Annmarie Gianni: From Renegade Hippie To Wild Beauty

Annmarie Gianni is the founder of Annmarie Skin Care, a line of truly natural products tailored to meet the varying needs of oily, dry, normal, combination, and aging skin.

Annmarie and her husband Kevin are adventurers and modern-day hippies, who decided to create their own brand back in 2008. As of 2023, the company is still independently owned.

Background
Kevin & Annmarie Gianni
Reasons To Go Organic
Who Owns Annmarie Gianni Skincare?
Core Values
“Made Safe” Certified
Get An Annmarie Skin Care Sample Kit

Background

We’re talking somewhere in 2008 when the idea for a skincare line sprouts in the minds of Annmarie Gianni and her husband Kevin. The couple’s initiative comes in response to something many of us may have done at one moment or another: taking a closer look at the ingredient labels of our personal care products.

Now, these are the so-called “early days’ of the natural, organic, clean & green beauty movement. The power couple has been an active part of said movement, which has since overtaken the beauty industry to the point of making most mainstream brands more than just a tad uncomfortable!

Using good ol’ “dirty” substances in cosmetics, and sitting back to rake in profits while the unsuspecting consumer snags them off the shelves simply no longer flies.

Mainstream brands have been catching on. They try to play into this steadily increasing green trend and botanicals are more heavily promoted on packaging than ever. Even if the actual percentage of natural oil or extract present in cream is minuscule, that’s usually the main focus of the product’s branding and packaging.

But is a product really natural, or just made to look like it is?

Blame the internet or a general expansion of consciousness, people ask more questions than ever before and this is one of the topics where the public has become more demanding.

We like to know more, we want to understand why things are done and what the repercussions are. On a larger scale, as well as for something as small and intimate as our personal care products.

There are those who jump on the bandwagon while it’s rolling, and then there are those like Kevin and Annmarie Gianni, who helped to build the wagon. Pioneers of truly natural skincare. Creators of products that are organic at the core, not just in the facade.

Kevin & Annmarie Gianni

If you’re at all interested in natural foods and the impact of our diet on our general health, you might like to check out The Renegade Health Show. The videos were made well over a decade ago by… you’ve guessed it: Kevin and Annmarie.

Since the title labels Annmarie a hippie, I’d like to mention that I’m using this term loosely. I have no idea whether she wears flowers in her hair (though it doesn’t seem highly unlikely that she might) and what her political views are.

But when you’re a healthy living blogger and choose to travel across the continent in a vegetable oil-powered RV, that’s about as much of a 21st century-hippie as one can be, wouldn’t you agree? Read more about their story here.

So let’s look at how they went from interviewing experts and talking about raw foods, agave syrup, oil pulling, soy, ph levels, and cruciferous vegetables to starting a skincare line.

As it turns out, their audience pointed them in this direction, by asking questions about what Annmarie used for her skin. After a scrutinizing look, Kevin and Annmarie realized their skincare was in need of a major overhaul.

You can read more about Kevin and Annmarie Gianni by clicking on the images below, including their answers to some funny questions. Or maybe it is their answers that are funnier than the questions – you decide.

She drinks Chai and decaf (not coffee). She prefers the sun over snow and the beach over the mountains. She’s a mom to Hudson.

Good grief, being a parent without drinking coffee-now there’s a Herculean feat. It appears we do have a favorite book in common, though! I discovered The Giving Tree a few months ago in the kids’ library section and was amazed at how a children’s book can be both so simple and profound at the same time.

Kevin can’t really choose between Japanese and Mexican food and loves yogurt but can’t eat it due to being lactose-intolerant. He does drink coffee (with no room, we can assume) and prefers an iPad over a pencil and paper.

What I find curious is why he prefers the city over the country, all while being most interested in camping gear and stating a run in the woods as his favorite way to recharge. Ah, well – humans are multi-faceted beings like that.

Reasons To Go Organic

When you think of it, Annmarie’s skin must have looked rather radiant, even back then, while using other products, if people were compelled to ask what she was using.

However, natural and organic skincare is about more than good looks alone. Reasons that might motivate you to switch to clean beauty can include:

the long-term health effects of certain chemicals
the positive impact of the organic agriculture movement on the environment and the planet as a whole
sensitive skin responding better to gentle, natural products
the fact that natural skin care is more often completely cruelty-free
and also, natural products just smell so much better! (Which, of course, isn’t as crucial, but a delight nonetheless.)

Who Owns Annmarie Gianni Skincare?

Fast forward the adventure to their current day business: Annmarie and Kevin still own Annmarie Skin Care. They’ve dropped the “Gianni” part of the name on their product labels. The company’s headquarters are located in the San Francisco Bay Area and its revenue has skyrocketed.

Clearly, making a high-quality product that users are genuinely happy with pays off!

Core Values

Here’s the thing, though-while the company’s growth is certainly impressive, Kevin and Annmarie Gianni do not compromise on their core values.

The key elements that initially motivated them to start out on this journey in the first place: to create non-toxic, human, and eco-friendly skincare are still the driving force behind every business decision.

Ingredients used are wild-harvested or organic, but always natural. The production process is sustainable and their packaging comes from a wind-powered factory.

“Made Safe” Certified

I remember when Annmarie Gianni’s skin care was deliberately not chasing after any certified organic labels because the process of acquiring those costs a hefty sum of money. If I recall correctly, their reasoning was to rather focus on making great skincare, than shouldering the expense of a fancy-sounding certification, which would indirectly jack up the prices of their product for the consumer.

The brand does have a certification now: Made Safe is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the first American certification to focus on products that are made without known toxic chemicals.

Made Safe gets its information about substances and chemicals from scientifically acclaimed lists by organizations and agencies all over the world. Ingredients are examined for bioaccumulation, persistence, and general and aquatic toxicity. Read more here.

You can rest easy knowing that the entire Annmarie skincare line is free from concerning ingredients such as, for example, endocrine disruptors, carcinogens, neurotoxins, reproductive toxins, and heavy metals.

Here are some in-depth reviews of Annmarie Gianni’s products that I’ve tried:

Get An Annmarie Skin Care Sample Kit

How do you feel about most brands giving us no other option than to purchase a full-size of something? I love samples and bet you do too.

Annmarie Gianni has these nifty sample packs, which are pretty genius and make it easy to try before investing more. (Really, why don’t all brands do this?!)

This is some of the most natural skincare you’ll find and, not unimportantly, their customer service is excellent, too.

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