Our Story

In 2013 Naissa and I (Steph) became Vegan and found ourselves reading the backs of everything! We couldn't believe how many animal-based ingredients and derivatives were in products, as well as the number of brands that still test on animals or use synthetic or toxic ingredients.

From there it was a natural transition to start making our own products. I began creating Lip Balms and Deodorants which lead to many other products and spent years formulating, trialling and testing until we found winners. We knew we couldn’t be selfish, we had to officially launch Rustic Peppermint.

No, Peppermint is definitely not in every product - you might wonder! ;) It’s just a cheeky and unique name that spoke to us when brainstorming about our love for natural and vegan products. We do really LOVE Peppermint though.

A little about Steph (The blonde Aussie) 

Hi lovely people,

I am SO thrilled that you found us :) Each time a new customer finds us, my face lights up, it just never gets old.

You could say I am the creative mind behind RP. I have formulated and handcrafted each and every Rustic Peppermint product from start to finish and love designing and choosing individual ingredients with intense research and testing.

I am an animal and nature lover and a major perfectionist! I have an entrepreneurial mind and it never stops, so there are often new products popping up, a new key-ingredient or new designs because I am always trying to perfect or improve everything. I thrive in my creative zone.

I am 100% driven by my customers and I am humbled by positive feedback. I created RP to share the love for natural, cruelty free products and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with our brand. 

How did I end up here?

I have been exposed to the skin and hair industry my whole life, growing up with my mother as a Beauty Therapist and beginning my hairdressing career back in 2000. I was always obsessed and fascinated with skin and hair products from a young age and I was encouraged to look after my skin daily, so naturally this industry called to me.  

I worked in many jobs within the industry, traveling around working on Cruise Ships for years and living in New Zealand. I also managed 3 different Salons and then went into representing a Global Haircare Company for over four years.

After all of the experience and life lessons I didn’t quite find my real passion until Rustic Peppermint. I always LOVED products (skin and hair care alike) but I hadn’t really ever taken the time to understand the ingredients, I was so obsessed with the results and scents. Now I am still obsessed with those things, but I now know exactly what I am using and most importantly, why!

I am always approachable and here to help you with your switch to natural products.

Love Steph x

Naissa & Steph

on our 15 year anniversary

A little about Naissa (The brunette Brazilian) 

Naissa is extremely intelligent and anyone who meets them always mentions that. They have many passions and interests are they are always open to learning new things. Naissa is naturally great with computers, animals, helping others, languages and researching everything.

Naissa has a hands on approach and is creative with wood work, building, problem solving and fixing things. They are a highly valued and a huge part of Rustic Peppermint. They work full time in another role so their time is spread very thin, but they always manage to be there to support the brand and troubleshoot when things get sticky.

From the Rustic Peppermint Team

We are so grateful to be in such a gorgeous part of Australia surrounded by many vegans and vegan restaurants as well as beautiful beaches and like-minded people.

Vision Statement: We aspire to be one of the leading and most reliable providers of natural, handmade and vegan skincare products.

Core Values: It is of utmost importance for Rustic Peppermint to only source Natural, Pure and Vegan ingredients as well as Organic wherever and whenever possible. We will never use anything synthetic in our products and formulations and we pride ourselves in the quality of the raw materials chosen. We are very transparent when it comes to our ingredients and we always showcase and highlight them so that our customers can make an informed decision when buying our products. 

Meet the makers

We are lucky enough to live very close to Steph’s sister, Alexis (also vegan), who is a huge part of the day to day product making team. She loves the brand as much as we do and she really enjoys working with such beautiful and natural ingredients to create gorgeous products for our customers. She always mentions that working with RP never feels like work, it’s just pleasure.