This, however, is where Caroline Huber saw an opportunity. The next minute (ok maybe closer to a year) Pure Skin Labs went live; a one-stop online shop for natural, holistic beauty and wellness.
Remember when natural and vegan beauty products were hard to come by?
You’d have to sift through websites, go to multiple stores and spend a fortune in shipping just to be able to stock up on basics.
But it wasn’t just a successful business that was born. Caroline confesses that finding her self-confidence and reviving her former self from 15 years ago was the biggest hurdle…
Inspiration came naturally
From a young age, Caroline was always intrigued by nature and its regeneration and beauty.
“My biggest influence of nature was from my dad”, she says. “He made me stop and look at the stars, hear the birds and see the fish. ”
“I feel what he gave me was such an important gift for life and now it’s my turn to influence my children. ”
After studying aromatherapy, Caroline was keen to make her own natural beauty products, but the reality of looking after four children while doing this was difficult, so she looked to sourcing them instead.
Your need-to-know guide on the difference between vegan, natural, organic, clean and fairtrade beauty
“This proved harder than I thought as I had to order from four to five different websites to get everything I wanted and I then felt guilty about my impact on the carbon footprint, excessive packaging and the damage to the environment”, she says.
“I just wanted one place where I could purchase natural shampoo, deodorant, body wash, toothpaste, sun cream and also be able to add on a qualityface mask for me or as a present for a friend. ”
Hence why Pure Skin Lab is stocked with products that contain no SLS, parabens or harmful chemicals and are gentle on the environment. Something Caroline oversees with great care.
More than just a mum
From her first ever job as a farm hand, milking cows and feeding pigs, to marketing and personal training, Caroline had many different careers before taking on the important job of mum.
“Before I started on this journey, a year ago, I was a full-time mum of four”, she says.
And while this hasn’t changed, she admits that the shift into businesswoman AND mum was difficult.
“I felt that now the children were getting older and more independent it was time to do something for me”, she says. “Not to be mum or wife but to be Caroline, my former self from over fifteen years ago. ”
“Finding confidence in myself after all that time was a challenge and probably my biggest hurdle this year! ”
Luckily, her leap of faith paid off.
“The brands have been super positive and supportive about my concept and vision”, she says. “Without them, there would be no website, so it has been a huge relief to have big global names trusting me with their brand and I also hope to get the smaller unheard of family-run businesses on the map too. ”
Success and future steps
Today, Pure Skin Labs has approximately 50 brands on site, with more to come onboard in the next month.
“Currently we have beauty, cosmetics, toiletries, baby products, jewellery, yoga accessories, candles, incense, diffusers and oil burners, books and even copper water bottles”, says Caroline.
But with natural products becoming increasingly in demand, Caroline hopes to expand this even further to household cleaning products.
“I want Pure Skin Lab to be known as the place that allows us to invests in ourselves, love our cells, our environment and promoting overall physical and mental wellness”, she says.
“Every move in this direction helps us and our planet for future generations. ”