For years, the beauty industry has had a fairly predictable answer for women entering midlife: buy another anti-ageing product.
Fine lines, wrinkles and loss of firmness have dominated the conversation, while the other ways skin can change during perimenopause and menopause have often been overlooked.
Antipodes founder and CEO Elizabeth Barbalich wanted to take a different approach.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow
Her inspiration for the brand’s Jasmine Flower Menopause Facial Cream came from her own experience of perimenopause, when she noticed her skin becoming drier, more sensitive and prone to redness and blemishes.
“I saw the same struggles in my friends, women feeling overlooked by the skincare industry and unsure where to turn,” Elizabeth says.
Rather than adapting a traditional anti-ageing moisturiser and adding menopause to the packaging, the brand says it approached the formula from a care perspective, with a focus on some of the skin changes women may experience during this stage of life.
Antipodes Jasmine Flower Menopause Facial Cream is designed to soothe and hydrate skin that can become drier or more sensitive during perimenopause and menopause. Credit: Antipodes
The result is a natural facial moisturiser formulated with avenanthramides from organic oats, New Zealand mānuka honey, plant-based hyaluronic acid, cooling menthol extract and peptides derived from fermented jasmine and chamomile flowers.
The formula is designed to soothe and hydrate skin that may feel dry, sensitive or irritated, while the cooling texture adds a sensory element that Elizabeth says was an important part of the product.
“I wanted to create something that genuinely supports the skin during this stage, but also nurtures the spirit,” she says. “A sensorial experience that feels like self-kindness in a jar.”
Importantly, Jasmine Flower is not a hormone cream. It does not contain oestrogen and is not intended to replace hormone therapy.
Instead, it is a topical moisturiser designed to support the skin itself.
The cream is also dermatologically approved for sensitive skin, with an independent clinical study involving 50 women with sensitive skin conducted by Eurofins in 2024.
According to the brand’s consumer testing, 78 per cent of participants agreed that the cream visibly calmed irritated skin after three weeks of use. The in-vivo trial involved 66 participants, with results based on the percentage of participants who agreed with the statement.
The natural moisturiser combines oat avenanthramides, New Zealand mānuka honey and plant-based hyaluronic acid. Credit: Antipodes
That distinction matters because perimenopause can bring changes that extend beyond the traditional anti-ageing conversation.
Declining oestrogen can be associated with changes in hydration, collagen, sebum production and skin barrier function, which may contribute to skin feeling drier, more sensitive or easier to irritate.
For anyone who has suddenly found their previously reliable skincare routine behaving differently, it is a familiar problem.
The decision to put “menopause” directly on the packaging was also intentional. Elizabeth says she was advised that the name could narrow the product’s appeal or make some retailers hesitant, but she believed women deserved to see this stage of life acknowledged openly.
The gamble appears to have resonated with shoppers. Jasmine Flower has become one of Antipodes’ bestselling products and received recognition at the Prevention Beauty Awards and Viva Beauty Awards in 2025.
It has also developed a following among women experiencing perimenopause and menopause, including Kat Taylor of Menopause the Truth, who has spoken positively about the cream.
Customer reviews reflect a similar focus on comfort. One verified reviewer described it as the only cream that had helped calm her dry and sore skin around the chin and mouth, while another called it a “beautiful cream” that soothed and settled her skin.
Unlike a hormone cream, Antipodes Jasmine Flower is an everyday facial moisturiser designed to support skin during menopause. Credit: Antipodes
Another reviewer, who had used products for rosacea for years, said she found the menopause facial cream soothing and liked its fragrance.
For Antipodes, the idea behind Jasmine Flower ultimately goes beyond creating another product for mature skin.
It is about changing the language around menopause skincare, from correcting signs of ageing to acknowledging that skin can need a different kind of care during a significant stage of life.
The jar does not pretend menopause is something that needs to be fixed. It simply puts the word on the shelf and builds a moisturiser around some of the skin concerns that can accompany it.