Why I Choose Ingredients Over Packaging. A Conversation I’ve Been Meaning to Have

For the past seventeen years, I’ve been creating natural skincare that is PETA-approved and crafted in small batches here in Malta. This work has been my passion, my craft, and my way of offering something gentle, honest, and effective in a world overflowing with noise and marketing.

But there’s something I’ve been wanting to talk about. 

Although I live and work in Malta, almost all of my customers — nearly 99% — have always been foreigners. They walk into the boutique or visit my stall at artisan markets and immediately resonate with what I do: simple formulas, premium raw ingredients, ethical standards, and clean, minimal packaging. They understand the philosophy instinctively.

Here in Malta, however, there is a different cultural expectation around skincare and beauty products. It isn’t wrong, and it isn’t something I wish to criticise. It’s simply a mindset:

High-end skincare must look high-end.
Beautifully wrapped. Glossy. Luxurious. “Instagrammable.”

And I understand where that comes from. There is a pleasure in receiving something elegantly packaged. A feeling that you’re treating yourself.

But here’s something most people don’t know, and this is why I finally decided to write this:

In the beauty industry, a large part of what you pay for is the packaging and the marketing, not the formula itself.

Those ornate boxes, embossed labels, heavy jars, influencer campaigns, and magazine ads… they cost far more than the ingredients inside.

My approach has always been the opposite.

I invest in what goes into the product, not what goes around it.

Your money — and mine — goes to:

• high-grade natural oils

• botanical extracts with real research behind them

• gentle, clean preservatives

• fair-trade, cruelty-free ingredients

• sustainable sourcing

• small-batch production with attention to detail

Not boxes. Not ribbons. Not plastic-wrapped “luxury.”

Because at the end of the day, your skin doesn’t absorb marketing.
Your skin absorbs ingredients.

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The Myth of “Must-Have” Ingredients

Another thing I often encounter is the idea that skincare has to contain a long list of scientific-sounding or trendy ingredients to be effective.

But the truth is simpler — and I say this after nearly two decades of formulating:

Healthy skin is born from healthy habits, supported by clean, concentrated natural ingredients.

Eat well.
Sleep well.
Hydrate.
Protect your skin from the sun.
And choose products that work with your skin, not against it.

Nature already gives us extraordinary anti-ageing tools:

• cold-pressed seed oils

• botanical retinol alternatives like bakuchiol

• hyaluronic acid from natural sources

• coenzyme Q10

• vitamin-rich butters

• antioxidant-rich extracts

No harsh preservatives.
No unnecessary chemicals.
Just powerful, skin-loving formulations.

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Why I’m Sharing This Now

I am not writing this to judge anyone’s preferences or to compare myself to other brands. There is room for every approach in the beauty world, and people should absolutely choose the products that make them feel good.

I’m sharing this because I want to offer a little insight into a philosophy that often gets misunderstood:

Natural skincare can be luxurious — even if it doesn’t shout it from the shelf.

The simplicity of my packaging is intentional.
The real luxury is inside the bottle.

If you’ve supported my products — whether you live here or abroad — please know that your trust means the world to me. You’re choosing mindful skincare. You’re choosing quality over noise. You’re choosing a way of caring for your skin that honours both purity and practicality.

Thank you for valuing honesty.
Thank you for seeing the beauty in simplicity.
And thank you for believing, as I do, that nature is enough.