Earlier this month, Natio Managing Director, Mahesh Ross and Natio Global Sales Manager, Sky Briffa travelled to India as part of a wider trade delegation with Global Victoria, alongside Premier of Victoria, Jacinta Allan.

Speaking at the Global Victoria delegation, Mahesh spoke on his family’s deep connection to India and how the region resonates with the key ethos of the natural Australian beauty brand.

“Natio is a brand my father Max and I have put our lives into creating and is something we are both extremely proud of,” Mahesh said.

“Interestingly, the family’s history and bond with India runs deep. Before founding Natio, my father spent close to 20 years of his life dedicated to the establishment of Ashrams in Australia, India and America helping to share the movement's teachings with its followers through the great Indian exports of meditation, yoga and chanting,” Mahesh said of Natio founder, Max Ross.

“Through his disciplined practice, dad learnt the Hindu teachings of self-awareness, self-love and self-respect which strongly resonate within the Natio brand ethos.”

Cherish your uniqueness

See beauty in everyone

Love being you

Natio re-entered the Indian beauty market in late 2023 following the announcement the brand had appointed Luxasia as its official distribution partner for the region. The brand has seen an encouraging uptick in consumer interest for natural Australian beauty.

“Our hands-on approach to manufacturing allows us to keep our cost of goods down and offer exceptional value for money to our consumers,” Mahesh said.

“I believe India’s growing middle class also has a huge appetite for high quality beauty products that represent great value for money.”

During their stay in India, Mahesh and Sky visited key retailers and stakeholders in Mumbai and Delhi. Natio is now available in India at major stockists, Sephora, Nykaa, Tira, Tata Cliq, Amazon and Myntra.

Is there a beauty trend more enduring than the bold red lip? Styles may come and go, but nothing has stood the test of time like a satin rouge, spanning centuries of cultural touchpoints, from signifying wealth and power to affirming political stances. In celebration of International Lipstick Day, let’s explore the journey of this beauty essential, from ancient rituals long before Natio started selling Crimson Lip Colour in Australia.

There is debate about lipstick's inventor, as it has existed in various forms across different cultures for millennia. Early forms of lip colour have been discovered in various ancient cultures.

One of the earliest known examples dates back to 2600-2500 BC in Ancient Mesopotamia. Queen Shub-ad (or Pu-Abi) of Ur adorned her lips with a crimson hue created from crushed red rocks and white lead, believed to symbolise fertility.

Around 2000 BC lipsticks travelled to Ancient Egypt, where the colour evolved as a status symbol. Lip colour was made from red ochre mixed with resin or gum to increase its longevity. Queen Cleopatra had custom lipstick colours made for her using Carmine, a deeply pigmented shade from crushed carmine bugs. The pursuit of beauty often came at a dangerous cost, leading to severe health consequences for those who wore these early lipsticks. Ingredients included a dye taken from seaweed containing two toxic metals. When combined, these materials created a rich purple shade, which would later be called “the Kiss of Death.” Many people who wore the shade died due to the levels of the poisonous substances ingested.

Roman women also embraced lip colour as a sign of affluence, but their formulations were equally perilous, containing substances like iron ore and fucus plants.

A Controversial Cosmetic

Lipstick hasn’t always been a sign of wealth or power. In Middle Ages England, for instance, women who wore makeup were believed to be associated with the devil. Prior to this, lip colour in Ancient Greece was frowned upon, associated with courtesans.

In 1700s England, Parliament passed laws that prohibited women from altering their appearance, which could be used as grounds for being tried for witchcraft.

Lipstick has continued to be used as a sign of rebellion, long beyond the burning of witches at the stake. In 1912, red lipstick became a signifier of women’s emancipation, with Suffragettes opting to don a bold lip when marching in protest for the right to vote.

Innovations in packaging also propelled lipstick's popularity. In 1915 the levy tube was invented by Maurice Levy, offering a small metal cannister which uses a lever to lower and raise the bullet of lipstick formula. The first swivel tube was patented in Nashville Tennessee by James Bruce Mason Jr. In the 20s, French chemist Paul Baudercroux created the “Rouge Baiser” lip colour, which was marketed as a “kiss proof” cosmetic. The product was later banned as consumers struggled to remove the colour without causing serious damage to the skin. In 1950, American Chemist Hazel Bishop patented the first successful non-smearing lipstick. The Hecht Company took it to market with the slogan “stays on you, not him.”

Lipstick today

At Natio, we honour this rich history by crafting lipsticks inspired by nature, combining tradition with innovation.

Our founder, Max draws from over 100 years of cosmetics manufacturing experience within his family, spanning three generations. At Natio we are proud to draw on these learnings – as well as centuries of trial and error – to provide our loyal customers with the best in natural, quality lip colour. It’s part of why we have been named #1 for Customer Satisfaction in the 2024 Canstar Blue makeup and cosmetics review.

Sources

A Jackson, 2022, JASTOR Daily, Lipstick’s Complex History

B Banchonhraska, 2017, Innovation and Development of Lipsticks

I Carter, 2021, The Red Menace: How Lipstick Changed the Face of American History

Natio has again been recognised as the #1 cosmetics brand in the Canstar Blue makeup and cosmetics review.

Receiving five-star ratings for longevity, texture, packaging, value for money, scent, packaging and overall satisfaction, Natio has again been recognised for trust and quality, ahead of global brands, to secure the title of #1 Cosmetics Brand for Customer Satisfaction.

This is Natio's second Canstar Blue award, having received the same recognition in 2022. 

“As an Australian, family-run business, this recognition from our customers is both incredibly humbling and infinitely rewarding” Natio Founder Max Ross said.

“For three decades, we have prided ourselves on providing customers across Australia with premium quality, cruelty free cosmetics that celebrate natural beauty and the beauty within. We have always strived to make our customers feel special, beautiful and valued. The Canstar Blue recognition shows us that the support and respect we show our customers is mutual, and we couldn’t be more appreciative.”

Since 2010, Canstar Blue has helped Australian consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on products and services by providing factual, up-to-date and comprehensive comparison tables, ratings, reviews, guides and news of a range of consumer-related topics, including within the makeup and cosmetics sector.

Click here to learn more about the Canstar Blue makeup and cosmetics review.

On 17^th February 2023, we celebrated our 30^th lap around the sun, near to where it all began at Abbotsford Convent.

Past and present employees joined valued suppliers and distributors for a gala event at the Convent, mere blocks from our first office premises at Marine Parade.

200 guests met to celebrate 30 years of natural Australian beauty over canapes accompanied by a three-piece jazz band, before enjoying a three-course banquet catered by Peter Rowland Group.

Our Managing Director Mahesh Ross opened the event which highlighted Natio's many achievements over the course of the past three decades, and launched our new website pages, a time capsule of Natio’s founder story, brand timeline and commitments to the future.

The Gala event also coincided with the launch of the our new colour story collection, Celebrate, a limited-edition capsule of cosmetics including our first ever 18-pan eyeshadow palette, a cream blush and highlight duo and sparkling nail colour.

Founder Max Ross re-tuned his guitar and joined former bandmates of The Groop, for the band’s first performance in decades. The Groop performed their top hits from the late 60s including I’m Sorry and Ain’t She Sweet.

The night concluded with hits from over the decades, spun by DJ Claire Elliott.

Scroll through the gallery below, shot by our talented photographer, Tuscany Gray.

Now in its 30^th year, Natio is going from strength to strength, recently ranking #1 in traditional and community pharmacy* for total cosmetics, total men’s skincare and total facial skincare.

This ranking is supported by IRi, a market data analysis company responsible for POS customer analytics and insights.

IRi provided validation confirming Natio was the top brand in Australia Community Pharmacy Market over the course of 12 months up until January 2023, across cosmetics, facial skincare and men’s skincare, referring to sales market data formed of Total Australia Community Pharmacy, excluding My Chemist Group and Priceline.

It has been three decades since Natio entered the pharmacy space, with the brand forging defining relationships with state-based, family-owned and operated pharmacy distributors in the late 90s.

“At Natio, we understand that nature nurtures best, and have spent three decades fine-tuning our formulas to provide our customers superior natural products backed by science. The data shared by IRi reaffirms our commitment to provide our customers only the best in natural Australian beauty,” managing director, Mahesh Ross said.

“Pharmacy really is the heartland of the Natio brand and we have continued strong, loyal relationships with these partners since entering the pharmacy retail space in 1996. It is encouraging to see this data with the knowledge that Natio is the first choice for customers in pharmacy across even some of the most remote parts of the country. Without the support of our pharmacy relationships, Natio would not be the 30 year-strong brand it is today.”

To read more about the Natio story, and our history in the pharmacy space, view the 30 Year Timeline.

* “Data sourced from IRI MarketEdge MAT to 08/01/2023 based on data definitions provided by Natio Pty Ltd.”

This year, Natio is incredibly proud to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary! From humble beginnings in 1993, Natio has grown to become a much-loved and respected Australian beauty brand. As a business, Natio is sincerely grateful to its wonderful team and beautiful customers for helping the brand get there.   

Propelled – always and forever, since day dot – by a firm appreciation for Mother Nature, a commitment to positivity and an unwavering adoration of its beloved Australian home, Natio was arguably the original” “A-Beauty” brand (born at a time before the term “A- Beauty” was coined, and Aussie brands weren’t yet prized or on-trend).  

With a conscious (and evolving)  edit of simple yet effective, plant-based self-care solutions, Natio instilled the genuine, easygoing spirit and unique natural beauty inherent to Australia into each of its skin, bath, bodycare, cosmetics and aromatics formulas  to gently win the love and loyalty of customers – first on home shores and later, also abroad.  

Supporting, promoting and cherishing “Natural Australian Beauty” has become both Natio’s premise and its promise. In sticking with this commitment to positive and easygoing natural beauty, Natio has grown organically and with integrity from a health food store haircare offering to – now - a leading and respected beautycare brand across pharmacy and department store channels.  

“The last 30 years have been tremendously rewarding” says Mahesh Ross, Natio Managing Director. 

“Natio is an Australian family business, with a heart and soul to match. Dad and I have loved working together in growing and evolving Natio to the brand and business it is today and we continue to be inspired each and every day, not only by the abundant beauty of nature and our unique island home, but also the generous support of our team, our business partners and our customers. We are both humbled and grateful for the support and loyalty of our community, and incredibly excited for the next phase of growth for Natio. We look forward to the next 30 years of celebrating natural Australian beauty”. 

For more detail on Natio’s origins and history, click here.

beautyheaven's annual Best in Beauty Awards for 2021 have been announced. This year's awards were divided into 10 categories, with consumers voting for their cult favorites and hero beauty products. We're thrilled to announce we won five awards. Our award winners include the Best Body Exfoliant, Deodorant, Hand Wash, Best Made for Men Skincare Product, and our most exciting award, Best Aus Homegrown Product.

Winner of Homegrown - Best AUS Homegrown Product

Spirit Hemp + Muntrie Hardworking Hand Cream

As a proud Australian-owned company, we are honored to have won the award for Best Australian Homegrown Product with our Spirit Hemp + Muntrie Hardworking Hand Cream.

With Hemp Seed Oil, native Australian Muntrie Berry and Lilly Pilly, this intensive cream restores the softness and strength of hardworking hands.

We would like to thank the Natio community for voting, and for their continued support ♥️