While the rest of us were rocking strawberry-scented Lip Smackers at 12-years-old, Molly Dunkle was dabbling in making her own lip balm, starting a decade-long exploration of cosmetic design and artistry. Armed with a little help from her environmental chemist father, Molly took everything she had learnt in her career as a makeup artist in Australia and the United States and she began to hone her skills and create her own natural cosmetic collection. The result is dunkle authentic, which has gone on to adorn the faces of natural beauties that share Molly’s values of simplicity, ethical manufacturing and curiosity. Each lipstick, for example, is hand-poured in small batches and contains raw materials that have been selected for their quality and story.

dunkle authentic currently offers a range of luscious lipsticks, a lightweight botanical balm-based foundation that is perfect for achieving that coveted fresh-faced look, a beautifully soft synthetic-fibre brush and a luxurious face oil that is designed to replenish moisture. Each product is handcrafted from Molly’s California Lane-based studio so curious onlookers can often catch a glimpse of her blending the signature pigments and pouring the molten lipsticks into the moulds. Although the doors to the studio are generally closed during manufacturing, Molly is throwing the doors open on Friday March 6 and Saturday March 7 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, so if you’re on the hunt for a new lippie, pop in and say hi or take a peek at dunkle authentic’s online store.