THE POWER STORY

I thought I understood skin. Then mine changed.

I have spent nearly 40 years formulating skincare.

I started Living Nature in 1987 and have spent much of my working life researching plants, developing formulations and trying to understand why skin behaves the way it does. My work has taken me around the world, won 28 international awards and, most importantly, helped hundreds of thousands of people feel better about their skin.

So I thought I knew skin pretty well.

Then I went through peri-menopause.

And suddenly, my own skin stopped following the rules.

It became drier. More reactive. Pigmentation changed. Texture changed. Things that had worked for years didn't necessarily work in quite the same way anymore.

And at the same time, my body, sleep, energy, emotions and sense of myself were changing too.

I realised something that now seems incredibly obvious:

You can't separate a woman's skin from the life—and the hormones—happening underneath it.

THIS WASN'T JUST “AGEING”

For decades, the beauty industry has talked to women about ageing as though it is something going wrong.

Wrinkles. Sagging. Loss of firmness. Age spots.

Fix it. Fight it. Reverse it.

I don't want to reverse my life.

I don't want to look 25.

I want to look and feel f*cking great.

And I want skincare that understands the difference.

Peri-menopause, menopause and the years beyond can bring profound changes to skin. Dryness can appear where there wasn't dryness before. Skin can become more sensitive or reactive. Breakouts can return decades after adolescence. Redness, pigmentation and changes in firmness can suddenly become part of the picture.

And sometimes you look in the mirror and think:

Who the f*ck stole my face?

That's the conversation I wanted POWER to have.

Not anti-ageing.

Not fear.

Not another impossible promise of eternal youth.

Just intelligent skincare for changing skin in a changing life.

40 YEARS OF SCIENCE, NATURE & CURIOSITY

I was one of the early pioneers of natural skincare in New Zealand.

My first formulation work began with New Zealand botanicals, including mānuka, long before natural skincare became an international industry.

I've spent decades combining traditional botanical knowledge, formulation chemistry and constant experimentation—always asking the same question:

What does this actually do for skin?

Today that curiosity takes me into everything from native New Zealand botanicals and mushrooms to peptides, beta-glucans, hyaluronic acid and emerging cosmetic science.

Because I've learned something else over 40 years:

You should never become so attached to what you already know that you stop learning.

Science evolves. Ingredients evolve. Our understanding of skin evolves.

And women evolve too.

POWER should evolve with them.

HORMONE INTELLIGENT SKINCARE

Hormone Intelligent Skincare doesn't mean pretending that a bottle of serum can control your hormones.

It means recognising that hormonal change can affect the way skin behaves—and formulating with those changing needs in mind.

POWER is particularly interested in the things women keep telling us about:

Dryness and dehydration.
Redness and reactivity.
Adult breakouts.
Pigmentation and uneven tone.
Changes in firmness and texture.

Instead of defining you forever as “dry skin” or “oily skin”, we'd rather ask:

What is your skin doing now?

Then work from there.

THE WOMAN BEHIND POWER

I'm Suzanne Hall MNZM.

I'm a formulator, researcher, entrepreneur, mother and grandmother—and still endlessly curious about plants, people and why our bodies do the things they do.

I founded Living Nature in 1987 and have subsequently developed and formulated skincare brands and products in New Zealand and internationally. My work in natural skincare and ethical business has been recognised with 28 international awards and featured in publications including Vogue, Marie Claire and Wallpaper.

I was also appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to business.

Those things matter to me.

But at this stage of my life, I'm perhaps more interested in what I still don't know.

I'm interested in the relationship between hormones, inflammation, stress, nutrition, sleep, our environment and skin.

I'm interested in the extraordinary chemistry of plants.

And I'm particularly interested in what happens when we stop telling women that getting older is a problem to solve.

THIS IS POWER

POWER is skincare for women whose skin—and lives—are changing.

Some of you are entering peri-menopause.

Some are well through menopause.

Some have rosacea, pigmentation, hormonal breakouts or suddenly sensitive skin.

And some simply want really bloody good skincare without being told they need to become a younger version of themselves.

You're not going backwards.

Neither are we.

Real science. Real skin. Real support.

Welcome to POWER.