Vanessa Upton is the creator of natural beauty range, Time to go Natural. Here she explains why, as a Pagan, she honours the Wheel of the Year and makes the most of the herbs from her garden
My life has had tremendous ups and desperate downs but once I hit my 50s, everything made sense! I know the best is yet to come.
I had always wanted to use skin and hair products that I knew were not tested on animals or came at the expense of our beautiful planet. As companies got bigger, they were bought up by conglomerates that I could never be sure about so I decided to try and make products myself. It took years of changing recipes and testing to get to what I sell now! The name Time to go Natural and the logo was borne sitting in Whittard Tea Rooms in Covent Garden with my sister!
My aim was always natural beauty, not tested on animals, as local as possible and honouring my Pagan beliefs. I have wanted to keep the cottage industry feel – I wanted each order to be personal and from my heart. As the business grows, I aim to maintain these ideals.
As a Pagan, I delight in the changing seasons. As nature rests during the winter, I know in Spring new life will bloom. I love to utilise what nature gives me in my garden – lavender, rosemary, rose petals, thyme, mint…and the wonderful herb that goes into my Heart of the Earth balm. However, I can only pick them when they are ready.
My herbs I grow in the garden and what I don’t grow I source in the little garden centre in my village! I also source my beeswax from my village!
Suffolk is home. Suffolk is beautiful skies and mesmerising sunsets. Suffolk is a very special county.
The pandemic stopped me from attending as many fairs as I wanted which was a great shame – as my business is mainly online it didn’t really affect me, fortunately.
I feel a lot of people are starting to question where their products come from. Where is this beeswax sourced? What has palm oil in it? How much plastic is used and how far has this product travelled?
My dream for Time to go Natural in 2022 is to grow its customer base, to keep the repeat business which has been wonderful – and to encourage people that you don’t need to spend a fortune on top-end beauty products when a homemade one from beautiful Suffolk does just as well!
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