Siskyn flew into onto our beauty radar just in time for the Mama and Baby Awards in July and took the judges by storm, swiftly picking up two 2016 Awards: Best Stretch Mark Treatment (a “wow” product for expectant mums) as well as Editor’s Choice Award for their Camellia & Safflower Hot Cloth Cleanser.
No mean feat for a brand new small batch, artisan brand flying the flag for Cornwall.
The “Siskyn sisters”, Emma and Sarah, have been blending botanical oils for over 10 years. Finally, when the time was right, they launched Siskyn in April this year.
It’s fair to say that you’re partial to lush, luxe, pure, 100% natural face and body oils jam-packed with beauty-boosting, healing properties, chances are rather high that you’ll be smothering your body in their Grapefruit & Sweet Fennel Toning Body Oil by next Wednesday. And body oils are having a big moment right now.
We caught up Em and Sarah right after the awards and a few glasses of bubbly, to find out more about one of the best brands to come out of Cornwall this year.
Body oils are having a moment…cue winter baths and post-shower lustrous skin…
Q&A
1) First of all, congratulations on your two first ever beauty award wins! Did it feel like you’ve come full circle after all the research and hard work, or does it feel like you’re just starting out?
Thank you! We are so delighted with our very first awards. It definitely feels like recognition for all the hard work it’s taken to get to this point. But in all honesty, we know it’s just the beginning, the really hard work starts now!
18 exquisite plant oils in one 30ml travel size. £9.
Autumn beauty steal
2) Honesty, luxury and potency are the three words that seem to stand out and fly the flag for what Siskyn is about…if you had to choose 5 adjectives to describe the products, what would they be?
Those certainly sum us up perfectly! We would add vegan, clean, effective, multitasking and complex. It amazes us that natural skincare is still considered by some to be simple and therefore ineffective. Natural ingredients don’t have to be a compromise on quality or efficiency, we believe if chosen correctly they are the ultimate in luxurious, highly effective ingredients available for your skin care.
3) We love that you’ve included Omega 7 and Vitamin K-rich Sea Buckthorn in some of the blends, what’s special about this wild orange berry bush oil for those not familiar with it? Are there any other oils you personally particularly love – e.g. a good “multi-tasker”?
We use 43 different oils in our blends so that is like asking us to pick a favourite child! We think of them all as special! Botanical oils are incredible because they contain such a wide spectrum of active ingredients making them all multitasking, problem solving skin saviours!
Sea Buckthorn is a particular favourite though, we love it for it’s extremely powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, both vital for effective skin care. But it’s real magic is in its rejuvenating properties, healing scars and fading age spots.
Another oil we love that is often overlooked is Borage. With one of the highest amount of gamma-Linolenic acid of all the seed oils, Borage is excellent to help prevent transepidermal water loss and for improving the numerous skin complaints that can be associated with fatty acid imbalances. We use it in almost everything!
And we love Tamanu, called the Beauty Leaf in Australia, the oil basically looks like a green smoothie, so you can imagine how good it is for the skin. It has amazing cicatrizing (skin regenerating) properties and is often the oil we slather on ourselves when sat in the office!
The Luxe Travel Set – Body Oil, Night & Day Facial Oils £28
4) If you hadn’t created Siskyn, what do you think you’d both be doing instead (if that’s even possible to imagine!)?
Crikey! Almost impossible to imagine, we’ve been blending oils for such a long time!
But it would definitely be something creative for sure. As a trained Ceramicist and Silversmith we both have a need to make things and as ex-teachers we tend to gravitate towards things that are creative but also educate, which we see as part of the role of Siskyn. But if money were no option, we’d also have an animal sanctuary. Or two.
5) Clearly, you’re going to be exceptionally busy this year the way things are going, what do you both do to switch off – what’s your idea of the perfect holiday, for example, if you could escape for two weeks this summer?
Growing up in Cornwall, everyday has to involve the beach. It’s where we go to think or to unwind and it’s where we have all our best ideas. It’s actually where Siskyn was born! As for holidays, they have always included another beach somewhere.
Our previous lives in art education, with the long University holidays and Sarah teaching abroad means we have been lucky enough to have lived by or travelled to some of the best beaches in the world. But Cornwall is an amazing place, so when we are too busy to escape we are more than happy with a staycation.
It could be a little bit sunnier though. And warmer.
6) Last but not least, squeezing in a quickie here! How do you see organic beauty doing in the next 1-2 years? Do you think we’ll see the day when organic completely dominates the non-natural, mass high street brands?
This is obviously our dream. We love that more and more consumers are becoming educated and demanding transparency from brands regarding their ingredients and practices. This creates a far more discerning customer with an obvious desire for natural and organic products which we hope will continue to grow and grow.
The real dream is that this consumer driven shift will encourage the industry as a whole to change for the better.
Our power as consumers is phenomenal, use it wisely and we will see change.
SISKYN SKINCARE OILS – as seen in VOGUE, BIRCHBOX & NOURISH BOX – are available at www.siskyn.co.uk
