Rachel and I met at one of the fairs and we connected almost immediately. We found ourselves talking about our businesses, our ideas and the importance of creating things with care and purpose.
I bought some of Rachel’s products that day — and genuinely fell in love with them. I loved not only how they felt on my skin, but the whole philosophy behind Herbelara: natural ingredients, small-batch making and the idea of turning something as ordinary as your evening skincare into a little moment of calm.
It felt very natural to continue the conversation after the fair, and I’m so pleased to now have Rachel and Herbelara as part of The Quiet Home Edit.
Here is Rachel's story:
Sometimes the loveliest businesses begin with a very ordinary moment.
For Rachel Mills, founder of Herbelara, that moment came while standing in front of the mirror applying the same moisturiser she had used for years. Her skin was changing, the product no longer seemed to work in quite the same way, and for the first time she really looked at the ingredients on the label.
She realised she barely recognised any of them.
It started a journey that would eventually become Herbelara — a natural skincare collection created particularly with women and changing skin in mind.
As Rachel entered her 40s, she began noticing changes in her own skin. It felt drier and more sensitive, with less of the softness and radiance she had once taken for granted. Having always tried to live naturally and consciously, she began questioning why her skincare did not reflect the same philosophy.
Rachel had already spent more than a decade working within the wellness world as a practitioner of the Bowen Technique, a gentle holistic therapy. Her work had given her a deep appreciation for taking a considered approach to wellbeing and supporting the body rather than overwhelming it.
That same philosophy became the starting point for Herbelara.
Rachel began exploring organic plant oils, nourishing butters and carefully selected botanicals, creating products intended to comfort, nourish and care for skin as it evolves through different stages of life.
Each Herbelara product is handcrafted in small batches, using traditional botanical methods and allowing the natural ingredients time to slowly infuse. It is an approach that feels refreshingly removed from mass-produced beauty — thoughtful ingredients, careful making and a genuine connection between the person creating the product and the person eventually using it.
But for Rachel, skincare is about more than what we see in the mirror.
At the heart of Herbelara is the idea that those few minutes spent caring for our skin can become a small daily ritual — a chance to slow down, breathe and give ourselves a little of the care we so readily give to everyone else.