The good thing about sunscreen is that EVERYONE needs it

By Alexander Circosta, Social Media Lead, The Brilliant Foundation

Photo : Amy with her son

In the throws of Leederville’s cultural hub I found her. By the window of the chocolatery a friendly, youthful face, a women with an effortless cool who would could just as easily be found in a villa in the Hamptons.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when a colleague asked me to meet her friend, but I was intrigued, for on this particular Wednesday I met Amy Raveendrakumar (nee Found) and she has made a sunscreen with a difference.

‘I have always been a jump in the deep end and then swim for your life kind of person’

Amy is the architect behind emerging skincare brand ‘Found My Skin’ an ethically sourced and environmentally conscious locally manufactured product. I sat inquisitively, was this simply another side hustle in the never-ending trend of internet entrepreneurs dipping their toe into the deluge of the absolutely lucrative billion dollar skincare industry or was this perhaps something else.

Amy and her Father John Found.

So why Sunscreen?

‘Long summers, tan lines, burnt skin, aging faces, losing a friend to melanoma at 39, my inspiring parents, our dying oceans ecosystem, reducing single use plastic and the next generation’ sounds like a reason to me.

As someone who has taken care of their own skin I have rarely taken notice of the greater socio-environmental implications of my purchases at Mecca, Sephora or Priceline.

Of course I don’t want products tested on animals, but to hear about Amy’s environmental and personal consciousness which underpins her business decisions an authenticity was readily apparent and she evidently and thankfully lacked a get rich quick mentality.

How did Amy come up with the name?

‘Well, Found My Skin is a nod to… mentorship in my dad but also a metaphor for loving the skin you are in.’

With social media democratising the accessibility individuals have to market their product there is now so much more opportunity, however this is coupled with an ever increasing over saturation making it hard to connect your product to its core audience.

Authenticity and purpose driven values are key to standing apart, the eponymous point of difference, and to my pleasant surprise Amy has both in spades.

‘Found is my maiden name, given to me by my dad. I was born in Perth “Amy Found”, daughter of formulation chemist John Found. Leanne

Preston married John Found and found great success in the development of cult natural products ‘Quit Nits’ and ‘Wild Child’ leading also to the construction of the only TGA approved clean room ( an engineered space which maintains a low concentration of airborne particles of course!) in Western Australia.