Becca Project is the brainchild of two busy, environmentally conscious, ethical mothers from Auckland’s North Shore. After ignoring autoimmune diseases, their children’s close friendship, and a love of style and design, they discovered essential oils. Moving from skepticism to undeniable firsthand health and wellbeing benefits, Bec and Carlie decided to redefine the way essential oils can be used.
From combining pure organic oils to creating divine fragrance combinations to making high quality recyclable packaging, Becca Project has reinterpreted the use of essential oils through a range of desirable products. From candles to body oils, they pick up the slow beauty movement and call on clients to take a break, take a breath (mood-enhancing essential oils), and take care of themselves.
We met Bec and Carlie to find out how it all started and what plans there are for the future.
Let’s take it from above – how did the Becca project come about?
Carlie: I kept getting sick from working in the hospital and ended up being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease like chronic fatigue. I had days of days when I couldn’t get up. A friend was very excited about the benefits of essential oils and suggested they give them a try. I was quite skeptical at first, but as I learned more I felt the benefits but was stuck at a hurdle – so many of them smelled awful!
Bec: I also have an autoimmune disease of the joints. Carlie and I were both intrigued by the potential effects of essential oils, but we both agreed that we had to do something to make the scents better and less overwhelming. We talked about burning the oils in wax since we were both scented candle fans and signed up for a candle making class.
Carlie: The deal happened almost by accident. My husband’s brother runs a printing and design company called Cube and we asked him to make some packaging models for the candles. Before we knew it, we had quite a number and thought, ‘Well, we’d better sell them now’.
What was your biggest challenge?
Bec: Time. And we were determined to mix the oils straight into the wax, even though we were told it couldn’t. It turns out this is possible, but not without some trial and error!
Carlie: We had to throw away entire batches in the early days, but combining the oils with the wax is a game changer. This means the amazing mood-enhancing benefits of the essential oils are released and inhaled while the candle burns. Most candles only use fragrance, which is what really sets us apart.
So you’re not just another candle company?
Carlie: We really aren’t! It can be difficult to understand what sets us apart, but basically all of our products contain real, pure, organic essential oils. Not just the scent that is widely used and sold in beauty products and candles: the actual oils and all of their mental, health-promoting properties.
How do you choose your fragrance / oil combinations?
Carlie: We choose a feeling – an experience if you want. So how do we want someone to feel rested, relaxed, and sleepy as a result? Then we explore the oils and start mixing.
Bec: It’s our favorite part of the process. We started getting a good feel for what goes well together now so that we can mix a fragrance that we are proud of. We know it smells great and we’ll have fun with it too.
Tell us what motivates you?
Bec: We built the Becca project with slowness in mind. Our ethos is all about hygge and we take our time to enjoy the little things like lighting a candle. That’s why we launched our range of candles. There are already so many products on the market that a consumer can buy. We wanted our range to be selected and unique, offering only quality products that would make our customers feel satisfied and take a moment to take care of themselves.
Carlie: We found it a little depressing to see the beauty industry generating so much waste – over-packaging, 10-step beauty regimes. We wanted to offer an alternative to ‘Fast Beauty’, which is about the next best thing and is layered product by product.
How important is sustainability for your brand?
Bec: It’s all. We applaud “slow beauty”. All of our products are designed for sustainability and the environment. All of our packaging, glasses, bottles, etc. are recyclable. We source pure, organic, natural ingredients and everything is sourced from the region wherever possible. We pride ourselves on being a local New Zealand company and the fact that this will reduce our carbon footprint is very important to us.
What’s next for the Becca project?
Carlie: We would like to move to a larger manufacturing facility so that we can produce the range on a larger scale. Right now, our space is limited so the expansion would open up some new opportunities for scaling.
Bec: We are working on a room spray that will match our existing fragrance combinations. This provides the “quick fix” option if you want to perfume the room but don’t have time to light a candle. We also have a lip balm in the wings that contains all natural, skin-loving, moisturizing ingredients.
Read the inspiring journeys of our Getting The Gig alumni.
Photo credit: Becca Project
