Snowberry beauty

There's a lovely story around the Kiwi natural skincare brand Snowberry that extends well beyond its romantic packaging and good-for-you-and-the-planet philosophy. Founder Soraya Hendesi was born in Tehran, Iran, into a family of academics and humanitarians. “As a child I became totally fascinated with beauty," she says.

"My mother was most adept at making everything around us look amazing. We had a house with an inner courtyard filled with beautiful flowers and even at a very early age, I was interested in fragrance and nature. I made my first perfume at seven by crushing flowers and putting the ‘juice’ in a bottle.”

The investment Snowberry has made so far in development and marketing is probably unprecedented in a Kiwi skincare brand. Launched in 2007, it is the result of years of research, a high-powered marketing campaign under branding expert Greg Billington and the combined skills of Hendesi and her ‘alchemist’, world-class bio-chemist Dr Andy Lavrent. “We told him there would be no compromises,” she says. “We were committed to producing a natural anti-ageing skincare range that used the best – and most effective ingredients – regardless of cost."

The premium brand is created mostly from all-natural ingredients such as white peat, Indian neem and Artic cloud berry oil, all of which have been known for centuries to benefit the skin. The products aren’t tested on animals and are also devoid of substances such as lauryl sulphates, petrochemicals, propylene or butylene glycols, volatile alcohols, artificial colours, silicones and DEA (diethanolamides) and MEA (monoethanolamides) ingredients. Its preservative system includes the native anti-bacterial, totarol.

“Beauty is a necessity,” says Hendesi. “Keeping yourself looking and feeling beautiful – taking care of your skin – has a direct affect on your health. If you care about your health, you have to look after your beautiful side. We can’t stop the ageing process but with the right products we can definitely slow it down.”

Snowberry is available through Smith & Caughey's website, www.smithandcaughey.co.nz.