This May we feature a great skincare company with a mission to care for, conserve and improve its environment & community. Their journey starts in East Africa where their key ingredient the Nilotica Shea Nut is harvested to create a smooth balm-to-oil formula that has proven to be superior to regular shea butter. This formula is further enhanced with natural plant oils and extracts to bring out Nilotica’s full potential. Leila Janah, their founder, briefs us on her brand and highlights some of the unique aspects of the Lip Melt :
LXMI (pronounced "luxe-me") is building the future of luxury skincare with a focus on rare, wild botanicals with proven clinical benefits and non-toxic, ultra-clean formulas that abide by our stringent Clean Beauty Code. LXMI’s inaugural collection is based on cold-pressed, untreated Nilotica, an heirloom shea nut varietal collected near the source of the Nile River in East Africa, one of the most biodiverse regions in the world.
“With over 25% more essential fatty acids than traditional shea butter, coupled with high doses of Vitamins A and E and catechins, the same potent antioxidants found in green tea, Nilotica is ideal for dry and sensitive skins and is proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in all clinical tests.”
Without any processing, the cold-pressed Nilotica nut yields a unique balm-to-oil, LXMI’s Pure Nilotica Melt, that feels like it was created in a lab yet contains just a single, certified organic superfood.
You mentioned the word “luxury”. How does this concept appear in your brand and how does that affect your pricing?
We are a true luxury brand, with design-forward packaging and the latest technology for extracting and processing the purest formulas. We provide a sleek, thoughtful customer experience via digital channels and use technology as a cornerstone of our business. This has allowed us to offer our unique products at a moderate price.
Beyond how we approach design and pricing, the products are luxurious due to the plant-derived ingredients we use. All our products are developed from rare, wild, potent botanicals from the most biodiverse regions of the planet. We scour the world to bring our customers ingredients that don’t make it to the mainstream, in partnership with conservation organizations and nonprofits. It’s extremely important to us to create quality products our customers can enjoy and they can be assured that they get the best vegan and cruelty-free skincare from us.
“That is why we know it’s paramount to use organic-certified ingredients wherever possible, that are produced in harmony with the local community and environment. Our primary ingredients are fair-trade certified and provide living wage work to women in the supply chain. Our philosophy is to #givework rather than handouts to uplift women globally.”
But there’s more. Great skin emerges from great health. LXMI formulas are free of chemicals found in nearly all mainstream beauty and personal care products, because we believe that toxic beauty has to end. We find rare, wild botanicals with proven clinical benefits and turn them into non-toxic, ultra-clean formulas that abide by our stringent Clean Beauty Code. Nilotica, unlike coconut oil, is certified non-comedogenic : it won’t clog pores or cause breakouts, even on sensitive skins.
Tell us a bit more about where your signature Nilotica nut comes from and how you aid the local community.
The region that we source from, Uganda, has a unique soil microbiome unknown in the West, because the region was never industrialized. That’s why Nilotica has none of the toxic residues found in commercially grown plant-ingredients, where the soil is contaminated with heavy metals, pesticides and fertilizer run-offs, and other nasty chemicals that can disrupt your body’s delicate balance.
Named "the Chanel of social impact" by CNBC, LXMI’s name derives from Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of beauty and prosperity. Our sourcing methods give work to low-income women and support conservation incentives in wilderness areas through fair trade and organic suppliers. We believe the most powerful way to give back is to #givework, especially to low-income women, who reinvest 90% of their paycheck into health, education, and housing for their children and communities.
I founded LXMI after encountering Nilotica, an heirloom shea varietal, in Northern Uganda. My team and I scour the world for the powerful rare plants behind LXMI’s formulas. Previously, I built Samasource, a leading data firm that has lifted 50,000 people out of poverty in India and East Africa. I strive to continue the work we started and bring work through LXMI to women living in poverty.
LXMI can be found in our May 2019 Beauty Box or you can grab their Lip Melt from our E-shop. For more info, please visit lxmi.com.