We chat to four award winning brands to find out about their ideal day and get them to reveal their self-care secrets
Joanna Walker lives in Cirencester, the heart of the Cotswolds. She is the founder of Ani Skincare
I walk from my home to my shop in the morning and always see someone to say good morning to. I live with my husband Mark, also a partner in business, and our son Peter, who is 16 years old and is brilliant at bottling up, labelling and wrapping. My mother in law, who is 80, also works in the shop - when we say we are a family run business we really are!
I used to be a painter and sculptor and was always doing battle against paint and stone dust, trying to keep my skin hydrated and nourished. It was when juggling life, a five year old boy and caring for my mother, who was suffering from Alzheimer Dementia, I decided to take a new direction. I wanted to create something that enriched people’s lives and gave a little joy.
Skincare is a small and simple thing that can have a profound effect on your life, learning to give yourself a little love is a key to happy a life, achieving that by caring for your skin is something we can all do. In short, I was on a little mission to spread some love and joy through the power of skincare and nothing gives me more joy than someone telling me how much ANI has made a difference to their lives, definitely the best part of my job.
I formulate make and produce all the ANI products, and each product is developed with a purpose and intention to make a real difference, to enhance your skin condition, so asking me for a favourite is like being asked to choose your favourite child!
I guess the Facial Cleanser has to be the one, it was the first product I made, I spent months and months developing exactly what I wanted, a multi-tasking miracle, it melts across your skin before you wash it away with a soft cloth, removing all traces of makeup and the dirt of the day, it does it gently without stripping back your natural oils or disrupting your skins natural balance, leaving your skin feeling deeply clean while soft and nourished. You can then use it for almost everything else!
Reapply a small amount after your evening cleanse and don’t wash off, acting as an amazing, intensive overnight balm, apply small amounts to dry areas that need extra attention- feet, heals, elbows, cuticles, lips, even ends of your hair, it’s fantastic for healing eczema and psoriasis, this is the one if you can only take one thing to your desert island, it better be the ANI Facial Cleanser.
An ideal day
A sunny early summer morning, when everything has a little sparkle to it, the birds give the most uplifting dawn chorus, the air is full of anticipation of a glorious day. Coffee and breakfast with Mark, sitting in our tiny garden, the roses in full bloom and a bumble bee buzzing from flower to flower, we have a catch up on what’s to do today, which inevitable leads into our dreams and aspirations. Then I am off to the market to get fruit and veg, the last of the Evesham asparagus, if lucky.
Before it gets too warm, Rosie dog (Tibetan Terrier) and I walk up through the fields to my studio. Rosie settles in the office, I head to the making room and mix up a batch or two of Face Oil and Body Polish. Late afternoon Rosie and I will take a stroll down to the allotment, which is always in need of more attention than we give it, but still is a little drop of paradise. Mark and Peter join me and we each work on our own little project, either building a bit of fence, harvesting some rosemary to dry, picking a few salad leaves before heading home for supper in the garden. We may light a candle, ANI “Cotswold Evening” seems most suitable and let the evocative mix of pure essential oils and the evening air waft over us, then bed with a book and try to get past the first couple of pages before falling asleep.
3 self-care secrets
- If you only do one skincare thing in the day make it your Facial Cleanse before bed, your skin will forever thank you, you will get a better night sleep and you will wake up feel ready for the day.
- Try applying body oil, a little, head to toe, before you head into bath or shower, take a jute mitt with you and gentle rub down, no soaps, no shower gels just you, water, mitt and oil, twice a week with Renewal Body Polish once or twice a week, it’s a bit of a revelation, your skin will thank you for it!
- And this one is the most important! Take a moment, every day, for you. Close the bathroom door, take a few drops of Face Oil, work across face and neck, take three gentle, considered breaths breath in the pure essential oil aroma, look at yourself, in the mirror, give yourself a big smile, and love what you see. I know easy said, harder done, practice makes perfect, you are beautiful.
Sinead Murphy is the founder of Blumain Organic Skincare. She lives in Newmarket, Co. Cork in the south of Ireland with her husband Andrew and their 3 kids, Caiomhe (7), Cillian (5) and Tiernan (2)
I am a beauty therapist and salon owner and I opened my salon back in 2010 during the recession. Skincare had always been my passion as I love helping my clients with their skin. I had got in a beautiful skincare range for my salon but the majority of my clients just couldn't afford it. I searched everywhere to find something that would get results, that people would enjoy using and that they could afford but I couldn't find anything that I felt ticked all the boxes. So it was from here that the idea for Blumáin was grown and I set off to create my own range.
Asking me to pick my favourite product is like asking me to choose my favourite child! It's tough but if I had to choose I think I might have to go with the elixir. There's just something extra special about it and I couldn't imagine being without it now. My clients often tell me it's the product they didn't know they needed and now they couldn't live without it.
An ideal day
My ideal day would probably be a day where we're not rushing out the door to school or work! A chilled out morning at home and maybe a walk in our local woods after dinner and ice cream on the way home.
3 self-care secrets
- Make time for yourself. Even if it's just the 5 minutes in the morning and night to do your skincare ritual. You'll feel so much better for it
- Get out in the fresh air, put on a podcast and go for a walk. You won't regret it.
- A cup of tea in peace and quiet while the kids are occupied solves all of life’s problems!
Jackie Khangura is the founder of earthynailpolish.com. She lives in Birmingham with her husband (co-founder of Earthy) and just turned 8 year old son who is the centre of her universe!
Earthy was inspired by my search for more natural beauty products during pregnancy. I suffer with eczema and have done since birth and when it flares up it can be extremely painful and this is why I have always tried to use natural products with less harmful chemicals that can aggravate the skin.
I love wearing makeup but there are times that my skin just can’t handle it and I found a direct correlation between the application of normal nail polish and my skin irritation. I decided to start looking into plant-based options during maternity leave and when my son was born I found that I became hyper aware of the harsh products out there even in baby products which only fuelled my search for cleaner products for the whole family.
My husband has a background in cosmetics and we worked together to create a natural origin nail polish that was gentler and safer but just as efficient. Bringing a child into the world, changes your whole outlook and we knew that we wanted to ensure that making our planet better was going to be at the forefront of our ethos. For this reason, sustainability is at the heart of our business, we began by looking into materials that could be used in our packaging and that was when we decided to create our unique bamboo cap. We have continued to work hard in ensuring our products are better for the environment and our recycle policy was one of our biggest accomplishments along with the amazing recognition for our efforts through the achievement of awards such as Green Parent Gold award.
Having personal involvement with every single product we release makes them all close to my heart but the new Gel Lock system has taken years of hard work, research and passion. Being able to offer our loyal customers a gel polish system they can use from the comfort of their own homes that is ‘better for you’ is simply wonderful.
An ideal day
My ideal day is a YES day, my son is obsessed with the movie and insists we all get a YES day in our birthday month and it has been so much fun. It forces us all to take time away from work and errands and just be our silly selves.
3 self-care secrets
- I make a point in booking myself a massage every few months, I would get one every week if I could!
- I also enjoy spending time with my sisters, we all have such hectic lives that we end up chatting and catching up less and less. So, we try and plan a night out or night in with a glass of wine (or two) as often as we can.
- I have recently starting walking, only 30 minutes after the school run but its energising and I hope to keep it up. It gives me time to just breathe and listen to a podcast or audio book.
Alison Leifsen is the founder of bloominsoap.co.uk. She lives in the Fenlands in Cambridgeshire with her husband, her eldest son and his wife, and her grandson, aged one. Plus two dogs - a Bernese Mountain Dog named Luna and Alison’s little 'helper', a Jack Russell named Misty.
I first became interested in natural skincare after my sister had a very bad reaction to a product she'd used on her face. I started to research ingredients and how they affect the skin, and learnt that the majority of commercial products are filled with cheap ingredients that don't offer any benefits for the skin, they're very drying, and sometimes even damage the skin.
In 2020 I was made redundant from my job in marketing so decided to pursue my interest further by formulating products using natural, quality ingredients that actually help people with skin problems. Of course I won't even mention the impact of all the plastic packaging from commercial products (oops I just did), so I developed a range of products using wildflower seeded paper. Not only was the range 100% plastic free, but my customers could also grow wildflowers from the packaging, benefitting their own wellbeing and the environment.
My range of shea butter soap bars are wonderfully creamy and so soft on the skin, and the range was my first formulation so is my 'baby'. What makes the range so great is that I use the most incredible organic, raw fair trade shea butter which I source directly from a women's co-op in Ghana, which is probably my most favourite ingredient as it contains so many useful benefits from the skin. It transforms an ordinary bar of soap into something incredible, and with my purchase of this shea butter I am helping these Shea Queen producers to enjoy a good standard of living as well as empowering them to build a profitable business.
An ideal day
I love to start the day off by walking the dogs in the woods or by the river as it's so good for my mental wellbeing as well as being my main exercise. I love to potter around in the garden and to spend time with my live-in grandson as he's so much fun and every day brings something exciting and new.
3 self-care secrets
- Exfoliating the skin is one of my top tips and something I do at least twice a week - I use an exfoliating cleanser on my face and my Spice & Shine exfoliating soap on my body. Exfoliating buffs away dead skin cells and helps unblock the pores (blocked pores can cause spots) and leaves the skin glowing.
- Moisturising your skin every day is my second tip - even if you have oily skin and think you don't need to moisturise. Moisturising using a high quality product will not only add much needed moisture to your skin but also offers additional skin benefits that can help your skin stay nourished. This will ultimately give you healthier skin and leave you feeling great.
- Only use fragrance-free products on your face is my third tip. Fragrances, whether they be synthetic or natural essential oils, contain allergens which can trigger a reaction on the skin, especially the face which is far more sensitive than the rest of the body. Often, redness, puffiness and itching is caused by fragrances which happen to be the number one reason behind skin reactions - so steer clear of using products that contain them on your face.
MORE INSPIRATION
READ About all the winners of this year's Green Parent Natural Beauty Awards in the Beauty Bible, available with issue 120 of The Green Parent, which will be published next week. Click here to get your copy before everyone else.
DISCOVER For our next self-care instalment from beauty brand founders, check back on Wednesday 24th to read about the benefits of a Sunday night footbath!
