From its beginnings on a dusty rural road to the heart of Hawke’s Bay’s vibrant shopping scene!
Locals and visitors to Napier can now stock up on their favourite slow beauty products by visiting Corbin Rd’s brand new retail store at 58 Dalton Street, Napier.
Corbin Rd – the home of slow beauty™ was founded by Wendy Nowell-Usticke, and named after the rural road she grew up on west of Hastings. “Life was beautifully simple,” she says of her country upbringing. “Our fruit and vegetables came from local growers, we swam in the river, rode our bikes, and used what we had in the pantry to make our own face masks.”
It’s this easy simplicity and reliance on natural and local ingredients Wendy harnesses in her pared-back, three-step beauty range. Corbin Rd’s Restorative Cleansing Balm, when used with the Viteve™ Silk Exfoliating Cloth, is a cleanser, make-up remover, exfoliator and toner while the Multivitamin Restorative Face Oil with 1% Bakuchiol takes the place of a moisturiser, mask, serum, eye cream and highlighter.
Corbin Rd also offers bodycare products for deep hydration, and a range of tools – including traditional Chinese gua sha alongside the popular battery-operated Sculpta 6000 – to help reduce the appearance of fine lines and reduce puffiness.
“At Corbin Rd, we believe the beauty industry has conditioned us to spend far too much time and money on complicated multi-step beauty routines,” says Wendy. “We’d love to invite anyone who is overwhelmed and exhausted at the prospect of experimenting with yet another beauty trend to step inside our store and learn about slow beauty. Healthy, glowing skin can be easily achieved with our multipurpose nature-based formulations that have been specifically designed to restore and rebalance your skin so that it is healthy, resilient and glowing.”
Until now, Corbin Rd has been available online and through a handful of beauty clinics and retailers. Now, for the first time, this fast-growing brand has a flagship bricks-and-mortar store, housed within an historic Louis Hay building. “I can’t tell you how exciting it is,” says Wendy. “It’s lovely to have customers come in and be able to touch, smell, and try our products – as well as obtain expert, individual advice from the team.”
The shelves at Corbin Rd are also stocked with complementary brands Aleph Beauty, and Absolute Essentials. “I absolutely love the make-up brand Aleph, and its ethos of creating outstanding products that don’t harm the planet. Absolute Essentials produces the most exquisite essential oils with maximum therapeutic value and efficacy – I’m never without them.”
And Wendy isn’t stopping there – she’s in the final planning stages of an urban wellness sanctuary and health retreat business within the same heritage complex, which will complement the Corbin Rd retail shop. “We’ll have more news to share on that in early 2022.”
Corbin Rd can be found at 58 Dalton St, Napier, and is open 10-5 weekdays and 10-4 Saturday and Sunday.