When Laura Mallows started out her beauty business from the dining room of her rented house, her idea was making products all about body positivity. Constantly battling with anxiety and body issues herself she wanted to create a range for 'real' people with 'real' bodies.
Three years on she has found the winning formula. Mallows Beauty is forecast to make £2.3m this year and the business has moved from the dining room table in her former Llantrisant home to a large warehouse, while her products sell all over the world and through some of the biggest beauty companies. And there are plans to expand even further.
It all started from Laura's bid to overcome some of her own anxieties about her body and the world we live in. "I have suffered from bad acne, anxiety, and body issues all my life," explained Laura. "There was pressure from the boys at school when I was young and then I went to work in the fashion industry in London and there was so much pressure. I was a skincare buyer and saw a lot of the negative side of the industry but I also learnt a lot about the products and what went into them. I have suffered with anxiety for most of my life and had no idea why I felt the way I felt or what it even was. Soon after I moved to London to work in buying I had a breakdown."
