Arabella Preston’s Natural Skincare Mission
Liberty talks to the Votary co-founder about building a skincare empire, from the kitchen table to the Liberty Beauty Hall
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Arabella Preston’s Natural Skincare Mission
Liberty talks to the Votary co-founder about building a skincare empire, from the kitchen table to the Liberty Beauty Hall
“This might take a couple takes, this is my first day back from holiday,” Votary co-founder Arabella Preston laughs as she’s handed a cup of perfectly brewed English breakfast tea by her business partner, Charlotte Semler. She’s leaning against the kitchen counter of Semler’s Oxford home, where the two often meet to tackle their never-ending to-do lists. Talking to Arabella in the kitchen is fitting – when working as a makeup artist, this is where she would mix ingredients, using her homemade formulas to give her clients’ glowing, prepped skin that made their makeup look (and last) so much better.
Of course, expressing her passion for natural ingredients and feel-good, effortlessly indulgent skincare rituals is second nature to Arabella. Votary now boasts a beloved suite of sumptuous skincare products addressing a myriad of skin concerns, plus a counter in Liberty’s iconic Beauty Hall. Despite all that, the commitment to no-nonsense, nourishing ingredients that work remains the same as it did when she was mixing them herself.
This year, you’ll find one of Votary’s hero products, The Super Renewal Serum, hidden within this year’s Beauty Advent Calendar – and as we eagerly await the day we can open those Liberty print drawers, we spoke to Arabella to discover more about Votary’s unparalleled approach to skincare.
How did Votary begin?
Votary started with me - I worked as a makeup artist and always took a skin-first approach in my work. I was always interested in making the skin look really beautiful, glowing and healthy - because great makeup falls into place if you have great-looking skin. My business partner, Charlotte, and I were having lunch one day when we got chatting about skincare. We decided to launch Votary to bring the products I’d been using on my clients - and had even started formulating myself - to market. That was 10 years ago now. When we launched into Liberty, we had just four products on a tiny little table , and now the brand has grown, and we make serums and masks and peels and night oils – you name it.
What is the best business advice you’ve ever received?
It came from my business partner, Charlotte. She used to say, “a good decision today is better than a great decision tomorrow.”
When did you first fall in love with skincare?
My background as a makeup artist led me to my love of skincare. I was in this very fortunate position of being sent every product you can possibly imagine by brands, and I was also going through a personal journey in my own skincare, and realising that a simpler, more nourishing routine better suited not only my skin but my clients’ skin too.
As I started to learn about what ingredients were in the products I was using, I began using key targeted active ingredients that didn't stress my skin out or cause any redness or irritation. I started having quite strong opinions about what I wanted to use on my own skin and my client's skin because of that.
Votary is known for its use of oils across its product range. What’s the philosophy behind incorporating oil-based formulations into a skincare routine, and how do they contribute to overall skin health?
Well, we all have natural lipids in our skin. And it's a good idea not to strip those oils from your skin. That's when your skin can become dry and dehydrated and therefore sensitive. So, maintaining the natural balance of oils in your skin is really important - and we always formulate on that basis. Yes, we use a lot of oils, but also other natural ingredients. We always formulate by thinking about the skin barrier and your lipid level is a crucial part of your skin's barrier function.
What are your non-negotiables when developing a new product, and can you walk us through how that process typically unfolds?
We're always trying to think about our customers and what they might be missing from their routine and how it can really help them have really effortlessly beautiful skin. I don't think skincare should be hard work; I think it should be self-care - it should make you feel good. I think it should smell good. We're very in tune with our customers. We really take feedback on board, and we very often use what people tell us about one product launch to inform the next.
In fact, the Super Seed range itself came about through customer feedback because when we launched, we had four products, and they were all fragranced. We had a lot of feedback from customers that they'd like an fragrance free range, and it's become this cult range of sensitive skin types, but it really came out of that one bit of customer feedback.
If you had to choose just one, which Votary product could you not live without?
So, at the moment, it's our The Super Renewal Serum , which you can find in the Liberty Beauty Advent Calendar this year. This product really sums up the approach to our formulating, particularly for the Super Seed range. We really wanted to give the sensitive skin customer an alternative to retinols, because that's not an ingredient someone with sensitive skin would ever use. We came across this really interesting natural active called Syllibin, which comes from milk thistle, and it has incredible clinical data to show that it performs as well as a retinol, but really excitingly, it also has proven to reduce redness in the skin. You get this amazing, firming, smoothing, anti-wrinkle effect on the skin, and at the same time, reducing redness.
How would you describe the brand ethos?
At Votary , we combine trusted expertise with a fresh, transformative approach to skincare. We're both a safe pair of hands and an exciting opportunity for real skin change.
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