Green Beauty Conversations by Formula Botanica

The Green Beauty Conversations podcast is ending. After more than 330 episodes and eight and a half years, Lorraine Dallmeier has finally said it out loud. Or has she?  😱 In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Lorraine explains what is actually happening to the podcast, what Season 2 will look like, and why the biggest change coming has been a long time in the making. Free Resources Free...

If you're thinking about starting your own organic skincare brand but you're scared it won't work out, this episode is for you. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Khulan Davaadorj, founder of Lhamour — Mongolia's first organic skincare brand, built from her kitchen after severe eczema sent her searching for products tha...

Every indie beauty brand founder wants to wake up to orders. Most of them launch a website, post on Instagram, and wait. Nothing happens. Meanwhile, a brand they've never heard of is selling a million jars. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier goes behind the scenes of the direct-to-consumer beauty model — the ad testing, the reta...

Most indie beauty brands launch with a Shopify store, post a few times on Instagram, and wait for the sales to come. They don't. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Line Pevik, Head of Brand at Frøya Organics, a Norwegian skincare brand built on Arctic botanicals that has sold over a million jars directly to customers wo...

The beauty industry has always invented new problems for you to solve. What's changed is how fast it can now name them, package them, and sell them back to you. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier runs through the full list of trending skincare terms, from skin cycling to skin flooding to overstimulated skin, separates the ones w...

What if the problem with your skincare routine has nothing to do with the products you're using, and everything to do with how many ingredients your skin is being asked to process at once? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier talks to Nicole Spangenberg, founder and formulator behind waterless skincare brand TSORI, about the conce...

The beauty industry has spent decades arguing about natural versus synthetic ingredients. Most of that argument, Lorraine Dallmeier has long suspected, is about marketing rather than science. A carbon atom doesn't remember where it came from. But in this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , something shifts. Following her recent interview with Vikram Pandit of Phycus Biotechnologies, Lorraine a...

Glycolic acid has been made the same way since the 1930s. The process starts with formaldehyde. Most formulators have never questioned it, and most beauty shoppers have never heard about it. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier sits down with Vikram Pandit, co-founder and CEO of Phycus Biotechnologies , to discuss the world's firs...

Beauty packaging is one of the most expensive mistakes an indie brand founder can make. And yet most brands still treat it as an afterthought. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier unpicks why leaving packaging decisions to the last minute costs brands far more than money, and why some of the most well-intentioned choices, from dar...

Picture this: you've chosen your materials, researched your options and invested in what you believe is eco packaging for your beauty products. But what if it's not as sustainable as it seems? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Jerome Fraillon, founder and CEO of Alder Packaging , to unpack the hidden realities behind packaging deci...

Hair loss is one of the most searched beauty concerns online – and yet, much of what you're being told about it simply doesn't hold up. In this thought-provoking and vulnerable episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier pulls back the curtain on the hair loss industry – opening up about her own hair loss experience – and reveals why so many pro...

Hair loss is far more common in women than we often realise – yet it often remains misunderstood, under-discussed, and frequently mis-sold through quick-fix products. In this episode of  Green Beauty Conversations , Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by trichologist Chloe Heyworth, founder of Micro Artistry , to explore what really lies behind hair loss and why a personalised, evidence-led approach matt...

What if you discovered that a significant portion of the beauty products you use every day could be rooted in fossil fuels – and no one is required to tell you? In this thought-provoking episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Lorraine Dallmeier challenges one of the biggest blind spots in the beauty industry: transparency around petrochemical dependency. It's a question that most formulators, bra...

Did you know that most of the most celebrated active ingredients in your skincare are actually derived from petrochemicals? In this week's eye-opening episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Chris Valencius, Chief Marketing Officer at Evolved by Nature , to uncover the uncomfortable truth about fossil fuels in skincare and how d...

What if everything you thought you knew about natural skincare was… wrong? Picture the most luxurious skincare product you can imagine – a weighty glass jar, minimalist branding, a premium price tag. Now ask yourself: what colour is it? If your answer is white or cream, you're not alone – but this week's episode of Green Beauty Conversations challenges exactly why that assumption exists, and what...

The beauty industry says it wants to go natural – but does it really mean it? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Alejandro Franco of  Kaffe Bueno to explore the contradiction at the heart of beauty, where brands champion plant-based ingredients, yet reject their natural colour, scent and texture. Alejandro shares why the industry ne...

What happens when a brand loses its purpose – and what happens when a founder refuses to let go? In this week's episode of  Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier reveals the surprising truth behind the rise and fall of one of the most iconic ethical beauty brands in history, and the remarkable story of Formula Botanica graduate Sandra Velasquez, who succeeded against...

Could skincare help save butterflies? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Chris Amendt, founder of Native Monarchs and Monarch Botanika , who is on a mission to protect monarch butterflies through both conservation and skincare. Chris shares how she's using beauty as a tool to fund conservation, protect monarch habitats, and raise aw...

If your newsfeed has felt overwhelmingly negative lately, this episode of the Green Beauty Conversations podcast is exactly the antidote you need. In this uplifting episode, Formula Botanica CEO and podcast host Lorraine Dallmeier takes a step back and reflects on the inspiring people she has interviewed over the years on the podcast. This will leave you with a big smile on your face, so get ready...

What if your cosmetics could keep forests alive? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier speaks with John Goedschalk, founder and CEO of BioTara , about how regenerative sourcing of Amazonian cosmetic ingredients can create real economic value for forest communities – helping make standing forests worth more alive than cut down. Tune in to discover h...

For decades, green beauty has leaned heavily on one simple belief – if an ingredient comes from a plant, it must be better. Better for the skin, better for the planet and better for people. But what happens when that comforting narrative starts to unravel? In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier explores the deeper story behind fermentation and asks...

Palm oil is everywhere in cosmetics – but what if it didn't need to come from trees at all ? In the latest episode of her  Green Beauty Conversations podcast , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier is joined by Nemailla Bonturi, co-founder and CEO of  ÄIO , an Estonian biotech company developing fermentation-derived oils for cosmetics and personal care that can mimic the properties of palm oil a...

Are modern beauty brand founders accidentally sabotaging their own success by hiding behind their screens? In this thought-provoking episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO and host Lorraine Dallmeier challenges one of the most widely accepted assumptions in today's indie beauty world: that selling online is always the easiest – and smartest – way to grow a beauty brand. Tune...

Ever wondered what it's like to build a family-led beauty brand? Then tune in to this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , where Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier sits down with mother-daughter duo Angela Gargano and Kathy Griswold, co-founders of Lola Arnao Beauty , a family-run beauty brand for ultra-sensitive skin. Discover the realities of building a family business, the practical adv...

The modern beauty industry didn't just happen – it was carefully designed. In this episode of Green Beauty Conversations , Formula Botanica CEO Lorraine Dallmeier tells the remarkable story of Helena Rubinstein, the woman who helped invent the beauty industry as we know it today, yet whose name most people no longer recognise. From lab coats and clinical imagery to the idea that beauty needs to lo...