EXCLUSIVE interview: Forest Secrets founder Dr Barbara Olioso

Dr Barbara Olioso is a breath of fresh ethical air in an industry that sometimes can get a little careless and chemical in its quest for beauty. She’s a chemist with a cause – to get women looking good naturally with the help of her skincare range, Forest Secrets, which made it onto the film set of Mamma Mia! Lisa Cugnetto writes.

You hold a doctorate in Industrial Chemistry and a master’s degree in Food Science and Technology. How did you come to develop and launch your own skincare range?
While I was developing natural and organic cosmetics in line with other companies’ specific criteria, I could imagine myself doing it differently. Pure was good but not enough for me, I wanted to make something that really made a difference to the skin and within a few weeks. Also I have a deep-rooted love of nature and I knew that using natural ingredients could cause environmental damage, so I wanted the products I was working with to be as sustainable as possible. This is reflected in the choice of ingredients as well as the packaging and the manufacturing. The key concept is taking the best of nature but keeping the environmental costs to an absolute minimum.

You also run your own company Organatural. When did you establish it and what kind of work are you involved in?
I set up Organatural in 2006 because there was nobody around providing technical expertise specialising only with natural and organic cosmetics. My first client was an entrepreneur who was really genuine about her passion for naturals but had PEGs [polyethylene glycols] in her products without knowing they were in part petrochemical, so I helped her redevelop her range minus those ingredients. After that I started doing formulation work from the initial concept, where clients come to me with their ideas. I help them to make them clearer (this is an essential part of the job actually) and then I start the actual “cooking” process, which is always a new journey.

How did you develop and decide on the Forest Secrets iRejuvenate range?
It was very much a work of science and intuition. I started with looking for natural ingredients with good evidence and also having a synergy with each other. This was a very interesting process because I felt some ingredients were appearing on the scene at the right time just when I needed them. I was also looking at online consumer forums to see what women were really looking for and the forums also inspired a couple of ingredients in the products (rosehip oil and milk thistle oil). The name Forest Secrets came very much from my belief in the intelligence and power of nature in its virgin and mysterious state, whereas iRejuvenate came from the fact that I am a fan of Mac computers and that I wanted a positive name on the product (not the usual anti-ageing or anti-wrinkle) explaining what it does very simply.

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