The Roakebook: Char Legge
Welcome to the second instalment of The Roakebook, our monthly series of interviews with local women who also just so happen to be Roake Studio customers. August brings us to the rolling woods and fields that make up Duxmore Farm in the very heart of the Island to meet Char Legge, aromatherapist, cosmetic scientist, holistic massage therapist and founder of one of our favourite Island brands, Duxmore Botanics. We’ve joined forces to launch our brand new Roake Studio x Duxmore Botanics garment spray, a beautiful way to care for your clothes.
It’s a humid day and we’re a bit hot and bothered when we arrive, but Char’s beautiful home instantly transports us to the relaxed vibes of a cool spa thanks to one of her signature blend reed diffusers that’s placed artfully by the front door (geranium, lime and black pepper, since you ask).
The aromas continue as we make our way through to the kitchen. “Even at this time of year, I’ve always got a candle on,” says Char, who is wearing our Bonnie dress in embroidered linen as she pops the kettle on.
Char, who lives with her farmer husband Matt and their three children, set up Duxmore Botanics four years ago, but her love of aromatherapy goes back much further. And it was an accidental affair. “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. My friend had an opening in an aromatherapy course she was running, which I did and became absolutely obsessed. I loved the fact that we were treating people with oils that would suit their ailments or concerns, and that they would help with how they were feeling.” The course also covered the chemistry behind each essential oil, its chemical makeup and all of the individual constituents behind each one, which Char found fascinating. “Every essential oil was unique, but there would be another essential oil with a very similar chemical makeup that smelled completely different. That was really exciting for me.”
Keen to continue in the field, after applying for a job as a shop manager at Liz Earle, Char then found herself working in the brand’s customer service centre, where questions from customers about ingredients had her liaising with the chemists to find the answers. This led to her moving into product development, where she stayed for thirteen years.
“Those chemists at the time really inspired me. I worked alongside them, got to play in the lab and make stuff. The joy of seeing something go from your initial concept through to hitting the shelf is just amazing. And I don’t think I will ever tire of that magic.”
A buyout by Boots meant a change in role for Char at Liz Earle, away from her beloved product development labs, so she took the leap and set up on her own and she hasn’t looked back. Duxmore Botanics uses ethically and responsibly sourced ingredients to make its aromatherapy oils, room sprays, candles, body care and more, all curated in-house by Char. Her enthusiasm for what she does is infectious; if ever someone lives and breathes what they do for a living, it’s her.
“The beginning and the end of my day are critical, everything else in between is a bit of a whirlwind,’ she says when I ask about using aromatherapy in her everyday life. “In the morning I do the whole facial oil routine, but come evening it’s very much about my bath soak and my face and body oil, really taking the time to massage those products in or soak in the scents. Just a little bit of something magical.”
It’s not all about relaxing either; whether it’s prolonging that energised mood when she comes back from the gym, or helping with memory retention in exams, Char always turns to her aromatherapy blends. “When I did my cosmetic science exams, it’s pretty intense, so I made a rosemary, eucalyptus and mandarin blend, had it as a rollerball on my wrists and spritzed it in the room while I was studying . And then when I was in the exam, I used the same rollerball on my wrists for memory retention. It really does work!”
Location is a huge inspiration for Char's work. “This all sounds super cheesy, but you can’t do what we do and not be inspired by nature. Our job never ever stops on the farm, it’s 24/7, and everything is dictated by the rhythm of Mother Nature. It keeps you totally grounded.” At Christmas, Char developed a blend of pine, cypress and bay, inspired by the festive foliage the family entwines around the staircase and the wreath making they do with family and friends around the kitchen table. “Your sense of smell bypasses everything and goes straight to the limbic system, giving you a memory trigger. The sense you get from that greenery that we bring in - I wanted to make that smell.” Duxmore Botanics even has an entire Island range, developed to evoke a feeling of escape and the sound of waves. “I wanted to transport people to how they felt when they were here and to take it away with them and still remember their special time on the Island.”
I’m almost scared to ask if Char has a favourite scent - like picking a favourite child, maybe? - but it turns out there’s a clear winner. “Geranium has always been my favourite,” she gushes without hesitation.
“It’s a balancing essential oil both on the senses and on the skin. I love its versatility; we have a really soothing, balancing blend of lavender and bergamot with geranium which is one of our most popular blends. Then we blend it with lime and black pepper, which really lifts the geranium, taking out some of the floral elements and adding some zest and heat, almost bringing out the green leafy notes. We have another blend with mint and eucalyptus and citrus notes, which is again completely different.”
You’ll find geranium, along with lavender and bergamot, in our new Roake Studio linen mist, kindly crafted for us by Char. Launching this month, use it to refresh your garments between washes. This means you can do the laundry less frequently and help prolong the life of your Roake Studio garments. Or just give your clothes a spritz to smell amazing! Handmade right here on the Isle of Wight, much like our clothing collection.
Char wears our Bonnie dress in Meadow Embroidery linen. For a delicate refresh, spritz a fine mist of our geranium, lavender and bergamot garment spray over your clothes from 30cm away.
Interview by Hannah Rochell.