As someone with highly sensitive, acne-prone skin, I’m always on the quest for gentle beauty products that pack a major punch. That sounds like a huge oxymoron, and it is – this is why I’m largely unsatisfied with all of the facial cleansers, toners, face creams (the list goes on) that I come in contact with. Olive + M products, however, withstood my demanding criteria. Most people wash their face with sudsy cleanser, but washing with an oil-based cleanser is a true revelation. Olive + M’s oil cleanser will leave your skin feeling, smooth, glowing, and supple. Oil cleansing is the perfect anecdote to any and all types of skin issues. Dry or oily, mature or acne-prone, oil cleansing is the answer. Get to know more about the science behind oil cleansing and the Olive + M brand with founder Mariska Nicholson below.
Melancholic Magpie: What inspired you to start Olive + M?
Mariska Nicholson: I have been using oil on my skin for over a decade! A few years back I got to the bottom of a bottle of oil I was using and I thought to myself, “what is in this stuff?” I began researching natural plant-based oils and their properties, and then mixing blends in my kitchen. I loved all the knowledge I was acquiring about the beauty of these oils that Mother Nature has provided. I became an obsessive ingredient deck reader and educated myself on all the toxic chemicals that were in most of the products in my bathroom, it was transformative! Friends and family started asking me about my glowing skin so I shared my blends with them. It became clear to me that using oil on your skin was something I was called to educate women on, so I found an angel investor and formulated my personal regime; cleansing oil, face oil and body oil. Olive + M was born!
MM: Many people find cleansing with an oil to be counterintuitive. Can you explain how cleansing with oil is actually beneficial even to those with oily or acne-prone skin?
MN: First of all, let us understand that oil dissolves oil. When you use oil to cleanse your skin, you are massaging the oil formula into your skin that will go deep into your pores dissolving the oil that has hardened with dirt and impurities and then replacing this grime with beneficial oils.
Your skin is the largest organ of your body and it produces oil naturally to heal and protect it. When we use harsh chemicals to clean our skin we are stripping the naturally occurring oils from the skin creating a platform for our skin to then freak out and produce more oil to compensate for it’s loss. With this overproduction of oil, we end up with problematic skin.
MM: Do you see yourself adding other oil-based products to the line?
MN: Yes. For the women’s line we are working on some oil-based lip and body scrubs as well as some oil perfumes. And we are also working on a line for the babies!
MM: Are there any DIY beauty recipes that you rely on outside of Olive + M products?
MN: Well, I like to share with my customers that almost weekly I will put a little sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in the palm of my hand and then add the cleansing oil to it to use as an exfoliating cleanser. And my sweetheart is hooked on the coffee scrub I make for him and keep in the shower. When the container is low he puts it on the kitchen counter as a gentle reminder for me to make more…he does not like to go a day without it!
MM: For those who want to keep their beauty routine as chemical- and cruelty-free as possible, what makeup brands would you recommend?
MN: I like Well People. I don’t wear a lot of makeup so when I do, I want it to look and feel natural. Not only do they make a superior product but they are organic, super clean and yes, cruelty free! I love the bronzer stick especially with summer, And I am addicted to their lip gloss!
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