One of my favourite experiences during my career in the beauty industry was being involved in developing new products. I adored visiting the labs and getting hands on with ingredients, putting new formulas to the test and tweaking them until they were just right, even hosting day long workshops to find just the right scent. So much goes into the whole process and it's fascinating from beginning to end, but it's not one you can replicate yourself at home. Although brands like Lush make you feel part of the process, and names such as Concoctions helped to provide bespoke solutions that really matched your needs, until now creating your own beauty products has been either an expensive or limited experience. The Beauty Kitchen aims to change all that, helping us to create our own pampering treats in a really fun (and most importantly, affordable) way.
Starting as a little standalone Glaswegian shop over a decade ago, The Beauty Kitchen brings to life the idea of natural beauty - but without really focusing on the 'natural' part. Founder Jo Chidley originally studied Chemistry at university and went on to become a qualified herbal botanist, so her skills and passions have a huge impact on the way the products are made. They use only the best and most sustainable resources, even utilising discarded packaging from other brands in order to minimise negative environmental impact, with the pure purpose of helping their customers look and feel great. But that's all supplement to th...