If you have a truck load of passion and are willing to put in a whole lot of work – this Adelady is proof that anything is possible! Jan is the creator of the premium skincare line, Janesce.
Here’s how she created her boutique comapny…
Everyone meet Jan. We love Jan — and we’ll tell you in advance, that’s pretty much going to be the theme of this article.
Her name alone should start to get the cogs in your head turning, as she is an intricate part of the brand name. Have you ever heard of the french word “senescence”? It literally means “to slowly age” which is the aim of Jan’s game, so with a little bit of word play, Jan… Janes… Janesce. Brilliant, right?
After weeks of filming out in the sun and travelling without any kind of proper skin care routine, we were so excited to head up into the Adelaide Hills to the official Janesce farm. What we DIDN’T expect to find was a farm, a drying room, a function room, a lab, a packing and distribution centre, AND Jan’s actual real-life home.
Being the incredibly meticulous journalists (AKA nosey peeps) that we are, we muscled our way into Jan’s home straight away, and immediately got swept up in the history and love that it holds. Full of fragrant flowers and jars holding lotions and potions on every surface, it’s clear that Jan doesn’t just take her work home — her home IS her work. Right down to the “meeting room” adjacent to her living area.
Another thing that was immediately obvious was that Jan knows her s**t. The stories, the anecdotes, the skin care tips and tricks… after an hour at the farm, it felt like we still hadn’t scratched the surface.
Here’s just a taste of what we learnt: Jan originally studied as a naturopath (and beauty therapist) with a particular focus on nutrition, before realising that her true love lay in skincare. After years of travelling and building a family, Jan settled herself in the Adelaide Hills, specifically: Echunga. From there, Jan used her expertise to grow the crops and create the top secret Janesce essences herself. Honestly, the amount of TLC that goes into each of these beautiful products is mind blowing.
Each year, the produce of the farm is harvested and dried on site, before being taken to the lab to be carefully crafted into the ingredients each product needs. The main rule of thumb is that if it doesn’t come from the plants, it’s not allowed in the product. From that point, her team creates the lotions, oils and mists that we all know and love, before they get packaged up on site and shipped off.
If that’s not a feel-good story of a local SA business paving the way for skincare, then I don’t know what is.
Of course, it still get’s better from here. If you’ve ever been walking down The Parade, King William Road, or through the Adelaide Arcade, and been hit with a sudden whiff of lavender, then it’s likely you’ve just walked past a Janesce store. Each of these stores is a full representation of Jan’s life work, from the product available to purchase down to the treatment routines (think delicious facials, massages, manicures, pedicures….).
We’re so totally in awe of this amazing woman, who has crafted an entire family business based on natural, SA grown ingredients, and who continues to work her ass off at the age of 86.
Jan — we want to be just like you when we’re older. Specifically, we’d like to have your skin at the age of 86, so it’s safe to say we’ll be hitting up one of your stores ASAP.
xx
PS — one of Jan’s biggest tips is to never apply anything to dry skin — always make sure the skin is wet so the product is properly absorbed. You’re welcome.
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