After working in the beauty and wellbeing industry for more than a decade and seeing first-hand the impact popular non-clean beauty products have on the skin and its health, Angela Turovskaya founded Balmessence, a luxury platform for ethical beauty products and unique fragrances
What inspired you to start Balmessence?
I learnt and saw first-hand the impact popular non-clean beauty products have on the skin and its health. Once I had my twin daughters, I was looking for quality luxury products that were clean and low in chemicals, I came across some amazing brands in Europe, North America and Australia, and noticed they weren’t available in the UAE yet. This is when I set up the distribution company Wellness United Inc in order to supply the local market with such incredible products. A year and a half later, I launched Balmessence.
What does Balmessence mean?
The name Balmessence was derived from two words, Balm and Essence, balm being the texture for natural and organic products, and essence highlighting the natural components of organic products along with their scents. The combination of two underline the core values of the Balmessence brand and the products they carry. The green colour reflects authenticity and naturality whereas the golden drop reflects the heart of beauty and fragrance products, white reflects the clean aspect of a product and the gold highlights their luxury aspect.
How do you decide which brands you want to be part of Balmessence?
When identifying key features in a brand, first thing I would look at would be the certifications, whether they are natural and certified organic and have the logos of Bdih, Ecocert, Natrure or Cosmos on their packaging. Then, would be the brand heritage, the founder, their story and how the brand was born, and what are the brand ethos, do they match the Balmessence philosophy. Product range is also an important factor, as it helps showcase what concerns the brand wants to target, and most important of all, product efficacy, whether it actually works and has good results. I always make sure that the brands I select for Balmessence, are ones I would use myself.
What has been your biggest achievement since founding Balmessence?
My biggest achievement would have to be the launch of the store at Mall of the Emirates, our first boutique in the UAE. It’s a big step for us as a beauty and fragrance platform in the region because now our customers have the opportunity to actually physically feel the beauty products, the textures and see the full range. It’s even better for perfumes, as that’s a product very personal to someone, since scents cannot be fully translated online, this gives our customers the chance to go and smell our luxurious perfumes and decide which one is the perfect scent for them. It has also really helped raise awareness for the Balmessence platform and introduce us to new customers.
What skincare advice would you give to customers?
I always say that the skin is our largest organ and it absorbs the products you put on it, and I believe that what you put on your skin is just as important as what you eat and the things you put into your body. Primary and most valuable advice would be to stay within the same brand, meaning to try use products from one brand only. Brands create products in ranges to complement one another and have active ingredients that work together to achieve specific results, when using products from multiple brands at once, some ingredients may conflict one another, leading to poor results. I’d say to change up your routine or brand every 6 months for the best results overall.
The products are available to buy on balmessence.com and Balmessence Boutique in Mall of the Emirates, 055 2984560