Early Origins

From a young age, Evie spent many hours reading natural remedy books, experimenting with their recipes, and smelling soaps and cosmetics at every store she encountered. Of particular fascination was a recipe for Galen's Cold Cream, which was intriguing for both its historical and mythic essence.

These pastimes became so integral to Evie's personality that she was gifted a soap making kit for her seventh birthday. The kit provided countless hours of entertainment and learning. As a family excursion, she ventured to New Directions in Marrickville to explore ingredients, essential oils, and packaging. It was like visiting a wonderland.

In Second Grade, Evie turned her hobby into a business by completing an entrepreneurial course and selling soaps, lip balms, and bath bombs at Paddington Market. Her mum—a graphic designer—encouraged Evie's interests by creating a website for her first brand, Evieada, with a portion of profits donated to charity.

Evie's first shot at making skincare, aged 7

Recent epiphanies

Recently, Evie has realised that these youthful fascinations contributed to a sincere curiosity for chemistry and cosmetics as they have developed throughout history. Her aspiration to become an archaeological scientist arose when reading an article about chemically identified contents in a perfume bottle from Tutankhamun's tomb. 

However, Evie's passion to share her knowledge of historical cosmetics remained dormant throughout her university studies of chemistry and archaeology until 2024, when she was gifted some home-produced beeswax from her boyfriend. Evie then began to experiment with producing the very same Galen's Cold Cream that she first saw many years ago! This resulted in what her family and friends came to know as "Ancient Cream".

Since then, Evie has researched ancient cosmetics and their intimate connections to ancient societies as both an academic and entrepreneurial passion.

Evie demonstrating the magic of chemistry at Macquarie University

Evie's philosophy

A key sensibility of cosmetics from ancient and medieval history is the guarantee of natural ingredients. Thus, Ada Botanica's formulations are at the very least naturally-derived, and informed by ancient textual sources, archaeological discoveries, myths, and visual depictions from throughout history. Whilst exact replicas of ancient cosmetics have been created by scholars, Evie is strongly motivated to concoct products that are commercially suitable for modern needs.

Natural skincare that is inspired by the past and enhanced by the present.

As an Aussie who knows what it's like to live in the unpredictable Australian climate, Evie also aspires to produce products that soothe, protect, and regenerate skin in this unique environment.

Thank you for joining us on this journey to ancient elegance with modern sensibilities.