solving response to dermatalogical ailments that her clients suffered.
The Botáni range has grown to serious proportions for a small, Melbourne-based business that maintains its integrity to the utmost levels. Their range encompasses a broad spectrum of skin specifications & mild dermatological disorders (there are products specific to acne, eczema & dermatitis, fungal infections, and aging – as well as all basic beauty treatments in-between).
Product Love
So far in my travels, I’ve honestly not been able to find a moisturiser that trumps Botáni’s Boost Balancing – mostly because I have a fairly classic case of combination skin that varies in moisture levels depending on the time of the month (yeah – hello, boys). It’s light enough to not form that horrific greasy (beauty therapists might say “dewy”) sheen after I apply it in the morning, but it’s also formulated in such a way that it gives me ample moisture-loving during the chillier, drier months, too.
My only gripe with Boost Balancing is its bottle – it’s a sweet little pump pack (did I mention that we love Botáni’s classic, olive-green & brown glass packaging, too?), but when you get to the last 6th of the cream, the pump action struggles to bring the product up into the palm of your hand. So, one is rather ungraciously left having to store the bottle upside down, and scraping the goodness out for the last 1-2 weeks of its life. Nothing that would put me off using it, but certainly an improvement that I’d put to the product design team if pressed.
I also have big love for Purify Facial Cleanser which is gentle, smells phenomenal, and cleanses thoroughly without making my skin all mank and dry after I’ve cleansed. I have a feeling I’m going to be appreciating this factor more and more as I get older. Apparently Purify is also an ass-kickin’ shaving lather for the boys (I’m definitely going to be giving it to my psoriasis-prone husband to use, now that I’ve found that out).
The other Botáni product our household uses is a pharmaceutical – it’s called Phytoseptic, and we use it as a kind of all-round alternative to cortisone, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal creams (peachy, yeah – but we all get rashy sometimes).
In terms of soothing eczema and stress-induced breakouts (me), its so much calmer and more reassuring than whacking the old 1% steroid on, and I’ve found lately, that it’s much more effective, too. FYI – it’s deep green in colour (so don’t go wearing it with your tennis whites), and smells like an extreme herbal poultice, which I like to think means it’s really doing its job.
Superéthique have heard that Botáni’s Nourishing Active Eye Cream and Olive Skin Serum are also both phenomenally effective products. So, we may try to get our paws on some to review for you over the next few months.
And their credentials?
Botáni is:
- Australian Made
- Vegan Friendly (all of their ingredients are botanical – gorgeous, gorgeous!)
- Pregnancy Safe
- Green & Organic Ingredients (their palm-kernel oil is all certified sustainably sourced, and Botáni give very specific reasons as to why they have chosen to not pursue “official” organic certification, here on their website.)
- Cruelty Free
Superéthique says:
It was our first pick of the bunch to review because we love it that much. It really is one of the better natural beauty and skincare businesses on the market worldwide. We’re in love with their ethics and integrity, and even more enamoured of the fact that they’ve kept things local.
One of the other great things about Botáni is that it’s still super-affordable, and available quite readily, now. You can purchase their whole range directly from their website, at Priceline stores, and in most good health food shops.
And finally, we had to share our favourite bit of information from Botáni’s own Frequently Asked Questions page:
“We are proud to say that our products are tested on humans for the safety of animals… Botáni Olive Hand Cream is also used on orphan joeys, to hydrate their skin. Carers had tried and tested the product on themselves, before using it on the joeys. Botáni is accredited with Choose Cruelty Free and PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals).”
Orphan joeys. Need I say more?
- Ming-Zhu.
