All about: Kari Gran Skincare at Indie Beauty

Recently I was introduced to the brand Kari Gran Skincare, a name I had hitherto been unaware of but am definitely all over now! Founded over ten years ago in the US, Kari Gran is an all-inclusive beauty brand that simplifies skin and lip care for people at every age, a credo I am embracing more and more as I get older and fall for quality over quantity in every aspect of my life. At the heart of the brand is a customisable, oil-based system that harnesses plant and essential oils to gently and safely nourish skin. Simply cleanse, hydrate, protect, and go. All of their products are hand-poured in Seattle and made using only the finest organic, naturally derived, wild-harvested, and non-GMO ingredients, and naturally they formulate without parabens and known toxins, and never test on animals.

Like many great clean beauty names, Kari Gran came about after a health crisis prompted a deep dive into the world of personal care and its associated questionable ingredients. At 29, Kari was diagnosed with Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Disease, and because of this, she started looking into everything from what she ate to what she put on her face. This led her to begin formulating products that fit her skincare needs.

I became aware of the brand via Indie Beauty, a webstore born out of the frustration of not being able to find the highly efficacious green beauty brands that Tracy, Indie’s Founder, wished to use here in New Zealand. She was living a wellness led lifestyle that naturally led to seeking out and using skincare and makeup products that were also natural and plant based – a more aligned and holistic approach. As a direct result, she has curated a collection of her favourite brand under the Indie umbrella, trialling and testing countless products and adding to the offering all the time. She says: “Indie's customers are both discerning and wild at heart, they will enjoy access to niche and cult green beauty brands from around the world and will feel satisfied about the choices they’ve made, and the brands they’re supporting; they’re casting positive votes for the kind of world they want to live in”. Love that!

But back to Kari Gran, and the two products I’ve been having a good play with. First is the Essential Hydrating Rose Tonic, which is a joy to smell, spritz on and then so much more. The brand call the tuned-up tonic “a triple threat against skin dryness, dullness, and redness”, and it definitely rehydrates skin for next-level radiance on repeat. Well-crafted with rare organic ingredients like Rose de Mai hydrosol and organic glycerin from flax, it can be used alone or mixed with Kari Gran’s Essential Serum to create your custom moisturiser. I’m all about situational skincare and feeling like I’m wearing an alchemist’s hat, so have really enjoying doing exactly that. The serum is packed with a daily dose of vitamins A, C & E plus essential fatty acids, for a luxurious skin boost that is just perfect for the summer months. The powerful serum nourishes with an antioxidant-rich blend of organic ingredients and a boost of Vitamin E, and I love that it contains no water as a filler for highly efficient hydration.

Now I’m all about adding to the mix Kari Gran’s Essential Cleansing Oil, for a truly power-packed trio!

To find out more about Kari Gran and Indie, head to their website here.

Main photo by Ben Scott on Unsplash