TracyI was very lucky to spend a wonderful day at the prestigious and luxurious Chewton Glen Hotel, set in 130 acres of Hampshire countryside on the edge of the New Forest, where Liz was a guest speaker at one of their special events. After an inspiring talk on the research and development of our new Superskin range, Liz delighted the audience by signing copies of her new book ‘Skin Secrets’. The 120 guests were then treated to a delicious botanically-inspired lunch created by Executive Chef Luke Matthews. It was incredible to meet so many lovely ladies in such beautiful surroundings, swapping and sharing skincare stories and particularly for our Botanical Research Manager, Jennifer Hirsch, who met someone very interesting indeed – this is her story…
I spend most of my days researching botanical ingredients, whether it is the ones we use, are thinking about using, or just tracking down an interesting mention of a plant that might turn into something somewhere down the line. My constant companion in my research, and the book I turn to when I need to explain the Latin name of a plant, is Stearn’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners by the preeminent botanist of his generation, Professor William T. Stearn C.B.E.
When I joined a table of guests for dessert and coffee at Chewton Glen, I anticipated diverse conversation about ingredients, our new range, even questions about what we don’t put into skincare. But botany? Generally not on the menu. So you can imagine my surprise when the lady to my right introduced herself saying her mother was a botanist, and in fact her grandfather was a botanist, too. And I might have heard of him…William Stearn.
My colleagues will tell you I become completely over-excited about plants and ingredients…my passion for all things botanical surfaces and I could talk for hours about the benefits, history, growing habits…so you can imagine how I responded to finding myself sitting next to the granddaughter of one of my botanical heroes. And she is a big fan of Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare to boot! Plans are afoot to put a copy of Stearn’s Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners in our library at the Duke of York, so you can see for yourselves why I think it is so useful. And we may even be able to convince Mrs Stearn herself (sadly Professor Stearn passed away in 2001) to sign our copies.