How Do You Build A Beauty Empire In 2026? With Conserving Beauty
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What inspired Natassia Nicolao to start Conserving Beauty and how did her science background shape the brand?
Listener.
Hi, I'm Sarah and this is Small Talk. It's not quite a news headline, but it is what the girls are talking about. And today's episode is all about the beauty industry, which I am very lucky then to be sitting here with Natasja Nicolaou, who is the founder and CEO of the hugely popular brand, Conserving Beauty, which is also Australia's first waterless skincare brand. Welcome. It's so lovely to have you on. I'm
so honoured and lucky to be here.
I mean, I was literally just saying this before we hit record, but I genuinely love conserving beauty. I use the dissolving wipes every single day. I'm a big shout out to Seiji Baby. Shout out to Seiji Baby. Shout out to Seiji Baby. She sold me on the
canister. She's the best. No, I'm fangirling. I'm fangirling. So thank you so much for even knowing and using us and buying the canister. Oh my gosh.
I'm very, very, very excited. I just think the beauty industry conversation is one I've been wanting to have on the podcast for a while. Because, I mean, the industry is worth like $450 billion globally. It's something I'm very passionate about. I take myself into Meccas and Sephoras to self-soothe. Yeah, totally. Definitely my thing. And so I also, because I think I was someone who suffered with... acne for such a long time, like adults, like cystic acne. And I, yeah, I, as I was saying, like, I just think that conserving beauty has been so great for my eczema, acne prone
skin.
And I love that it's revolutionary in the science behind it and it's for sustainability, but I'll let you explain more. Like, can you talk a little bit more to conserving beauty? I don't know. Am I going to be able to give as good
of a rap as you? I
don't
know. I'm just kidding. Yeah, so I'm the founder. I studied cosmetic chemistry at university and I formulate all of our products. And my whole concept was to come up with skincare that is equally great for your skin and the planet, hence the name Conserving Beauty. But since we launched, we've definitely evolved as we've gotten to know exactly who our customer is. And our customer has really sensitive, acne prone, eczema prone, perhaps peri-old dermatitis. And they're looking for gentle skincare that works, but they're looking for products that also align with their personal values. And I think that because of the nature of what we've been able to create, that's you know, a level of innovation. And I can go into that.
It's resonated with our customer and they love it. They see results in the skin. They feel better about their choices. It's not too expensive. It doesn't break the bank. So yeah, I'm very, very proud of what the team and I have been able to do, especially with our dissolving tech, which is, as you said, pretty cool.
Can you take me back to sort of the start of your beauty journey? Like how did you, how did you get into, how did we get here?
Totally. Okay. So I studied science at Deakin and at the time when I chose to study science, I actually thought that I was going to go into the medical like realm, either become a pediatrician or do research for cancer drugs. Like that was my initial reason behind studying
science.
Yeah. Yeah, which is so funny to think now like what I'm doing, what I'm doing. But so I went to uni, loved that. Then at the same time, I, as a consumer, have always loved beauty products. And I kept thinking like, oh, wouldn't it be cool if I got a work job? in a consumer goods style business just to see what that's like. And when, right before I was about to graduate, I think there was a grad role going at Swiss, which was at the time like the biggest vitamin company
in
Australia. Yeah. And they had a grad role going in like the operations team, which had nothing to do with science. But I thought, oh, maybe that could be interesting. They do skincare, they do supplements. Like, what if I got into the grad program, learnt the ropes and maybe go into like the science team? Because they had a big R&D research team that would do like, you know, questions. quality assurance and regulatory and formulations and I thought maybe I dabble with that see if I like it because I don't know if I've got it in me to keep studying and do another another degree on top of what I'm doing I just was like I don't know so I started working at
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What inspired Natassia Nicolao to start Conserving Beauty and how did her science background shape the brand?
0:02–6:40
2
How does Natassia describe the current state of the beauty industry and the role of celebrity‑driven launches?
6:40–14:04
3
Why does Conserving Beauty focus on long‑term product innovation instead of rapid viral releases?
14:04–20:03
4
What are the biggest challenges with sustainability claims and how does the brand ensure genuine impact?
20:03–25:54
5
Who is Conserving Beauty’s core customer and how does the brand tailor products for different age groups?
25:54–31:50
6
What marketing strategies does Natassia find most effective for a purpose‑driven beauty brand?
31:50–37:19
7
How does Natassia envision the future of the beauty industry and what changes does she hope to see?
37:19–42:06
8
How does Natassia balance the demands of running a business with personal well‑being and mental health?
42:06–46:52
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from Big Small Talk
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