Kinfield, Nichole Powell’s skin care line, is a celebration of the outdoors.
Nichole grew up backpacking and rock climbing, camping at Lake Superior and foraging through the surrounding woods. Her outdoorsy family taught her well. She remains as much an outdoor enthusiast as ever and is reaching out to others to share her delight in being out in the fresh air. In addition to the pure pleasure of it, fresh air brightens your mood and increases your energy level.
Nichole noticed one day that the personal products she takes camping were the same as those she used in her youth—not because she thought they were terrific, but because there were no other choices. Other products had evolved through the years as they moved towards clean ingredients, ethical sourcing and planet-friendly packaging. But there she was with mosquito repellent that still contained DEET. She asked around and found that no one wanted to use DEET, but they didn’t relish being a snack for mosquitoes.
And that fit in with a discovery Nichole made in Indonesia. She had taken a six-month trek from Iceland through London, Paris and Morocco, to Singapore, ending in Indonesia. While in Indonesia, she learned that a unique strain of citronella, blended with essential oils, was very effective in warding off mosquitoes. A DEET-free mosquito repellent would be her flagship product.
Creating Kinfield
Nichole was familiar with startups. She had founded her own lifestyle website and had been a major player at a fledgling online fashion retailer, Modern Citizen. She also headed up a string of successful marketing campaigns at Intuit, TurboTax and QuickBooks. She was savvy enough to know, as a newcomer to the beauty industry, she needed help. She sought and found the perfect advisor and together they found a manufacturer and a lab.
Nichole wanted products that provide optimum results while being aesthetically pleasing. She had some very firm product requirements: safe for people and the planet, vegan and Leaping Bunny certified, without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, or synthetic fragrances. And, as with all of her ventures, she succeeded.
Kinfield Products
Golden Hour Mosquito Repellent
Golden Hour works naturally with the Indonesian citronella combined with lemongrass, clove bud, lauric acid, and vanillin.
When outside, spray liberally on exposed skin and close-fitting clothing. Reapply every 2 hours.
Lip Rescue Balm
Soothes and hydrates lips for hours, preventing and relieving dry, chapped lips. Made with shea butter, mango seed butter, jojoba oil, sea buckthorn oil and sweet mint.
Squeeze the balm out by gently pressing the tube between your fingers and apply to lips. Try it on hands, elbows and cuticles.
S.O.S Rescue Mask
A “one stop shopping” type of product: an overnight cream, a 10-minute mask, a spot treatment, and a daily moisturizer when in an arid climate. Nurtures the thirstiest skin back to health with soothing ceramides and a blend of meadowfoam seed oil, avocado oil, ginkgo extract and chamomile extract.
Sunday Spray
Know how good an ice cold glass of water feels when you are parched? That’s how cooling, moisturizing Sunday Spray feels on sunburned, stressed-out skin. Use it after the beach or after a spin class—any time your skin (and you) need uplifting, refreshing relief from spearmint, eucalyptus, and cucumber and healing relief from aloe vera and prickly pear.
Liberally mist face and body for instant cooling and hydration. For an extra “punch,” chill before using.
Sunglow SPF 35
(Named “Best Face Sunscreen” by 2022 Bustle Beauty Awards)
A first-of-its-kind sunscreen with a sheer rose-gold tint that blends seamlessly across all skin tones for an enviable glow. It’s lightweight, hydrating, and 100% reef-safe. It is a blend of plant oils (jojoba and sunflower seed oils, rosemary extract, and glycerin) with natural, non-irritating minerals (e.g., mica and iron oxide) for the proprietary glow. “Reef safe” means the sunscreen is free of non-nano zinc oxide, phenoxyethanol (known to inhibit reef re-growth), benzenes, PEGs, and other marine pollutants.
Kinfield Cares About the Great Outdoors
- Nichole and company insist on ingredients that are safe for humans and have low or no environmental impact, such as the special citronella oil that replaces the traditional, planet-damaging DEET.
- There must be preservatives to prevent bacteria from growing in the products. But not all preservatives are harmful. Kinfield employs safe, effective, food-grade preservatives, such as sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
- They pay more for ingredients that are sustainably sourced.
- The mailer boxes are SFI certified, and packing tape can be recycled with the boxes. They eliminated secondary cartons, filler or packaging around the bottles to reduce additional waste.
- Products are packaged in re-usable, biodegradable cotton produce bags or in specialty gift bags like fanny packs.
- Bottles are commercially recyclable, and pumps can be recycled through Terracycle.
- A recycling program allows customers to return not only Kinfield products but also personal care packaging from any brand. Send in your empties and get 40% off the next order.
- Kinfield has B Corp Certification, a designation awarded for high standards of performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials, with an emphasis on the social and environmental elements.
Kinfield Gives Back
- Member of “1% for the Planet,” a global network of businesses and individuals tackling our planet’s most pressing environmental issues.
- Donates 2% of the profits to organizations that support Kinfield goals of “Access and Responsibility.”
- Nichole is a long-time, committed volunteer with GirlVentures, an organization that inspires adolescent girls to develop socially and emotionally via programs that include outdoor adventures, inner discovery, and collective action. She is currently a Youth Advisory Board Mentor.
Shark Tank Air Date: 01/13/2023 – Season 14 – Episode 11
