WELLNESS SERIES: SELF CARE, SELF LOVE & SKIN CARE WITH ANNA FROM CEDAR & STONE BOTANICALS.

by Kunti Benson September 16, 2021 3 min read

Cedar and Stone is a 100% Plant Based Skincare company with a firm ethos on minimising harsh chemicals onto ourselves and into our environment.

The brand is currently stocked in over 500 retailers worldwide in addition to selling globally through their website!

This #girlboss also created a COVID baby opening up a new cafe NSW called Nectar! Take one look and you'll know why we are obsessed!

We chat to one of the founders Anna Hamilton about all things self care, self love and skin care!

At Lahana we are all about a face mask and some self love. What are some of your self care practices you make sure to implement in your work week?

A: We have a tight schedule between Cedar & Stone and opening our new store in Cabarita called Nectar so to be completely honest, my self care falls to the waist side more often then it should. When I feel myself getting a bit behind I turn my phone off, run across to the headland and watch the ocean for even just a few minutes. I think it’s really important to take the time to clear your thoughts from the day, even if it’s only for a moment.

How can you implement mindfulness into your skincare routine?

A: Having a step by step routine & sticking to it! Of an afternoon I cleanse with our Combination face cleanser, exfoliate (every other day) with our Exfoliant face cream(this is the absoloute tits), then use our award winning Facial oil– I know that sounds like a lot of plugs but I promise you, they’re the biznit. I also use a few products from Aspect in conjunction with the above and find they work so well together. When you’re using each product, try to understand what each ingredient Is doing for your skin – your brain is just as powerful as any product you put on your skin.

Your label is all about holistic energy and drawing on natural and organic ingredients to achieve clarity and of course glowing skin, what are your top wellness tips to reflect and take a step back.

A: Water, the most understated beauty product in our regime. Drink lots of it and only the good filtered stuff! Something I need to remind myself to do more of – yoga. It gets the oxygen moving through your body, also a very understated but very necessary beauty product/practice. Our skin looks lack lustre and dull without good oxygen/blood flow so get bendy.

Anna's new cafe in Cabarita! Nectar Juice Bar!

With such a push toward sustainability in our day to day lives, what sustainable practices does Cedar and Stone have in place? And what motivated you to move towards plant based skincare?

A: We have partnered with The Eden Projects, so for every product you buy instore and online, we plant a tree. So far we’ve planted 13,818 trees, go us! We think that’s pretty bloody epic, also makes me feel way less guilty when I buy something when I should be saving ha. Alongside that, when we are packing our orders everything the products are packed in is either recyclable or biodegradable and we have bulk filling stations to refill your products at our Burleigh store. There are still things that we are working hard to improve as we are not perfect, but we come pretty damn close. Choosing to do plant based skincare was extremely important for both Kate and I. We were sick of buying products that stipulated they were natural when really half the ingredients were made in a lab, with petrol, yeah – I know, crazy but true. We were given all of these beautiful ingredients by mother nature, why wouldn’t we use them.

What is something you have learned in iso?

A: I drink way too many cocktails, I should of hugged people more often and that filming yourself pretending to be on a cooking show and watching it back will make whatever dignity you had left for yourself dissipate, very, fast.