When I think of Liz Earle, I think of the global iconic British beauty and skincare brand. However, when I delved more into her world, I realised that she’s created much more than a brand, she’s created a way of life. With her entrepreneurial flair, her passionate approach to health and wellbeing and her desire to put back into society, it was an honour to gain an insight into the world of one of Britain’s most successful businesswomen.
Liz’s love for all things natural started at an early age,
“My father is a keen plantsman and I grew up with a love of plants, especially practical plants that do things. So I was imbued with a love of medicinal herbs and delicious seasonal fruits and veggies from a young age.”
The inspiration to start her brand stemmed from her love of writing, which she is now revisiting, “I started my working life as a beauty writer on a glossy monthly magazine, Woman’s Journal, and from there went on to write books focused on natural health and wellbeing – always looking at how our food can help make us look and feel better. My first love is research and writing about ways to look good and feel better through food, so I’m going back to my writing roots now with a quarterly magazine, Liz Earle Wellbeing, and the Good Gut Guide. When the Liz Earle Beauty Co. was sold back in 2010, it gave me more time to focus on my publishing ventures again.”
With her successful business spanning more than 30 years, I wanted to find out what Liz enjoys most about her career, “I love the research – I’m naturally very inquisitive and love being able to go backstage or behind the scenes, into labs and libraries to uncover the best information about how we can all enjoy life and all it has to offer”. Having started her own charity in 2010, Liz continues to inspire and change the lives of others, “I started LiveTwice in 2010 when the Liz Earle Beauty Co. was sold and I wanted to put back into society. As I travel a great deal with botanical field trips and research projects, I’ve often come into direct contact with disadvantaged communities in need of welfare support, micro-finance and skills training. LiveTwice now supports some incredible initiatives in East Africa, as well as community projects in the UK too, ranging from a respite home for disabled children in Dorset to a training skills centre in Greater Manchester.”
As a busy mum to five children, Liz explains how she makes it all work, “A strong support system is incredibly helpful and I’m so fortunate to have plenty of family and friends around to help. My husband Patrick is a filmmaker and photographer so plans his trips at times when I’m around and vice-versa, so the children always have at least one of us at home and my parents are a great help with childminding
and dog-sitting.”
Liz cites being presented with an MBE from the Queen in 2009 as one of the main highlights of her career to date, “I think that receiving my MBE at Buckingham Palace from Her Majesty the Queen is pretty hard to beat. It was an extraordinary and unexpected accolade, and it was a genuine thrill.”
Her latest venture is her new book The Good Gut Guide which comes out this month. “I’m actually more excited about it than anything else I have written as it is packed with easily accessible scientific and medical research that really is cutting-edge for our wellbeing. It also contains a huge number of very practical family-friendly recipes that are easy to make, delicious to eat and really will help change
inner levels of beneficial bacteria, which in turn gives us more energy, clearer skin, greater immunity and make us generally feel happier.”
When it comes to downtime, Liz describes her ideal day, “My perfect day starts with a cup of Earl Grey tea and no early morning meetings or flights to catch. I love the weekends when the children pile into bed before breakfast and we chat about plans for the weekend ahead. If I’m home on my West Country farm, I like to take the dogs out for a long walk around the fields, enjoying seeing the change of the seasons in the trees and hedgerows. I love food and recipe testing, so at the weekend I’ll be trying out new foodie ideas on the family, whereas during the week we’ll be creating dishes and photographing them in my Battersea Wellbeing studios. I also do quite a bit of filming, so my day might include a spot for ITV1’s This Morning with Holly and Phil, or a new clip for my Liz Earle Wellbeing YouTube channel.”
Splitting her time between Battersea and the West Country, Liz shares a few of her favourite south London haunts, “I love brunch at St Clements in Parson’s Green and I often take my family there for avocado on toast and delicious fresh juices. I also like the deli Bayley and Sage that’s opposite and the vintage clothing shop next door for Save the Children. I’m a fan of Battersea Park where I’ll go for a run or head for some quiet time in the hidden herb garden and my children love Go Ape and the Crazy Golf! I also like the fresh brick-oven pizzas at Eco near Clapham Common.”
The interview was a feature article in Time & Leisure Magazine.