When Caring Becomes Your Craft: Nicole Shir on Building Aura Oil, Backing Yourself, and the Power of Real Solutions
Welcome to The Bend Like Bamboo Resilience Show
We discover that our greatest challenges often become our greatest strengths.
Each month, I sit down with remarkable leaders who've transformed adversity into triumph, sharing their inspiring journeys of resilience and renewal. Together, we explore the mindset shifts, practical strategies, and breakthrough moments that turned their setbacks into comebacks.
What you'll discover:
Real stories of people who've learned to bend without breaking, actionable tools to transform stress into strength, and evidence that when we change our story, we change what's possible for our health, relationships, and future.
Like bamboo, we're designed to be flexible.
When we embrace this truth, we don't just survive life's storms - we use them to grow stronger, wiser, and more resilient than ever before.
Join me as we explore how flexibility builds unshakeable resilience.
What you'll take away from this episode
If you've ever felt overwhelmed by a 10-step skincare routine, mistrusted the wellness industry, or quietly wondered whether you could back yourself to build something of your own, this conversation is for you.
In this episode, I sit down with Nicole Shir — Founder of Aura Oil, Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner, and someone I've had the joy of knowing personally for over 20 years, to talk about real skin, real solutions, and what it takes to build something meaningful from scratch.
Here's what you'll walk away with:
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Why the industry has become so corrupt and greed-driven, and how to spot the products that genuinely care about your skin
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Nicole's heavy metal toxicity story, and what it taught her about the inseparable connection between skin, gut, and stress
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Not in a marketing meeting, but at a kitchen table with frankincense, mei chang and castor oil
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And the science behind why Aura Oil works
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Nicole's beautifully simple philosophy: fix it and move forward
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What Nicole wishes she'd known 15 years ago, and the reminder every woman building something needs to hear
Whether you're navigating skin changes, recovering from chronic stress, or building something of your own, this conversation will remind you that the most powerful things in life are built with love, intention, and the courage to back yourself.
Meet Nicole Shir
Nicole is the founder of Aura Oil and the face behind one of Townsville's leading anti-ageing clinics — but long before she was any of those things, she was someone I watched build something from pure belief, grit, and an unshakeable desire to help women feel confident in their own skin.
Nicole is an Aesthetic Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years in nursing and deep expertise in skin rejuvenation, hydration, acne management, and age-defying treatments. She works with the most advanced technologies available — including microchanneling and regenerative treatments, and sees firsthand, every single day, what real skin transformation actually requires.
But what makes Nicole truly remarkable isn't just her clinical expertise. It's what she did with it.
She looked at the women coming through her clinic, getting incredible results in the treatment room and then going home completely overwhelmed by a 10-step skincare routine they didn't have time for and didn't need.
And she thought — there had to be a better way.
So she created one.
20 Years of Knowing Each Other
I have to start with this, because so much of Nicole's story is woven through my own.
Nicole and I have known each other for over 20 years. We met around 2002 — before my MS diagnosis at 24 — when she was working in beauty alongside my sister in Camberwell. I remember her coming into my kinesiology clinic when I first started, wanting to become a mum. We've always supported each other.
So when I welcomed her onto the podcast, this wasn't an interview between strangers. This was two women who've walked alongside each other for two decades, through career pivots, motherhood, business, illness, and reinvention.
And that's the version of Nicole's story most people don't get to see — the woman behind the beautiful brand and the polished clinic. The woman who built it all from scratch.
Who Nicole Was Before All of This
When I asked Nicole to take us back to the beginning to who she was before Aura Oil and the clinic — her answer was honest and grounding.
"I've always really struggled with who I am as a person — what am I on this earth for? What's your true meaning behind being here? But I always knew that I genuinely cared about people. Even from a young age, I was drawn to helping and healing. Making people feel better about themselves — because I know how good it feels to feel that way."
That care led her into nursing — 25 years of being inside the system, seeing what worked and what didn't.
"I've seen incredible results, but also a lot of frustration from patients. They were overwhelmed, confused, and not getting the real outcomes they wanted."
She watched women being misled. Sold products that didn't deliver. Lost in confusing routines that promised everything and changed nothing.
"I became really passionate about educating and simplifying skincare — because so many people were using the wrong ingredients and being misled by trusted people who didn't necessarily have their best interests at heart. That comes down to greed."
The Industry Truth Nicole Isn't Afraid to Name
This part of our conversation lit me up, because Nicole said what so many practitioners are too polite to say.
"I just went to a conference and saw all the hype put into certain treatments. They're marketed a certain way — with so much bias. They're sponsoring their own studies. It's a little bit backwards. It's corrupt. It's so wrong. It's greed-driven."
She paused, then added:
"That's why I'm so passionate about this — because I really want to help people. It just annoys me. I think it's because of the dollar signs. You produce something, get a celebrity to endorse it, and all of a sudden it's amazing… but it's not really. It's about making money and marketing — rather than caring about what the product is actually doing."
This is the exact pattern I see in my world too — wellness, kinesiology, autoimmune support. There's a growing industry of well-marketed solutions that don't actually solve anything.
And the women being affected? They're the ones already exhausted, already trying, already doing their best.
What we both believe — and what shapes everything Nicole has built — is that true care can't be faked. It shows up in the product. In the energy. In the formulation.
"Caring is exhausting," Nicole told me. "I'm exhausted every single day answering DMs without getting paid, because I love it. The other way — it's all scripted and robotic. It's like cooking. If you cook with love, you can feel it in the food. It tastes more delicious. The energy shifts. That's what I've created with Aura Oil. The energy of me is in it."
The Heavy Metal Toxicity That Changed Everything
About 20 years ago, Nicole was struggling. Eczema. Irritable gut. Inflammation. Her body was telling her something was wrong.
She did hair testing, and discovered she had heavy metal toxicity.
"It changed everything for me, because I was forced to slow down and look at what I was putting in my body. I became really aware of how our bodies function — and when they're supported at the cleanest, most natural way possible, everything just thrives."
That was the moment her clinical lens shifted from anatomy alone to the whole human being.
She started questioning everything. The ingredients. The processing. The hidden toxins in everyday products — including, especially, perfumes.
"When your body's under so much stress, you have to reduce the load — not add to it. We can't be using these perfumes that are pretty much 100% toxic. They interfere with your endocrine system. I'm so easily affected by walking past someone wearing perfume — I can feel it instantly."
This is exactly the principle that sits at the heart of everything we do at Bend Like Bamboo.
When your nervous system is dysregulated, when your body is already inflamed, every additional toxic input — chemical, emotional, environmental — adds to the load. And it's the cumulative load that creates illness, not any single trigger.
Nicole's recovery from her own toxicity story is what eventually led her to formulate Aura Oil. Because once she understood what not to put on her skin, she could finally create something that actually nourished it.
How Aura Oil Was Actually Born
People assume products like Aura Oil are born in marketing meetings with focus groups and consultants.
Nicole's was born at her kitchen table.
"I'd been using castor oil for a few years. I'd mix it with frankincense, mei chang, and a bit of vitamin E — just a concoction at home. And I realised how important it was for our skin. The results were instant. I was getting better. The blemishes were clearing. It really helps acne-prone skin because it's so anti-inflammatory."
When she launched the first version of Aura Oil, it wasn't glossy. It was a round bottle with a sticker on the front. No fancy packaging. No celebrity endorsement.
"Everyone was like, 'this is great.' And I thought — okay, so now we have to order bulk. And then we had to print proper bottles, and then boxes, and then boxes for the boxes that ship to your door."
She laughs about it now, but you can hear the truth underneath: every step required her to back herself before anyone else could yet see what she was building.
"It's hard because you don't think people are going to believe in what you've created. They just have to trust you. But I've built that trust with my clients. I go out of my way all the time to help them. That's probably why I'm so exhausted — but it's something I love."
This is the part of entrepreneurship nobody tells you about.
The bottle on the kitchen table. The sticker that's slightly crooked. The first batch you mix yourself. The financial pressure. The long nights. The fear that no one will get it.
And then — the moment they do.
The Science of Aura Oil (Why It Actually Works)
This is the part I really wanted to dig into with Nicole — because so many skincare products promise the world without ever telling you why they work.
Aura Oil is 70% castor oil, blended with frankincense, mei chang, and vitamin E. Here's what's happening on your skin when you use it:
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Meaning it actively reduces signs of inflammation when applied topically
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It does not block pores, despite the (very common) myth that all oils do
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"Castor oil and emu oil are the only oils that can penetrate so deeply," Nicole explained. Because emu isn't vegan-friendly, castor became her choice
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Including melasma and sun damage. This is huge. As Nicole reminded me, "It's not going to remove 70 or 80 years of pigment, but I've had women send me before-and-after photos showing real reduction"
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They are powerful at reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
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Which is essential as we move into perimenopause and menopause, when hormonal shifts dry the skin out from the inside
"I had a lady yesterday," Nicole told me, "who drinks 6 litres of water a day. And her skin is still dry. It's a hormonal change — we can't fight it. So she's drenching herself in Aura Oil because it's instant and topical."
The Science of Aura Oil (Why It Actually Works)
This is the part I really wanted to dig into with Nicole — because so many skincare products promise the world without ever telling you why they work.
Aura Oil is 70% castor oil, blended with frankincense, mei chang, and vitamin E. Here's what's happening on your skin when you use it:
🌿 Castor oil is highly anti-inflammatory — meaning it actively reduces signs of inflammation when applied topically
🌿 It's low comedogenic — it does not block pores, despite the (very common) myth that all oils do
🌿 It penetrates deeper than almost any other oil — "Castor oil and emu oil are the only oils that can penetrate so deeply," Nicole explained. Because emu isn't vegan-friendly, castor became her choice
🌿 It actually breaks down pigmentation — including melasma and sun damage. This is huge. As Nicole reminded me, "It's not going to remove 70 or 80 years of pigment, but I've had women send me before-and-after photos showing real reduction"
🌿 The frankincense and mei chang are powerful at reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
🌿 It supports the skin barrier — which is essential as we move into perimenopause and menopause, when hormonal shifts dry the skin out from the inside
"I had a lady yesterday," Nicole told me, "who drinks 6 litres of water a day. And her skin is still dry. It's a hormonal change — we can't fight it. So she's drenching herself in Aura Oil because it's instant and topical."
"I Can't Fix Your Skin if Your Insides Are a Mess"
One of my favourite parts of this conversation was when Nicole described her holistic approach.
"I always have a naturopath I refer to in town who's a compounding chemist — she's friends with Barbara O'Neill, just an incredible woman who looks at people on the inside. I always suggest my clients go and visit her. Because there's so much more than just going to your GP and getting a script."
She continued:
"I can do what I can on the outside and help you, but we need to clean up what's going on inside. If I see rashes, inflammatory conditions, pimples that won't shift — 99% of the time it's gut-related. I go, 'let's correct that.'"
This is exactly the same philosophy I bring to my work — and exactly why the AIR Care Team (Autoimmune Immune Repair) was built. Because no single practitioner is the whole answer.
In Chinese medicine, the lung is the barrier between the outside and the inner world. When the lung meridian is healthy, we can breathe life and inspiration into new versions of ourselves. But what blocks the lung — and shows up on the skin — is grief, guilt, and longing.
So if your clients have eczema or persistent rashes, it's not just gut health. It's emotional. It's nervous system. It's stress stored in the body.
And it's all connected.
This is what makes Nicole's approach so different from the mainstream cosmetic industry. She's not just selling treatments. She's seeing the whole human being.
Nicole's Definition of Resilience
When I asked Nicole what resilience means to her, she sat with it for a moment.
"To this very day I'm still dealing with challenges, so I'm still believing I'm becoming better at being resilient. But ever since I was little, I've learned to just deal with it. Just get over it and deal with it. And then it makes you stronger for the next problem, challenge, bottleneck — whatever it is."
Then she landed on this:
"Resilience means to me — fix it. That means fix it and move forward. Otherwise it's a downward spiral."
I love this so much, because it strips resilience back to its essence.
Not toughness. Not pushing through. Not pretending things don't hurt.
Finding the solution. Doing the work. Moving forward.
Nicole's metal toxicity story embodies this perfectly. "I either had to fix it or I was going to decline in a very rapid way. I just thought — I've got to fix things."
That same philosophy is what built Aura Oil. Women in her clinic were overwhelmed by complicated routines? Fix it. The industry was misleading time-poor mothers? Create something better. Her own skin and body were suffering under toxic load? Find a cleaner way.
Resilience, in Nicole's hands, becomes a verb. A muscle. A way of meeting whatever comes next.
This sits beautifully alongside the BAMBOO Method principle of bending, not breaking — because bamboo doesn't fight the storm. It adjusts, it adapts, it finds a way through. And on the other side, it's still standing.
What Nicole Wishes She'd Told Her Younger Self
This was my favourite moment of the conversation. When I asked Nicole what she'd tell the younger Nicole — the one full of self-doubt, just starting out — her answer was so honest it almost stopped me.
"Trust yourself sooner. I had so much doubt."
She paused.
"I didn't believe in myself until probably 10 or 15 years ago. It's hard to put that down or say that out loud — but I think it takes time to find the real you."
For so many women listening, this will land in a way that almost hurts.
Because we don't talk enough about how long it actually takes to trust ourselves. How many years we spend overthinking, second-guessing, waiting for permission, waiting until we're ready, waiting until the bottle is perfect and the sticker isn't crooked.
"I've spent so much time overthinking and second-guessing everything," Nicole said. "Gosh, just do it. Just do it. I thought everything had to be perfect because you see these brands and they're perfect. But it doesn't have to be that way. I started with a round bottle and a sticker. And now we have $20,000 worth of delivery boxes that come to your door."
The lesson?
It doesn't have to be perfect. You can work it out along the way.
But you do have to start.
And you do have to back yourself.
Because as Nicole said so beautifully — "No one is going to come and do that for you. You have to give it to yourself."
The Takeaway
If there's one thing this conversation reinforces, it's this: the most powerful things in life are built with love, intention, and the courage to back yourself before anyone else can see it.
Nicole didn't build Aura Oil because she was chasing a market. She built it because she lived the problem. She survived heavy metal toxicity. She watched women drown in confusion. She mixed the first batch on her kitchen table. And she trusted the vision long before anyone else could see it.
That is resilience.
That is bending like bamboo.
That is the version of leadership and self-trust I want every woman listening to absorb.
Whether you're navigating chronic skin issues, recovering from years of toxic stress, or building something of your own — please hear this:
Your body wants to be supported, not overloaded. Your skin wants nourishment, not noise. And the vision inside you is worth trusting — even when the world hasn't caught up to it yet.
Connect with Nicole Shir
🌐 Website: townsvilleantiaging.com.au | auraoil.com.au
📍 Clinic: 266 Sturt St, Townsville QLD 4810
📱 Phone: 0400 176 335
📧 Email: info@auraoil.com.au
Instagram & Facebook: @nicole.shir_antiaging
Nicole offers premium in-clinic treatments including microchanneling and regenerative skin work, alongside the Aura Oil range — designed for women who want real results without overwhelm.
Your Next Step with Bend Like Bamboo
If Nicole's story resonated — if you're feeling the call to fix what's been overloading you, simplify what's been overwhelming you, or finally back the version of yourself that's been waiting — here's where to start.
HEAL — For those managing autoimmune conditions, chronic stress, skin issues, or persistent inflammation. Deep 1:1 work to address the nervous system, the gut, and the cumulative load that's been keeping you stuck. → bendlikebamboo.com/heal-bamboo-method
THRIVE — For founders, leaders and entrepreneurs (just like Nicole) building something that matters — without sacrificing your health to do it. Sustainable performance from a regulated nervous system. → bendlikebamboo.com/thrive-bamboo-method
Foundations — The complete six-pillar BAMBOO Method as a self-paced course. Start with $11 for your first month. → bendlikebamboo.com/bamboo-foundations
Not sure where to start? Book a free 15-minute clarity call and we'll explore it together. → Book your clarity call
With a flexible mindset, we can adapt, transform our story, and reimagine what can be possible.
Ready to build sustainable resilience? Here's how to work with me:
🌿 HEAL – If you're managing autoimmune conditions, chronic stress, or health challenges
Deep-dive 1:1 support with kinesiology and nervous system regulation
→ Learn about HEAL: https://www.bendlikebamboo.com/heal-bamboo-method
🌿THRIVE – If you're a leader, coach, or practitioner experiencing burnout, this intensive 1:1 program is for sustainable leadership without sacrificing your wellbeing
→ Learn about THRIVE: https://www.bendlikebamboo.com/thrive-bamboo-method
🌿 Foundations – Want the complete Bamboo Method at your own pace?
Self-paced digital course teaching all six pillars of resilience
→ Explore Foundations: https://www.bendlikebamboo.com/bamboo-foundations
Not sure which path is yours?
📍 Book a Free Clarity Call with me, and we’ll explore together.
https://www.bendlikebamboo.com/service-booking-clarity-call
Remember: With a flexible mindset, we can adapt, transform our story, and reimagine what's possible.
Free Resources:
The Podcast on iTunes
The Podcast on Spotify
Watch on YouTube
Free Resilience Toolkit
Connect:
Website: bendlikebamboo.com
Instagram: @bendlikebamboo
Facebook: @bendlikebamboo
LinkedIn: amanda-campbell-resilience-coach