Using natural ingredients to treat and prepare skin for a quality shave, Oscar de Vries has founded an all-Australian business that is poised to take on the big brands in the male grooming space. Set apart thanks to its great quality, sleek design and natural ethos, as well as the determination and passion from its founder, Oscar Natural should be on every man’s bathroom shelf. Sandi Sieger chats to him.
What inspired you to create Oscar Natural?
I used to absolutely loathe shaving, especially as Gillette claimed to be ‘The Best A Man Can Get’ and all I got was this lousy skin rash that made me feel like I had used sandpaper instead. When I read an article in The Ecologist (UK) about the (chemical) ingredients in my Gillette Mach3 shaving gel I was mortified.
What is your beauty background – or are you new to the industry?
I could be classified as a metrosexual. Equally my daughter would call me a fossil at over 50+. I just had a major gripe with shaving and when I found a ‘shaving oil’ in the UK, it transformed shaving for me. However, I felt the product I used could be improved both in quality of ingredients, bottle and appearance. I could not see any reason why I could not create it in Australia.
Can you tell us a little about the products?
I started with OSCAR Natural Shaving Oil. It’s an all-natural, concentrated formula based on grapeseed oil with a proprietary blend of essential oils developed by an exceptional aromatherapist and roadtested by me. The benefits are two-fold. The oil (mixed with water) enables the razor blade to glide over your face instead of drag. Secondly, it is by far the best moisturiser you can use because the oil absorbs into the skin and is all-natural, so no chemicals enter you body. You have to try it to believe it though and men generally judge the product on its small bottle size. Women, though, understand size isn’t everything…
We are now in the process of upgrading the bottle from 15ml to 30ml to enhance the value proposition.
OSCAR Natural Shaving Gel was developed by me, because I soon realised that apart from the small size, a lot of guys are used to the visual aspect of shaving. They expect to see a dollop of foam or gel on their face. A big bottle equates to that perception. Rather than use the usual chemical culprits, I choose to go the natural route, which was very difficult. It took me over two years to get developed, but when I sent a few samples to the Woolworths buyer he called me to say what “a great, sensational product” it was. I got it listed purely on that basis.
It is an aloe vera based gel with the same proprietary blend of essential oils. Instead of the typical aerosol and flammable bottles, I again used an airless bottle. So you can hold any OSCAR product near a naked flame and not get your hand blown off! I find the ‘Extremely Flammable’ warning on shaving gels and deodorants out of place in a world that is increasingly concerned about the environment.
We love that the products are made in Australia – why is this important to you?
I have four kids and wonder what Australia will look like by the time they are my age. Everything in Australia seems to be focused on today – e.g. how many resources you can extract out of the ground in the shortest possible time. Meanwhile manufacturing, adding or creating value is becoming extinct. We can’t just rely on mining and Chinese tourists forever.
It baffles me how even most regular food items are imported. Skincare is dominated by foreign multi-nationals – Gillette, Nivea, L’Oreal – whose business strategy is based on marketing spend over quality of ingredients and maximising profits. I need to and want to make a profit from OSCAR Natural Skincare, but I will NOT compromise what I put in my products. Hence I use rosehip oil in my shaving oil because it has fantastic benefits for the skin.
What advice do you have for other Australian entrepreneurs who wish to succeed in the beauty industry?
Think long and hard before you jump in. Have you thought about a real estate job first? Or maybe just open a coffee shop! It’s not meant to be negative, but beauty retailers could not care less about Made in Australia.
Secondly, you have to get economies of scale. Making beauty products from your kitchen table means you cannot get these, but more importantly quality is paramount. I use two manufacturers who are specialists and so I can be confident that the ingredients are of the highest quality. Thirdly, Australia is the most concentrated retail market in the world. Unless you are in Coles and Woolworths like I am, you have precious little hope of turning a profit.
What differentiates you from your competition?
My emphasis is on natural ingredients. OSCAR Natural shaving oil is 100% natural, OSCAR Natural shaving gel about 90% because it has a small amount of synthetic preservative, which is essential to keep the contents stable and bacteria free.
Secondly, I use airless bottles, because they keep the contents airtight and thus avoiding any oxidisation. NB: Has anyone ever questioned what happens to skin creams when you open the lid and use your fingers. Daily exposure to air and bacteria is the skincare equivalent of ‘blasphemy’.
Other Aussie grooming brand developers – friend or foe?
Too busy focusing on my business. Besides live and let live is my motto in life.
What changes do you see in the male beauty industry? (Do you think men are leaning toward natural, for example?)
I think men have a very short attention span and focus on grooming in general. We are a simple breed, much more interested in fast cars, sports, booze and women (or men), not necessarily in that order.
Me ‘waffling’ on about natural ingredients doesn’t even go in one ear, let alone out the other. I am changing focus on performance skincare, because the quality of the shave is more important after all. It’s just that I go about creating performance a different way with natural ingredients instead of a plethora of unpronounceable chemicals with dubious benefits.
