Girl Undiscovered wishes to make the world a little more interesting, a little more beautiful and a lot more thoughtful.
The above words sum up the essence of Girl Undiscovered, 100% WILD skincare. The brainchild of Sara Orme, sociologist and photographer; Charlotte Devereaux, formerly EGG Maternity; and Philly Gebbie who has 33 years international business experience, Girl Undiscovered is more about your personal energy than what you see in the mirror.
“We want to challenge the idea of beauty and what it means,” says Sara. “Beauty is not about how you look, it’s about how you feel. It’s about freedom. Vitality. Girl power!”
The seed for Girl Undiscovered was sewn when Charlotte was researching natural skincare for her daughter, Jasmin. She focused on ancient traditions and came across one of the brands key ingredients — thanaka. With that discovery the three women combined their mutual passion and skills to create an ethical, natural, intrinsically beautiful line of skin cherishers.
Who Is Girl Undiscovered?
- She’s the girl within us all whether you’re 13 or 103.
- The girl on the go who doesn’t spend hours getting ready.
- The girl who doesn’t get too hung up on her flaws.
The ideology of beauty has always been at the heart of Sara’s work. Girl Undiscovered is an extension of it and grew from Real Girl, an initiative speaking with women aged 16-93-years-old about what real beauty is. As a feminist thinker from the 90s, and with a degree in sociology majoring in women’s studies, Sara was constantly questioning beauty ideals during her 22-year photographic career.
Charlotte is the formulator for Girl Undiscovered. The daughter of Colyn Devereux Kay, the creator of the iconic Kiwi brand Les Floralies (now Matakana Botanicals), Charlotte grew up around strong women and beautiful products. It’s this combination, in conjunction with Sara’s photography prowess and Philly’s strategic nous that led to Girl Undiscovered being beautiful to look at and serious skincare with a strong message at its core.
“For us, it’s all about the story. With our ingredients locals are able to earn money and support their communities,” she adds. “People ask us if we’re organic and we say yes and we’re 100% WILD, but we’re not organically certified because it’s very difficult for third world countries to get certified.”
Charlotte, Sara, Philly
Sara, Charlotte and Philly have worked hard to create an ethical brand right down to the packaging. “The factory we work with in China for our packaging has a social responsibility policy,” says Sara. “And we have a tiny supply chain. For example, our thanaka only goes through seven hands to get here to our base in Parnell. Our ultimate goal is to set up a foundation supporting girls’ education.”
Girl Undiscovered is an experience, from the luxurious Stars Aligning Elixir Oil to the Under The Waterfall Crystal Cleansing Water, infused with real rose quartz and citrine crystals for positive energy.
Girl Undiscovered is about finding the fearlessness and freedom you had as a child and stopping trying to reach ridiculous beauty standards. “If you focus only on what you look like you’re in trouble,” says Sara.
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Words: Jenna Moore
Hero Ingredients
- Thanaka grows wild in Myanmar — the country formerly known as Burma. The name changed 29 years ago but most of us still relate to it as Burma. “Thanaka is probably the key product of the country, every woman wears a thanaka paste on their face,” says Sara. “It has natural SPF and phenomenal skincare properties. Burmese women are often talked about as having the best skin in the world.”
- Kanuka honey from Kawau Island which is, arguably, better than manuka honey with higher antibacterial and antioxidant profiles. “And the bees on Kawau Island are all very wild and happy,” adds Sara.
- Coconut oil from Bali helping to sustain a country that was Philly’s home of many years and is the heritage of her four adopted Balinese children. “Coconuts grow wildly in everyone’s backyards so they can take their coconuts to our centre and get paid for it,” says Sara.
