Meet the team
Rock Rose Beauty is the brainchild of Lindsay, Raquel and Vanessa: three dynamic and creative women with a passion for using effective natural products to give our skin unbeatable glow and radiance.
Lindsay Wright
For Hastings entrepreneur Lindsay, it was dealing with the side effects of cancer treatment that allowed her to discover the huge positive benefits of the rock rose flower (Cistus landifer) on her skin.
She says, “In Portugal whilst taking a few days break from treatment, I saw an interesting-looking pot of what I thought was honey, but the little old lady at the back of the shop gestured that it was used on the face. I’d run out of moisturiser, which is how I ended up buying a pot of Portuguese organic moisturising balm. “
“When you are going through cancer treatment, it can have a huge physical, mental and emotional effect on your whole body. My skin was looking dull but within a few weeks of using this balm, my husband, Peter commented that my skin was looking fantastic ! The only problem for me was I disliked the smell. Convinced I had inadvertently stumbled on a moisturiser that really did work I sat down with my aromatherapist friend, Vanessa McNeilly, to see what made this particular balm so great for my skin - and to see if she could formulate a version, with a lovely aroma that I would be happy to use.
“There was only one oil we’d never heard of... rock rose, or esteva (Cistus landifer), as it’s known in Portugal – and this turned out to be the magic ingredient that makes the balm so effective. Rock rose, and in parts of the Mediterranean, where it grows wild, it is well known as an ancient healing herb, used for both mind and body.
“My skin has never been so good... even my oncologist has been raving about it.”
The essential oil is very unusual and expensive and we had some challenges tracking one down, but we eventually found an organic stockist.
Inspired by the amazing transformation of my skin, we set about making balms with rock rose as the base and other oils such as jasmine, rose, and within a few months we had created a range that we gave to family and friends to try. The feedback was fantastic, it even eased and soothed burns and the appearance of scars. As a result of this our company Rock Rose Beauty was born!
Raquel Le Bron
Bubbly and enthusiastic, Raquel comes to the brand after many years in the beauty and skincare industry, having helped to boost and rejuvenate major brands such as La Prairie, Origins, Sisley, Stila and Vincent Longo.
She has worked as a beauty therapist, a make up artist for fashion film and TV and has been a trouble-shooter for Space NK’s many retail outlets across the UK.
It is her love and knowledge of the skin care and beauty industry that has made her place in the development of the Rock Rose Beauty brand so exciting.
She says, “We’re all so different – Lindsay and I are the bubbly ones, whereas Vanessa is more soulful. But we’ve come together to create a brand we all believe in. We believe strongly in being honest and genuine with our product, if something isn’t right we will then go away and try to find a solution. We also like to educate – for example, explaining why our moisturiser doesn’t have to have water in it. You have to have clear ideas for your brand to give it identity and be able to genuinely inform people.”
"We believe strongly in being honest and genuine with our product, if something isn’t right we will then go away and try to find a solution."
“We had originally thought our niche market would be for menopausal women or people undergoing treatment, as the oils are ideal for mature skin. However, the feedback was glowing from all age ranges and also from men. All of our Rock Rose products are made from the best quality oils, naturally sourced and organic where possible.”
“We are also keen on providing quality whilst keeping our price point accessible. Creating screen-printed glass jars and bottles and doing away with excess packaging, helps us keep to our natural roots. We are also producing / creating discovery packs in tins, so people can try the whole range.”
Vanessa McNeilly
Soulful alchemist Vanessa is the creative genius behind the Rose Rose Beauty brand. Having started her career as a reflexologist, she later trained in Swedish massage and then aromatherapy, working within the NHS to treat people with learning difficulties.
She says: “Aromatherapy is my great love. I like nothing more than being in my kitchen with my hair up, inventing lovely blends. It’s calm and soothing, and brings out my creativity. I may think I want to be in the limelight, but actually I don’t, so I take a step back and let these two girls front the brand.
“As an aromatherapist I know what we can and can’t use. Lindsay will ask ‘why not?’ – she’s continually pushing the boundaries but needs me to rein her in and explain what is possible in terms of oils working together, or concentrations. She’s also extremely black and white about new fragrances... But we need that decisiveness too!
“I got into aromatherapy products because my husband and sons are all bearded, so I developed ‘hipster’ beard oils and balms – and just became more and more interested in using oils in cosmetics
With aromatherapy oils there are so many different types and versions and so we spent a lot of time pinpointing the ones we really liked “
“Rock rose is an unusual oil – hardly any other brand has it – and it was obviously going to be the main player in our products."
“It wasn’t too difficult to come up with the blends, as I know what oils are good for each skin type and their benefits, but when developing the range, we tried as many as six different oils to find the right ones we believed really worked . We have also a men’s oil that has been exceptionally well received even by those who have never bothered to moisturise before.
“Rock rose is an unusual oil – hardly any other brand has it – and it was obviously going to be the main player in our products. I did a huge amount of research working on our face products, thinking about fragrance base notes, mid notes and high notes. We want our premium products to be as good as they can and insist on using the best and purest oils of the highest quality.”
