Hooray hooray!! It’s DAY ONE. After months of crazy behind-the-scenes obsession and hard work, Leafology is official and the online shop is OPEN. Ta da!!

Tell your friends, family & everyone you know!

It’s been just 9 months since I decided to officially combine my passion for natural skincare/beauty products & my tea addiction. In September/October I threw earl grey to the wind & announced that I was taking the plunge; I decided to make the products I’d been concocting for myself (and giving to friends and family) legally available for sale. The process of learning to be slightly business minded as well as creative has been eyelash-opening (and actually really fun); learning about which regulations apply and how to adhere to which rules in order to sell where (toxicologist assessment, certification, the mathematics of it all) plus the practical side of things like designing product labels (who knew how excited I would become about fonts?), how to create a website and also, um, how to occasionally delegate and hire professionals who know how to do the seemingly impossible. (It turns out it’s really hard to photograph products on a pure white background without a full array of lights; seriously, the precision this involves quite possibly rivals any photoshoot I’ve modelled for as an actual real-life human being. Thank goodness my rather surreal ‘day job’ meant I have a phone full of photographer contacts.)

By day job, I mean prancing about in front of a lens like a woodland nymph/sea siren/pre-Raphaelite-esque earth maiden (etc.), and this is a vocation I have adored (and been quite amazed by) for 8 years now, somehow (hilariously) in high demand by photographers and artists of all kinds all over the world. It was when talking to a couple of friends about what to do next that an idea crystallised; that I wanted to build on my modelling ‘career’ rather than do something that dismisses the impact it’s had on me. It’s nice to connect our different interests and see where they overlap (and let’s be honest, I’ve got a few interests to choose from). A huge part of the modelling work I tend to be hired for involves pitching the human body as something magical inside a beautiful world. Getting up close and personal with trees, lakes, rocks, deserts, oceans and vast, open spaces in order to help create meaningful artwork has given me an incredible sense of my place in the natural world and my interest in the cross over between nature, creativity and beauty makes sense in Leafology. The wild, natural world is fascinating, truly alive and full of everything we need to thrive.

I am slightly well known for my love of tea and will never forget the time I turned up for a job in Canberra, Australia, and saw that the photographer had written in capital letters across his A3 moodboard/shoot plan ‘EARL GREY TEA’ (he was going to provide it; not insinuating that I’d pose with it, though I can’t say I haven’t done that a few times semi-accidentally…) Not celebrity, not a million pounds, not a private jet escorting me to assignments; this was the (literal) sign I’d truly made it.

Tea really is a fountain of joy. It is also a nutrient hot-house and your skin and hair will love it.

Next on the list is to send some products to those extremely lovely & clever people who have already decided to get their hands on things, then identify the winner of the fabulous pre-launch giveaway trio – the Tea Seed & Olive Wonder Balm, Frankincense & Tea Seed Magic Eye Night Serum & Overnight Face Food. I can’t wait to surprise them with the news!

Over and out for now, then, and thank you to all of you wonderful people who’ve added your name to the mailing list and shown support – it’s been so thrilling to know so many people are interested in turning their skincare regime into an everyday, natural, plant-abundant ceremony; that it’s not just me who gets excited about these things. Thank you and I hope you enjoy whichever products you try. I’ve loved making them!