Podcast 275: Meet the ingredient supplier championing dirty beauty

Have you heard the news? Clean beauty is out. Dirty beauty is in.

But don’t worry – we’re not talking about grime or neglect. We’re talking about dirty in the most vital sense: soil under your nails, biodynamic botanicals, raw infusions, and skincare born from regenerative farming practices.

This week on Green Beauty Conversations, Lorraine Dallmeier, Chartered Environmentalist, Biologist and CEO of Formula Botanica, speaks with Stephen Smith, the regenerative entrepreneur behind Nuturn – a pioneering skincare ingredient complex that redefines what it means to be effective, ethical, and elemental.

Stephen takes us on a journey from the vineyards of Napa to a 90,000-acre cattle ranch in Colorado to the hills of northeast Oregon, where Nuturn is handcrafted using proprietary percolation technology.

Unlike lab-based actives, Nuturn’s formulations are slow-infused, whole-plant, and radically raw. This episode unpacks the philosophy of dirty beauty – a cheeky but powerful counterpoint to clean beauty.

If you’ve ever questioned whether clean beauty has become too clinical, too sanitised, and too disconnected from nature, then this episode is for you.

“The healthier the soil, the more effective the product. That’s our belief — and our bottom line.” — Stephen Smith

In this episode with Stephen Smith, you will hear:

• What dirty beauty means: Why Stephen coined the phrase dirty beauty and how it stands in playful but meaningful contrast to clean beauty. Dirty beauty is about vitality, soil, and embracing wild, regenerative ingredients.
• The origin story of Nuturn: The inspiration behind Nuturn — from Stephen’s journey in biodynamic agriculture and wellness to a sun-soaked surf trip that led to the formulation of a skin-soothing botanical complex.
• A breakthrough in botanical infusion: How Nuturn’s proprietary percolation and oil cycling system works to stack potency and avoid the over-processing common in conventional cosmetic ingredient manufacturing.
• A potential alternative to actives: How Nuturn’s raw ingredient complex can potentially replace synthetic actives like hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid and retinol — using only five whole-plant ingredients.
• Regeneration as a life and business principle: Stephen’s belief that regenerative agriculture isn’t just for farming – it’s a framework that can guide how we do business, build brands and live more consciously.

Key takeouts include:

• Dirty beauty challenges the sterile ideals of clean beauty. Instead of isolating or extracting, Nuturn formulates with whole plants, biodynamically grown and gently infused using proprietary methods. This preserves the botanical’s full spectrum of benefits — a philosophy inspired by winemaking and slow food.
• The same forces that degrade our soil are also harming our skin. Stephen draws powerful parallels between soil health and skin health, noting that modern farming techniques deplete nutrient density, which ultimately weakens the efficacy of botanical skincare ingredients.
• Nuturn has been clinically proven to improve skin health and appearance. In their first trial, 99% of users agreed their skin improved. The booster demonstrated efficacy in hydration, clarity, inflammation reduction, and more, all using regenerative raw ingredients with no isolates or synthetics.
• Stephen’s vision for regenerative beauty goes beyond buzzwords. He’s creating direct partnerships with farmers, sourcing ingredients from less than two miles from his lab, and focusing on biodiversity, animal integration, and soil reciprocity. This isn’t marketing — it’s a way of life.

Meet our guest: Stephen Smith, founder of Nuturn

Stephen Smith is a prominent pioneer of premium regenerative goods, with a diversified background in agriculture and business.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Colorado, a solo motorcycle trip through South America led him to biodynamic wine-making. He later became Director of Business Development at the first Biodynamic® farm and organic distillery in Colorado, gaining hands-on experience with large-scale land management and agricultural diversification.

Stephen has since launched one of the first Biodynamic and regenerative wellness companies, continues to run a boutique cattle operation, and consults for emerging regenerative brands.

Today, he is the founder of Nuturn – the first clinically proven skincare ingredient complex designed to revitalise both soil and skin.

Find out more about Stephen and Nuturn:

• Website: Nuturn
• Instagram: @nuturn.co

Related episodes:

• Episode 213: Exploring regenerative beauty with LUSH
• Episode 231: Is the beauty industry failing biodiversity?

Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Formula Botanica Green Beauty Conversations podcast. If you enjoyed listening, please share, subscribe and review this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube so that more people can enjoy the show. Don’t forget to follow and connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

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Lorraine Dallmeier

Lorraine Dallmeier is a Biologist, Chartered Environmentalist and the CEO of Formula Botanica, the award-winning online organic cosmetic science school. Read more about Lorraine and the Formula Botanica Team.