AromaWorks 

 

Jane Hibbert and her hubby, Barry, have lived in Cookham Dean for 13 years, and have three children – Daniel, Rachel 
and Louise – and a dog, Cookie. When Jane was a teenager,
she saved her pocked money to buy and experiment with essential oils, then five years ago she launched her skincare
and home fragrance company AromaWorks. I caught up with her to hear her story...

 

Hi Jane. So, what made you settle here in Cookham?

We wanted a place on the river for boats and fishing, but more importantly, striking distance to Heathrow and London for Barry, so for this and lots of other reasons, Cookham ticked all our boxes. It would be difficult to imagine living anywhere else now.

 

Tell me about your business, AromaWorks. What is it all about?

AromaWorks is a high-end skincare and home fragrance company. I have always worked with pure essential oils and natural ingredients from a
young age. Even as a child I used my pocket money to buy them and make blends, but I never thought too much about starting the brand and risking a small fortune in the process! The driving force was my husband and another local mum, Stacey Connell. Once I began the research I quickly realised, with a degree of shock, how many household brands in the skincare and home fragrance market used dangerous and carcinogenic ingredients. I wanted to go up against them with a brand that would always be trusted.

   AromaWorks was built on a conviction to only use natural ingredients and essential oils. Five years on, we have stayed loyal to our convictions, and are proud to guarantee that all our skincare and home fragrance products are free from synthetic chemicals, pesticides, are not tested on animals, and are safe for the environment. Throughout the past five years, we have helped conscientious customers and spas worldwide experience the therapeutic (and guilt-free) benefits of natural essential oils, whilst expanding our product range.

   With the exception of our natural essential oils, which are sourced ethically from their native lands, all our products are produced by us in our own factory over in Woodley, with our sales office in London, enabling us to keep a close eye on production, and ensure that throughout the supply chain our products live up to our high ethical standards.

   Most recently, we have brought our vision for ethical therapeutic products to the world of beauty. November 2014 saw the official launch of our skincare line for men and women – the line sought to combine clinical effectiveness with environmental responsibility. After two or three years of scientific and clinical research, we succeeded in creating 25 products which on a molecular level improves the appearance of skin, reduces the signs of ageing and tackles very real skin ailments such as eczema, psoriasis and rosacea, whilst being paraben free, sulphate free, petrochemical free, mineral oil free, nut free, gluten free, animal cruelty free, vegan friendly and is even safe to use during pregnancy.

 

Give us the lowdown on the products. What's your favourite?

We won Natural Skin Care of the Year in our first full year in the market against the well-known brands, so although we  began with the home fragrance range, my personal HERO products are the absolute serums as the feedback has been tremendous!

 

What did you do before this all began?

Well, my first degree was in design, but I quickly went into corporate life as
a human resources manager/director in the law and manufacturing sector. Once the children hit the teen years, I went back to study my real passion and gained a first in Fine Art at Oxford Brooks but AromaWorks is consuming so much time that I have been a little limited in my spare time to practice Art.

   My 20-year grounding in corporate life and my degree in design certainly helped me with the product designs for AromaWorks but nothing can prepare you for the challenges of a start-up business, especially in a highly cut-throat world of skincare and fragrances!

 

Do you have any special events or offers coming up?

We are constantly visible at the main industry events and trade shows, and we are always running promotions... We have some great gift offers and new product launches ready before the Christmas buying season.

 

Who is your idol?

Dare I say a competitor, Geraldine Howard? She was the first to launch a real international brand with Aromatherapy Associates. She was the first to recognise that essential oils would be huge in the future. In the art world, Henry Moore and Sophie Calle are my inspiration. My husband is too on the odd days he does the cooking and school runs!

 

Is there anything else we should know about you?

Not that I want to reveal! I am not religious, but I suppose I do read and follow the Buddhist teachings and most things holistic/spiritual...

 

Up for grabs! Five AromaWorks Face Serum Oils

 

We have an AromaWorks Face Serum Oil to gve away to five lucky winners. 

These Oils should be used as a massage medium to gently work into the face and decolletage post cleansing.

   Coconut oil and Sea Buckthorne Oil combine with pure essential oils to create a deeply intensive skin treatment to improve the appearanve of each individual skin type. They come in four skin types, so when entering, please confirm your skin type, and if you are a winner, we will send you a gift-wrapped appropriate oil.

 

HOW TO ENTER:

Just email mumsaboutcookham@gmail.com with AromaWorks in the subject line, and your name and skin type in the message. Easy! We will pull a winner from the hat on 14th September and let you know if you're one of the lucky people. In the meantime, check out