meet our guest editor... Samantha Jameson
We are huge fans of the divine smelling and beautifully presented artisanal soaps and lotions from Soapsmith so we were thrilled to catch up with founder Samantha Jameson to find out how she built her business, who her beauty industry heroes are and how beauty has been her calling from the age of five…
What is your earliest beauty related memory?
My mum used to be an Avon representative although I wouldn’t consider her a fully-fledged “Avon Lady” as she never actually went door to door selling cold; she is a woman who is friends with the
entire Hackney community so she would have them all come and collect them from the house! I
must have been about 5 years old, and I remember sitting on the living room floor surrounded by all
the latest samples, and being OBSESSSED with the smells. I think I was born with a strong sense of
smell, as I remember very instinctively squeezing my nose and picking out all the individual notes. I
developed the ability to pick apart a fragrance to identify the top, middle and base notes at a very
young age. Although it wasn’t until much later that I learned how to design and create my own; my
mum will tell you that my makeshift blends of rose petals, water and honey were not the thing that
made her believe I would someday make a career out of it!
Read on for the rest of our chat with Samantha>>
(Painted Check Cotton Washbag, £28.00, Toast)
"I know it’s a bit indulgent to list my own products, but I did create them to a standard that I would want to use - and I’m fussy! Our bath soak not only makes my time in the bath much more pleasurable, it also provides deep moisturisation to my skin. Bath times for me are about relaxing and calming down the week, so I tend to use Lavender Hill; not a typical
Lavender, ours has a sweetness and is blended with Jasmine which makes it loveable and unique."
"Recently I've been using Freya and Bailey Wink Hyaluronic Eye Cream which keeps dark eyes at bay and is a lovely formulation."
"In the old days when I couldn’t really afford a hairdresser as all funds went into the business, I would spend 7 hours painstakingly plaiting my own hair into little braids (fun times). This product was a true god send. It calms my frizzy edges (a true miracle!)."
"This is a firm fave for me. A little goes a long way with this bad boy!
It's lightweight and non-greasy so sinks right into my skin. I use it whenever my skin needs some
moisture, so especially in the winter months."
"I adore the scent so much. Inspired by my childhood memories of home; balmy summer days, herbaceous, woody and fresh. Our Hand & Body Lotion is an absolute staple to keeping skin soft. Another lengthy development process, our formulation had to be the perfect balance of moisturising, thick, non-greasy and of course, scent-tastic! The art of blending the formulation with a scent, is the art of making a killer product."
Who is your inspiration when it comes to hair and make-up?
Pat McGrath, ‘the mother of make up.’ Pat is elegance personified in my opinion, and I love how
committed to her products she is. I feel a sort of connection to her; her dedication to honing her craft
and perfecting her formulations is what assures me that my focus on my formulations is a good use
of my time. It takes a village to build a business and I am so proud and grateful that I have a team of
people with varied, valuable skillsets to grow the business. It means that I get to focus on getting the
product right- which is the whole point of Soapmsith. I like to think Pat shares a similar perspective.
Have you met any of your beauty industry heroes – if not who would you like to meet?
Colette Newberry I met before she founded the Inkey List, but when I met her I found her inspirational
and knew that she would do great things. I’ve watched her career and success from afar, and would
love to meet her again after all this time. I’d also love to meet Bobbi Brown one day- her story
fascinates me, especially as like me she didn’t go to a special college or school to train. She
designed her own training, which is similar to what I did- I trained myself working with experts from
around the world.
We heard you pawned your engagement and wedding rings to buy equipment for Soapsmith. Did you have complete faith that you’d get them back one day?
Whether it was faith or determination, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I would get them back.
Perhaps it was because it wasn’t the first time I had built a business that I felt more confident. I
always had faith in the Soapsmith idea, I don’t think I would have risked something so precious had I
not. I am a firm believer that if you send out positivity into the world, the world generally pays you back (figuratively and literally!). That’s not to say that It didn’t cause many sleepless nights!
You can find the entire Soapsmith range here>> and you can follow @soapsmithlondon for updates
” I remember first smelling this, completely broke and at the time. It was around £70-80 which was a massive amount of money to splurge for me. It’s now around £120.
Anyway, I had to buy it or I would regret not. It’s a gorgeous scent with violet, raspberry, saffron, rose
and vetiver. Smoky sweet which I love.
“Angel Perfume by late Thierry Mugler is a fragrance that is instantly recognised – it’s a playful
heady gourmet scent. It lasts for ages. It’s not an every day scent for me but it will always be in my
collection.”
“Our Hackney scent is one of my top 5 favourite ever scents, even when I am wearing just the lotion
people ask me what I am wearing, its fresh, heady and inspired by where I grew up and spent a lot of
time. It’s got notes of Bergamot, Sandalwood, Rosemary and Geranium.”
“Tom Ford – Black Orchid, now again this was a perfume I had to break the bank for. It was around £50 or so when it launched but I smelt it and was like what the F*ck Is that??????? It reminded me of the famous scent Poison that everyone wore in the 80’s- in terms of effect, not smell! It
hit that instant likeability factor. It just makes sense. It’s a heady blend of Truffle, Blackcurrant,
Patchouli and Vanilla, you can also pick up notes of chocolate.”
” I met the co-founder of Le Labo at an event many years ago and fell in love with the brand,
scents and ethos. Rose 31 is a scent I adore, it’s a rose and sandalwood based fragrance and makes
me smile whenever I wear it.”
"I tend to wear this deep burgundy lipstick most days. It’s a classic for me and crowns my face."
"This is the closest match for my skin tone and just covers my
blemishes. I have been wearing this shade and brand for years and it just works so well for me."
"This eyeliner is long lasting for my eyes which can suffer from the effects of smelling scents most days - it stops me from looking like a black panda and it allows me to smudge and blend."
I don’t wear much make up, but when I am
going out I save this palette for ‘best’ it allows me to create so many looks as the shades work really well
with my skin tone.
Le Labo Eau de Parfum, Rose 31- Some people say they feel naked without mascara on. I feel
naked without perfume (kinda comes with the territory of having a scent centric brand!). This is an all
time classic for me.