Celebrating our Sloane in Bloom award

We did it! Our beautiful woodland display for Sloane in Bloom scooped first prize, and we couldn’t be more thrilled or proud of our team. It has been an absolute pleasure to share our little corner of botanical Britain with you and I have been delighted by the events and conversations that it has inspired. Thank you so much to everyone who supported us during the week by coming to see us.

I am now about to embark on the task of dismantling our display. As sustainability is so important to me, I am pleased that the 14 trees we have used will be going on to a happy life with Trees for Cities, a wonderful independent charity working with local communities on tree-planting and landscaping projects. Their aim is to tackle global warming, create social cohesion and beautify cities through tree planting, community education and training initiatives in urban areas of greatest need. Throughout their work they place special emphasis on the involvement of local people, especially the younger generations and those from ethnic minority backgrounds. Trees for Cities are going to use our hazel coppices for planting in a fruit and nut planting scheme in London where the local community will be encouraged to harvest and eat the nuts. The rest of the plants are making the journey back to our home on the Isle of Wight where they will be the foundation planting of a botanical ingredient scheme… I’ll keep you posted on the development of this.

In the meantime, as I slather Foot Repair Moisturiser on my feet and put them up for a well-deserved rest, I’m already thinking about what we could do next year…

Sloane in Bloom

Hello! I’m Jennifer, the Botanical Research Manager here at Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare. For those of you for whom Anna Macleod is a familiar face, I am picking up the reins from Anna who is spending some time growing children and not plants. My first blog comes to you as we are preparing for this week’s Sloane in Bloom and I am thrilled to be able to share our inspiration and preparation for the big event.

Blogs don’t give away accents, so you can’t tell that I don’t come from these islands, but from the southeast of the US, South Carolina, where I worked with a noted American plantswoman before packing my life into a few bags to pursue my passion for plants. I was offered the chance to study and work at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – THE centre of the botanical plant world - and spent four years immersed in plants and all things botanical before striking out on my own as a horticultural and environmental consultant…the job that brought me to Liz Earle.

I have also been lucky enough to work behind the scenes at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show, including designing and building two courtyard gardens for which I won silver medals. Sloane in Bloom is a large-scale floral fashion show, in support of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which takes place in the Sloane shopping area and last year, Liz Earle’s display took second place - a big achievement for our first entry. So with my experience, it was only natural that I would get involved with this year’s entry from the start.

One of the things that thrills me about being part of the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare team is the passion everyone has for botanical ingredients. Sloane in Bloom gives us the chance to share with you our appreciation in another context – the garden. The fantastic thing about our display is that it is born totally out of our passion for the botanical ingredients we use in our skincare. From its inception to planting, the garden has been a collaborative and passionate effort, and has given me the opportunity to work with our talented creative team.

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to visit us at Duke of York Square, our store has huge windows that flood the shop with light. We knew from the start that whatever we did, we wanted to bring it into the shop and incorporate some of the fantastic botanical ingredients that we use in our range. Michael, our Head of Creative, was inspired by a display that he’d seen on a recent trip to America whilst I was inspired by the bluebells and wood anemones that grow in the New Forest, near my house. So, between these two pieces of inspiration, we came up with our beautiful British woodland.

This year we are using wonderful mature hazel coppices, grown by one of my favourite suppliers from my days as a horticultural consultant, Barcham Trees. These trees were grown from seed at their site in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and as young saplings cut down to encourage them to send up lots of stems. Corylus avellana, the hazel, is a British native and we use the oil from its nuts in two of my favourite products, Superskin Concentrate and the gardener’s saviour, Superbalm. Even my product-phobic husband is addicted to Superbalm, using it to help mend cracked fingers and dry lips!

To weave a little woodland magic, we are spreading an undulating carpet of botanicals from the pavement up beneath the trees and right through our windows into the store. I spent a happy afternoon last week choosing the lavender, rosemary, chamomile and peppermint plants that will form the fragrant woodland floor beneath the hazels’ canopy. These treasured botanical ingredients sit at the core of our range: rosemary and chamomile extracts in our Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser; peppermint and rosemary are part of a blend of essential oils that make our new Foot Repair Moisturiser and Foot Scrub so special.

After weeks of anticipation and painstaking planning, we start building the garden today. I’ve packed my bag, and next to Cleanse & Polish, Sunshade SPF25 (I’m a redhead, so I can’t be too careful), my gardener’s hat, favourite pair of gloves and trusty secateurs, I’ve added our latest additions, Foot Scrub and Foot Repair Moisturiser, just in case I can convince someone to reward my hard working feet!

Our little corner of British woodland will be in Duke of York Square from Tuesday 19th May through to Monday 25th May. Come on down for a cup of peppermint or chamomile tea and a browse in our botanical garden of delights!

Footnotes

I really didn’t think I could get quite so worked up over footcare, but I have to say I am hugely excited by the launch today of our two new treats for feet. Our brand new Foot Repair Moisturiser (UK, IE) and Foot Scrub (UK, IE) are at last hitting the shelves in our own stores and by mail order. (They’ll be in our counters at selected John Lewis stores on 23rd May and on QVC during our June shows – and if you’re reading this in the United States, don’t worry, we’re shipping them just as fast as we can to reach the shores of Miami and Santa Monica on 1st June).

So what is all the fuss about? Well, as regular readers will know, we never launch something new unless we’re totally 110% happy – which can mean many years of development time and a genuine commitment to creating the very best, safest and most effective formulations possible. In this case, we have two new treats to achieve pedicure-perfect feet in just a couple of simple, pampering steps - guaranteed to leave you walking on air – all in good time for summer.

Step One is our Foot Scrub, devised to buff and smooth away hard skin on heels and soles, instantly revealing baby-soft skin beneath. Easy to use in a footbath, basin, bath or shower, we’ve chosen hard-working natural pumice particles combined with avocado oil, peppermint and rosemary essential oils, all blended together to create an intensely skin-smoothing, ultra-refreshing combination. Natural pumice comes from volcanic lava and is created when an active volcano spews lava which then mixes with water as it falls. The rapid cooling and depressurisation creates the internal bubbles, which make rock pumice so lightweight that it floats on water. This also gives pumice a useful exfoliating quality and in the past I’ve picked up pumice stones from the shores of Lake Naivasha, near our home in Kenya, where it literally litters the lake edges. Used on its own though, pumice can be drying, which is why the addition of skin-softening avocado oil especially helps to counteract this after the dead skin has been buffed away.

Following this, Step Two is a lavish application of our Foot Repair Moisturiser, rich in some of my all-time favourite naturally active ingredients. These include pure shea butter which we source from an African women’s co-operative in Ghana and skin smoothing wheatgerm oil (rich in d-alpha tocopherol, the natural form of Vitamin E) to intensively moisturise even hippo-hard skins. Best of all, it sinks in fast so won’t leave tacky footprints or have you sliding out of your sandals. Peppermint, rosemary and seven other wonderful aromatic essential oils combine to create the freshest of scents - it really is an addictive and highly refreshing aroma, unlike anything we’ve previously blended. We’ve also included a nature-identical ingredient called Farnesol to keep odour-causing bacteria at bay, leaving feet sweet-smelling and fresh (I have tucked a tube inside my teenager’s trainers – subtle hint…). After just one application of Foot Repair Moisturiser the difference to feet really is quite amazing. Give it a go and see what all the fuss is about! We have an online step-by-step pedicure guide with great advice from our Treatment Rooms Manager, Jo Givens, who is based at our London flagship store and Treatment Rooms. Do take a look at this for some top tips on achieving - and maintaining - gorgeous looking, supremely comfortable feet this summer. And if you’re heading off to a salon for a professional pedicure, don’t forget to take this dynamic duo with you. I’m also passing this pampering pair onto several friends who have taken part in many marathons, walks and fun-runs recently, as I figure their efforts definitely deserve a little extra reward.

Welcome to Liz Earle Treatments

Let me introduce myself - my name is Jo, and I am the Treatments Manager at our London flagship store. I am excited to write my first blog for you, as I have so much to tell you about our blissful treatments…

I have worked around the world as a professional therapist for over 16 years. I started as a make-up artist, however I quickly got interested in skincare and how amazing products, combined with the power of touch, can really give you a feeling of wellbeing. Having studied nationally and internationally, my passion is now to share my knowledge with everyone, including our therapists. I feel that you can never stop learning and my thirst for knowledge has increased over the years, especially since I joined Liz Earle!

My job is wonderful... I have worked with many ranges over the years, and as a professional therapist, I believe that Liz Earle is the ‘Holy Grail’ of skincare and delivers outstanding results. The therapist team and I get to ‘play’ with the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare range on a daily basis, so that we can impart our in-depth knowledge to you during treatments to bring out the best in your skin whatever your age, skin type or skin concern.

One of my favourite treatments is the Liz Earle Signature Facial. Lasting a luxurious hour and a half and totally bespoke to your skincare needs, it incorporates a full consultation, cleansing and exfoliation, optional ozone steaming to soften pores, and optional extraction (removal of blackheads), followed by high-frequency to calm any redness. Vacuum suction follows - soothing glass cups almost dance over your skin, to reveal a deeply cleansed, calmer and more plumped complexion.  The facial then proceeds with the real ‘hands-on’ magic - a personalised face, neck and shoulder massage to de-stress, followed by a mask and homecare advice. I would highly recommend it for healthier looking, glowing skin - I am having it monthly in the lead-up to my wedding.

However, if you can’t spare any time for a treatment, don’t worry, there are things that you can do at home – exfoliation, for example, is a quick and simple home treatment and ideal for preparing your skin for summer. Your skin renews itself every 28-45 days, so removing those dead cells will encourage brighter skin and boost cell renewal. Exfoliating 2-3 times a week with our Gentle Face Exfoliator will really help to brighten the skin, with those delicate jojoba beads sloughing away those pesky dead cells. If your skin is sensitive like mine, try mixing 1 pump of your Cleanse & Polish with your exfoliator for a gentler treatment. And remember for ‘post-facial’ looking skin always exfoliate before you apply a face mask.

I hope to meet you in our Treatment Rooms soon…