Berry Necessary There's Ower In Beauty

Soraya Hendesi, of Auckland, founded snowberry skincare.

- Ciara Pratt

When I was a little girl in Iran, I would spend many hours in our fragrant Persian garden making perfumes, skincare and little potions for my mother and grandmother.

My mother was a very elegant woman, and a huge influence on my interest in beauty brands and products from an early age. My grandmother was in charge of UNICEF’s humanitarian nurse’s organisation in Tehran and was a true example of a living angel. That’s why on the Snowberry packaging there is a lady with a lantern. It symbolises my grandmother, who is holding the guiding light. The artwork also features a girl giving a gift to her mother, which is me as a child making things for my mum in the garden.

I was always taught that it’s important to look after yourself because it makes you feel good. Beauty is not just putting on a mask, it’s about the feeling. And I believe you are born with what you love doing and your gut feeling will guide you. That’s what has happened with me throughout my life.