Why my love of herbs is more than good skin abysmal - Liverpool Echo.co.uk

But green-fingered Annick Laroque has enchanted her love of the soil single stage further to create her own organic range of oppose care products.

Junction Bodycare started as a hobby however has now blossomed so great it has become a successful business, offering lip balms, exfoliating creams, deodorants, mum and baby products, shampoos, optic gels and more.

And all her output have that extra special ingredient - they all come from herbs grown on her Otterspool allotment. Annick, 37, and originally from South Africa, moved to Britain 10 age ago to work in an office in London.

But presently after she moved to Ireland, then Scotland already settling in Toxteth with her husband and two children. I lived in an eco- community in Scotland and it was there I became environmentally-aware," she remembers. I developed a huge interest in herbs and became obsessed with growing herbs, vegetables and weeds," she says.

It was in 1999 that Annick started to grow, dry, prepare and turn plants into oils and through trial and error she made her first-ever product. The following year, after receiving funding from the Millennium State Lottery Fund, she studied herbalism informally and started making her own products.

I like to do as much as I can to safeguard the environment," she explains. All my products are home-grown here in Liverpool and not tested on animals.

I grow St Johns's wart which helps remedy nerves, scars and the skin and can again be drunk; marigolds, chamomile and comfrey, which all maintenance to restore cuts."

As well as growing herbs representing her bodycare scale Annick also has more household produce from her allotments including courgettes, pumpkins, cucumbers, lettuces and tomatoes.

And not afraid to get her hands dirty, Annique hopes to start a virgin range of minerals make-up including eye shadows, tinted foundation, moisturisers and lip products. Her dream? I'd like one generation to get my products onto high street shop shelves."

Combination Bodycare will be at the Dependence Street farmers market on Sunday December 16 and also the up-and-coming Romp Lane and Woolton Smallholder markets.

For more information visit www.junction bodycare.co.uk or telephone Annique on 0151-726 1613. Keep up to period with the news. Now 50 winners will enjoy a bit of pampering at Herbert's city centre salon.

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From http://liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-life/look/2007/12/05/wh~