Who are Belle&Basil?
Belle and Basil are in this photo. Yes, you’ve guessed it. I really did name a skincare company after our dogs...
Finding the right name of the business was a long process. One afternoon I had coerced some friends to help and we were struggling through Irish dictionaries, Sanskrit dictionaries, in fact any dictionary we could get our hands on to try to find the right name, when a sweet friend called Siobhán waltzed in, looked at the doggies patiently waiting for their walk and said “what about Belle and Basil?” Brilliant! We all looked at each other in amazement and knew we had the right name.
VICTORIA, The Founder
I have been a complementary therapist since 2003 and studied herbal medicine in 2011. I learnt about medicinal herbs, how to forage for them and how to turn the herbs into healing infusions, tinctures and creams. The teacher also explained the damaging effects of toxins in skincare and household products, and their impact on our health. Just a few months later we got the news that my lovely Mum had cancer.
We threw out all the products in our home and started replacing them with natural options. It was hard to find skincare that was 100% natural as well as light and beautiful to use, so I began to make my own.
After eight years of experimenting and testing, Belle&Basil Skincare finally launched in 2019 with the help of these two lovelies - Corrina and Gillian.
Corrina, The Artistic Genius
This is the lady behind the look of Belle&Basil, especially the gorgeous illustrations. A seriously talented lady. To see more of her work look at instagram.com/corrinaaskin/
Gillian, The Great Organiser
I would be lost without Gillian. She looks after all the facts and figures and keeps me right. She is also full of good sense and a can do attitude. Every business needs a Gillian.