AN IDEA IS BORN
The idea of Astalou was born when I tried to become pregnant with my first child. It took me a lot longer to make my dream come true than I had ever expected, and while my feelings of frustration and powerlessness grew as my stomach stayed flat, I began searching for reasons why nothing was happening.
To my surprise, I found one likely cause in my bathroom. Encased in dazzling tubes and gorgeous matte-finished cases, it was hard to tell, and even harder to believe, that many of my beauty favourites contained ingredients that could potentially disrupt the hormonal balance of my body or harm the environment.
I knew then that I had a mission. I set out to create a line of beauty staples that would make my skin glow and deliver a sense of self-indulgence, but without harming my body or Mother Nature. Something truly sustainable, but unmistakably luxurious. Effective but kind to everyone, and with that extra element of sensory pleasure – a delicateness in texture, fragrance and design that is crucial to anyone who appreciates a little comforting luxury.
A PHILOSOPHY IS FORMED
A pure-ingredient philosophy was essential for me from the beginning, of course, but it wasn’t enough. As a true beauty crusader, I wanted to make sure Astalou was responsible all the way from origin to degradation, and I was determined to challenge industry norms and guarantee transparency to make it easy for everyone to make safe and conscious beauty choices.
Needless to say, I was happy as a clam when, at long last, I became pregnant with my first child. A few years later, Astalou entered the world carrying both the Nordic Swan Ecolabel and the COSMOS Organic Label – two of the toughest certifications on the planet. Finally, my dreams were sealed and made real.
Ronja Justesen
Beauty crusader and founder of Astalou
