Partner Article

Wild & Wood Skincare Prove That Breaking Traditional Beauty Standards Leads To Success In The Modern Industry

At first glance, Yorkshire mums Hollie Sharpin, 24 and Lorna Hirst, 23, catch your attention with their striking looks and facial tattoos, but it’s their unconventional success story that’s most unique.

The recognisable pair whose distinctive style has won them over 70,000 social media followers, each invested the final £1000 of their overdrafts into launching their own business in January 2020 and could never have imagined the success they’d find.

Fast forward to the present and that same brand, Wild & Wood Skincare, has made its first million pound turnover, built up a fiercely loyal following, garnered celebrity support and is now launching a total rebrand and line of new products.

But it’s not just their journey to success that’s been unconventional, it’s also their unique approach to building a beauty brand like no other.

The luxury vegan skincare brand has always stood as an extension of its founders strong values surrounding topics such as the protection of the environment and female empowerment. Hollie and Lorna decided it was time for Wild & Wood to not only represent their own voices but to represent their own image too.

Lorna said, “From the very beginning we made sure that in terms of brand values, Wild & Wood always mirrored the values we hold ourselves because we wanted to create a brand that we wholeheartedly believe in.”

With their commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment in mind, founders Hollie and Lorna make it of utmost importance that their products use only natural, vegan ingredients and despite their huge growth, the pair, alongside their small family team, still hand make each and every product themselves.

Lorna continued “But in terms of image we felt that the current branding didn’t 100% show who we are. As two heavily tattooed women who are scarcely seen in anything but black, we wanted to bring Wild & Wood in line with our unique style.”

Hollie added, “The inspiration for this rebrand was to really go back to our roots and prove that the traditional image of successful women in business no longer exists. We can look however we want to, wear whatever we want to, and achieve whatever we want to.”

This is a message that the brand has long shared with their followers on social media. The pair often post videos managing the business with their babies in tow and most recently, Hollie accepted a business award presented on stage by broadcast Journalist Harry Grasham, with her 3 day old baby in her arms.

She said, “We’ve never stuck to the mould. We think that the idea people hold of successful women in business is outdated, we’re here to show that there is no template to follow. You can always follow your own path, you can be a hands-on mum and run your own business, you can have visible tattoos and still be professional. Those outdated constraints that said women can’t do any of that are in the past.”

It seems to be that this proclivity for breaking traditional beauty standards and their unfiltered approach towards sharing their journey, is what has made the brand so popular with one customer even taking to social media to exclaim, “You guys definitely inspire me to carry on trying to build my own empire!”

But should you have asked the pair if they even dared to dream of this kind of success, and founders Hollie and Lorna will tell you that this rapid growth has surpassed even their wildest hopes and expectations.

Hollie said, “ We never thought it would be this successful so quickly, if ever! We’ve been completely astounded by the way everythings been received by our customers. But we think it’s about time that independent beauty brands like us get to make their mark! We want to keep up the momentum and continue to grow and evolve at this rapid speed. That’s why we decided it was time for a new look, and to treat our incredible customers to some brand new products.“

From luxury crystal and botanical infused face oils, to organic face clays and a deep healing natural body balm, Wild & Wood are introducing numerous new collections to go alongside their original products which have already garnered a cult following.

Each product made is a labour of love. This independent beauty brand is just that - independent. They don’t have a marketing team, they don’t have other people developing new lines or creating the products and packaging. They do everything themselves and that care and attention is exactly what their customers have fallen in love with.

Despite the circumstances of the last few years creating uncertainty for small businesses, Wild & Woods online presence has built a legion of loyal followers all of whom will be ready to shop the new luxury and sustainable products when the rebrand launches online at 11AM today.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Holly Harper .