Aromatherapy is a lot more than a pleasant scent – while natural oils make products smell delicious, they are potent concentrations of plants and are highly effective. Beauty products are often filled with synthetic perfumes or colours when in fact natural formulations often smell better, feel better and are more effective.

Danièle Ryman creates natural products with carefully selected essential oils, focussing on the needs of her clients – for example, products to promote better skin, sleep, confidence, energy or to minimise stress. These may be for a major retailer of beauty products with a brief for a large skincare range or for a private client with a specific health concern.

The products work on many levels: from their scent to their balanced combination of ingredients, they work holistically to care for skin and the body. To take these natural products to the next level, Danièle also works with cosmetic scientists to incorporate the latest, most technically advanced processes. Skincare products are designed to work together as a range, to establish a results-focussed regime, with a cleanser, moisturiser and night treatment which complement each other.

Danièle only uses natural ingredients and Grade A essential oils, testing them throughout their development, with any colour added only for a specific purpose. She won’t compromise on the quality of ingredients, carefully selecting the best, most appropriate variety of a plant for its unique qualities and specific benefits. Ingredients of the optimum quality are also vital as cheaper ones may provoke allergies or lead to dermatological problems.

Rose, as an example, has numerous species, grown at varied altitudes whose differing soils have specific benefits. Danièle selects roses with the best properties for restoring, hydrating and repairing older skin. 750 rose petals are needed to produce enough oil for just one of Danièle’s products and the price of rose essential oil is higher than gold.

Sourcing the right plant ingredients has taken Danièle all over the world, from France to Malaysia to Tasmania. She travels the world researching different therapies, often obtaining the best insights from people who use the natural resources around them. Plants have been used in such ways for centuries so continuing the practice makes one feel part of an ongoing, evolutionary process.

It takes time to and patience to create a new product – for example, from its development in Danièle’s London laboratory to obtaining the optimum ingredients to blending the formulation at a distillery in Grasse, France. Packaging is also part of the process, sometimes working with producers of the finest bottles in the world if creating an exclusive bespoke perfume for a client.

Danièle studied with the pioneer of aromatherapy, Marguerie Maury, and learnt to prescribe essential oils and natural substances for their medicinal properties. With Marguerite, Danièle was the first to promote the health and beauty benefits of aromatherapy, a new phenomenon in the 60s, and she continues this work today, developing ranges of bestselling products for clients worldwide.