Formulae is a compounding chemist specialising in helping clients balance their hormones and improve overall wellbeing through custom nutrition formulations and providing expert consultations. In 2023, they took out the Most Outstanding Business in the Telstra Albury Wodonga Business Awards, an accolade truly befitting the value they bring to the community.

They rebranded about 12 months prior and with their prominent location on Olive St, I knew they existed but didn’t know much beyond that. Through the promotion and publicity gained with the awards and seeing a flyer for their Hormone Harmony program, I decided to book a consultation. 

I was diagnosed with IBS in 2020. The last few years have been a journey of healing my body and learning what foods I can eat and what I need to steer clear of. I had reached a point where I knew I needed professional help to get to the next stage of healing. My consultation with Erin, the knowledge and understanding she provided, along with customised nutrition, has completely changed my life. I don’t care how cliche it sounds, the vitamins, probiotics and gut repair powder she crafted for me have done more for my body in less than six months than the three years prior since my diagnosis.

Before their business awards win, I didn’t really understand what a compounding chemist, specifically, Formaule, does. From having specific compounded vitamins ordered by my GP many years ago – and subsequently never filling them because it all felt too hard – I knew that a compounding chemist would make custom formulations for supplements based on a prescription from a GP. 

Beyond that, I had no idea. 

My gut health journey

When you’re living with vague conditions like IBS that have no real cause and no real cure, you wake up each day wondering how you’ll feel. For those who don’t know, IBS stands for ‘Irritable Bowel Syndrome’ and is only diagnosed when other conditions such as celiac or Crohn’s disease are ruled out. It’s basically a “We really don’t know what’s wrong, but you’re probably not going to get bowel cancer” diagnosis. It’s managed through diet by eliminating or removing foods that irritate the gut as much as possible. Stress and other lifestyle factors, such as drinking coffee, can aggravate IBS symptoms. Spoiler. I really like coffee, and I’m naturally a little high strung.

Research is increasingly showing the links between gut health and mental health, not to mention how important your gut is for things like a strong immune system, skin health, metabolism and so much more. 

I was suffering from much more than just a bloated belly and going to the bathroom more often than other people. I had serious brain fog. I could sleep for hours and never feel rested. I’ve had eczema since I was a kid and always had multiple tubes of steroid creams on hand at any given moment.

At the time of writing this – about four months after my consultation and I started taking my custom formulations – I’ve never felt better. Yes, I still have some bad stomach days where I’m bloated and generally feeling unwell, but they have been few and far between and usually occur when I forget to take my probiotics for a few days. A bad day for me now is what my baseline normal day used to be. 

Problem to solve

For me, the problem was simple – how do we ensure as many people as possible are aware of how life-changing working with Formulae can be? Is feeling healthy and well really this simple? 

The answer was also simple – beautiful photography they can use across their marketing channels to connect with their audience and communicate their offerings.

Approach

I reached out to Andrew and Jo and asked if they would be interested in a complimentary photoshoot. They agreed, and we set to work on planning content. 

I worked with their team to organise and plan a shoot day to capture their retail space, consulting room and compounding lab. We wanted to capture the nuance of their offerings, their beautiful and understated aesthetic and the science behind what they do.

I also wanted to test and push myself creatively, so we also shot at Juanita’s Beauty Secret Studio East location and at my home studio to play with light and styling. 

Results

I captured over 30GB of raw content and delivered  200+ images to Formulae. I think the results speak for themselves – flip through a few of my favourites below and keep an eye on Formulae’s socials to see how they use them!

Instagram: formulaealbury