Sloane in Bloom

The whole of Chelsea is filled with flowers! This is definitely the best week of the year to take a stroll down Sloane Street. So many of the biggest names in the fashion and beauty world have put an enormous amount of time and effort to make beautiful botanical displays to theme with Chelsea Flower Show. I loved British shoe designer Emma Hope’s beach garden shop front (a home from home for us!), which apparently she just “threw together” at the last minute, uprooting plants from her garden, including two impressive 2m high Buddleia set against subtle blue-grey Cornish slate slabs. Perfumer Jo Malone filled her boutique with fabulously scented white and palest pink scented blooms, including an impressive iron bedstead overflowing with exotic varieties, from Casablanca to Tuberose and my May-time English garden favourite Lily of the Valley. Tiffany the jewellers swapped their glass front door for a giant white walk-in birdcage, complete with metal birds. Cartier outlined their world-famous watch shapes with darkly green foliage and French fashion giant Hermes took an Indian theme with arches bedecked with exotic flowers. Even the classic British menswear designers, Hackett, got in on the act with a quintessentially British male gardening theme of the potting shed, principally made with cut box stalks. So very stylish and fun – I have made a diary note to bring the family to London this time next year to marvel at this free display of talent and imagination.

Kim and I were lucky enough to get tickets this year to visit the Chelsea Flower Show today and so we headed off for the first time since my days covering the event as part of the GMTV team. Like so many, we made for the central pavilion as we wanted to catch up with gold medallist Jekka McVicar, who grows her organic herbs to an astonishingly high standard. She was watering her precious plants when we arrived, standing next to her gold medal certificate. This was her 60th gold medal no less and she proudly told us that she was the only certified organic winner too. We spent a while discussing the many botanicals we have in common, including some featured in her display such as comfrey, rosemary and melissa. One of Jekka’s favourite uses of rosemary is to make a fresh herb tea – a simple infusion of a freshly picked rosemary sprig in a jugful of just-boiled water. It sounds delicious and we promised to try it. Outside the pavilion the central avenue was lined with the big display gardens, and I spent longest admiring the ‘best in show’ gold medal winner, the Laurent-Perrier all-green grove designed by Tom Stuart-Smith. His unusual and spectacular display of 30 year-old English hornbeams were especially pruned so that the leaves and branches floated like puffed clouds, seemingly floating in mid-air. Beneath, banks of velvety moss and grasses provided a textured botanical blanket, using texture and form instead of colour for variety. Pale blue-grey zinc tanks filled with overflowing water added to the calm air of tranquillity – a welcome haven for the eyes amongst all the hustle and bustle around us. 

I also enjoyed strolling along the much smaller Eastern walkway, filled with smaller gardens each with their own quirky themes, many of which were built from antique mossy stones that looked as if they’d been there for years. We were just finishing our stroll of these when a call came through on Kim’s mobile – the judging of the Sloane in Bloom competition had just taken place and we’d won second prize!! We were speechless and so very thrilled. The deserving winner was Jo Malone for her magnificent scented arrangements, but we were more than ecstatic to be judged ahead of so many top international designer stores – especially as this was our first attempt. The talented florist Jane Packer did incredibly well with her traditional garden bench surrounded by our skincare botanicals, so we’re delighted for her that we were awarded a prize. We’re already starting to think ahead now for next year, although those perfectly sculpted, cloud-filled hornbeams will definitely be a long way off.

Green Beauty

Phew! No sooner had we arrived back from our exhilarating West Coast launch in LA then it was straight off to do three special beauty evening shows on QVC. Just in time for this I received a review copy of the new, much anticipated Green Beauty Bible  (available on our UK website), out today. Written by top beauty duo Sarah Stacey and Jo Fairley, this eco-edition of the best-selling Beauty Bible series records the feedback of over 1000 individual testers to uncover which of the ‘more natural’ and ‘eco’ brands score the highest. Not only covering ranges that include natural ingredients in their formulations (like us), but also those that try to reduce their carbon footprint, minimise packaging, print with ‘green’ inks, have a genuine commitment to cruelty-free and all the rest. You know, when Kim and I started putting our range together 13 years ago, we didn’t set out to be a ‘natural’ brand – we set out to be the ‘best’ brand. This included a heavy dose of potent plant ingredients, a strong commitment to cruelty-free, minimum fuss-free packaging etc. long before it was seen as fashionable and certainly before the words ‘green,’ ‘eco’ or ‘carbon-neutral’ had entered the beauty dictionary. Being a ‘greener’ beauty brand is only one part of what makes us tick, which also includes a genuine commitment to outstanding customer service, research into product safety and efficacy and always aiming to be an affordable luxury.

As a brand, we fared so well in the original Beauty Bible that I did wonder quite how we would compete now with many of the newer ranges to hit the shelves in recent years. After all, 13 years on and we still stick to our founding principles and our formulations are pretty much the same as they were when launched. So you can imagine the delight/relief to discover our multi-tasking Cleanse & Polish is still top of the Cleansers section (more than 80 were trialled). With 9.5 out of a possible 10, C&P as we affectionately call it, remains the number 1 highest scoring product of all time! WOW!  It was also rated one of the book’s ‘Star Buys’ because of its price and the fact that it lasts for ages.

Alongside the tester’s favourites of Cleanse & Polish and Skin Repair (which came tops again in Neck Creams) the book includes many of our as-yet unsung ‘heroines’; those Cinderella products that sometimes get overlooked yet give amazing, reliable results as well. Little gems such as Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion (UK , US), Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask, Energising Body Scrub and Energising Hip and Thigh Gel have all received their first ever awards. Eyebright is also a ‘star buy’ in the Treats for Tired and Puffy Eyes category as well as gaining 2nd place in the Eye Make-up Removers section, and really is fantastic for me at this time of year as I battle the annual onslaught of pollen-polluted eyes. One tester raved that it’s “a fab pick-me-up for mornings when your eyes are really sore and tired, also helped with moisturising dry under-eyes”. We receive good feedback from other hayfever sufferers who swear by it for reducing itchiness too. At this time of year, I always keep one in the fridge and a mini in my make-up bag for itchy-eye emergencies. 

Our moisture mask, Intensive Nourishing Treatment, is another of my seasonal essentials as it works wonders for rehydrating and restoring skin that’s feeling dry and tight after too much travelling, sun or simply over doing it…  With GLA-rich borage oil – one of my favourite natural oils which works both topically and internally to help keep the complexion supple and strong – plus moisturising shea butter and soothing St John’s wort. A thick layer of this replenishing cream is deeply nourishing and calming – a comfort blanket for poorly skins. If you’re looking for visibly velvety skin, one tester said her “skin felt like a soft, ripe peach”… and that’s good enough for me too.

With summer holidays and the promise of more warm weather approaching, I’m definitely beginning to become more conscious of my legs and arms once hemlines (and sleeves) start reducing. That’s why it’s such great news that two of our body energisers made the headlines too. Ideal for sloughing away dull, dingy and dry skin cells our invigorating Energising Body Scrub leaves skin smooth -and perfectly prepped for a spritz of golden self-tan. Massaged in afterwards, its partner Energising Hip and Thigh Gel – loaded with circulation-boosting botanicals such as ginkgo biloba, ivy, horse chestnut and butcher’s broom – really can help improve the tone and appearance of your skin. I’m also a big fan of dry skin body brushing, having first written about it in a book I wrote on cellulite nearly twenty years ago. I find the most effective way to incorporate this into my beauty routine is to use a natural bristle brush before I jump into the shower, always working upwards towards my heart with long, sweeping movements. Then I revitalise, slough and smooth with my Energising body trio. If you’re anything like me, you’ll find there’s nothing like it for helping to get mind and body going on those far-too-early mornings.

The whole area of ‘green’ beauty has grown and developed significantly over the last decade, with a panoply of new products and ranges to choose from, ranging in eco-shade from eau-de-nil to bottle green. It’s a complex and frequently confusing area. I wouldn’t say I agree with every aspect of the greenest eco-warrior’s footpath, but I travel pretty much in the same direction. To this end, the Green Beauty Bible book is a very useful addition to my bookshelves and well worth a read.

With all things botanical as the theme, I was able to spend a rare few minutes of tranquillity amongst the hustle and bustle of London’s King’s Road when I stopped inside our Duke of York Square store earlier today. As part of the ‘Sloane In Bloom’ competition, run in homage to the nearby Chelsea Flower Show, shops in the Sloane Square area (of which we are one) are invited to transform themselves with a floral theme. Our inspiration came from a traditional English garden and so I caught a few moments outside on a weathered wooden bench and breathed in the sweet scent of early lavender and headily-scented climbing roses. Put together for us by the wonderfully talented Jane Packer, who Kim and I worked with twenty or so years ago – even before she had her first shop - it’s well worth a visit if you’re in town, as the whole area is bedecked in stunning spring flora. I finished the evening by giving a talk on some of our botanical ingredients to complement the surrounding theme, soon to be available as an audio download on our website. I hope you enjoy.

News from the USA

Had a lovely, long chin-wag with my colleague Susan yesterday, who has just come back from a month in the US with our fulfilment team in California. She was bursting full of positive news from the west coast-based team, who are preparing for the holiday season ahead. Many Americans only get 2 weeks’ holiday allowance a year from work, so they really embrace this season. We’re receiving some great feedback on our newsletter – one chap specifically called last week to rave about the quality of the newsletter. This was the sole reason that he called, which is so rewarding for us – he works in Marketing in the US but had rarely seen such ‘high quality’ and ‘attention to detail’ (you will have to imagine my American accent, I’m afraid!) in publications. We have actually won awards in the UK for our newsletters, but really pleasing to hear that it’s appreciated overseas too. In fact, talking of the world, we now ship to over 77 countries from the UK – amazing! Fabulous that women (and guys) are spreading the good word to friends all over the world. As they say, the world is a smaller place these days!

Sunday Times – 10 of the Best in the Style

Wow, what a good start to the week! This weekend, in the Sunday Times – 10 of the Best in the Style section rated Cleanse & Polish as one of the top ten beauty products – ever! Can’t say I’m surprised as I’m a total addict myself and would never, never switch – I started as a customer and this was one of my first purchases nearly 10 years ago. Alongside other cult products, it is also good to see a hard-working, effective product like C&P (as we affectionately call it) that’s genuinely affordable. I hope that this introduces the multi-award winning cleanser to more people, who can share in the experience.

Thrilling news this weekend – Liz and Kim were awarded MBE for their contribution to the beauty industry in the Queen’s Honours list! Amazing news – we are all so proud and delighted for them. It is very rewarding to see their hard work, dedication and all their behind-the-scenes charitable work is recognised in such a public way. Both are being very modest, attributing the award to the hard work of the team and our customers’ loyalty – but we are all very proud of their achievements. It will be interesting to see how this goes down in the US too, when we share this news with our customers – our colleagues in our US Customer Centre tell us that Americans love titles! We do too – well done, Liz & Kim from all of us in the company!

Back home and started the day Nordic Walking with a local group in my village. Supposedly one of the best forms of fitness as it exercises most muscles in the body at the same time. You walk with poles, like overly long ski poles, which you use to push against as you stride out. This resistance gives a great upper body work out too and as we trekked up hill and down dale I could feel muscles being worked as never before. What I like best about this Scandinavian work-out is that it gets me out in the countryside, breathing lungfuls of energising fresh air  and soaking up the glorious landcape. A great stress-buster. Headed into London later in the day to attend the InStyle Magazine awards, held at the chic and cheerful Sketch restaurant in Conduit Street. We had been nominated in a couple of different categories and it was a great surprise and thrill to win the highly coveted magazine award not only for best Cleanser but best Skin Tonic too. This puts us in the Hall of Fame, as we’ve now won this for three years in a row. The awards ceremony, hosted by the glamorous and entertaining Mariella Frostrup, was followed by a fun party where I bumped into so many familiar faces in the beauty world. Top make-up artists Mary Greenwell and Barbara Daly were both there – the last time I saw Mary was on a fishing boat in Lamu, the tiny island off the East Coast of Kenya. I had recognised her first by the piles of Louis Vuitton luggage incongruously loaded alongside the crates of tropical fruits and fresh fish. Barbara Daly is a real heroine of mine – reknown for her myriad of Vogue covers over the decades and made famous by being Princess Diana’s make-up artist on her wedding day. As we greeted each other she enthusiastically exclaimed her love of our Superbalm, which she now orders in pots of three at a time.

Just a quick up-date on some exciting news from last night – I went across to the Island to attend the annual Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce Awards. We took a table for some of our team, as we’d entered for two awards this year – the Green Business Award (headed by our Green Team co-ordinator Jemma) and the E-Business Award (entered by Rob’s brilliant web team). We were completely thrilled to win both awards and members of each team joined the heads of the Chamber of Commerce to receive their very well-deserved awards. We were all clapping and cheering so hard that we barely heard our surprise nomination for one of the top awards of the evening – Business of the Year 2006, so imagine our shock when we heard our name being read out! Kim and I went up to receive the biggest silver cup I’ve ever seen and there was such an amazing buzz. We were then ushered off the stage to have our pictures taken for the local paper and give a couple of off-the-cuff interviews, when we heard our names being called again and again from the stage. For a few moments we ignored the commotion – after all, we’d just won the main award – then we realised that we were being called back for yet another accolade – this time it was Business Person of the Year 2006. Kim and I hastily scrambled back to the podium to much cheering and foot stomping from our table – and a few others too! – to take possession of yet another magnificent cup. We were told later that it is the first time in the Award’s history that the Business Person of the Year has been won by two people together – and Kim and I were really pleased to have our business partnership recognised in such a wonderful way. Our managing Director bought a huge magnum of champagne and we all toasted the rest of the team and our entire company, who all make such awards like these possible. I then had to leave the celebrations to continue without me as I slipped away to catch the last Red-Jet back to the mainland to pack my bags, ready for the States tomorrow.