FRAGRANCE & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Leanne Haining is the creative driver behind the brand & responsible for the creation of Urban Rituelle's divine product collections.
She works passionately with the team to develop the brand's new products & is intimately involved with every facet of the process; from concept creation to developing the luxe formulations, designing packaging & the all-important fragrance blending (yes, she is the wonder woman behind unforgettable scents like Mandarin Basil & Lime AND Vanilla, Lavender & Geranium).
The creative energy & exquisite attention to detail invested into each & every product is what gives this Australian owned & made brand its unique and distinctive edge. Here, Leanne chats about the process involved with creating Urban Rituelle products & how she approaches the creative journey.
When creating a brand-new product collection, where do you find your inspiration?
Leanne: I am inspired by my love for nature & the environment, travel, art & design. I am always considering how colours & textures work harmoniously together in the landscape, as well as how colours & fragrance can influence our mood & home environment. Our ranges are designed to celebrate the simple but lovely things that we experience in our everyday lives, our daily rituals. When creating a collection we always ask ourselves, does this make the end user feel-good!
Our latest collection Natural Remedy is inspired by my desire for natural and sustainable products that are better for you and better for the environment. I am passionate about making positive steps to protect our precious planet.
Are there particular ingredients that you love to work with?
Leanne: We love working with botanical ingredients that are super nourishing & truly benefit the skin. Rosehip, Avocado & Sweet Almond oils as well as Shea Butter are ingredients we turn to again & again because they are such skin wonders! However, we love researching new ingredients that are particularly relevant to a range.
YOUR SENSE OF SCENT MUST BE INCREDIBLE!
HOW DO YOU ‘DESIGN' YOUR FRAGRANCES & WHAT IS THE PROCESS INVOLVED WITH CREATING FRAGRANCE BLENDS?
Leanne: We start with the story, thinking about the feelings we want to invoke & the journey we want the scents to take you on. Flourish Organics was all about the natural essential oils & organic ingredients & the effect they have on our mood, whereas Equilibrium was designed as a range to appeal to both men & women alike.
For our new collection Natural Remedy, it was very important for us to use natural essential oils that enhance your sense of wellbeing. There is an endless variety of scents to work with, so we also seek feedback & look at what our customers are loving at the moment.
What is your favourite part of the creation process?
I love the project management involved, starting with the conceptualisation & creation of packaging design with Jodie, our graphic designer, then providing the brief to our ingredient suppliers, working on planning timelines with our inventory manager, Alana, & of course trying out the final products & fragrances with the entire team. I also love seeing the packaging samples arrive for the first time, straight off the printer's press!
Of course, the big launch at the Gift Fair is super exciting, as I get to see firsthand our retail partners reaction to our latest product offerings! Seeing the stand fill up with customers & feel the buzz is a fantastic high.
How do you decide which products to put into a new collection?
Leanne: The product mix is an all-important decision. We start by thinking about what products work well with the story behind the range & then give consideration to what's emerging in the market; what trends are happening overseas as well as here in Australia. Another important aspect of the decision is the feedback we receive from our customers - we look at what they are currently loving and also what they're requesting. This is incredibly valuable as ultimately; we're creating for them!