Klō Organic Beauty is a 100% natural skin care company hand crafted in small batches in Western MA. The company is co-owned by sisters, Nicole Anagnos and Megan Berube. Their products are organic, nontoxic, vegan, and certified cruelty-free.

We went behind the brand to find out more…

When did you launch the brand and what was the reason behind it?
We launched in February of 2016. We had been searching for the right skin care products for our skin types and had a difficult time finding an effective product that was also nontoxic and organic. We began learning about skin care and oil cleansing and started making our own. A short time later we realised we had a really great product and decided to share it!

What is your background?
Megan was an advertising account executive and Nicole is a health coach in private practice. Both sisters attended The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and have a deep interest in health and wellness.

How many people are involved in the company and what are their roles?
The company is owned and operated by sisters, Megan and Nicole. They consider their husbands and children to be mandatory volunteer employees.

If you could start over with the business, would you do anything differently?
We would have probably launched earlier!

What is the hardest challenge you have faced since you started the company?
We decided when we started that we would try and do everything ourselves from manufacturing to web design. It’s challenging to get it all done!

Tell us one fact about you that people wouldn’t know?
A little while back we had a well situation that left my family with no clean water for months. After repeated failed attempts to fix it, we eventually had to dig a new well. We “got by” with jugs of water filled up at friends houses, showers at the gym, and brushing our teeth with water bottles. It was tough. Really draining and tough. It happened right around when we were building Klō and conceptualising ideas. It hit me hard that some people live like this all the time. No clean water. No friends with clean water. At that moment Megan and I decided we wanted to give back with every purchase. We found water.org and it was a match made in heaven. Now every purchase someone makes on our website, donates 6 months of safe water to a person in need.

To date, what has been the highlight since launching?
Appearing in Vogue and Glamour and other magazines that we’ve read for years has been a huge highlight. It feels very validating after all of our hard work!

Which city do you feel most at home in, London, Paris or New York?
Honestly we feel most at home in the country! If we see a cow on the side of the road we are happy.

Three beauty products you can’t leave the house without?
We would say lip balm, our homemade deodorant, and of course, our Klō duo.

Style means….?
Feeling comfortable in your clothes. Not feeling like you have to jump on every trend, but instead really embracing what you love.

Statement shoe or statement bag?
We both love a good bag.

If you had to, what piece of clothing from your wardrobe would you wear everyday?
Megan would gladly wear a hoodie every day and Nicole has made it her mission to learn the art of dressing up yoga pants so she can wear them every day.

Best place for a coffee?
Homemade on the front porch on a beautiful summer day.

Most memorable piece of advice given to you?
Don’t ever listen to that voice that tries to creep into your head telling you there are already too many skin care companies out there.

Guilty pleasure?
Reality TV

In future, how do you plan on expanding the company?
We may expand our company with more products in the future, but we strongly believe in the simplicity of our two product system.

Find out more…

Website: https://klobeauty.com

Instagram: Klo_Beauty

Pinterest: Klo_Beauty

Facebook: KloOrganicBeauty

Klō Organic Beauty is an all-natural skin care company developed and hand crafted in small batches in The Beautiful Berkshires in Western, MA. The company is co-owned by sisters, Nicole Anagnos and Megan Berube. Their products are organic, non-toxic, vegan, and certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny. They feature an anti-aging line using the highest quality oils. Their products were nominated for Best in Show at the Indie Beauty Expo in New York City and have been featured in Vogue + Glamour magazine. More information can be found on their website, klobeauty.com

At Viva Voce they believe true beauty is about vitality and loving the skin you are in. They want to help you look and feel your best self and be your best age. Their promise to you is a bit of luxury and innovative high performance skin care to challenge your traditional routines. They want to help you show your irrepressible, vibrant best self.

A brand after our own heart, we just had to find out more…

When did you launch the brand and what was the reason behind it?
Like many brands, Viva Voce grew out my search for a solution to my own problem. My skin was severely prematurely aged. The result of cumulative sun damage. We love to be active and have always lived near the beach and I adore it. In my late 30s, when I had a young family, I had treatment for breast cancer. The stress and fear around that exacerbated my skin issues dramatically- wrinkles, sagging, pigmentation, dryness, redness.

The products I was offered at the time didnt help, and I wouldn’t/couldnt accept that. It was important to me that I looked healthy and well. I am quite tenacious, so I looked into sourcing cosmetic ingredients for myself, and then I got involved in cosmetic formulation science – and I found my products were actually really effective for me and for other women.I have always had an interest in science, but am equally interested in the beauty and the aesthetic of things, so creating my products has allowed me to blend my interests beautifully. Creating a brand out of these products was really a personal challenge, to see if my products could help other women create healthy skin and regain their confidence in how they look and feel.

Whats your background?
I studied business at uni, then did an about turn and became a clinical nurse. I did that for 20+ years in a variety of clinical settings so I actually know a lot about the human body, which gives me a bit of an advantage creating Viva Voce. I’ve always been intrigued by the business world but this is my first substantial role in it – it’s like coming full circle. I’m learning so much and loving growing Viva Voce as a company to get these products out to the world.

If you could start over with the business, would you do anything differently?
Have a more structured business plan and outsource the things I don’t enjoy, like marketing. Starting out, we were excited to have this amazing product that feels beautiful and looks beautiful and we just wanted to run with it, which in retrospect was kind of naive. Viva Voce is a Latin phrase that translates to ‘the living voice’. We know our product is great and we believed that word would quickly spread and people would be queuing to buy it. Marketing is actually way more complicated than that. Products don’t sell just because they are great. On one hand it has been fun learning about the different facets of marketing, but it has also been immensely time consuming and at times challenging.

But really it has been an adventure, just seeing where it goes. So actually, I don’t think I would change anything.

What is the hardest challenge you have faced since you started the company?
Finding time for everything, and making sure we keep our life balanced. We live in a really beautiful part of the world on the beaches in sub-tropical Queensland, Australia, and getting outdoors keeps me happy. We started this business as a bit of an adventure, so it has to stay fun.

Tell us one fact about you that people wouldn’t know?
I desperately wanted to hang glide. I’m not great with heights so this would be a great surprise to those that know me well. My only solo attempt ended with me crashing onto a bitumen car park, luckily not from a great height. So funny!

2017 is here, where do you plan on taking the brand?
Our main goal at the moment is to increase brand awareness. We are a boutique family run company, and we plan to remain so. Being independent allows us great agility, so we want to continue our small batch manufacturing in Australia. We have a clean green focus here, an excellent international reputation for safety and very talented formulators, so it makes sense.

To date, what has been the highlight since launching?
Outstanding feedback about our products, particularly our Intense Hydration Serum. Every single time someone takes the time to tell us they love it, I get such a buzz. It’s like my third child. Being featured in an international magazine is pretty special too.

Three beauty products you can’t leave the house without?

1. Absolutely our Intense Hydration Serum. I use it alone and/or layer it with other things. If I am heading out for some excericise early, it plumps and smoothes and is semi-permeable so my skin can still breathe. It is a great multi-tasker.
2. High SPF tinted sunscreen.
3. Mascara

Style means….?
Being confident. Knowing what suits you and allowing your own personality to show. It gets easier as you get older.For me it includes relaxed, simple,elegant items. Like a slip dress, or great jeans, and a flowy strappy top. I loveblue, especially indigo, and I am a big fan of Brisbane (Australian) based designer Cassandra Harper. Clothes have to be easy to wear and fit with my lifestyle. My style icons? – I have two gorgeous daughters and I love watching both of them develop their own unique natural style.

Best thing about London to you?
Resilience.

Statement shoe or statement bag?
Shoe

If you had to, what piece of clothing from your wardrobe would you wear everyday?
Probably jeans, my favourite pair at the moment are Calvin Klein skinny straights.

Favourite love song?
Sail Away by David Gray. The lyrics are kind of sad but the song feels super romantic to me.

Best place for a coffee?

Season, Noosa Main Beach – the view is the best.

View from Season Noosa – Elle

Guilty pleasure?
Champagne. No doubt!

If you could spent 24 hours in anywhere in the world, where would it be?

In an apartment in Queenstown, New Zealand, with a view of Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables. It is truly stunning! I cant get there enough

In future, how do you plan on expanding the company?

We have a few more products in development and we would love to grow our international sales. We are looking at distribution in the US at the moment. But it has to work with our boutique model. We shall see what happens!

Where can people find out more? (website/social media)

www.vivavoceskin.com

www.facebook.com/vivavoceskin

www.instagram.com/VIVAVOCESKIN

The House Of Coco Team is really into pretty white smiles. Having impeccable pearly white teeth is something that we all want in our lives and sometimes just brushing doesn’t quite do the job. The Coco Team has found a few great ways for everyone to brighten up their smile in a natural and safe way.

Food is one of our favorite things, but did you know that there are some foods out there that can help you whiten your teeth. First up we have banana peels. Banana peels from ripe pretty bananas will help you get that pretty white smile. Ripe bananas contain lots of potassium and magnesium, which is perfect for whitening teeth. Simply rub a piece of the banana peel over your teeth for two minutes. This will allow your teeth to absorb the minerals found in the teeth which will promote whitening.

Next up, we have some of everyone’s favorite fruit. STRAWBERRIES!! Strawberry’s are not only good to eat, but they’re a tooth whitening agent as well. Strawberries are good for your teeth too, all you have to do is simply mash some strawberries up into a paste and rub it on your teeth. Rinse your mouth out afterward and enjoy those pearly whites.

Last but definitely not least, a product that has been seen all over social media for the past two years and one of the Team Coco favorites. Activated Charcoal has arrived on the scene and has been working wonders for all of its users. This isn’t food but it’s a good trick for whitening your teeth. Activated charcoal can absorb plaque and anything else that will stain your teeth. Simply brush your teeth with the charcoal, then rinse and spit. Continuing to brush your teeth with it on a regular basis will eventually help better your teeth giving you that flawless white smile that you’ve been looking for.

Who doesn’t like to know what all the gorgeous celebs are using beauty-wise, we do! House of Coco is all about the beautiful things in life, and if a certain super celeb wears a specific brand of makeup then we’re sold.

We have inside knowledge about which brands and products the coolest celebs are buying, and where they are buying them. So, top up your favourite lippy, tie your hair back, and be prepared to be wowed by some top celeb beauty buys.

Khloe Kardashian and Little Mix

There’s no getting away from the impact the Kardashian’s have on beauty products, once Khloe has been seen sporting a new product on Insta, the brand usually sells out. And, our vey own Little Mix from the UK have the unique selling ability to a younger market, meaning that beauty brands are crying out for these celebs.

Cocoa Brown, Golden Goddess Shimmer Oil has been worn by both Khloe Kardashian and Little Mix, therefore we at House of Coco need to be part of this craze.

Cocoa Brown Golden Goddess Shimmer Oil will create a silky smooth finish with an added subtle shimmer. Perfect to highlight your best features and create an overall glowing complexion. Priced at £9.99 for 50ml, available from the high street store Superdrug.

Bond Girl Lea Seydoux

We understand that it is law that all Bond girls are beautiful! So, if a Bond girl likes a beauty product we also like it. Usually a Bond beauty looks effortlessly chic, her skin is radiant and she always has a flawless complexion.

We understand from our sources that Lea Seydoux likes the Japanese brand DHC for some of her skincare products. Our fave is DHC’s Double Cleanse Set, which consists of Deep Cleansing Oil Makeup Remover and Mild Soap Beauty Bar. Priced at £32.50 for the set, available from DHCUK online.

The Saturday’s Una Healy, X Factor’s Louisa Johnson, and Love Island’s Cally Jane Beech

All these gorgeous celebs have one thing in common, gloriously sparkly teeth, so we did some delving to find out what product make their smiles so fresh.

After some serious undercover work House of Coco has found out that Una Healy, Louisa Johnson, and Cally Jane Beech have all used a product by Polished London.

Polished London has produced the Polished Charcoal Teeth Whitening Powder. This powder gives a whiter, brighter smile with no extra effort. It is 100% natural and contains no harmful abrasives or ingredients. The powder is made with premium finely ground activated charcoal and is one of the most innovative teeth whitening products to enter into the cosmetic dentistry market.

Polished London Charcoal Teeth Whitening Powder is priced at £20.99 for approx 100 uses, available from Polished Whitening online.

TOWIE cast

When a member of The Only Way Is Essex starts to wear a beauty product the entire cast follows suit, and what’s more exciting is when a cast member sets up their own beauty business.

Chloe Lewis Beauty was set up by reality TV star Chloe herself, she has six gorgeous lipsticks in her collection. The luxurious lipsticks are designed to wrap around the lips with a conditioning colour infused with Vitamin E. They all contain a protective sunscreen, which soften the lips, smooth lines and prevent chapping. The six colours include; Berry Kiss, Flossy, Reeva Red, Typically Me, Lady Love and Honey Honey.

Chloe Lewis Beauty Lipsticks are priced from £12.99 each, available from Chloe Lewis Beauty online.