Traveller’s Tales

I’ve been in Dublin’s fair city to celebrate our arrival in the new Wilde & Green store. Founded earlier this year by Denise Begley and Carmel O’Callaghan, this special food-store-and-more is a real find, stocking delicious homemade delicacies as well as local and organic produce. Both Carmel and Denise are big fans of our range so we were really delighted when they invited us to be the only beauty brand stocked in-store. Since their opening on 27th June, our little area has gone from strength to strength, growing in size until it now feels like stepping into a Liz Earle store within a store. We’ve just put our beautiful new Sea Holly Christmas boxes (UK, US, Ireland) in their windows and they look really spectacular. If you haven’t yet seen these stunning gift boxes, I’ll be showing them in more detail on QVC later on today. Of course, if you live in or near by Dublin, do go along and say hello to the Wilde & Green team – they’d love to see you.

As usual, the team and I managed to pack a lot into a short space of time, starting with a (very) early morning TV appearance on Ireland’s national breakfast show, Ireland AM, with Alan Hughes. We took our lovely model Debbie with us for the slot (you may recognise her from our QVC shows) and despite having to get up before dawn, she actually enjoyed a little more sleep than usual as she’s a new mum and going through the rigours of night feeds. Getting up before daybreak reminded me of the many years I spent as a contributor to GMTV, when it was usual to leave for the studios at 5am and be back home in time to get the children up for breakfast. The most gruelling schedule I can remember was being sent to LA for the Oscars, filming segments for the show all day, then keeping myself awake on a potent blend of expresso and adrenaline until 3am, when I would do a live satellite link back to Lorraine Kelly in the UK studio - falling into bed for a few hours sleep before getting up and doing it all over again, and again. After our QVC shows today I’m actually heading back over to Los Angeles, this time to take part in a very special awards ceremony, not just report from it. Instead of walking down a red carpet for the Oscars I’ll be treading the green carpet for the Environmental Media Awards. I’ll bring you more news from tinsel-town next week. Until then, I hope you’ll be able to catch some of our shows on QVC, or you can watch our launch on Ireland AM.

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.

L.A. Story

What a great week we’ve had in Los Angeles, launching our range into the top fashion store Fred Segal on Ocean Drive, Santa Monica. We were invited to join the fab beauty area, STUDIO, by its Co-Founder and Creative Director Robin Coe-Hutshing – a stylish woman with huge flair who brings wonderful top beauty ‘finds’ to the West Coast of America. Our week started with a reviving body massage and ‘mani-pedi’ at Hollywood day-spa, Kinara, where many ‘leading ladies’ head for their famous red carpet beauty treatments. Somewhat revived from our inevitable jetlag we returned to the store to have a good look around and I was especially interested to see anything unusual and new. I love Robin’s own creation, a personalised perfume set-up called Memoire Liquide Bespoke Perfumery. Here, with the help of a fragrance guide, you can literally create your own scent by blending together two or three single fragrance notes or unusual pre-blends. I chose a mix of my fragrant favourites, vetiver and patchouli, together with a musky blend called ‘soft leather’. The resulting aroma is a soft, warm and sensual scent which I like because it doesn’t dominate but gives a hint of subtle aromatics. Not only is the idea and service good, it’s reasonably priced too – just $30 (around £15) for a totally individual custom-blend, which has to be one of the best beauty bargains around. If you’re holidaying or passing through LA in the future I highly recommend you drop in and try this out for yourself. It would also make a memorable and special present for a friend, mother or daughter.

Having revived ourselves from our lengthy journey, we spent the following day helping the team at Fred Segal set up our display areas and prop our promotional site, which was where I was to meet many of the local and national beauty journalists this week. These included a meeting with Allure, possibly the most influential of all the American beauty magazines, and the Los Angeles Times. Here we discussed hot topics such as preservatives, as some American brands are now touting themselves as ‘parabens-free’ - as if this is a good thing (see my previous Blogs on this and other ingredient research stories).Later, we hosted a VIP customer event, which Robin Coe-Hutshing introduced. She declared herself to be a huge fan of Naturally Active Skincare – notably Cleanse & Polish and Superskin Moisturiser, and I then gave a short talk to introduce our philosophy and skincare secrets. We obviously hit the spot, as before we left the ladies were literally sweeping the shelves bare and loading up with armfuls of products. The only problem is going to be keeping the shelves fully stocked as word spreads – how exciting!

Bridal Ideas

Today, as Liz and our show team headed to the QVC studio, just over the bridge my colleague Louise & I attended a special bridal event at Peter Jones, for the press.

It was so exciting to be part of their bridal ‘shower’, and it really did feel like my wedding day all over again, seeing all the guests dressed in stunning wedding outfits, complete with beautiful hats and fascinators, and delicious catering. Even the flowers were edible! The room was at the very top of the Peter Jones building, on Sloane Square, with glass walls on two sides - it felt like a sunny conservatory, with rooftop views across London – revealing a truly beautiful, sunny January day.

As well as helpful John Lewis services on display - such as setting up a wedding gift list and also wedding insurance - there were inspiring examples of bridalwear, gifts and floral arrangements (Peter Jones have a florist in-store). For brides-to-be, or mothers-of-the-bride-to-be (phew, what a mouthful!), the styling team had propped a stunning boudoir area with Peter Jones furniture – our corner had a simple, cream dressing table, with Venetian mirror & lamp, with glorious decadent boudoir additions such as satin gloves draped over the open drawers, which we crammed with our travel gift ideas, and a stunning silk 1930s-inspired clutch bag with our key products carefully styled on the dressing table top. It was quite breath-taking and inspired me to redecorate my bedroom all over again! (We do have customers who love to decorate their bathrooms around our muted  packaging colours – always a big compliment to us!)

It all reminded me of some desk-side press visits that I took part in before my own wedding, in the summer of 2006. This involved meeting beauty editors of bridal titles literally at their desks – a good option when deadlines are tight and you want some quality time with the journalists. I helped our PR team put together a bridal press release at the time, and seeing my quotes again brought back lots of memories of my own skincare dilemmas, in the build-up to my own big day. The countdown to any wedding day is fraught with both excitement and nerves – and this can take its toll on your skin, so I do hope that these tips help any brides-to-be out there:

•    I’m surprised how many brides-to-be don’t have a regular skincare routine.  The run up to your special day is the perfect time to start with an easy, simple regime such as our cleanse, tone and moisturise. If you have never used skincare regularly before, this is also the perfect way to start now.

•    In the run up to the wedding, almost every bride-to-be is troubled by an occasional blemish emergency – never fear though, as our Spot-On is a bridal beauty must-have - an emergency ‘miracle’ roller ball applicator full of hard-working essential oils: antiseptic and antibacterial tea tree oil, purifying melissa and lavender to inhibit spot-causing bacteria.  Highly concentrated, with no alcohol or water, it really is the fastest way to heal blemishes, in-an-instant, and can even be applied over make up. (I also used this on my honeymoon to help calm mosquito bites – it’s so handy as it fits into even the smallest evening purse!)

•    As a bride-to-be myself once, I do know how difficult it can be to relax.  Dip into our special treatments when you feel you need a little extra help. Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask is sanctuary for lacklustre, stressed-out skin.  The perfect pre-wedding skin treat, use overnight or whilst soaking in the bath.

Chewton Glen Christmas Talk

I’m back at Chewton Glen for our annual customer Christmas lunch and talk. It’s always such a pleasure to return to this exceptional country hotel, with its luxurious décor, beautiful grounds, delicious food and exceptional service. Our Chewton Glen Christmas talk started several years ago as a small one-off customer event, held in the hotel’s conservatory. Each year it has hugely grown in popularity and now we take over the entire function area called the Lake Suite, which overlooks the Chewton Glen lake and gardens. Like us, Chewton Glen is a multi-award winning independent business and one which prides itself on being the best. Last year, Chewton Glen won the prestigious Hotel of the Year Award and it is always a very popular venue. Being based nearby on the Isle of Wight, we were able to bring several of our team with us this to help with the event, and this included Anna Grant, our talented UK Events Manager. Anna has been with us nearly ten years and was one of the first to join us. She’s worked in most areas of the company (as you do with a small business!) but has now found her niche excelling in organising these wonderful events, as well as team training. As a trained aromatherapist, Anna is also hugely knowledgeable on essential oils and many of our customers have enjoyed her personal advice on our Vital Oils bath and body range.

After my talk and a very delicious lunch (grilled vegetable terrine followed by fillet of brill in saffron sauce and, to finish, lavender creme brulee) which helped to top up our anti-oxidant and Omega 3s (never mind the calories for a day), I handed the microphone over to Dee Jones, who runs our UK Customer Relations. You may know Dee from her occasional appearances on QVC as our ‘more mature’ model. Dee is in her early ‘50s and is a warm and engaging public speaker, entertaining the entire audience with tales of how to cope during the menopause, with skin tips, health, wellbeing and more. To combat lines and dramatically plump-up ageing skin she recommends three skin savers – Smoothing Line Serum, Superskin Moisturiser followed by lashings of Superskin Concentrate. Dee also reminded us of the importance of looking after our hands too (a sure give-away sign of skin ageing). She says she has started to use all three products on the backs of her hands too and they do look visibly smoother, younger and have far fewer age spots in just a few months. Very impressive. Dee’s top tip for hot flushes? Keep a mini spritzer of the Instant Boost  Skin Tonic about your person at all times!! And to re-enforce her message about drinking lots and lots and lots and lots of water, she even went so far as to wrap a Superskin logo around a water bottle just to emphasise her point. Thanks Dee – I really look forward to coming to another of your talks and sharing the stage with you again soon.

After the talks, there was plenty of time to stay and chat and swap skincare stories. Phyllis told me of the time she went into hospital recently and ended up with a terrible scar right the way down her left arm. She used Superskin Concentrate twice a day and within a few days saw a dramatic improvement in her skin and absolutely no subsequent skin scarring. Wonderful! We then gathered all our guest names into a hat for the raffle (which raised over £454, shared between Chewton Glen’s local cancer care charity, Forest Holme, and the National Eczema Society which we usually support at events like this). I was so pleased that the star prize of a luxury Liz Earle hamper was won by Theresa, who I had spoken to only a few minutes before. She had wanted to share her family skincare story, as her little boy had terrible eczema and her GP was prescribing increasingly strong medication for him. Within a few days of using Orange Flower Botanical Body Wash in his baby bath, followed by a massage with our Nourishing Botanical Body Cream, his skin began to rapidly improve. Now, two years on, Theresa was so delighted to be able to report his skin is smooth, soft and completely free from any trace of eczema, without needing medication of any kind.  Now, obviously results will vary according to the individual – and our skincare is in no way formulated to be a medicinal range, but it is heart-warming to hear of so many wonderful experiences like this. I know from my own history with atopic eczema (and my children’s too) just how helpful Naturally Active Skincare can be – and especially these two body treats for young children’s skin at bath time. If eczema is an issue which affects you or your family, do take a look at the Eczema Factsheet on our website, which is also available in a free downloadable pdf format. Don’t forget, you can also tell us your stories at any time and leave feedback on our website Bulletin Board too.

Brownes & Co Apothecary Event

Crossing the Continent from Los Angeles to Miami, I’ve flown down from the City of Angels to the city with more palm trees, neon lights and sequins than you can shake a stick at. I’m here to host a customer in-store event at our retail outlet here, Brownes & Co Apothecary, to celebrate our first anniversary with them. I love Brownes  – one of the very few, truly independent apothecary-style stores in the world. It’s full of interesting beauty brands (of course) as well as accessories that you don’t find anywhere else. It’s well worth hunting out if you’re on holiday in Florida and it’s in the heart of the best Lincoln Road shopping area. To celebrate our anniversary, Brownes had filled their windows with huge blow-up pictures of Cleanse & Polish and Superskin Moisturiser, as well as posters declaring ‘Britain’s Best Beauty Secret.’ Just before I arrived at the store, an English lady had come in having just passed by the store. She is one of our customers from the Isle of Wight and was in Miami for a few days for her son’s wedding. Imagine her surprise to walk past gigantic blow-ups of her favourite beauty treats! Apparently she was so overwhelmed and surprised that she took lots of photos of the displays to take in to show our Union shop team on the Island back home.

The early evening soiree was really good with lots of regular and new customers to meet, including several simply stunning top models who had been recommended the range by their agency. I also met a lovely lady called Sandra, who has been using the range almost since we launched here a year ago. In her early sixties, Sandra has had terrible problems (including acne rosacea) with her skin for more than 20 years. She recently had an operation for skin cancer and on her most recent visit to the dermatologist he told her that he’d never, ever seen her skin looking so good. She did look great actually – you would never have thought she’d had such problems – and she was so thrilled she told the entire audience her story and garnered an impromptu round of applause! I gave a short talk about my background and how Kim and I came to set up the company, going on to discuss some of the unusual botanicals we use, including echinacea, argan oil, rosehip oil and pomegranate. Afterwards, we served pomegranate martinis to celebrate – simple mix pure pomegranate juice with vodka over ice in a cocktail shaker, shake, strain and serve in a chilled cocktail glass – very Miami Beach and very delicious.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Lunch

Today I was invited to lunch by Linda Bennett, of LK Bennett clothing store fame, at The Walbrook Club, a stylish City of London dining club run by the equally stylish Lady Hayat Palumbo. Linda and I met at a recent Harper's Bazaar magazine entrepreneur's breakfast and have since kept in touch - most recently with a series of joint in-store events (see www.lkbennett.com for more details). The lunch was hosted by HRH The Countess of Wessex, who was there in her capacity as Patron of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award charity. Linda introduced me to the Countess, and she went on to tell her that "the Liz Earle skincare range is completely fabulous!" and said how much she - and her mum! - love using it. A really nice personal endorsement.  I knew a little bit about the Duke of Edinburgh Award as my eldest has just completed her silver award, so I was aware of some of the rigours involved, which include orienteering, hiking, camping and survival skills as well as a significant amount of service within the community. What I hadn't appreciated is how fantastic this charity is at training and empowering disadvantaged young people all around Britain (and worldwide too). Two inspiring and brave young women spoke after the lunch about their own personal experiences. Both teenage single mothers, thrown out of school, developing serious drink and drug problems which led to spending much of their time on the streets. They talked about their life-changing experiences of completing their bronze and silver awards -accompanied by their offspring! Both girls did their first hike pushing their babies in buggies and struggling through ditches and over stiles, later completing their silver awards with their toddlers strapped to their backs. They spoke movingly about how the D of E, as its affectionately known, gave them a real sense of self-worth and achievement, as well as practical skills. Both girls are now off drink and drugs, lead other groups of single teenage mums on similar expeditions and have found it easier to re-integrate back into society as a result. I was very impressed by the work of this organisation and how it can transform the lives of so many young people in need. To find out more, log on to www.theaward.org.

On my way home I stopped in at our London store where our dynamic retail display duo Linda and Hayley were busy organising the first of our Christmas displays. Our stylish new boxes with their silk ribbons really do look spectacular - the quality is the best I've seen. I especially love the peachy bronze special boxed edition of our famous Cleanse & Polish, also tied with matching silk ribbon and tag. No Christmas stocking is going to be complete without one, but hurry, I have a feeling this is one special item that may well sell out early. I also love our brand new Vital Oils collections (UK), (USA) in chic white zip-up holders and will be stocking up on my personal favourite (Comfort) candles with matching bath oils - the perfect present to bring a little festive cheer for the season ahead.

Women of the Year Luncheon

In an ideal world, I would have spent the day in bed recovering from the weekend, being brought endless cups of Earl Grey tea and tasty titbits to eat on a tray. However, life rarely works as we would have it does it? so I was up early and (after a generous application of Brightening Treatment to restore a healthy glow to my sleep-deprived skin) off to the Inter Continental Hotel in London to attend the annual Women of the Year Luncheon. This famous event has run for more than fifty years and I am very honoured to have been invited for the last couple of years. Inside the ornate ballroom, hundreds of women from all walks of life assembled for the event. I sat next to Joanne Davies, author of the book Chocolat, amongst others, and we found we had a love of Africa in common as she supports a great international charity called Medicin Sans Frontier, and in particular their work to combat sleeping sickness in The Congo. I told her all about my recent travels in Kenya and about the co-operative of Berber women we work with in Morocco who provide the argan oil for our Superskin Concentrate (UK) , (USA) . Other fascinating women present included Moira Cameron, the first lady Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London; Rachel Barrie, the first female Scotch Whisky Master Blender and Rose Hacker, at 100 years old the oldest columnist in the world! But the real stars were three inspirational award-winning campaigners, whose tireless work to improve the lives of others left me feeling very insignificant indeed by comparison.

The first award went to Jasvinder Sanghera, a British woman who fled an arranged marriage when she was just 16 and was ostracised by her family who live here in England. Although Jasvinder escaped, her sister Robina was not so lucky and died after setting herself on fire rather than continue living with her arranged ‘husband’. Jasvinder highlighted the plight of the many hundreds of young muslim and hindu girls, some as young as 11, who are taken out of their British school and put on a plane to marry a man they have never met. Many are subsequent victims of domestic violence and those who refuse to marry may be killed by their own brothers of fathers in so-called ‘honour killings.’ The number of girls and young women affected each year in our very own country is quite shocking – and Jasvinder’s brave and pioneering work in setting up the charity Karma Nirvana in Derby has made a significant difference to hundreds of women. Her belief and courage opens a window of opportunity to many in need and I look forward to reading her book on the subject, Shame, published by Hodder.

The second annual award went to Sister Frances Dominica, a wonderful Anglican nun with the most naturally smiling face I think I have ever seen! She is a pioneer in the hospice movement and founded the first children’s hospice in the world, Helen’s House, in 1982. Since then, she has gone on to inspire many others in hospice care for life-limited children and she continues to dedicate her life to fundraising as well as lecturing on the care of children and young-people with terminal illness. She is an exceptional woman, who has helped and influenced people all over the world both personally and professionally.

The third award was presented to a truly global pioneer, Rose Molokoane from South Africa. Her story began in Oukasie, one of the most infamous slums in South Africa, where she was born and raised. She is now the national Chairman for the 80,000 member South African Homeless People’s Federation and a board member of Slum and Shack Dwellers International (not a club any of us aspire to belong to). The vast majority of members are women and she encourages them to pool their tiny savings and negotiate with the government for new homes and sanitation. She’s already helped procure 15,000 new homes in South Africa and has inspired and helped many other impoverished communities around the world, including throughout Africa, South America and Asia. I was struck by her courage and determination to become one of the most internationally recognised grassroots activists involved in housing issues. She also has a feisty sense of humour. When asked what the word ‘woman’ means, she replied “Well Organised MAN”, which, given the assembled audience, went down very well! You can read more about Rose’s work and her landmark award on www.homeless-international.org.

Uplifted, in awe and inspired I left the lunch and went up to John Lewis in Oxford Street to witness a landmark moment in our own brand’s history. We’ve just started a two-week promotion in the store and have been given a special central area in the middle of the John Lewis beauty hall just inside the Oxford Street entrance. Excitingly, we also have a huge window right by the main doorway, which looks totally fantastic and heralds our arrival in London’s West End. It really does look terrific – do come and see us if you can and meet some of our team face-to-face in the store. The only problem the John Lewis team face with us now being on their shelves is the frequency with which they need to keep re-stacking the fast-emptying shelves…

It’s never too late to make a difference to your complexion

I spent this weekend virtually living at the QVC TV studios in Battersea to present a full 24 hours of shows for one of our major on-air promotions. These promotions (called TSV’s or Today’s Special Value) always start at midnight (incredibly, one of the busiest times) and continue at intervals around the clock until the following midnight. It is a tough schedule but very rewarding to reach so many people in the comfort of their own homes. I always enjoy chatting to the many live on-air callers who phone in to tell their skincare story. What struck me in particular was the number of callers who said they had first discovered Naturally Active Skincare in later life, often in their 60’s and 70’s , and were amazed to see such dramatic improvements to their skin even in advanced years. I always say that it’s never too late to make a difference to your complexion and there’s a genuine physiological reason why: Our skin cells are constantly renewing themselves, travelling up through the upper levels of the epidermis on a 28-day cycle before they flatten out and are naturally shed by the skin. Using Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (UK) , (USA) is one of the best ways to gently speed up this cell renewal process – you notice a difference the first time you use it. So something as simple as a daily cleanser can actually be the real key to younger looking skin.

Someone who knows a great deal about what products to choose to achieve truly youthful, radiant skin is Jo Fairley, co-author of The Beauty Bible and doyenne of many beauty magazines during her long and illustrious career. Jo came into our Duke of York’s store recently to see our new re-fit and was positively raving about new Superskin Moisturiser (UK) , (USA) which she’s been using these past few weeks. So passionate is she about the effectiveness of our new cream on her (ever so slightly) mature, sensitive skin that she left us this note on our store pin-board “Superskin Moisturiser is the best ever moisturiser in all of history” signed Jo Fairley, BeautyBible.com. What a wonderful endorsement – and yet more proof that we can indeed all achieve a healthy, youthful glow whatever our age, without taking too much time or costing a fortune.

Meeting the Press

This week, we've been meeting beauty journalists and showing them around our new London shop. It's been wonderful watching them interacting with our customers, and hearing their feedback. Alice at Instyle Magazine raved: 'The perfect location to house all the lovely Liz Earle products. It definitely makes shopping for skincare a more enjoyable experience'. Very exciting to see both customers and beauty industry experts are such fans already! It's also unusual to successfully persuade busy journalists away from their desks, but the pull of the Liz Earle experience in-store was too much for them - and we were thrilled to welcome so many happy faces. Many use Cleanse & Polish religiously - and their glowing skins were of course testament to our hero product.

On another note, it is fascinating to hear both customers and journalists questioning the Channel 4 programme on beauty last night. The press are delighted to read Liz's blog entry last night, and to hear about a more 'balanced' view - they feel that there is too much scaremongering going on generally in the industry, and many are musing over writing their own responses, as skincare experts. Customers have similarly questioned the purpose of the programme - and have come to us for our advice and thoughts. It's refreshing to hear their positive feedback on what we try to achieve and where our focus lies. Today, a lady told me how much she valued our open and genuine approach to making skincare more transparent, helping to dispel common beauty myths. What struck me personally was that there is often little balance when hot topics are up for debate - hopefully, we can help offer a more balanced view. It was also wonderful to hear that our customers are also taking a more cautious view of the programme - everyone is so much more knowledgeable about skincare now, and I really enjoy discussing these sorts of issues with a wide variety of customers.