KOJA Blog
We've been big fans of Irene Falcone of Nourished Life for a long time! She's a total powerhouse and a great role model for entrepreneurs everywhere. You can imagine how excited we were when Nourished Life started stocking KOJA! We're so proud to be apart of the amazing products available on Irene's site. Her quest for finding natural makeup, organic skin care and healthy living has lead to her creating a very successful online store full of her favourite products. We caught up with Irene to talk all things natural, health and lifestyle...
Tell us a bit about your life pre-Nourished Life.
Before Nourished Life I was working myself into the ground in corporate, 70 hour work weeks, every single week! I was drained, exhausted and unhappy.
As a beauty addict, I was alarmed to discover that my favourite products were loaded with ingredients that may have been contributing to my increasing levels of daily fatigue. I made it my mission to seek out the healthiest, most effective and affordable alternatives and shared these discoveries via my blog, which quickly grew into Nourished Life!
Where did the inspiration for Nourished Life come about? Did you ever imagine it would be this big?
Yes I always hoped so! When I discovered that I was filling my body with synthetic ingredients, full of chemicals, I decided to quit cold turkey and replace all my favourite products with natural makeup and skincare. Immediately I noticed the difference, I blogged about this experience and quickly realised I was not alone! So many other Australian women were in the same boat as me.. I knew I was doing something right! I've made it my profession to make a difference in the lives of Australian consumers.
What does your day on a plate look like?
My day doesn't go by without at least 1 coffee! In the office we use biodegradable coffee pods so its great to know we're not contributing to landfill.
Then I love the KOJA Iron Breakfast Topper, we keep one open in the office so that I can have my muesli, yogurt and KOJA every morning while I browse Facebook!
Then for lunch I've been snacking on the Chilli, Coconut and Pecan Salad Topper.. sometimes on top of a salad too ;)
Then for dinner, I always end up having a big bowl of pasta (it must be the Italian in me!), with a generous glass of red wine to finish off the day!
What’s your favourite KOJA product?
I cannot get enough of the iron supplement! I am actually low in iron so this is such a delicious way to ensure I can up my iron intake!As a mum of 4, what are your top tips for finding balance as a mother and a business woman.
I think that the secret to balancing being a business owner and mum is to have a really supportive, strong team. It's good to have the trust, so that I can feel comfortable leaving early or being in and out of the office at odd hours to do the school pickup - or look after the kids if they are feeling under the weather! I know the office won't fall apart in my absence, and it means that I can be there for all the important school events!
What does your ultimate day off look like?
Honestly? Staying in bed all day (especially if its is a gloomy rainy day) with a cup of Golden Glow Tea from Edible Beauty, and listening to one of my audiobooks!As the organic beauty queen what’s the one beauty product you couldn’t live without and why?
It has GOT to be the 100% Pure Coffee Bean Eye Cream! It works such wonders on dark circles, puffiness and fine lines!
What’s it like to work with your Mum? Are you hoping one of your kids will join the business too, to keep it in the family?
Oh they already do! I get them folding boxes and organising shelves for their pocket money! But working with mum is great, again knowing that I can have complete trust in her with all of me accounts helps me sleep easy at night! She has been with me since day 1, in my garage helping to pick and pack orders!
What’s your favourite way to exercise?
I am by no means a gym rat... I get my cardio fix running around the warehouse picking orders, driving the forklift and chasing down the Australia Post truck to get a few extra orders out!
One of the biggest challenges we see with people running a business is finding time/a way to switch of. How do you manage to switch off your brain and take time out?
I don't! I think that is one of the struggles on an online business in this day and age... Between social media and the emails, I know I need to be actively switching off more! But it's hard when the communication channels are open 24/7! My phone pings with every like, comment, share and post!
What’s next for Nourished Life?
2016 has been so exciting for Nourished Life so far! We are so so excited to offer up our Naturopathic services! I realised that we all need more in-depth, personal, holistic health care advice, especially in the area of women's health and the undeniable link between adrenal stress and modern living. We need to understand what we should be doing internally to compliment what we are doing externally.
Additionally, we are about to open our retail shopfront to the public in the next month or so! Allowing customers in the Sydney area to come visit and test out products before committing to a purchase!
