Photo Diary: Weleda Insight Day 2015

Last Sunday, I was invited to an Insight Day at Weleda's UK headquarters in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. I've been lucky enough to attend many blogger and PR related events over the past two years, but this was the first time I've visited the actual farm where ingredients are grown to make a brand's products.

Weleda are a brand that I'm very fond of as I was born in Germany and they are a huge household name over there.  My mum re-located back to Germany a couple of years ago, and much of her bathroom cabinet is full of Weleda products.  When I told her about the Insight Day she was a tiny bit jealous to say the least!

For those of you who are wondering what an Insight Day is, it's a special day where Weleda open their doors to the public and let you have a look around, 'behind the scenes' style.  Press, bloggers, beauty and healthcare professionals, make-up artists and retailers are all invited so there was a good mix of people present.

I was the first to arrive and was warmly welcomed with a hot cup of herbal tea.  Whilst I was waiting, I had a wander around Weleda's 'Original' Garden; a small but beautifully kept area that features some of the plants that they use in their products and is ecologically managed to encourage lots of bees and birds to thrive nearby.

Once everyone had arrived, we all headed off in a minibus to 'The Field'; Weleda's incredible 13 acre plot of land where they grow plants and herbs for their skincare products and natural medicines.  As I study Environmental Science alongside Social Policy, this was like heaven on earth for me!

Weleda's head gardener explained all the different plants and herbs to us as we made our way through the fields.  Everything here is grown organically and bio dynamically, with the utmost respect to nature and its inhabitants.  Dotted around the land are bee houses to encourage natural pollination.

My favourite area was where they grew their Chamomile.  I've used this ingredient in so many different products, so it was amazing to see it flourish in its natural state.  

After our tour around The Field, we headed into a tent and were shown how Weleda make their tinctures.  I've never tried any of their natural medicines or remedies before, but after the visit, it's certainly got me intrigued and will be something I'll be looking at in further detail in the near future.  

Back into the minibus, we returned to the beautiful Garden Room for a delicious lunch which was prepared by a local deli.  Yummy!  I took my slice of Chocolate and Orange cake home with me for the train journey back and it was absolutely divine!

After lunch, we were shown a presentation about the history of Weleda which included its early origins right up until the present day.  It was fascinating to hear how they still work to many of their original principles after all this time and never compromise on the quality of their ingredients.

Next up we had a little soap making workshop going on which was fun!  My all natural creation featured Grapefruit Essential Oil and dried Chamomile Flowers.

Lastly, we were all introduced to some very exciting new products from Weleda which are soon to be launched in the UK.  I couldn't resist testing everything out and my hands and arms smelt and felt amazing afterwards!

 One of the original Weleda adverts

At the end of the Insight Day, we were each gifted a very generous goody bag which featured their brand new Arnica Sports Shower Gel (on sale from August), Skin Food (a firm favourite of mine!), Evening Primrose Age Revitalising Night Cream (my mum will love this) and the new Almond Sensitive Skin Body Lotion (on sale from September and it smells so good!).

I had a lovely time and met up with Amber, Tamara, Christina and Majka - go check out their blogs if you don't already follow them!  Reviews on the future Weleda releases will go up nearer to their launch dates so keep an eye out :)

To find out more about Weleda, visit weleda.co.uk

Do you use any Weleda products?  Which are your favourites?

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