IN CONVERSATION WITH: Lara Morgan

What was the turning point or trigger when you realised you needed to take control of your stress, mental and physical wellbeing? And how did that inspire the creation of Scentered?

Firstly, when you start holding onto chair arms to lift your body, aiming to get breath further into your body you know you have a problem. This was not the trigger but on reflection it demonstrates that we should never put our health and wellness second. I ‘got away’ with pushing myself incredibly hard when building my first company.

I was kindly ‘stalked’ by Rob Stevens, with the idea that scent could help women lose weight naturally. I didn’t want to be associated with weight/weight loss products having seen the damage anorexia had caused in my boarding school and it horrified me. Eating disorders are now an epidemic.

Rob, rightly challenged a better alternative. He suggested that given all my knowledge with regard to scent I should do something positive - he also invented the brand name ‘Scentered’ and the holistic foundations built from there.

Additionally I went through a steep personal journey understanding mental health and the challenges associated. Coupled with the total lack of care available for people in the UK, I embarked on a mission to understand. My mother also gave me the gift and ability to use breathing control for wellness in a multitude of ways.

The Stop, Inhale, Reset mantra comes from an exchange of views Mum and I had - some might call it a worried challenging argument! But the combination of these things gave cause for portable, convenient, whatever, whenever aromatherapy balms which are wholly portable, easy to apply in a personal ritual, boosting balms for great mindset impact.

End vision, every child should be taught coping habits to deal with stuff that will come their way. Whether that be a mini balm in a pencil case, the knowledge of scent and its impact for positivity, the Stop, Inhale, Reset mantra or their own [mantra]. The notion of being brave, rather than just saying ‘yes’ could help every future leader.

That’s what my team and I are deeply invested in. A million miles better than Stop and Grow, this is Stop and Flourish! A confidence tool, a pocket rocket (means something quite different in the USA!) but having a small reminder to feel better, some trigger piece, habit support - change follows.

How has your experience as a mother and entrepreneur shaped the core values of Scentered and how do you incorporate those values in the brand today?

This is a huge topic. I thank goodness I started in enterprise so very, very early. More so, even now, I am losing my marbles in the fog of menopause. I would say that the core values of Scentered have been shaped from the the terrifically old fashioned values my parents churned out all the way through to teenage years of being at boarding school, through marriage and learning still how to be parent comes from life’s journey, and always my own personal experience.

A moment of kindness my Mum taught me in very early years. Watching how she treated every person with respect. The incorporation of a touch of kindness, the gift of that most precious of commodities is time and we all need to give both ourselves and others time to acknowledge, to engage, to ignite conversations our brilliantly balmy confidence boosting lifestyle support system is gradually being felt daily by people.

Aromatherapy has obviously played a key role in your wellness journey, What advice would you give to others who are new to aromatherapy or are looking to feel better?

Don’t think it is all about the dusty, oily, needing to learn blending brilliance of yesteryear as we have modernised, made portable this most wonderful of ancient holistic medicines practiced in the dark ages and quite possibly further back. The smell of fresh mint, the rubbing of fresh Rosemary between the finger tips, the picking of Lavender all transport mindsets.

My grandparents had a garden full of natural herbs and I was lucky with my mother’s approach to always learn we can be better, keep things simple and in modern lifestyles portability is everything. Travel has changed the world for the better but the wellness stress of all that has changes can be overwhelming. I have experiences that myself.

The real advice, buy a daily ritual set, a discovery box, or invest in our brilliant Change of Pace puzzle and experiment with the time out that we offer in our gifts. Better still, buy someone the powerful reminder of a Sleep Well balm to reset a great nights sleep. Aromatherapy modernised already blended is a much better way to gain immediately all the support required for life’s hurdles.

Scentered emphasises the importance of mindfulness and self-care. How do you practice these principles in your daily life, and how do you encourage others to do the same?

Sometimes badly, we all have times when the stretch of all the demands of family, friends (often too long ignored), and work get in the way. Massive discipline is required to live a life of self-care and I have had a journey plan to have freedom and the choice to work on the only engine I have to keep it running. My body is the car that get’s me places.

I want to keep going, have flexibility to drive safely like my grandfather did till 93 years old so I build in early times to stretch and think, plan in other exercise and sweaty challenges which is for me a release. Even if I just swim for variety I am horridly competitive which you need not be.

I encourage everyone to make their gear for enabling exercise so easily accessible, unavoidably with you, and you book in this the important other diary appointments the time you need. The gains in performance energy, mind focus so out weight struggling on. Today I already know what the weather windows are and when my brain will need a break, going running. Plus and critical, hydrate all the time starting early and finishing with less.

What advice do you have for other women who may be experiencing burnout or struggling to prioritise their well-being whilst juggling work/life balance?

I have been overweight and in control, slim and I thought sexy, and miserable feeling I have no idea what was going on in my business, but at least my children knew who I was. I have stopped using the guilt word, as long ago I also worked out I cannot change the past. I aim to have no regrets, just learn from experience and grow, don’t look back.

I have always when I was pregnant prioritised a swim to stay fit and be healthy carrying the children so that effort has helped my relentless habit to be healthy. I sign up to stuff that causes me pain if I don’t practice and exercise. Ultimately I build in unavoidable events making sure I put my health on a level priority with other things in life.

By no means am I perfect, but the endless habit discipline, the joy I get out of having the energy to do loads of stuff, to keep chasing the more exciting variable things we achieve, the importance of leading in the right way, (and that is not easy at all), means without my health I am nothing. A friend of mine always says, “if Mumma ain’t happy then nobodies happy?” If I am feeling yukky, I change things, reset, review, have high levels of personal awareness, I am not afraid of engaging help.

This is a relentless world and we need to build in coping skills. Often it genuinely starts with a free to all conscious deep breath. Then a written by hand list of all the challenges and opportunities I have, then the rethink, then a delegate and share and then always a resulting wonderful feel better. Without Charlie, 29 years of endless supporting patience I am not half the person I aim to be, family is a team event and why else am I doing this?

If I am allowed to say, I think KitBrix TotePack has solved this problem. Full disclosure a genius piece of gear with a wet/dry grotty kit separating locker in a super backpack that has a waterproof base for anywhere travel and fits in any gym locker. It even carries a Yoga mat and has critically a bottle holder and fast find pocket on the inner edge for valuables and quick grab phone. Yes I have invested in KitBrix because we need to teach children to be organised and active.

What has been the most rewarding moment since launching Scentered – particularly in terms of customer/community feedback or personal growth?

A story about someone leaving their home when they had previously felt wholly overwhelmed and anxious. Scent changed that. This moves me every time I think about it.

There are a lot of great stories and balmy testimonials! Often we hear of people who are literally living better lives through Sleep Well rituals. We know of students asking their mums for more Focus balm during exam times, we even have blokes surprisingly saying to me how they are surprised how having a min balm in a packet reminds them they are practicing something. Just that “awareness”, better when accompanies by the scent for scientifically proven reasons, make a difference.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

My mum. I don’t think I need to say more.

What’s the hardest challenge you’ve had to face?

Understanding the difficulty, the cost of an educational sell when we know the good this little pocket rocket can do. Learning to sell through retail is a wholly different thing to when I built my first company, we delivered pallets loads of gorgeous branded soaps and mini toiletries to guests in hotels – like it or leave it.

Communicating all the greatness of an affordable, hard balm, that has multiple uses and can be refilled is hard. Challenging the dusty topped essential oil category of complex blending is not hard, pre-blended, ready to go, with immediate results the easy part. Hence sampling, hence working with great brands.

Enterprise is hard but I think retail is even harder when you are trying also to compete against the big brands. We have recently been ripped off with a synthetic alternative. Copies happen to all too many smaller brands and there are few mechanisms to fight back.

Accomplishment you’re most proud of?

In relation to Scentered, we have finally cracked the model and are growing with solutions serving various healthy segments and needs to help across all areas of wellness. We are also supporting important campaign in wellness and care wellbeing, most recently a message that the beauty industry should stop saying , “I am just a …”

In life, my three rather civilised children. Like my old fashioned upbringing they know the power of a kind note, a written word, a small touch point of acknowledgement perhaps a small gift and they seem to be making their way in the world in a grounded way. Kindness is given freely and always successful. Other than that I still have retained a rather handsome husband and we laugh and spend a lot of time together which is a miracle given I am ever demanding.

Top beauty ‘must have’ in your makeup bag?

I only carry an eyeliner. I actually do have a makeup bag, I have a tin with fragrances I love in mini and my quality eyeliner.

And finally, your favourite quote to live by?

“If you don’t ask, you don’t get”. “There’s no such word as can’t” is a close second.