D'Still Beauty — South Coast Squared

BEAUTY

Ula blocksage: D’STILL beauty SKINCARE

Ula Blocksage is the founder of local skincare company D'Still Beauty , an international beauty brand which she grew in less than a year.

Looking through the D'Still website, we soon discover that handmade, high-performance skincare is not the only important factor. Inspired by nature, the business seeks to help guide us to reconnect ourselves with nature and find the balance needed to lead a healthy, happy life.

Imagined in Paris, but born in Hastings, D'Still is a reflection of its owner, Ula who began her life here in Hastings, but left when her family migrated for a new life to Australia when she was nine years of age.

Her life has been a journey of healing and deep listening, working through challenging issues such as acne and anxiety to find a place of greater peace and wisdom, which she now shares by way of her business.

Her family lived in contrasting parts of Australia including the remote Outback region and the tropical Daintree area in far north Queensland. Later on, she moved to Adelaide to study art, printmaking and photography at University, followed by a Masters in 19th-century printing processes. By her admission, this made her very unemployable in the short term.

After graduating she left for Paris to visit her sister who was living there, but quickly spent her savings and realised she wanted to stay longer, she said, "I thought [it] was going to be six months!"

Initially, Ula became a tour guide in Paris with some photography on the side. Over time photography became her main job as she became fluent in French. What started as six months, soon became seven years, she said; "I never wanted to live in the city, it just happened."

As Ula's time in Paris drew to a close, she decided to say bon-voyage to the city of light and felt ready to return home, to the sea and Hastings.

“I came to realise that my spots were hormonally related and that a lot of the ingredients that were inside the products were hormone-disrupting chemicals - I felt there must be another approach.” ”

"It took me a long time to get the courage together, to make that big leap of faith".
Before doing so, Ula decided to take some time for herself and embarked on a solo trip around Scotland after a long term relationship ended. That trip was followed shortly afterwards by a spiritual journey to study yoga at an ashram in India.
This is where she met her partner Josh and together decided to move to Hastings in September 2019. Ula has now been back for over two years saying: "I am so happy to be back!".
Ula's passion for skincare came from personal experience. As a teenager, she had severe acne, which did not pass as she became an adult; "I started getting spots as a teenager, but then it got a lot worse as I got older, it was hard. "
Having tried everything she could to help her condition, Ula continued to fail in getting the right results, which often came with side effects; "I decided I would start paying more attention to what was in the skincare products. I came to realise that my spots were hormonally related and that a lot of the ingredients that were inside the products were hormone-disrupting chemicals - I felt there must be another approach.”
Ula followed her instinct that the ultimate healer must be nature, she studied Herbalism and started to create basic formulations.

“I knew I wanted to launch the brand in England. I wanted to be by the sea and wanted the brand to take a holistic approach to healing the skin.”

Developing an idea which began as a teenager was a personal project for Ula; "Ever since I was a kid, I felt like I wanted to work in a space where I was supporting other people who had gone through what I had gone through. When I realised that these products were effective on the skin, it reignited that desire."

She started to share recipes with others on her Youtube channel and things progressed; "I got these lovely comments and people would say, 'this has really helped me and thank you for sharing', [it was] then I decided that maybe I could commercialise it."

Her next step was to go back to school, where she got the qualifications needed to really know how to do things properly. Including a Diploma in Organic Skincare Formulation and an Advanced Diploma in Cosmetic Science.

D'Still launched in January 2020.

“everything is bought in small quantities to reduce waste and we only use quality ingredients which are handmade in small batches.”

Since its launch, the company has experienced rapid growth, selling high quality, effective skincare products. Reaching a wide audience on a small budget through social media, Ula said; "The power of social media has changed how you can market yourself online, I am [competing alongside] these massive corporations. You get people saying, ‘I would love to purchase your product but it’s just too expensive, and I understand the products are not cheap, but everything is bought in small quantities to reduce waste and we only use quality ingredients which are handmade in small batches.”

D'Still now sells in multiple countries across the world. Building a network of resellers meant that beauty professionals who understood the products were able to spread the word. Ula said; "It is going very well. It takes time to gain customers, but we are very successful in America at the moment, and we are stocked in seven different countries."

“We have a facial at the old rectory in the old town. I wanted to work with Facialists and Aestheticians because they truly understand the benefit of slowing down and having a treatment, taking the time to love and honour yourself.”

“The products have a real sensorial aspect to them, they feel really good to use and ask you to slow down and look after yourself and be more awakened in the way you live.”

All the products are handmade by Ula, right here in Hastings. Helping out is her mum who has been enlisted as Head of Fulfilment, she said; "I have moved my studio into my house where I have an office. I have a little artisan lab where I make everything myself."

The products reflect Ula's values and what matters to her; "It is about slowing down, taking your time and being present with yourself. It's important to appreciate yourself. Looking at yourself in the mirror and taking time to look after yourself, because that weaves its way to deeper healing."

“I wanted to create a business that would allow me to live in the space that I love most, which is here in Hastings, back by the sea. It is so much more than skincare to me, it is almost as if it is a portal to something else and to say something bigger.”

By following her passion and taking her time, she has created a business that is both considered and authentic. It may appear from the outside that things have moved quickly but actually, D'Still has been a lifetime in the making.

"From being a stressed person living in a big city, a lot of the time working jobs that didn't bring me a lot of happiness, to now living by the sea in my favourite place having access to nature daily, all while running my dream company."

Ula Blocksage's life has certainly been a fascinating one, from this side of the planet to the other, and back again, she is someone her home town of Hastings can be very proud of.

D'Still Beauty

By Damien Pestell & Charles Osaji

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Ula blocksage: D’STILL beauty SKINCARE

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