I don't write about texture in our products, I spend far more time reflecting on ingredients, provenance and effects, but actually the texture of a product is incredibly important. It's something I think about a lot in any formulation. Something for the body will need to be different to the face, something for the feet can't be the same as a butter rich balm, something for the hair needs to be light but effective. If makeup is to applied over the top, the product needs to be quickly absorbed, if it's a night treatment it can't sit on the skin or it will transfer to bed linen.
Beyond that, the texture of a product will affect how you feel when you apply it. For some things such as the Wild Beauty Balm it was essential to have a really soft, unctuous, rich feel to the balm so that it glides onto the skin in a thin protective layer. That particular texture also allows it to be massaged into the skin without a hint of drag and without feeling claggy which is a horrible sensation.
It's about balancing the oils so that they do the job in the most effective way possible whilst also bringing delight in the application. Whenever I open a fresh pot of the Wild Beauty Balm, there is an utter joy in sinking my finger into the middle. The texture is so soft and pleasing. As I apply it to my skin I feel it melting under my touch, I can smell the scent really clearly and I find myself soothed.
It took ages to get the texture exactly as I wanted it, so that it would offer the same luxurious sensation in Hong Kong and Harris. Many of the big companies have different formulations for different areas of the world to ensure the consistency of the product. We, in contrast, make a single formulation and think hard about how to make it work.
The Sleep Cream was another product that required a lot of thought and numerous iterations. I quickly realised that a butter rich balm with Magnesium Chloride as a key ingredient makes for a sticky product. The one I tried initially just didn't work for me, I applied it to the soles of my feet as I sat on my bed but then wanted to wash it off my hands requiring a walk along the corridor to the bathroom. Initially I put my foot down and felt the little bits of dust stick to the sole of my foot, there was no choice, I put the other foot down and as I padded along the hall, I felt the accumulation of dust from our wooden floorboards attach themselves to the soles of my feet. It was not pleasant. I preferred not sleeping to the balm!
The bathroom hand wash turned into a foot bath too. The next night I took a little bowl of water to my bedroom, applied the balm, washed my hands in the bowl and got into bed. I could feel the balm sitting on my feet, not fully absorbed. It just wasn't a nice experience. I know with other sleep products that aren't ours, people wear socks to protect the linen but I loathe faffing about, for me it was change the formulation to do what I needed it to do rather than create elaborate bowl carrying, water sloshing, sock wearing when I just want to get into bed and sleep.
For the final iteration, I cracked the texture. It is soft, creamy and delicious. It can be used on the soles of the feet or the body. It feels like velvet. I don't want to wash my hands after applying it, in fact I love it on my hands and feel that is part of the pleasure of it. I've used it on my back where my discs are a bit wrecked to ease sciatic pain, I've rubbed it on my calves when I've had cramp. But most of all after applying it, I fall into a restful, dreamy sleep.
Creams are fascinating to make, they can be light and quick to absorb, rich and slow to absorb, they can have a high water content for extra hydration or a lower water content for a thicker cream. Our Face Creams are really distinct.
I made Face Cream #3 many years ago, it was one of the first creams I made, my daughter Bell wanted a cream to wear under make up and SPF, so the brief was clear, quick to absorb, light but really moisturising. I decided it should also be good for fine lines, not for her, but because I wanted to add in resins which are amazing for the structure of the skin.
She was a hard task master but in the end the cream was perfected. It is still our best selling cream and it is still absolutely beautiful. I might not live in Cyprus any more but every time I smell it I am transported to the mountains. I can recall vividly the heat, the rocks and all those aromatic plants.
Years later my youngest daughter took to use the cream but she mixed it with foundation to make a BB cream which offered light coverage. Such a clever idea.
Once in Harris I turned to the Harris Edition products, the Unblushing Cream fortified with skin calming, sensitivity and redness reducing ingredients. It is a little thicker than Face Cream #3 because the Oats that soothe the skin also thicken the cream. It is so beautiful for mature skin, it feels absolutely lovely especially applied after a spritz of Isle Mist.
The Blemish Resolve Cream in contrast is amazing for skin prone to breakouts, made with Sugar Kelp seaweed that balances oil production, Lemon Tea Tree and Witch-hazel that shrinks the pores and rapidly treats spots and blackheads. The texture is between the Face Cream #3 and the Unblushing Cream.
Three creams plus the Sleep Cream, each texturally unique, that is the pleasure of formulating everything myself, it means I can make something that is exactly right for purpose and beautiful to use.