Vanessa and George Jilly, the couple at the forefront of the success of Jurlique, Aveda and Uspa in Australia, are now celebrating the success of their own brand, Organic Nation, around the country.
Speaking at a mini-launch in Sydney, Vanessa told salon and media guests that the range, which was launched in the US in late 2016 and in Australia late last year, “is building a bridge between the two worlds of spa and medi-treatments”.
Vanessa and her partner George Jilly helped launch Jurlique into the salon market in 1989 and then later launched Aveda into Australia in 1997 before eventually launching their own range, Uspa, in 1999.
“We sold Uspa [in 2014]as we felt it had run its course with us and we really wanted to move into another direction,” she said.
“We wanted a new challenge and we wanted to get back to where our passion was… It really was just time for a change as well as meeting a gap in the beauty market.”
She told Professional Beauty that Organic Nation, which was “in many ways 30 years in the making”, adheres to the healthy and organic principles that she had always supported.
She said that although there had been many changes in the beauty industry since she began her career, consumers were now, more than ever, aligned to her core values (such as organic ingredients, green chemistry and environmental sustainability).
“George and I had started contemplating an organic range of professional products a year or so before we made the leap of faith to start an entire new range,” she said.
“We really had seen a gap in the market.
“We have always seen a divide between the spa industry and what I call high-tech salons, however clients can visit both.
“It is no longer luxury spa treatments (that don’t do anything but make clients feel good) versus hi-tech treatments (that produce results but are not luxurious) – today’s clients want the luxury treatments AND the results AND they want a range that fits both those environments as well as their own lifestyle.”
She said the Organic Nation has a completely different focus to Uspa which was a beautiful, clean botanical range that was very spa focussed.
“Organic Nation has been created to go beyond clean and botanical.
“Firstly, it utilises certified organic ingredients to ensure quality and traceability.
Secondly we have chosen to use Aloe vera in our base not water for a superior texture as well as incorporating the benefits of Aloe which completely outweigh the benefits of water.
“Thirdly we wanted high performance and for this reason we went with cosmeceutical ingredients (including peptides, bio-retinols, plant stem cell actives and key vitamins) to create change and provide results for our clients.”