What made you and your childhood best friend Yoana decide to start the business?

Me and Yoana have spent the past couple of years living between Bulgaria and the large capitals of the world and always missed one thing about modern society - the fact that it has disconnected from its natural origin and folklore.

While science and innovation are steering our communities into the future, we still believe people are not appreciating and benefiting from the true genius of the past. Me and Yoana grew up together and we would often watch our grandmothers mix up herbs they picked up from the nearest forest, prepare face and hair masks using eggs, yoghurt, clays and different heavenly smelling oils. And that is also when we first learnt about the great power of ancient local beauty routines.

The skincare recipes passed on to us by previous generations are our biggest inspiration for creating the brand, and that’s also what makes our products truly unique. We wanted to go back to our roots and revive the history and folklore of our beautiful homeland Bulgaria through our skincare formulations, and share this ancient wisdom with the world. And that’s how Mazillo was born - it’s folklore-inspired skincare, led by nature, and informed by science.

Where does the name Mazillo come from, and what does it mean?

We really wanted to tell our story through every little detail about the brand and our name is not an exception.

Mazillo in Bulgarian means ‘ointment’ - it literally depicts anything at all that can be used to improve the health of your skin which is also what all our products do.

As you say that Mazillo is grounded in folklore, do you have any favourite tales that you’ve used as a symbol for any of your products?

You may have noticed our two ranges have ‘Samodiva’ in the name. In Bulgarian folklore, the Samodiva are female woodland nymphs. They’re eternally young, unearthly beautiful, and free-spirited creatures. Dwelling in forests, lakes, and mountain woods, these magical beings are said to make men fall instantly in love. Their close connection to nature also makes them knowledgeable about magical herbs and potions. Legend has it that if one manages to get a glimpse of a Samodivas gathering they could also learn their secret beauty recipes.

We also love the Thracian tale of the birth of the Orpheus flower too. Legend has it that this flower was born from the tears of Orpheus, the gifted child of Apollo and the muse Calliope. It’s said he could charm animals and make trees dance. When he lost his beloved wife Eurydice to the underworld, he cried upon the Rhodope mountains. Where his tears fell, a beautiful purple flower grew in its place.

This unique plant still thrives in Bulgaria today. Also called the ‘Resurrection Flower’, it can survive complete dehydration for up to 31 months and, with a single drop of water, return to its luscious green state. It’s believed to have survived over 20 million years and we do use this incredible ingredient in our Replenishing Moisturiser.

How would you describe the process you’ve both been through since launching?

Managing every aspect of our skincare brand on our own is definitely a big challenge but that’s also what makes it an incredibly exciting and rewarding experience. We wanted to make every aspect of the brand special and unique, that’s why we decided to keep 100% of the process in house - from sourcing ingredients directly from local suppliers, to formulating and manufacturing.

It’s definitely a lot of work on top of day-to-day tasks such as marketing, emails, orders and that’s why most brands decide to outsource this aspect of the business but we don’t regret that choice the slightest. I’d even say it’s the best decision we’ve made about the brand as it ensures we deliver the best quality products to our customers which, after all, is our main goal. We’re extremely passionate about what we do and receiving so many positive reviews and happy client’s emails and messages makes it all worth it. On top of that, we’ve developed so many new skills and learnt so much about running a business that would not have been possible otherwise.

What challenges have you faced since launching?

Apart from the challenge to juggle marketing, accounting, social media, sales and manufacturing, we launched the brand in December 2021 which was followed by a set of events bringing a great uncertainty on a global scale. With inflation and cost of goods rising and people’s disposable income decreasing, this brings a lot of challenges to us as a small independent brand. However, we do see more and more consumers supporting indie brands like ours and we’re incredibly grateful for that!

We stick to our key principles which are focus, passion and delegation to keep going forward, expand and improve the brand over time despite the challenging times. We truly believe the best is yet to come!

What’s your favourite product on the website?

My favourite product is our Purify+Nourish Face Mask. It is truly a unique product in a sense that despite it being a mask containing clay (which is usually quite drying), it’s incredibly nourishing. I treat myself to it once or twice a week and use it in the evenings as it helps with acne, brightens the skin, and decreases pigmentation, a large concern of mine.

Its rich and nourishing texture, enriched with Bulgarian rose stem cells, also makes for a perfect pamper night. You’ll even be able to feel a slight tingle as the stem cells work their magic. I love it for the instant visible results and how my skin feels - immediately refreshed and revived!

You’ve been featured in some amazing publications, including Vanity Fair, Vogue and Glamour - what does that feel like?

It’s honestly like a dream come true! We’re extremely honoured that such amazing publications felt our products and brand are worthy to include. And moments like that make us so proud of what we’ve created and are a little reminder for us that all the hard work, long hours and effort was really worth it!

What other women inspire you?

Definitely our grandmothers are our biggest inspiration. It’s just so fascinating how much older generations can teach us, however, we tend to forget/ignore those lessons from the past. Growing up, we would love watching our grandmothers mix up herbs picked from the nearest forest, prepare face and hair masks using egg yolks, yoghurt, clays, different oils and have always been amazed about their knowledge on how to use a variety of local plants for remedies and for keeping their skin healthy.

Our grandmothers taught us about the great power of natural ingredients, local beauty routines and the concept that ingredients growing together in nature, also work best together as a combination for your skin. A very simple concept which has passed the test of time, but is unfortunately forgotten in modern times. And we really wanted to revive, elevate and share this ancient skincare wisdom with the rest of the world through our products. And we only made that possible thanks to our grandmothers and the skincare recipes they’ve passed on to us.

What future plans do you have for the next 6 months of 2022 and beyond?

We recently participated in the Just V Show in London which was a consumer event where we were able to present and sell our products in person. We also hosted an expert talk on a topic we’re very passionate about which was ‘How to make sure your skincare is sustainable and why is it better for your skin?’

We absolutely loved that experience and the personal connection we were able to build with so many new people, customers and potential business partners, so we’re currently planning to do a few more of these events/pop-ups by the end of the year.

One that we’ve got already confirmed is the Sustainability Show 2022 in London on 15-16 October where people would be able to meet us, chat about our products and shop them as well. We’re also planning to take part in a Christmas fair and a few other events around that period so stay tuned for more information on our social media (@mazilloskincare).

We’re hoping to get our products into retail as well.

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Founder of The C Word Magazine, Emily is currently living in London. She is passionate about art, travel, culture, cinema, fashion, sports, feminism and a whole lot more. She is currently working on her own podcast with a friend and also dabbles in graphic design, when not doing her day job as an Associate Director of Media Planning. Find her on Instagram @emlrking or chatting on Confession Sessions, The C Word Mag’s own podcast.