Inspirational Women: Irene Falcone

Nourished Life, Inspirational Women, Life Advice, Beauty, Career Advice, Career Development, Mentor

Each week, SHESAID features an inspiring woman who has been kind enough to share her story with our readers. She might be a leader in her chosen field, someone still on their own path striving to make a difference or simply someone with a remarkable story to tell. These women contribute their own knowledge, expertise and life lessons in order to truly inspire others.

Name and role:

Irene Falcone, founder of Nourished Life

What do you do on a day-to-day basis?

I am the founder of natural beauty and lifestyle e-tailor, Nourished Life. Throughout the week, I spend a lot of time talking to customers and giving them personalised recommendations and advice, attending trade shows and events, launching campaigns, setting up retail displays, researching new products and breakthroughs in the market and sometimes play with some makeup.

How/when did you know this what you wanted to do as a career?

I come from a mainstream beauty marketing background. Through that time, I was (and still am) a total makeup addict and for years overloaded my body with toxins from mainstream makeup and skincare, processed foods and long hours until it all finally caught up with me and I began feeling the physical side effects.

That’s what prompted me to start thinking about what I put in and on my body so I threw away every product in my home that I couldn’t understand the labels of and began researching natural toxin-free alternatives. That’s what prompted to start blogging about my research on what ingredients to avoid as well as the best, most effective natural alternatives to makeup and skincare, which soon evolved into the online shop of my dreams – Nourished Life – a place where everyone could buy affordable pure, safe, natural and organic products online and all in the one place.

Where do you find your inspiration?

I find inspiration from strong, creative and business savvy women like Lorna Jane, Estee Lauder and Jessica Alba.

Did you have a mentor? Who/what helped you to get your career off the ground?

No. I didn’t have a mentor, mainly because I was one of the first people to build a business like Nourished Life so it was hard to get the right advice or support I needed.

What were the stumbling blocks, initially getting started on your career path, and since then?

I have worked in the corporate world and beauty industry my whole life, I’ve had the right training and experience so the biggest struggles for me were actually getting my career off the ground whilst I was still working full time in the corporate world. Another big struggle for me was finding people with the right skill sets to match our unique requirement for this business.

How did you overcome these?

With persistence! I don’t stop until I’ve found what I need, whether that be my team, products, accountants, everything! It is so important for a new business to have a great foundation and support system.

What are your goals for the future?

To be able to provide Australian women and families with the best range of toxin free products at the best price.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to follow the same path as you?

That life is short, it’s so important to follow your passion and do what you love no matter how scary it may seem!