5 • 145 Ratings
🗓️ 2 September 2025
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
I had such an inspiring conversation with Noelle O'Connor, the founder of Tan Organic and Skin Magic.
From building one of the cleanest sunless tanning brands in the world to creating a multi-use balm that families can trust, Noelle's story is packed with passion, resilience, and purpose. She opened up about the early struggles of running high-end spas during the recession, the pivotal moment when Simon Sinek helped her discover her "why," and the values that continue to guide her company today—kindness, gratitude, integrity, quality, and innovation.
What I loved most was hearing how Noelle's personal journey is woven into her brands. From overcoming setbacks to insisting on the highest-quality, sustainable ingredients, her drive is contagious.
We also explored the real challenges of competing as an indie brand against global beauty giants, the growing awareness of what we put on our skin, and the exciting growth Tan Organic and Skin Magic are experiencing in the U.S.
Here are just a few highlights from our conversation:
* How gratitude and kindness shaped Noelle's entrepreneurial journey
* The role of Dragon's Den and a chance meeting with Simon Sinek in launching Tan Organic
* Why clean, organic ingredients cost more—but deliver so much more value
* The story behind Skin Magic's 30+ uses and its recent launch at Costco.com
* Lessons on resilience, asking for help, and staying true to your "why"
Join me, Ramon Vela, as I listen to the episode and discover how Noelle is redefining beauty with purpose-driven brands that care for people, planet, and skin health.
For more on Tan Organics, visit: https://tanorganic.com/
For more on Skin Magic, visit: https://www.skinmagic.ie/
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| 0:00.0 | We have a self-tan oil, which is our hero. |
| 0:02.4 | The reason that that just is being a phenomenal product since 2012, and that's just like a body oil that you put on after your shower and it gives you a natural growth. |
| 0:12.1 | Because a lot of people don't like the sunless tanning can be a bit of a messy experience. |
| 0:17.4 | So that saltine oil just makes it like putting your body oil on after your shower. |
| 0:22.0 | And that is by far our most popular product. |
| 0:26.0 | And we've got then a sultan lotion, which was my first product, which was my first born. |
| 0:30.8 | That's still a strong hero. |
| 0:32.8 | And we have our self-tan noose. |
| 0:34.3 | They're our three hero products. |
| 0:42.4 | But our instant, which is a newer product, |
| 0:46.9 | because some people now just want to put something on and be able to take it off at a shower. |
| 0:52.3 | So that's very popular. It takes us along. We could bring out new products all the time, but I want them to be perfect. |
| 0:56.2 | And there are lots of sunless tan products out there, |
| 0:59.5 | but it's quite difficult to organicize them. |
| 1:03.7 | So we've got to take a product and we have to do it without synthetic colors. |
| 1:10.0 | We've got to do it without |
| 1:11.6 | unsavory preservatives. |
| 1:15.2 | We've got to do it without perfume. |
| 1:17.9 | So it's harder work. |
| 1:20.2 | It's challenging, |
| 1:21.3 | but it's worth it with the products |
| 1:23.1 | that we produce afterwards. |
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