The story of the Norwegian natural cosmetics brand Englegård, as told by the founder of the brand, Silje Schau:
“Let me tell you about Englegård, a small independent skincare brand based in the countryside in Norway, as well as about my story that influences the way everything is done at Englegård. I am a teacher, though I have always been a creative spirit and had an ever-growing interest in “herbal alchemy”. I founded Englegård in 2020, and since then my path has continued also as an entrepreneur.
I have a holistic approach to skincare, and I believe everything is connected. I am especially passionate about herbs, medicinal plants, and nature’s ability to heal.
Close to nature
That’s why Englegård’s ethos is about formulating close to and in harmony with nature. This includes growing and harvesting my own herbs in the garden of Englegård. Ancient knowledge about herbs is brought to life through formulations.
All the products from Englegård are handmade with special love and care in a home lab. The product line includes lip care, face- and body care, rinse products, and even baby care and herbal salves.
My personal green values – ethical, sustainable, organic, natural, and cruelty-free – are strongly influencing every product made, from the choice of quality ingredients to that of packaging. I am always looking to find better solutions, amazing new formulations, and experimenting with different potent ingredients close to nature.
"Flora"
Englegård’s natural lip balm, Flora, which won the category for best lipcare in the Nordic Natural Beauty Awards 2022, is my latest formulation. Flora is an all-natural lip balm, made with organic beeswax, moisturizing butter, and caring vegetable oils. The special, little secret of it is the color that gives a natural glow to the lips. The color comes from plant pigments, harvested from red radishes.
Color in lip balms is no news, but using pure plant pigment is quite rare in the beauty industry. Most colored lip balms and lipsticks are made with either artificial colors or mica powder. Mica is a natural mineral but has a dark side and a bad reputation to it as well. It was important for me to find a better way of coloring the lip balm.
Through my education in skincare formulation, I found the solution in the exciting world of plants. The fact that plant pigments are only water-soluable though, posed a lovely little challenge at first since lip balms are usually made without water. New research and technology, however, make it possible to use plant pigments in anhydrous products as well. And so was the secret of Flora revealed!
"PaperWise"
The lip balm, Flora comes in a box made out of PaperWise, a very special, sustainable, and environmentally friendly paper made from agricultural waste. This paper’s impact on the environment is 47% lower than paper made from trees, and 20% lower than recycled paper.
Wise with waste
Englegård loves to be wise also with waste, and this little fact shows how the strong values behind the brand truly are 360 degrees.
With all my love, I welcome you to join the journey of Englegård!
Silje, the founder of Englegård