Founder of Velettà Skincare, Sarah Bacon, was a corporate lawyer in a previous life, a job which she enjoyed and worked hard for. However, it involved long, relentless hours where she quietly escaped to her local department store on tough days to indulge in applying lotions available at the beauty counter.
“The ritual of applying a gorgeous lotion was my way of acknowledging my hard work and giving myself a little treat in an often frantic life,” said Bacon.
When Bacon decided she was ready for a career change, her moments of self-care at the beauty counter motivated her to create something that others could experience and enjoy similarly.
“It wasn’t just about the products, but about the ritual, the acknowledgement of self and recognising that we sometimes need to be reminded to look after number one.”
The desire to create products women would love that would have a discernable, positive impact on their skin was central. Bacon wanted her product range to be natural, ethical and of high quality, with ingredients that each served a purpose and could be applied to any skin type.
“I wanted to focus on quality rather than fashion. And healthy skin, not unachievable beauty industry standards.”
Bacon described her brand’s point of difference based on her customers, ethics, and ritualistic approach to self-care. Velettà is designed for skin that has lived, with each product created for women over 40, as Bacon believed this demographic was most overlooked within the skincare sector.
“As you get older, your skin changes, and so should your skincare.”
As an ethical brand, each of Velettà’s products is halal-certified, vegan, and cruelty-free, with a concerted effort to reduce its carbon footprint by using as little plastic as possible and recycling its packaging through Terracycle.
Velettà’s products come complete with instructions on how to self-perform uplifting and enlivening face massages, with new rituals underway to help customers more easily incorporate self-care for skin into their daily lives.
Bacon’s inspiration is sourced from nature and the women she admires in her life. Plant-based pil skincare is the key to a healthy skin barrier and, therefore, healthy skin, which Bacon stated was synonymous with beautiful skin.
Velettà’s range was created based on the philosophy of nature and natural products being everything and all the skin needed, with Bacon motivated for her products to be used to bookend customers’ day with a self-care ritual that was good for their skin.
Included in the Velettà range of facial oils designed for specific skin types, the hero product being Velettà’s Rejuvenating Oil.
“It is a carefully curated collection of precious natural oils. It replenishes and stimulates your skin’s repair and renewal processes, encouraging collagen synthesis to be plump, refine skin texture, and gradually enhance your skin’s resilience.”
This oil is well paired with Velettà’s Cleansing Oil, which can wash away makeup while simultaneously dissolving dirt and debris without stripping the skin of its protective layer.
Velettà’s Nourishing Moisturiser includes Argan Oil for its essential fatty acids and antioxidants that neutralise unwanted molecules, Marula Oil for vitamins C and E and anti-inflammatory properties. Finally, it also includes Frankincense Oil, which improves skin tone and elasticity.
Bacon then described her once-a-week skin treatment, the Velettà Purifying Mask. It is a powdered superfusion mask that boosts the health and texture of the skin through a heady mix of powerful dry ingredients, each of which is activated with water when applied.
Finally, Velettà’s Youthful Glow Intensive Hydrating Treatment can soothe heated or irritated skin, keeping it looking supple, less dry and plumper, primed for a sealant of Nourishing Moisturiser or Rejuvenating Oil.
Furthermore, Bacon shared that using a serum exfoliator was a good investment for high-quality skincare, Velettà’s Youthful Glow AHA Radiance Treatment being one where it gently budds and polishes away dead skin cells to allow the skin to absorb the best from the range of other oils and moisturisers.
Velettà will introduce two new products to its range later this year, including a multi-purpose eye cream and another serum.
If Bacon were to advise her younger self, she would encourage herself to be more active. Bacon began exercising in her mid-forties, now an integral part of her day.
“I think a walk in nature is the ultimate in self-care, and I wish I had discovered this earlier – particularly during my 30s which were a particularly stressful time.”
Bacon’s proudest achievement is customer enjoyment of Velettà’s products, winning Best New Skincare at the 2022 Global Pure Beauty Awards in London. For the future, the focus will be to increase the brand’s New Zealand-based stockists, followed by export to China, the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom.
