Story behind fair trade brand Odylique
See how one woman's passion for the healing power of nature turned into a line of fair trade beauty products perfect for those with sensitive skin. Like any company who wants to truly make a difference Odylique has great story…
A sensitive issue
It started with Margaret. Thirty years ago, Margaret Weeds – Nottingham native, contemporary of one Anita Ruddock, and qualified in herbal medicine and aromatherapy – was suffering with very, very sensitive skin. She wasn’t alone: eczema ran in her family and she and her children were all plagued with sore, dry, itchy patches. It being the late 80s, conventional cosmetics or prescription skincare were the only real option available. These were often packed with petroleum, artificial additives and other skin irritants which simply didn’t suit her allergy-prone skin.
A natural solution
Confident that she could find answers through natural ingredients, Margaret began tinkering with skin-friendly concoctions. Armed with her exceptional herbal knowledge and belief in the capabilities of nature, she started experimenting using only organic herbs, plant oils and natural active ingredients that were kind to super-sensitive skin. The result was a small range of gentle, effective, delightfully caring formulas that worked wonders on the family’s collective skin complaints. On the strength of these results, Margaret and her daughter Abi launched Essential Care in 2003, a company with a passion for the power of genuine natural skincare.
Keeping it in the family
“Essential Care” was fine, but it wasn’t really rocking our world. By 2014, after a decade of bringing certified organic skincare and (the world’s first) Fair Trade make-up to the world, they re-christened themselves “Odylique”. Pronounced “Oh-dih-leek” (for those who struggle with their French linguistics!), the name is derived from a phrase that means “power of nature” and it suits perfectly. They’re still a family-owned company run by Margaret’s daughter Abi and a dedicated team of skin-loving experts. Odylique found its home amidst the rolling fields of Suffolk, where visitors are welcome to enjoy the botanical gardens. Every single one of Odylique’s products is handmade there. This makes them fairly unique in the skincare world and able to promise the highest quality and freshness for everything they make. It’s a haven for those seeking care for their sensitive skin.
Odylique loves your skin (and the planet)
Odylique was one of the first companies to create certified organic cosmetics and formulate the purest cosmetics possible.
Each and every one of our ingredients has therapeutic credentials. There are a few ways in which Odylique makes this happen:
- By using actives – herbs and essential oils – in therapeutic concentrations.
- Plant oils mustbe virgin and cold-pressed so that they have their full antioxidant vitamin-content intact (this more actively nourishes the skin and protects it from premature ageing).
- They don’t do synthetic chemicals. Ever.
- Everything is certified to strict Soil Association organic standards (those guys are strict, trust us)
- They leave out lanolin, wheat, dairy & soya derivatives, salicylic acid, peanut oil, common allergen tree nut oils and more...all the things that can upset sensitive skin.
- We NEVER test on animals. Instead, we test on human volunteers who have sensitive and allergy-prone skin.
Odylique are big on doing the planet as many favours as we can. As such, they make sure that our raw materials suppliers andall of our distributors follow the no-testing-on-animals rule, and they go out of our way to adhere to Fair Trade standards and use responsible, sustainable packaging.
