Fresh Botanical Beauty
A new Sydney-based company JIV.ELAN has developed and is now selling innovative skincare products with an extensive collection of treatments made from fresh botanicals sourced from across the world.
The principal of JIV.ELAN is Nikki Lambrinos, who came to Australia from Poland in 2000 and gained a diploma in accountancy before becoming interested in skin care products after the established big brands adversely affected her skin.
Nikki said “I initially became interested in the field three years ago, carrying out extensive investigation of the leading brands and discovered in the ingredients in them, including preservatives and chemicals, were actually hurting my skin with rashes and discolouring. The chemicals in the big brands are easily absorbed into the skin and can enter the blood stream.
Nikki Lambrinos
“I discovered that many other people suffered from adverse sections to skin care products and I started to buy natural products from around Australia and overseas to create my own products, which became very popular with my friends and family”, said Nikki.
After the strong response Nikki decided to open her own outlet and laboratory in Alexandria, Sydney, to create her own products, now numbering 500 products from hundreds of different formulas and blends using fresh, natural botanicals.
The key selling point with JIV.ELAN is that Nikki and her team produce only micro-batches of the natural skin care products to ensure they are at the highest level of freshness and fully active.
The name JIV.ELAN is Nikki’s creation and comes from the words “JIVA” (Hindu word describing the immortal essence of every living organism); and the word “ELAN” (distinctive elegance).
Nikki said “All of our products are specifically designed to hydrate, tone, firm and deeply rejuvenate the skin and are targeted at specific age groups to maximise their effectiveness”.
The main, beneficial ingredients found in JIV.ELAN’s products include:
- Active ingredients- Active ingredients or active agents in a skin care product are those ingredients that cause physical changes in the appearance of the skin.
- Hyaluronic acid- Hyaluronic acid increases skin moisture, boosts elasticity and improves appearance of fine lines, promoting younger-looking skin and improving overall skin health.
- Vitamins and minerals- They are critical in nourishing and protecting the skin from oxidation damage, whilst promoting moisturising, anti-inflammatory effects, skin-lightening and stimulating microcirculation in the dermis.
- Algae extracts- Nikki sources this from the pristine ocean waters of Patagonia. High-purity Fucoidan extract is clinically proven to smooth, protect, and provide anti-aging properties.
- Antioxidants – They protect the skin from natural damage such as breakages and ageing, as well as from environmental stressors such as the sun’s UV radiation.
- Peptides are naturally occurring chain of amino acids that enhance collagen production, reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Peptides act like messengers, sending signals to our cells to tell them how to function, and alerting our skin to the need to generate more collagen. Peptides stimulate collagen synthesis & skin cell growth and repair.
After trying some of the JIV.ELAN products myself, I can attest to them leaving your skin feeling highly nourished.
The Restorative Face Exfoliating Gel hydrates at the same time it exfoliates, can feel the beads working and when washed off skin feels really clean and fresh and the Face Cream Day & Night is a cream that is on the slightly heavier side of creams, but it absorbs quickly and leaves skin feeling deeply nourished and plumped.
I found the Intensive Eye Cream to be a little gem, not only for around your eyes, but also for lines around the nose and lip area. Intensive is what it is called and intensive is the moisturising factor that it delivers also leaving your skin nourished and plump.
JIV.ELANs Face Tonic in the Spa Range is a combination, exfoliator, hydrator and toner but unlike some other toners does not leave your skin feeling tight and ‘squeaky’ clean. It is gentle to use for the recommended once a day (evening) application.
I have to say that I am never a fan of using oils as body moisturisers, simply because they just don’t feel great going on. JIV.ELAN’s Body Elixir Oil is the same for me, it just doesn’t feel like it is doing much at the time it is applied, but waiting for a couple of minutes for it to be fully absorbed and I found my skin to be smooth and soft.
JIV.ELAN Skincare products are divided in ages because our skin changes as we age and our skin need different active ingredients to help the skin to maintain or regain its healthy look. Every JIV.ELAN product has different active ingredients that our skin needs to stay healthy, hydrated, rejuvenated and ultimately look beautiful and production is run in small batches to provide the freshest skincare products.
Proudly hand made in Australia JIV.ELAN products are made with quality anti-ageing ingredients with high performance.
Nikki plans to expand her business both across Australia and overseas, with many overseas customers buying JIV.ELAN ‘s products online, as well as visiting her shop and lab at 574 Botany Rd, Alexandria.
So confident of JIV.ELAN products, Nikki is happy to provide a full refund to customers who do not feel a difference after 30 days, but, if you are like me, you wont need 30 days to feel any difference, it will happen instantaneously.
by Carol Sheridan
