Natural Ingredients, Big Results
Tamara Borchardt, Product Formulator
Q&A
How do you stay on top of trends in clean beauty, while still keeping formulations effective and true to your brand values?
I like to browse various stores, both in town and online. I also pay attention to social feeds on my phone. (The tough part is, by the time it’s trending, it’s already a bit too late to catch the wave, so to speak.) I’m aware of the limits for clean beauty products and am very careful when selecting materials to keep my formulas aligned with our brand values.
What’s the most challenging product you’ve ever developed, and what made it so tricky to get just right?
Our Moisturizing Lip Scrub. I made 15 prototypes, and the tricky part was fine-tuning the sugar-to-kaolin-to-oils ratio because it sets up quickly as a hot pour product. I hadn’t really made anything like that in the past, but my boss asked me to give it a try. Baptism by fire!
What’s your favorite ingredient to work with and why?
A recent favorite ingredient is Sandalwood Nut CO2. I love working with new ingredients and this one is lightweight and non-greasy, yet it’s a nourishing “dry” carrier oil. The concept of a “dry” carrier oil was new to me, and I really enjoyed using it in my Rejuvenating Velvet Face Serum formula.
If you could only use three essential oils for the rest of your life, which would you choose?
I’d have to pick lavender, which has endless applications, both physical and emotional. I’d also choose balsam poplar for its warm, deeply calming aroma, and its incredible ability to dissolve (or inhibit) deep bruises from injuries, like a sprained ankle.
For skin and muscles, I’d use helichrysum italicum from Croatia. It’s an incredible oil for anti-aging products, but also a powerhouse for recovery blends as it stimulates rapid cellular turnover. I used it in a blend for road rash after a cycling accident.
And if I could add one more bonus oil, I’d choose Frankincense (Sacra) from Oman.
If you could invent a dream product with no limits, what would it be?
I’d make a silky whipped body butter sunscreen that feels light as a cloud and melts into the skin easily and quickly, with absolutely no greasiness at all. SPF 30, and it might smell like sweetgrass, sandalwood and vanilla.
What product or step do you never skip in your own skincare routine?
I never skip using a toner as the first step, to prep my face for serums and moisturizers. It smells great and adjusts the pH of my skin.
How do you make products smell amazing without using synthetic fragrances?
Luckily, my perfume mentor, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, taught me a lot about natural, all-botanical oils that are a step beyond the typical aromatherapy palette—i.e., lesser known aromatics, many of which need to be properly diluted before using them. Certain absolutes and CO2’s have a big impact on the final aroma, and it’s fun to play around with proportions until the perfect balance is achieved.
What’s your favorite product you’ve ever formulated?
I really like the Bahama Breeze Shimmer Body Oil (Bronze). It was a good challenge to get the texture, color, and the scent just right. I like how it feels silky soft on my skin and shimmers in the sunshine; the scent isn’t too heavy or too sweet.
If you weren’t a product formulator, what do you think you’d be doing?
In an ideal world, I’d be a perfumer.
