For Tenielle Dunstall, beauty has always been connected to something bigger. Raised in Victoria, her love of animals and the natural world shaped the values she later brought to a career in beauty—and ultimately to founding BAMBII. Now a new TWYG stockist, BAMBII brings together green science, ethical beauty and sustainability, with a thoughtful approach to choosing products that deliver. We spoke with Tenielle about her upbringing, the personal realities of building a business, her everyday rituals and the shared values that drew her to TWYG.

You grew up in Victoria, surrounded by the realities of the natural world. How did that upbringing shape your relationship with beauty, animals and the environment?

Growing up in such a rural area, I wasn’t exposed to many beauty trends or the influence of makeup. However, from a very young age, I was conscious of the importance of good skincare and taking care of yourself. This was passed down to me by my mum, who grew up on a farm but always looked after her skin with minimal makeup and she always looked beautiful.

Because of my upbringing, I was also more aware of chemicals in our environment. The use of chemicals to clear land or chemical sprays on the food we eat. My dad grew up on an orchard, and most farmers at the time used DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), unaware of how harmful this chemical was until research revealed it was dangerous and it was eventually banned in Australia. However, it wasn’t until later in my career that I discovered the true extent of the chemicals used in many beauty products.

Growing up, we always had many different animals, cats, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, birds and even a rescued cockatoo named Cockie. Beyond my parents’ property, you would see wild rabbits, bees, foxes, ducks, turtles, snakes and kangaroos. I have always loved animals and understood how important they are to our ecosystem and the need to protect them and their natural habitats.

Farming was also a big part of my life, with my parents running a rural supplies store as their family business. Through this, I developed an understanding of the land, the importance of healthy topsoil and regenerative farming. Also how farming and agriculture plays a role in the broader environment, including carbon storage and the health of our atmosphere.

You’ve spent much of your career inside the beauty industry. Was there a particular moment or experience that made you realise you wanted to build something differently?

During my career in the beauty industry, I attended many strategy meetings with brands such as Chanel, Dior, Lancôme, Estée Lauder, SKII, La Prairie and La Mer. I began to recognise the marketing spin being used to promote these products, often highlighting natural ingredients such as caviar or seaweed. People were spending anywhere from $500 to $1,000 on a single product, believing they were buying something more natural, when in fact these formulas were full of harsh chemicals and synthetic fillers.

I was gifted many products to try, and I often found that the more natural and clean formulations felt much nicer on my skin. I could genuinely see and feel the difference. Some high-end luxury products caused dryness, irritation and breakouts. Even when I gifted my mum La Prairie products, she would say, “I don’t care how much it costs—it’s too thick and heavy, and it does nothing for my skin.” She much preferred the more natural and clean skincare products, which were often far less expensive.

Weleda was my first love, and later I discovered Emma Lewisham and helped launch the brand at David Jones. That experience showed me there was a different, more thoughtful way to approach beauty.

One of my biggest concerns with the beauty industry is its lack of transparency, particularly around animal testing. I don’t believe any beauty product should be tested on animals, yet many global brands still test on animals or allow their products to be tested due to the ingredients they use and the countries they sell in. It is one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets and deserves far more attention. This information needs to be more visible so customers can make more informed decisions based on their values.

Interestingly, after I left to start my own clean beauty business, a former colleague I had worked with at L’Oréal also launched her own natural fragrance brand. We had both seen firsthand how billion-dollar beauty companies were not saying the full truth about their product and their ingredients, and we knew we could do better for consumers and the planet.

What did the earliest version of BAMBII look like in your mind—and how has that vision evolved since you began bringing it to life?

I had a clear vision from the beginning, and that is where the three key pillars of BAMBII were born: green science, ethical beauty and sustainability. It was important to have a strong understanding of what BAMBII stood for, both for us as a business and for our customers.

Today, I feel that vision is as strong as ever. My north star still stands: to help make the world a better place. It is a big vision and a dream of mine. For BAMBII, that means providing people with the very best beauty products, products that genuinely work while improving and repairing your skin, chemicals that don’t impact people’s hormones and health and products that are kind to animals and the planet.

It also means considering what we wash off our bodies and how those ingredients enter our waterways, streams and oceans. We want to support natural and clean ingredients that are sourced ethically, without clearing ancient forests or damaging precious ecosystems. This is what I really love about the TWYG story: it uses an ancient natural ingredient extracted from trees that have already fallen.

In the future, I would love for BAMBII to give back in a meaningful way, whether that is supporting a charity connected to the Great Barrier Reef, conservation or animal rescue. That is a big part of my dream for the business.

Founding a business demands a great deal personally. What has the journey taught you about yourself, and what has kept you moving through the more difficult moments?

Starting a business is incredibly hard, especially when you don’t have a business partner. However, I have surrounded myself with amazing people who treat BAMBII as though it were their own. They are always there to help and cheer me on through both my best and most difficult days.

Steve Jobs once said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.” That really resonates with me. Building a business requires enormous resilience—the ability to work through uncertainty, setbacks and difficult moments while continuing to believe in what you are creating.

What keeps me moving forward is my belief in myself, my vision for BAMBII and its potential to help make the world a better place. If I can achieve even a part of that, I think that would be pretty incredible.

The double “i” in BAMBII represents partnership and collective action. Where did that idea come from, and how does it reflect the way you approach both business and life?

From the beginning, bringing the vision for BAMBII to life was always about partnership and supporting one another. No one can build something meaningful entirely by themselves.

The double “i” represents that sense of collective action. It reflects the partnerships I have with the incredible people who work alongside me at BAMBII, as well as our brand partners. We all need to support one another to grow and succeed, and I truly believe in that approach in both business and life.

I’m not here because of what I have achieved alone. I’m here because of all the amazing people who have supported and helped me along the way from my incredible family and wonderful friends to everyone including my customers who has believed in BAMBII and helped bring the vision to life.

As someone who genuinely loves beauty but has also seen the industry’s shortcomings, how do you personally navigate the tension between indulgence, efficacy and conscious consumption?

I’m a big believer in quality over quantity, and truly high-quality effective beauty products can be difficult to find. Whether it’s clothing or beauty, I would rather invest in fewer, exceptional products that genuinely suit me and are right for my needs, not simply what others are influencing me to buy or promoting at the time.

Having worked in the beauty and fashion industry, I can see through a lot of marketing and influencer jargon, and that discernment is also at the heart of BAMBII. We look beyond the hype and focus on research-backed ingredients, thoughtful formulations and genuine quality.

BAMBII is for intelligent, curious consumers who want to understand what they are buying who have strong values. They value information, quality and authenticity over trends, influencer/meta brands or unrealistic marketing. For me, conscious consumption doesn’t mean giving up indulgence, it means choosing beautiful, effective products more thoughtfully.

What does your own daily beauty or wellbeing ritual look like—and are there any small practices that help you feel grounded amid the pace of building BAMBII?

My daily ritual begins with a shower, cleansing my face and applying my full skincare routine. I then make a morning tea—usually green tea with lemon. If I have fresh lemons from my parents’ lemon tree, I squeeze half of one into my tea and add my Miracle Collagen powder. I rarely go a day without it, and neither does my mum. I find it supports my skin, hair and nails, but because I also play a lot of sport, including padel (padel tennis, I was actually ranked in the top 700 world-wide and top 20 in Australia), I feel it helps support my knees and recovery too. My mum is in her mid-70s and has experienced significant knee issues, and she personally credits Miracle Collagen (Imbibe Miracle Collagen) with making an incredible difference for her. It really does have a cult following.

If I’m feeling puffy, I’ll do some facial sculpting using the TWYG facial cups or use my Tronque body gua sha. I also love giving myself a mini facial at home once a week. Hot Pilates and weight training are important parts of my wellbeing routine and help keep me feeling strong and grounded.

One of my favourite evening rituals is having magnesium (Imbibe Recovery Rest chocolate Magnesium) to support muscle recovery, calm my nervous system and help me have a restful night’s sleep. My healthy hot chocolate magnesium tastes delicious and feels like an indulgent treat, even though it is part of taking care of my body.

What drew you personally to TWYG, and was there something about its origin, science or connection to New Zealand’s natural world that particularly resonated with you?

What initially drew me to TWYG was the scientific research and evidence behind its hero ingredient, Bioactive Totarol™, as well as how closely the brand’s values align with BAMBII’s ethos.

From a green science perspective, Totarol is a powerful botanical compound extracted from ancient fallen Tōtara trees. Ethically, TWYG is cruelty-free and does not test on animals. Many people don’t realise how many major beauty brands still test on animals or allow animal testing on their products due to their ingredients and the countries they go into. It is one of the beauty industry’s worst-kept secrets and something I am passionate about bringing to the forefront to try and stop.

Sustainability is also central to the story. TWYG sources Totarol from ancient Tōtara trees that have fallen naturally rather than cutting down living trees. I found that incredibly special.

I’m a big believer in the power of botanical extracts. When a tree species has survived for millions of years in some of the planet’s harshest conditions, there is something fascinating and powerful about understanding its natural defence system and adapting that intelligence into skincare.

For me, the most exciting part is that TWYG combines this ancient botanical ingredient with biotechnology and research-backed formulations designed to support and protect the skin. That combination of nature, science, efficacy and responsibility is what really drew me to TWYG.

When you imagine BAMBII five years from now, what impact do you hope it has made—not only on the beauty industry, but on the people and world around it?

In five years, I hope BAMBII has grown significantly and is recognised as a leading global destination for discovering the very best beauty products, products that are better for you, your skin, your body, animals and the planet.

I want BAMBII to help people make more informed choices about the products they use every day. That means championing effective formulas that consider skin and overall wellbeing, supporting brands that do not test on animals, and reducing the impact of potentially harmful ingredients entering their bodies and our waterways and oceans.

I also hope BAMBII is in a position to give back meaningfully to causes such as Great Barrier Reef conservation or animal rescue. My dream is for BAMBII to be much more than a beauty business. I want it to become a purpose-led organisation that creates genuine positive change and continues to work towards my vision of making the world a better place.