Graduate Spotlight: Solo Skin London – Building a Life-Changing Skincare Business

At Formula Botanica, the leading cosmetic formulation school, we believe that anyone can learn how to formulate and create a life-changing beauty brand. In fact, most of our students come to us without any previous formulation or business knowledge and set out to launch successful beauty brands. One of our graduates, Naz Bashir, did exactly that. Her award-winning skincare brand, Solo Skin London, has changed many lives, starting with hers.

All her life, Naz struggled with sensitive skin. No matter how many skincare products she tried or how much money she spent, nothing seemed to work for her. Most store-bought products offset her psoriasis, causing further skin inflammation, redness, irritation, and break-outs. Finding a suitable skincare product seemed impossible, and Naz felt lonely, stressed, and frustrated. So she decided to change the narrative and take control of her life.

Naz started to recreate online DIY beauty recipes, sharing her products with friends and family, but she was worried about how safe they were. After some research, Naz found Formula Botanica and enrolled in the Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation. At first, Naz had no intention of creating a beauty brand and just wanted products that worked for her skin. But she soon realised that many people struggled with similar issues. When she saw that her formulations worked for her, she felt that she could help others too, and decided to create her own beauty brand targeted at dry and sensitive skin.

Naz launched Solo Skin London in 2020, just before the pandemic hit. At first, Naz didn’t get any sales. Instead of giving up, she decided to change her mindset. Naz started sharing her skincare journey and skin frustrations on social media. People started relating to her, and the sales started coming in. After only six months of being in business, she won the European “Free From” Award for her Night Facial Oil, praised for its suitability for those with sensitive or problematic skin.

Once she started making sales, Naz decided to reinvest in herself and complete the Certificate in Natural Cosmetic Preservation. Since then, Solo Skin has grown organically and Naz developed a successful product range to nourish and soothe the skin, including an eye oil, a bakuchiol oil, a nourishing body oil, a body polish, and an oil-to-milk cleanser. Today, Naz has built a name for herself in the industry, and still regularly shares her skin frustrations with her community, helping people feel less alone in their skin journey.

Find out more about Naz and Solo Skin:

• Website: Solo Skin London
•  Instagram: @soloskinlondon
•  Interview: Podcast 127: From Indie Beauty Brand to Selling 500 Creams

Join us today and become like naz

If you’re as inspired as we are by Naz’s journey and dream of changing people’s lives with your custom formulations, check out our free training program and our award-winning courses. Learn how to formulate safe and effective products from home, and turn these formulations into a successful business. Soon, you’ll be on your way to creating the natural beauty business of your dreams.

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Ariane Triebswetter

Ariane is Formula Botanica’s Content Creator and an active member of the student community. She has worked as a professional journalist, blogger, copywriter and editor before joining Formula Botanica full-time in 2024.