At the breakfast table with ... Sarah Thomas
Q: Hi Sarah! Thanks so much for sharing an insight into your world as a Yorkshire business owner. Could you start with a quick overview of how Clockface Beauty was born?
A: When I was pregnant with my eldest son my skin changed dramatically and it really effected my confidence, it was whilst looking for remedies to help I started to really look at what ingredients I was putting on to my skin. My Mum, Karen Horsley, a specialist scientist with over 30 years’ experience had been creating natural skincare for personal use when her skin had changed during the menopause, she gave me what has gone on to become our Signature Collection Facial Serum. It was like a miracle cure, and it felt like a real life changing moment where I thought “why doesn’t everyone know about this”, and from there we worked together to create Clockface Beauty, a luxury skincare and wellbeing brand for both women and men, all our transformative products are 100% natural, waterless, organic, vegan, cruelty free and suitable for all skin types.
Q: Your website describes you as a mum of two young boys, a qualified chartered accountant by background and now the co-founder of Clockface Beauty! With a busy lifestyle like yours, what would be your advice to anyone struggling to manage their time and balance parenting, work and self-care?
A: I don’t think anyone can ever get the balance right all of the time, I know I certainly don’t! But my advice would firstly be don’t be too hard on yourself, some days you’ll feel you have it all in check and others won’t feel like that at all. I do always prioritise a few things every day that I believe always make my day better, a little uninterrupted time with my husband and boys, this is usually at breakfast where we all try and eat together with no phones or tv. Exercise is hugely important to me so I get up an hour before my children to get the time to do it without it interfering with anything else, I usually find that sets my mind up perfectly for what’s ahead, and lastly I always make time for my skincare regime, even if its just five minutes, I never go a day without that small moment of complete self-care.
Q: The past year has been exceptionally difficult for small businesses in the UK. What kind of main challenges have you and your business faced throughout lockdown? And who or what has helped you to get through these challenges?
A: It has been challenging, in our case that was mainly in the first lockdown, at the time my youngest was asked to shield due to his immune condition (thankfully he is much better now and wasn’t required to shield after the first one), because of this we took the decision to pause the business during this time as we had to put his health first, at the time it felt like an incredibly scary thing to do, as we didn’t know what would happen when we came back. But, when we did, we were blown away by the messages of support we received during our pause and the orders that came flooding in the day we reopened. Still this sticks with me as one of the great highlights of our Clockface Beauty journey, seeing the customer loyalty and support within our community blew us away, and 2020 ended up being our best year so far!
Q: How important is the concept of ‘natural’ to your skincare products, and do you think this overlaps at all with food in terms of caring for and nourishing the body?
A: It’s incredibly important, our most key principle. Your body can absorb up to 60% of your skincare into your bloodstream, so we were never going to create a skincare line that included artificial chemicals or synthetic ingredients. In our view synthetic ingredients are simply not needed. We carefully researched and sought out natural ingredients that can offer the same benefits that we’d usually rely on artificial chemicals for. For example our products contain natural alternatives to salicylic acid and retinol, so your skin can feel plump and fresh without a single artificial chemical. We can help reduce scarring and fight wrinkles without the use of harmful acids. The fact that every ingredient in our range is 100% natural makes it suitable for sensitive skin too, for pregnant ladies and those who have recovered from cancer who don’t want any artificial chemicals on their skin. It absolutely overlaps with food, for me I am as careful with what I put on my skin as I am with what I eat and feed my family.
Q: What does your morning routine look like at the moment? Is there anything that is absolutely crucial to your routine that helps you to take on the day ahead?
A: My morning routine consists of exercise, skincare and food, all of those to me are integral to setting up both myself and my family for the day ahead. I find a morning workout is a perfect way to get both my body and mind ready for work, my skincare routine is such an important part of both the confidence within me that comes from having great skin and also the ritual which helps me get ready for the day. I always prepare breakfast for my young boys and my husband, as then we are all fuelled and good to go.
Q: Looking at your Instagram, we can see that you are a bit of a foodie! What kind of things do you enjoy baking the most, and what is it about baking that you like so much? (Alongside eating the finished product 😊 )
A: Second to skincare, food is my biggest passion! I absolutely love baking cakes, either for my family to eat on a daily basis and also more elaborate cakes for friends and family on special occasions. I love it for a few reasons, the methodical part of me (that’s the Chartered Accountant in me) loves the science and creating new recipes from scratch, and the creative side loves making the end result look delicious and beautiful. But most of all I love the joy that comes from seeing people ejoying what I have made and how much food can bring people together and create lots of smiling faces.
Q: And finally, what is your favourite thing about living and working in Yorkshire?
A: The countryside, the food, the people and community, I have too many favourite things to list out just one. What better place to be inspired in developing waterless, natural, organic skincare than the heart of the Yorkshire countryside!
Check out Clockface Beauty here or on Instagram @clockfacebeauty