Mama & Bird

Carmen de Souza has a background of 17 years in the professional hair and beauty industry, in Marketing & PR. Carmen had a PR consultancy for a decade called Fox & Boy Communications, which serviced brands and professionals in our fabulous industry.

In the first Melbourne Covid lockdown, when the industry was mandated to close, Carmen lost all her clients in a matter of 72 hours.

Ten years of hard work and dedication, gone just like that… says Carmen.

Our office was shut, I let our staff go and we were officially closed. Like so many in our industry experienced, it was heartbreaking.

A week later I found out we were expecting our third child, and because I was that bit older in this pregnancy, I began searching for suitable skincare. This is when I noticed the lack of truly beautiful skincare products specific to pregnancy. Whilst there is certainly a handful of brands offering something nice, mothers mostly have supermarket and chemist brands to select from, and I personally felt they deserved more. All too frequently we mothers put ourselves last, our busy schedules prioritising our little people and families over our personal needs.

I wanted to create a brand that aligned with the beautiful beauty brands a women would normally spoil herself with, in every day non-pregnant life. A gorgeous aesthetic, coupled with all natural, effective ingredients that supported the skin as it changed throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Thankfully, as I had spent a career in the professional hair and beauty industry, I could draw on my industry contacts to help bring my vision to life. It was a two-year product development journey, that finally came to fruition mid-February, when Mama & Bird was born… a range of premium mother centred products to support women throughout pregnancy and postpartum. Offering a small daily dose of self-love to their busy lives. Mama & Bird® Skincare is an Australian made and owned skincare brand, harnessing the power of botanical ingredients to create luxurious skincare solutions that bridge the gap between a woman’s existing skincare routine and her evolving pre and postnatal needs. Choosing a pregnancy skincare routine is often a minefield of conflicting information. The list of endless do’s and don’ts can be confusing and overwhelming for expectant mothers.

Mama & Bird® Skincare are passionate about simplifying this unnecessarily complex decision, by offering mothers natural, nontoxic, results-driven skincare to support them, and their children, throughout pregnancy and into motherhood. We are dedicated to listening to expectant mother’s skin concerns, so that we can mindfully curate multi-functional body products that women love using.

One of our main priorities when creating Mama & Bird® Skincare was ensuring our formulations are safe for both mother and baby. This was one of the determining factors when selecting our manufacturing partner; their depth of knowledge surrounding pregnancy and infant product and ingredient safety.

Our products are created using only pregnancy and infant safe ingredients and adhere to strict formulation safety guidelines. Reviewed by Safe Cosmetics Australia, an independent Australian body that assesses to safety and toxicity of skincare and cosmetics, our products are Australian Certified Toxic-Free, Made Safe Non- Toxic Certified, Vegan Friendly Certified, Cruelty Free Certified, and Australian Allergy Certified.

Australian Certified Toxic-Free

The Toxic-Free Campaign aims to raise chemical awareness & provide manufacturers with a higher standard of manufacturing cosmetics than current law provides & that consumers demand. As part of this certification brands pledge to exclude & restrict potentially toxic chemicals of concern published on Safe Cosmetics Australia Hot List. Where a formulation is 100% compliant with the Safe Cosmetics Australia Toxic-Free Hotlist, the product can be endorsed with the Australian Certified Toxic-Free trademark.

Made Safe Non-Toxic Certified

Products that carry the Made Safe® trademark are committed to reducing toxicity. The Made Safe® campaign addresses an estimated 85,000 chemicals available world-wide 40,000 of these chemicals are permitted for use in Australia & over 10,000 are specifically used by the beauty industry. Consumer expectations demand the highest quality when it comes to product performance, that’s why Safe Cosmetics Australia launched the Made Safe® campaign to recognise products that are formulated free-from the chemicals that form the Toxic-Free campaign criteria.

Vegan Friendly Certified

Our vegan friendly products contain no animal or insect ingredients or animal bi-products, including Vitamin B5 which is derived from a bi-product of honey.

Cruelty Free Certified

This certification acknowledges out commitment to no animal testing on our products or ingredients. We go to great lengths to ensure that our company, skincare manufacturer and ingredient suppliers do not test on animals.

Australian Allergy Certified

Safe Cosmetics Australia Allergy Certified® campaign logo endorses brands that pledge to provide consumers with full ingredient transparency as well as specific safety advice concerning potential allergens.

The response to date has been overwhelmingly positive. We have just launched our third product Mama Balm, and are midway through formulating the first two baby products set to launch later this year.

www.mamaandbird.com.au

@mama_and_bird