Perfance is not only a sustainable brand, but most of our ingredients are edible and biodegradable!

For example the additive that we add to create our moisturiser is edible and used in baking and chilled desserts. 

Perfance Skincare is free from Mineral Oil, Petroleum, any types of Polymers or Texture Enhancers.

Perfance Skincare is Fragrance-Free and the scent of our products are the simple aromas of Raw Materials like Shea Butter and Essential Oils.

We do not use any type of Colourants or Colours - our face creams gain colour only from adding Oils: Skin Food Moisturiser is green from Tamanu Oil which is expressed naturally and remains Green with a Nutty scent.

Perfance Pure Skin Moisturiser is yellow due to Calendula oil which is made by soaking Calendula petals in Carrier Oils like Jojoba, Wheatgerm and Sunflower Oils in order to gain soothing and healing properties.  It is impossible to extract oil from Calendula flowers.

The Perfance face serum called Elixir No1 is rich in colour and aroma! The bright orange is from Sea Buckthorn pulp that is made into a paste and extracted with the help of CO2 to preserve most of the plant's natural goodness. The scent is from Rosemary Leaf paste, it doesn't smell of Rosemary but has a gentle flower-fruity scent. 

Neroli Toner is bright Yellow in colour due to Orange Flowers being organic and naturally derived by distillation. Orange Flower or Neroli is incredibly good for Oily and Combination skins as it really cleanses the skin and mattifies at the same time.

'Try to pour Toner into a small spray bottle and apply during the day and you'll see results straight away - skin is more matte in seconds.'

Another useful additive we use is Beeswax.

'I personally use it for Salves as I think it is much better than any other plant wax, it is more antiseptic and more healing than many other waxes.'

Foot Salve is a bright orangie-green due to the Virgin Olive Oil and Yellow Beeswax that we use. Actual Beeswax is very highly aromatic and has a sweet balsamic scent. It is incredibly healing on its own and with botanicals added it works almost instantly. You can also use it if you got any insect bites and it will soothe and stop itchiness almost instantly. Good stuff!

Perfance Face Masks are made from Mineral clays like Moroccan Lava Clay or Volcanic ash called Bentonite. Depending on the natural mineral structure Clay is Green, Yellow or Ashy Brown. All Face Masks are ready made and you can use them straight away. We do not use Kaolin in our Face Masks as it has very little use for skin - it just makes it tight!

Using our masks every day for a week will give you the effect of Dermabrasion and Microdermabrasion and improves skin texture, makes complexion even and skin firmer. For more information visit our Face Masks menu and choose your face mask!

Why we choose natural Ingredients for our skincare?

Back in the days when I was a customer I was always challenging myself to find the best product for my skin.

It was incredibly difficult to find a decent face cream that doesn't have one hundred and one ingredients in it... or face cream that doesn't come in a cheap plastic container.

When I started making my own face cream in 2016 I have used only the best raw materials that I had no doubts would do only good for my skin.

Handmade: hand poured, hand-bottled, hand-labelled and Castile.

Castile means made from Olives.

Olives green and amber, olives ripen in the sun of a happy summertime in Italy, salty-Mediterranean Greece, siesta-hot Spain.

Olives that happily absorbed the sun, the summer breeze and warmth of earth.

Squeezed into Extra Virgin Oil, full of flavour and fattiness.

Unrefined. 

Soap crafting is truly inspirational for me.

Doing everything by hand gives the merchandise a part of your own energy. 

Only wooden and glass tools are involved in this commodity. 

A ritual dress and fifteen hours of your pure attention, preparation and anticipation. 

How does Castile Soap smell?

Like a soaked wooden barrel left out in the sun, coarse but pure. 

Waiting for the trace is like waiting for miracle. 

The hazy pudding turns into an amber glossy liquid, and eventually turns to gold.

Soap Alchemy.

So, back in 2016 I quit my job and decided to go self employed. I was struggling to find any real-life information that would give me an idea of how many hours I should work per day, how to organise my home office and generally what to do to succeed as a self employment businessperson.

De-cluttered and beautifully arranged home offices exist only in magazines. Here is my very first home office that I set up when I was living by the sea.

Since then I can tell you to be self employed is much harder work than having a nine to five job. There are always challenges, ups and downs but complete freedom and the ability to be your own boss! If somebody tells you that being self employed is working three hours a day - it is not true. Most self employed people I speak to are working twelve hours a day, six days a week, especially during the all-important early stages of your business when you are unlikely to be able to afford staff and will therefore have to do everything yourself.

My vision board from 2017, I would say your Vision Board is your company strategy board. You are one with your business. 

So if you are good at working independently and you think that you are doing too much work for the pay you are receiving - try to go self employed.  The whole decision of going self employed is one of the most scariest decisions to make! One thing's for sure - in the worst case scenario you can always come back to work, jobs are always there waiting for you with their fixed wage.

'From my personal observation, since the 2008 crisis there are fewer highly paid jobs and fewer companies that really do give good promotions in exchange for hard work, there are fewer company benefits and bonus schemes. Constant cuts, job insecurity, redundancies and now even that new word that most of us had never heard of - furlough. Many people can't pay off the mortgage early enough which means you'll have to go to work no matter if you are sick or old. But why is this happening? Many reasons: housing and banking crisis - many people rent and don't have their own home, if you lose a job you can end up on the street literally. Employers are not too keen on increasing salaries or paying bonuses to people who really deserve it. Everything is connected and might be not on purpose.'

One thing to remember - you are the captain of our own fate. You can make everything work if you want to. And to make it work you need to organise your own time and working space.

Real world Tips for Self Employment:

1. Set up a home office. A separate room or a corner in a living room with a dedicated space. Separate desk, hanging board, diary, lamp - going for a cheaper option like IKEA will do, if you can get furniture for free or upcycle - you are the champ!

My first home office came from IKEA and cost me £200 included chair, desk and shelving unit.

2. Keeping a Diary. There will be a lot of things you'll need to follow up or perhaps you'll come up with some idea while you are in the shower - always write it down. Though maybe wait until you're out of the shower.

Ladder shelf is the best thing to have in WFH office - you can put it in any corner of the room and it adds not only storage space but keeps things on hand. This ladder been painted twice and still looks good, cost almost nothing from a cheap interior store.

3. Organise your day. Having a routine is extremely important when you are self employed. What was working for me: Breakfast - Dispatching customers orders - Morning gym -  Urgent Tasks - Work on the website - Accounts filing - Finish work - Organise next day.

Working hours from Tuesday to Saturday, Monday - day off. I couldn't take two days off as there were too many things to do. But it was only an estimated routine, if I have finished a very tiring but important project - I could take the rest of the day off and go on the beach. If I feel a burnout - I take a break, if I need to finish project - I work sixteen hours in a row to finish it.  

4. Business Bank Account.

No matter if you have a business or a side income put money in different baskets. It will help you to understand how your business makes money and how much your business spends. You do not necessarily need to open paid Business accounts - even £6 per month adds up quickly, some banks give one year free business account then you have to pay and the benefits they promise they will never do anyways. Find a free business accounts with banks like Starling. Keeping money separately will help you reduce personal spending and keep finances safe. 

5. Do accounts regularly.

Weekly is the best. Monthly is too much work and you won't remember everything you have done in a month. Keep accounts extremely detailed, if you do accounts by yourself you'll save £600-£1500 a year and might as well treat yourself for a weekend in Paris. 

Going self employed is truly inspiring, you will learn a lot, you'll work hard and it may well be the best decision you make in a lifetime.

"I live in a medium size UK town and  much of the plastic packaging I encounter is not currently recycled. It tears my heart to pieces every time I throw another piece of plastic in the bin. Personally, I can't control food industry plastic - I can only make purchasing choices and support Green Peace by signing a petition. "

As a craftsperson I can control what packaging I'm using and take responsibility. To be honest it wasn't easy to source glass bottles for my Face Toners, only recently I finally found a small UK supplier that sells suitable glass bottles. Plastic is so widely popular as a packaging, plastic has flooded not only our households but all market suppliers.

Perfance Face Creams are poured into glass jars and sealed with an aluminium lid. I use amber glass jars not because they are pretty but in darkened glass all active natural ingredients are stored better than in clear glass. This is done in case you leave your moisturiser on the windowsill or somewhere with direct sun, almost all active botanicals break down in the sun.

Perfance Face Masks are prepared and jarred in amber jars also but a bigger size, 150ml, and filled right up to the top. An aluminium lid is not only better than plastic lids but looks more elegant on your dresser or in the bathroom.

"Glass is a natural material - it is widely recycled, plus even if glass gets into the environment it quickly becomes a part of it. Glass gives the mood of something rustic and artisan, something you would get from an old fashioned pharmacy, a medicine, a cure or treatment."

I use aluminium tins quite widely in my handmade skincare. 200ml of Body Lotion or Moroccan Soap is a big size plus this type of packaging is very robust. A 50ml aluminium tin is always in my gym bag as it is very light and a handy travel size. Try to use it for travel, I can promise you these aluminium tins won't leak.

How beautiful a glass bottle of Castile Soap in your bathroom looks... labelled with Kraft paper, finished with natural twine and an aluminium lid - absolute artisan. A 250ml pourable bottle which you can add to your bath for a milky spa experience!

I have this matching set with pump bottle for the sink where I use Castile soap for washing my hands. I have gotten so used to a nice soap, so much so that commercial hand washes now seem too slimy and skin-drying, doesn't feel real.. There are so many uses for castile soap I have written a separate Story about it which you can read it here.

Same thing with Face Toners - only glass - 250ml amber glass bottle, if you like you can keep it in the fridge for cold pads under puffy or tired eyes in the morning! Toner is completely natural and safe for the under eye area. 

When I was thinking about making my own skincare back in 2017 the first question was if I will bring value to this country and its people. Profit comes and goes the only thing that matters is what's left after.

Commercial clay masks contain Kaolin, better known as that chalk you used to use in school to write things on the blackboard. Kaolin is a powder that turns creamy when mixed with water.

So if you see in the list of ingredients Kaolin - remember it is not a face mask, it is a building material. It won't do much for your skin, might make it dry and if you use it often it might even make your skin super dry. 

"Why would commercial brands add Kaolin to a face mask? The answer is - it is cheap. Kaolin costs almost nothing and is easy to source. And technically you can call it a face clay mask as it is a clay and a mineral."

What about Handmade Natural Clay Face Masks?

Most of the face masks I see made by craftspeople are actual powder clay with mixed flowers or essential oils that comes in a jar and before using it you have to mix it with water, but it is not that simple!

If you try and mix French Green Clay (INCI: Montmorillonite, not Kaolin) it won't mix straight away, you have to whisk it, I would say more difficult than mixing milk and flour for pancakes. The texture gets very lumpy and you have to vigorously whisk or leaving mask for 30 mins at least. 

And if you decide to make detox mask using Bentonite clay - I wish you the best of luck!

When I make Anti Acne Face Mask from Bentonite clay (INCI: Sodium Bentonite) I soak the clay in hydrosol for at least 30 mins as this type of clay is very dense and swollen when mixed with water. I use a stick blender to turn it into a spreadable face mask so you can actually apply it on the face. You don't want to mix it too much with water as the dragging effect will decrease.

"Important thing - mixing any type of mineral clays with standard tap water is not a good idea, as it wont give you much and the chlorine in water mixed with naturally active mineral clay will make it too harsh for skin especially if you leaving mask for 5 to 10 minutes. "

Mixing clay with water and turning it into a face mask will give you an expiry date of 3 days.

Yes, after those short three days bacteria will start breeding in your mask.

Personally I use face masks frequently as they do improve skin, like any facial clay masks give instantly clear and healthy skin improving it overtime.

Making mask every 3 days mixing it, whisking it, waiting until it is ready - you have to be living on furlough all your life to be able to do that!

My Perfance Clay Face Masks I prepare with the finest clays from France - French Green Clay, Yellow Clay. Moroccan Lava Clay or Rhassoul, Ghassoul Clay from Morocco, Atlas Mountains, Bentonite Clay from volcanic ashes from USA.

I use hydrosol - Flower Water of Orange flower, Chamomile Flower, Rose Water.

I use modern preservatives to keep the face mask formula stable and safe because I mix it with liquid it is a good environment for bacteria to live. 

I add active botanicals to it in a very small quantities so it doesn't interact with active minerals that natural clay already has.

Last thing is Sustainable packaging - Perfance Clay Face Masks comes in a glass jar of 150ml with aluminium lid. Glass will keep your masks at a stable temperature - slightly colder than the ambient temperature and 150 ml is the right amount for use up until six months to a year.

"If you order a Perfance Face Mask from me I make it on the day of your order so that you receive the freshest mask possible, plus for me it makes business sense for me as I have a huge assortment and it is impossible to predict the sales sometimes, I like to keep my skincare batch fresh and keep quantities of each product very low."

How to find time for Face Masks?

How do I do it with my busy life style - I apply face mask in the morning and do the washing up while keeping the face mask on, I apply mask in the evening while I'm waiting for my partner to take a shower.

"I do not have SPA days at home as often as I would want. But yes, while I'm soaking in the bathtub I will definitely use the opportunity and apply a face mask, take my phone and do some window clothes shopping on uniqlo.com! Small 'me time', by the way I can only say a good things about this clothes brand: very good quality fabrics, very classy and versatile products. Prices of H&M but with more taste and you get more for your money without nasty polyester.

Anyways, remember beautiful skin is not a gift from nature but the lifestyle you have to work on yourself."

What is the difference between Green Clay, Yellow Clay and Red Clays?

The colour of these clays are different due to a mineral content like Iron Dioxes and even a molecular texture a different amount of dioxides gives different colour and molecular structure of a mineral particle reflects differently in the spectrum of the sun giving each mineral a unique colour.

Say, Bentonite Clay reacts with liquid you see a small bubble forming - it turns into a magnet-like dense paste that drags the toxins from the skin. Bentonite clay has a grey colour due to its origin in volcanic ashes.  

Red clay is a very rich colour and I have tested it to make face masks, but it is too pigmented and quite difficult to wash off that pigment that Iron Dioxides create naturally.

French Green Clay is a green colour due to Iron Dioxides and matured plant matter - sea weed and algae give that mild green colour.

French Yellow Clay is Yellow because of Iron Dioxides but no Aluminium.

Moroccan Lava Clay is brown-yellow colour due to high content of silica, magnesium, potassium, and calcium and it's earthy-like origin as it is derived deep underground.

Masks can be a real savour for many skin problems - dryness, acne, pores, red spots, oily skin, lack of firmness, wrinkles..

Using different Face Clay Masks and see how fast they are improving your skin is the right way to improve your skin!