CONTENT WARNING: This article touches on topics of domestic violence and mental health issues, which may be triggering to some readers. Help is available.
Charmaine Caldwell was working in media when she noticed a gap in the market for a skincare range for women with sensitive and menopausal skin. Creating her brand, Vixin Beauty, has not only restored other women’s skin but also helped Charmaine heal from her own personal trauma.
The Weekly’s Editor, Sophie Tedmanson, talks with the Vixin Beauty CEO about her passion for empowering women through skincare, being a female founder, and how to rise from adversity.
Sophie: So we are on Zoom, and I can see a quote by the American poet Maya Angelou on the wall behind you in your Vixin Beauty headquarters. Tell me about the importance of that.
Charmaine: “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” This quote is really the philosophy – not just for our business, it’s the filter for my life. That especially stuck with me a long time ago, so I put it up there so we can be inspired every day. Another quote I love is actually from Winston Churchill: “Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.”
Sophie: That’s very apt for you as a female founder, to never give up. It’s also something you’ve demonstrated throughout your life – and you’ve experienced a lot, from trauma both as a child and adult, to being a single mum and building up an ethical beauty company from scratch. Tell us about where it all began.
Charmaine: I’m one of five children, and I’m the second youngest. Growing up, I saw my father beat my mother violently. No one should live through that. Witnessing that changes you, it stays with you. And later in life, I found myself in violent relationships. That was not my fault. And it did not define me. I found ways out, I found ways to rebuild myself.
And I think that’s really important for women to hear, because no matter what you’ve lived through, there is a way forward. It also shapes what I’ve done, what I’ve built in my jobs and how I’ve been a friend or a mother in my life. So would I change it? No. I’ll just keep evolving into whoever I’m meant to become as the journey goes on.
Getting through that changed who I was, but not in a bad way. I used it to get better, to try and help other people. It made me very compassionate and empathic as a person, and I really know now that is my superpower.
Sophie: Thank you for being so open and sharing that incredibly difficult part of your story with us. I can imagine it informed your passion for empowering and supporting women through your brand.
Charmaine: Yes, I have always believed in supporting women, and I think if we show up for each other in even just small ways, the world would instantly be a better place. Women need women; we don’t need other women tearing each other down. And I am very protective of that in my community.
Sophie: Vixin Beauty specialises in helping problem skin, with a particular focus on menopausal and perimenopausal skin. Where did the idea come from?
Charmaine: I was working in media, and I couldn’t use a lot of products, and my mother is also allergic to a lot on her skin. I wanted to create something that even people with sensitive skin could use. My mother was always very into Ayurvedic practices and using plant-based medicines to heal the body.
I was reading and researching a lot, trying to understand why my skin was reacting so poorly to certain things. I was wondering, “Why isn’t there a better way? Why isn’t there an all-in-one product that can help?” I met my formulations queen, who I still work with to this day, and we started working on different ingredients and formulations. I was bootstrapping this myself while still working full-time. Then once the testing came back, we knew we had something special. It changed my skin immediately. It spurred me on to work even harder.
I still don’t have a backup to this day. I look back and wonder, how did I do this? How did I start from one little apple and build this beautiful company on my own? Belief in yourself and your idea, that’s how. And I just didn’t stop.
Sophie: When did you realise you had become a CEO?
Charmaine: I don’t know when I became a CEO. I think I just became one along the way. Every decision I had to make each and every day kept taking me there. You just keep stepping up, because you have to. Over time, you realise this is who you’ve become. And I’ve done it without a board, without shareholders. I answer to my customers. That’s it.
Sophie: Community and charity are at the heart of everything you do at Vixin Beauty. Your community is very engaged, and you do a lot of charity work with Bowel Cancer Australia and the Tresillian Family Care Centres. How important is this for you?
Charmaine: Community is everything for me. This is bigger than skincare. This is really about empowering women to look and feel their best. We celebrate that with women every day.
We focus on women 30 and older because so many of them say they feel invisible as they get older. And we’re not going to let that happen.
Because I built this from the ground up, I’ve always been right next to my customers. I have read every message, every story. And that has been so difficult to maintain, but so rewarding.
I have my ‘why book’ – a notebook where I write quotes and comments from customers – which keeps me going when things get tough. In that book is everything: my family, my friends, but also these incredible people and what they’ve lived through.
When you see what happens when their skin changes – their confidence, the way they show up, even their health – you realise this is so much bigger than skincare. What I have built is everything. And I am so proud. As I healed other people with Vixin, it healed me. And that’s why this is so important.
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This feature originally appeared in the July 2026 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Subscribe so you never miss an issue.
Vixin Beauty is the official sponsor of The Australian Women’s Weekly Love Stories podcast. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Find out more information here.
Watch Charmaine on Love Stories
Vixin Beauty isn’t just another skincare brand; it’s a commitment to real, effective formulations. Australian made and owned this ethical skincare brand is changing the game.
