Spotlight on: Five Dot Botanics – Minimal, Botanical Skincare

And finally but just as importantly, they are challenging the beauty industry by being radical & transparent: you won’t find long, long and impenetrable ingredients lists in Five Dot products.

What you will find is an ethos of doing more with less.

Transparency.

Non-binary skincare… the products are very much for everyone, regardless of gender.

And for me, something extra… which has won me over these past few months (and not just from using the products) is that actual, real connection to the Brand owners… they are accessible to answer our questions via their social media channels… they’re just two, regular, normal people who… yes, wanted to launch a business… but a business which does good.

All of this has seen this fledgling brand nominated as finalist in Beauty Awards and the brand’s gaining momentum in the media/industry….

So are you ready to meet Zaffrin and hear her back story, thoughts on sustainable living, social media and of course, answering #alltherandomquestions which popped into my head as I emailed her…

What made you believe that you could take on the skincare industry, when it already has SO many giants out there?

The world has changed, as a founder led challenger brand I can see how much people yearn for proper connection with companies that have good values. My lack of knowledge about the beauty industry gave me courage to launch Five Dot Botanics, I never felt we were launching a beauty brand at the time, I felt we were offering minimalist skincare to people like me. To offer a different point of view, to be inclusive and to challenge the concept of long ingredients lists.

You started the business with your husband: did you both hatch the plan together or did you have to persuade him to buy into the idea?

Brian and I never set out to run a business together, however Five Dot Botanics was born out of an idea that we came up with when talking about skincare and transparency. We both felt the beauty industry was a bit behind. It is very much a joint creation and we have refined and built everything together. We have very different skills sets and at the start we used to not understand each other, however after a while we learned how to work well together. It’s weird to say that because you think as a married couple we should know each other, however working on a business is very different to having a relationship or a family together, when we work on the business we are pretty professional, we are like work colleagues.

You have a full time job, a side hustle of a business, 3 children (including a baby!), you keep bees… and most recently, organised the production of a hand sanitizer to give away for free (not a profit based initiative…) so… my question is: are you, in fact… Superwoman?

I get asked a lot about how I manage my time to do all these things. There are 3 key things that allow me to fit things in to my day:

 – The first is that I don’t watch any TV. The last time I watched TV regularly was Christmas 2017. There is not enough time in the day to do everything you want so you have to be ruthless in how you spend your time and give up things you may want in order to prioritise your ambitions. TV is entertaining but the rise of boxsets mean we spend 20,30,40 hours in passive entertainment when other pursuits can bring greater happiness and contentment.

–  The second is that I split the family and domestic duties equally with Brian, if anything I would say he maybe does a bit more than me because I am so terrible at the homework stuff.

–  And finally, I write a lot down I am organised and clear on what I need to achieve in the short term and what I want in the long term. It is a slow and steady pace, but it does take organisation. The beekeeping is really a hobby taken up out of necessity, opening up a hive with 60,000 bees is the only place I really slow down.

What product is next on your hit list to develop? 

A 5 ingredient natural sunscreen!

Why did you choose Morse code as your logo?

The brand mission when we started talking about the idea was “decode your skincare” so the idea of un-coding things was in the brand DNA.

The morse code in our logo spells the word “FIVE” and we love that morse code allows you to communicate with less, which aligns completely with our values for skincare.

It was our designer who then brought it all to life with Morse Code, she is an absolute genius and someone that has helped us create an aesthetic that is unique to us.

There’s a great deal of hypocrisy on social media with various influencers seemingly motivated by becoming the bestest ‘Salesperson’ rather than being motivated by true belief in a brand / product / service: after this pandemic… Do you think that the Influencer bubble might burst?

I think people will always look to people for guidance and inspiration.

I think it is a tricky one as influencers are motivated by different things. I think is OK for an influencer to monetise their audience if they are clear to their audience about what they are doing.

However, in the past it has been a murky world of brands and influencer collusion.

I think post pandemic there is going to be a shift in perception, I don’t think it is an influence bubble that is bursting, it may well  be a rampant consumerism bubble that is bursting and influencers are a consequences of shifting behaviors.  

In 4 years of Instagramming and blogging, I have never been offered the opportunity* to promote any skincare or make-up: do you think it’s a bit of a white-wash out there in this Industry Sector?

I absolutely LOVE that you promote your products for skin: ALL skin… men and women… Should this be the future of all skincare?

Inclusive beauty is the future of beauty and inclusive beauty is at the heart of what Five Dot Botanics is about. We make skincare for everyone. Gender inclusivity is only part of a larger conversation that is happening in the beauty industry, which is about better serving consumers who for a long time have been underrepresented.

I grew up feeling completely excluded by the beauty industry, no one looked like me, no one looked real and we were all being taught to strife for a perfect “look”. We are heading into a huge shift in beauty, where diversity, inclusion and celebration of real people is what brands need to be about.

[*please note: just because I use Instagram and blog, does not mean I expect to be approached by skincare / beauty brands… this was more a statement of fact… there’s very few people who look like “me” who get offered the opportunity… that’s kinda all I was trying to say there.]

Hopes and Dreams for Five Dot for the next couple of years….?

To grow and remain true to our values. I also want to launch larger social impact projects, we have a few in the pipeline however we need to get a bit bigger first. Our brand needs to stand for things that are much bigger than simply making a profit, we have to help create a better world, we have to improve the lives of others. It is this focus that helps steer the business.

Do you have a style icon? 

You, I feel very inspired by your feed and I like the quirky touches you give things, that resonates with me, that edge of difference. 

Who was your first crush? 

Does anyone remember Corey Haim in The Lost Boys?

(er…. yes!!! I remember the two Corey’s… Haim was leagues above Feldman to my eyes!!)

In terms of the ‘slow living’ movement, on a scale of 1 – 10, how difficult do you find making sustainable choices when it comes to living with kids?

That’s a tricky one, maybe 5. I don’t feel it is difficult but it is not always easy.

We don’t tend to buy a lot of things, our house has a a lot of second hand furniture and the kids clothes we buy infrequently (more out of distraction than intentional), the kids moan that nothing fits them.

We try to consume as little as possible, we don’t buy anything we don’t need.

We do travel (or used to) a bit, Brian is Irish so we fly there to see family and we are aware of the impact. Society is rapidly changing, it is much easier to make more sustainable choices these days than it used to be. 

You already have your hands full with 3 children… but could a pet Schnauzer be on the cards anytime soon? 

I love Sylvie and I love Grenson*.

I never grew up around dogs so I am one of those people that is a bit cautious around them, however Brian and the kids really want a dog.

I don’t know, a dog feels like a big responsibility, everyone says I would end up being the one who would love it the most. Who knows, life is full of the unexpected!

[*Grenson is Hannah Rochelle @enbrogue’s schnauzer!]

La La Land or The Greatest Showman?

La La Land (I have to confess to not having watched The Greatest Showman!) 

[Phew! We can still be friends! I’m in the La La camp… not going to worry that you’ve not seen “the other musical” !]

Gucci or Chanel?

Only your versions of them Bean, which give me such pleasure, I just feel Vogue should run those photos…

Marmite or Jam?

Jam (I have a sweet tooth!)

[Wondering if you’ve ever tried the salty goodness of Marmite *with* a scraping of jam too… it’s my youngest who made us try it… honest!]

Many thanks to Zaffrin for agreeing to be interviewed for my blog!

Now… a little bit about the Five Dot Products I’ve been using these past few months:

1. Brighten Up ‘Balancing Mist’ (£28 for 50ml)

This is a hydrating fruit and flower face mist which you can spritz onto your cleansed face, any time of day, brightening and refreshing your complexion.

This was the last of the four products which I’d won to start getting good usage instead of one spritz, every blue moon… why did I use it so little?

I suppose the fact that I’d never used a face spritz of any kind before was a big factor… and because I’m generally quite slow to adopt anything “new” into my routine (yep, a creature of habit here!)

However, since lockdown, I’ve used this daily… and I’ve noticed a marked difference in my ‘T’ zone… which admittedly, wasn’t ever a super oily (or dry!) T-zone but none the less, my complexion feels more ‘balanced’.

I’ve only been using this for a relatively short time though.

2. Full Bright ‘Renewal Eye Serum’ (£30 for 10ml)

This was the first of the four products I tried and continue to use daily and quite simply: it is awesome!

The description of being a ‘powerhouse for eyes’ on the Five Dot site is 100% accurate in my eyes (excuse the pun!)

The two primary ingredients being Horse Chestnut and Caffeine, which help reduce puffiness and dark circles.

My dark under eye circles are a result of years and years of not drinking enough water, dreadful sleep patterns and of course, age.

Having used this serum for the past few months, on a daily basis… it’s really helped reduce the dark circles.

Unfortunately… since lockdown, my sleep pattern is quite possibly the *worst* it’s ever been… and no meditation sleep app, reading etc is helping: so my dark circles aren’t doing so great right now.

But I will say, they would be 100x worse if I wasn’t using this eye serum.

Fact.

3. Deep Feed ‘Nourishing Facial Serum‘ (£38 for 30ml)

THIS IS THE BEST serum I have ever used.

And I have tried and used several in my time!

I’m not one for using too many products on my skin, though now we’re entering warmer weather, I will be applying SPF.

During Autumn and Winter though… I’ve just used the serum on my face, no creams: I scarcely get to see daylight because of my working hours which are followed by after school club school pick-ups or a stint of ferrying the kids about in “mum’s taxi” and then home.

So until now, the SPF thing hasn’t been a concern.

I’m fully on board with the Five Dot Botanics “do MORE with LESS” ethos.

The serum is soothing and the Green Coffee and Cacay extracts act to repair the skin.

In recent years, I’ve become prone to a “pimple” outbreak on my forehead and it’s very much hormonal.

I’m 48… so… some at my age are already *there* though I’ve only just recently joined the peri-menopausal club.

Using this Deep Feed serum has certainly nourished my skin, and along with the face mist, helped balance things out for a more even complexion.

I don’t like heavy, oily creams or serums that sit on the skin… this Deep Feed serum massages into the skin really well, absorbing nicely, no greasy residue and a lovely soft feeling.

The smell isn’t strong or overpowering… it’s gentle.

So far so good, right?

A bit of #pricechat before I move onto the final product and news of the giveaway.

If you are thinking these products are kinda pricey… I would say: you need to drop that thought.

My face serum has lasted six months and probably has a week or so left in it.

The eye serum has lasted just as long: I am now leaving it to stand upside down though, to ensure it still rolls on nicely as I reckon it’s reaching the end as well… and repurchase is on the cards.

AND FINALLY…

4. Pure Rewind ‘Restorative Mask‘ (£28 for 30ml)