A NIGHT WITH EVOLVE BEAUTY

Evolve. To change or develop slowly; and quite frankly. Like words spoken into existence, that's exactly what Evolve Beauty have done.

Laura Rudoe, the founder of Evolve Beauty began the company in 2009, not long after having her first child. An amazing feat in itself.

At the time she started the brand, eco and organic beauty was such a tiny niche in the industry, not many people knew much about it or where to find it, meaning the business aspect of the brand was still quite small, even after five years.

A further five years later, we are celebrating ten years of the brand in her new workshop; where they actually make the product, have a team of twenty eight staff members and have seen extraordinary growth, as people are now more aware of the toxic ingredients in their products, as well as the need to be eco and sustainable for the sake of the environment and the planet.

Those of you that have been following my journey already know the struggle I faced with my eczema as well as the difficulties trying to source quality, non-toxic skincare products. Although brands like Evolve are on the rise and growing in business, there's still much more work to be done. I honestly feel that, rather than having to go into specialist shops like whole foods and planet organic, natural and organic skin care and hair care should be readily available on the mainstream market.

As consumers, the power is in our hands to change the tide in our personal care. If we stop buying and supporting the brands that formulate our products with toxic junk, then they too will have to respond and make the change.

So many people are suffering with chronic illnesses and skin conditions linked to the quality of food that we eat as well as the products we use, and it's about time we start to address that.

Laura, after going through her own fair share of skin woes, began Evolve because nobody was creating the products that she wanted to use. Evolve is clearly more than just a business, it's a principle and passion, and that's what I resonated with spending the evening celebrating Evolve's ten years of business.

Although public transport that evening sought to keep me away from the event, I managed to get there along with a few other beauty bloggers to a warm reception of drinks and plant based food.

We were then given gorgeous Evolve Beauty aprons and escorted to the workshop downstairs to begin making our own beauty products.

The first product we were shown how to make was a beauty oil with notes on each oil ingredient as well as the properties associated with them.

This is one thing I always encourage people to do. Always pick oils that are best for your skin type and skin needs.

Below are the list of oils and properties I added into my personal facial oil:

MACADAMIA OIL - For Dry Skin

WHEATGERM OIL: Antioxidant, Rich in Vitamin E,

NIGELLA OIL: Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory, Anti-bacterial, Nourishing

GERANIUM: Reduces Inflammation, promotes emotional wellness

VITAMIN E: Natural preservative and nourishing

Next we were led into another room to create and label our own body polish and daily renew facial cream.

It was so interesting to find out that the body polish is infused with Monoi oil for three months before kneading and packaging. This allows a long time for the oil to infuse with the sugar.

The first time using it, my skin was left with such an amazing glow that I didn't even need to add anything on top.

Their products are so carefully curated with the customer's needs in mind and you can tell this, as they've made it easy to find a product relating to specific ailments on the website so there's no second guessing.

Laura has also created a specialist range called S5 that caters to various skin ailments that need more potent and active ingredients in order to make a difference.

The highlight of my night was coming together with everyone at the end of the evening to toast Evolve Beauty and all they've achieved over ten years of business. Laura is so kind hearted and down to earth, it just reminded me that there are real people, with real lives and real stories behind the faces of these smaller brands.

People who understand that every person is individual with their own unique needs. Not only that, but listening to her talk about how she grew her brand from scratch truly inspired me to pursue my dream of starting my own.

There may be many obstacles and bumps in the road, but there is nothing more amazing than working on something that you're truly passionate about and seeing other people enjoy it with you.

Thank you to all the team at Evolve for allowing me to enjoy this precious evening with you!