“There’s so much power and beauty in accepting flaws.”

Alex Nicolaou is the founder of the bespoke skincare brand Nini Organics, which he runs with his sister Nicole. Having suffered with acne in his teens, Alex became interested in the power of natural and nourishing skin care. His products are vegan, cruelty-free and made in small batches. House of Green Beauty is an extension of Nini Organics in North London.

In this episode, we talked about:

Alex describes himself as a “sentimental and festive person”, and uses this inspiration to create his products and infuse them with his zest for life and love
His whimsical nature and love for life translates into the products he creates
The energy you give yourself is self-love
Rituals that you look forward to and enjoy doing
“Why cover yourself up with fake beauty”
Training your reflection in the mirror to love yourself back- accepting your flaws
“Nothing looks as good as acceptance feels”
Even when he suffered with acne, he made sure he would affirm being healthy, having a loving family and all the things he was grateful for
Growing up as a compassionate boy, into colour, art, making things, singing
The importance of loving and validating yourself rather than needing others to do that for you and being able to be by yourself. Falling in love with yourself. Choosing to be a single gay man, in a community where being in and out of relationship is easy. Validating yourself wholeheartedly and not looking externally
Appreciating everything you have in life
Embodying your dreams and passions
The importance of gut health for good skin. Treating your gut as if it’s your partner, with utmost respect and it will reward you
People can be quick to shame others for wanting to be healthy
Each person’s lifestyle is their own choice and shouldn’t be judged my one another
Whitelabeling is where a laboratory formulates the product and you put your branding on it
Water-free products such as powders, oils, clays and balms don’t need a preservation system in the way that water-based ones do. This makes for a more ritual-orientated approach for the consumer which offers more creativity
Sourcing from organic, fair trade companies
“You do you” - if you want to do injectables and have fillers etc
Social Dilemma on Netflix
Get rid of personal social media accounts! The difference between a personal and business account
“Experienced” skin rather than language around aging
“Skincare sees no race, no colour, no gender . It just sees skin”