Essenciel
founder: Sabrina Dehilis
course: Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation
Graduation year: 2025
location: United Kingdom
Hero product: Prickly Pear Night Face Oil
Brand overview
Founded in the United Kingdom by Formula Botanica graduate Sabrina Dehilis, Essenciel grew from a very personal search for a simpler approach to skincare.
Having experienced dry, sensitive skin for much of her life, Sabrina had struggled to find products that worked for her. Her search led her towards botanical ingredients and, in particular, prickly pear seed oil sourced from northern Algeria. It became the ingredient that inspired Essenciel and remains at the heart of the brand today.
Drawing inspiration from North African botanical traditions, Essenciel offers face oils and ritual-inspired skincare designed around carefully selected plant-based ingredients. Its hero product, the Prickly Pear Night Face Oil, features organic prickly pear seed oil produced using a slow cold-pressing process that can take up to 72 hours.
Sabrina’s Formula Botanica journey is slightly different from many of our graduates, as Essenciel was already established when she enrolled on the Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation. She came to Formula Botanica wanting to deepen her formulation knowledge and strengthen the technical foundations behind the brand she had already created.
Sabrina describes her Formula Botanica studies as a catalyst for professionalising Essenciel. The course helped her develop her understanding of formulation and ingredient functionality, giving her greater confidence to refine her products and work with botanical ingredients at a higher technical level. She also gained valuable insight into the wider industry and regulatory considerations involved in developing and growing a professional skincare brand.
Today, Sabrina continues to develop Essenciel around the philosophy that first inspired it: bringing together botanical ingredients, simplicity and a considered approach to skincare.
