7 Secrets of Beauty & Wellbeing: Janet Hayward, founder of Ipsum face and bodycare
We met lovely Janet around the launch of The Green Beauty Bible – so, nearly (oops!) 20 years ago. The British-born former TV news journalist moved to Sydney in 1996, having also done stints on Elle and Cosmo in London where her love of beauty and skincare became a fully-fledged passion.
She’d always been a fan of natural and organic products, especially plant oils – now the basis of her range. One of her first buys, Janet remembers, was ‘wheat germ oil from The Body Shop when I was 14’. She whipped up hair and face masks at the kitchen table; which later inspired her beauty recipe books - Lemons Are A Girl’s Best Friend and Pretty As A Peach.
When Janet and Sarah met in the early Noughties, introduced by a mutual friend in Sydney, she was fully immersed in ‘the wonderful world of beauty’ and had co-founded Beauty Directory, an online source for the industry. So, for 19 years, Janet had a ‘perfect opportunity to learn more about green chemistry and our Australian native ingredients – and to learn from brand founders and formulators’.
With the sale of Beauty Directory to Bauer Media, Janet poured all that passion and knowledge into the creation of Ipsum, a collection of blissfully luxurious pure products, which recently launched in the UK. Ipsum only uses certified organic, pure and natural native plant oils, esters and waxes, manufactured in ‘beautiful, beachy Byron Bay’ up the coast from Sydney. Janet commutes between there and her family home in Balmain, a charming suburb of Sydney with parks and greenery galore – busting with native trees and shrubs including banksia, an ingredient in Ipsum Eye Oil Balm.
It was a delight for us to re-establish our connection and discover this natural beauty expert’s secrets.
I enjoy a bath every evening – whatever the season – with a good handful of Zechstein Magnesium Chloride Flakes. Magnesium is a wonder mineral and vital in practically every biochemical reaction in the body, including maintaining healthy immune and nervous systems, regulating blood glucose and a healthy heart beat – even energy production and muscle function. It can be difficult to consume enough magnesium from food; so taking a bath with magnesium is a great way to make sure you are topped up. I find it helps my mind and body to really relax during a bath and feel calmly reinvigorated after.
I always have a lip balm to hand, in order to look instantly groomed. Even if you’ve forgotten your make-up bag, a slick of lip balm will tidy the eyebrows, highlight the brow bone and top of cheekbones, and of course smooth and add shine to lips for an instantly more ‘polished’ and dewy look. You can even use it to smooth flyaway hair. I was very grateful for this trick when my luggage went missing for two days during a work trip and I had meetings all day with no time to go beauty shopping.
My biggest beauty concern without question is my hair! It has progressively become more dry and unruly as the years pass by and I like to wear it long-ish, so I’m really my own worst enemy. Davines OI All-in-One Milk, a leave-in spray treatment, came highly recommended by a hairdresser and it does make a huge difference. I also changed to a Wet Brush Epic Professional Quick Dry Brush, which has eliminated tangling and helps to smooth my hair after washing, so it looks more sleek after drying.
Integrity is the quality I rate most highly. Everything else just flows after this – respect, trust, loyalty, understanding, resilience and genuine kindness. (Rather like the requirements for COSMOS organic certification!)
I love to learn about how other people approach life and their experiences, views and opinions about the world. I’ve worked in the beauty world for over 25 years, with brilliant people in journalism, photography, design, make-up and brand creation who all continue to inspire me with their achievements. Nature is incredibly inspiring and learning more about how our land is evolving with regenerative farming to restore biodiversity. I go to environmental lectures and art exhibitions to go on learning more.
My current Ipsum hero is our Best Skin Eye Oil Balm – mainly because it has such a feather-light texture; the ingredients literally melt into the skin leaving a satin smooth, well-hydrated result. It’s great if you wear contact lenses or glasses/sunglasses because it doesn’t travel into the eye or slide down the face. Make-up artists like it as it also acts like a primer to create a lovely, smooth canvas. It contains cooling and soothing ingredients to reduce puffiness but also works to eliminate under eye dark circles – Australian banksia extract helps to strengthen capillaries and brighten skin – while bakuchiol gently smooths skin texture. Like most of our products, it’s a multi-tasker and many customers use it to help smooth and refine the texture of the upper lip as well. Best Skin Eye Oil Balm/£38 for 15g – buy here
The absolute must-haves in my make-up bag right now are…
RMS Beauty “Un” Cover-Up in 22.5; I don’t wear foundation but if I have any redness on my chin or the sides of my nose, this is fantastic! It’s light, blends easily and contains skincare ingredients too.
Merit Clean Lash Mascara. This is more like a lash tint, which I prefer as I wear contact lenses and I don’t like the fibres in some other mascaras - and it has great staying power.
Merit Flush Balm (in Beverly Hills). I love everything about this, from the dome shape which means you can swipe it on in a rush to the beautiful healthy, peachy hint of colour. I’m actually very new to Merit – the Flush Balm was recommended to me by practically every journalist I met on my last trip over to the UK, so I instantly placed an order!
I really switch off when I’m cooking and eating with family and good friends. At home or on holiday, that’s my happy carefree time. Like most people I actually find it really hard to switch off when I’m engaged in something, but we have some beautiful beach and harbourside walks nearby and as soon as I start to follow the walking track, it becomes easier to let the stresses and strains of the day drift away. I also enjoy practicing Iyengar yoga (although not as often as I should) and I always read before I go to sleep – it’s such a great feeling when you get thoroughly engrossed in the characters and the plot. I’ve just finished reading everything written by the brilliant Clare Chambers.
Find Ipsum here
