About Us 

Romantic Nature is a business rooted in our passion for nature in general and healing plants in particular!

From harvesting and processing plants for our own health and skincare, to professional practise of herbal medicine and plant spirit medicine, to extensive, practical study of  the principles and techniques of hand-made natural beauty and soap products, to sharing our wealth of knowledge through teaching......We have grown naturally from a healing and educational resource to incorporate an ethical, “green” web-shop, selling ready-to-use Pure Natural Skincare and Wellness products as well as a great range of the best, affordable ingredients for making your own.

As environmentally-concerned consumers ourselves, particularly when it comes to food and health, we know that making a healthy and 'green choice' is not always easy or straightforward. As a business, it can be even more complex and is an ongoing learning process. Today, we are proud of the fact that our web-shop specialises in carefully-sourced plant materials and plant-based products that have been used for centuries by people of all cultures to benefit health and wellness. They are free from mineral oil-based substances and other chemicals harmful to the body.  We also research the market and add the occasional  innovative, natural product that complements our range.

We are increasingly adopting the core values  of  permaculture as our reference guides. These are: earth-care (exchanging the earth’s resources for sustainable ways of caring for it), people-care (cooperative support of others to ensure earth-care), fair-share (ensuring fair share of earth’s resources).  With these values as our yardstick, we align as much as possible with suppliers, individuals and groups who hold these or similar values.

Our aim at Romantic Nature is empowerment - empowerment  of our customers, our workshop participants, our patients and ourselves in our common quest for wiser relationships with our wellbeing,  with each other and with our one home, planet Earth.  

Our Expertise

Romantic Nature is owned and ran by Carolina IJben and Andrew Cox. Carolina has been making her own natural skin and bodycare products for many years for herself, her family and friends. As well as studying as a herbalist in the Netherlands she has been trained by incredibly dedicated and knowledgeable teachers from England, Norway and the USA in the alchemy of natural plant preparations for skin, hair and body care. She now runs empowering 'Make Your Own!' workshops and courses and is known as an enthusiastic, generous and knowledgeable teacher.

Andrew is a British phytotherapist, a member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists (UK) with many years clinical experience. His training included physiology, pathology, orthodox and holistic/energetic systems of diagnosis as well as the pharmacognosy and traditional preparation of, and relationships with, medicinal plants. He has created our Herballiance range of herbal preparations as food supplements (available from our webshop) to help the body deal with common health challenges. He also gives one-to-one consultations and individualised treatments for more chronic health issues.

Both Andrew and Carolina have completed an education in emotional and spiritual healing with plant spirits on the basis of the ancient Five Elements perpective and practise professionally. They also offer in-depth plant spirit workshops, courses and retreats in the Netherlands and Spain.

Our Philosophy

•    Whenever available, to use whole plants and materials from plants (such as oils and butters) that have been grown organically and sustainably.
•   To use wild plants and materials from wild plants only from sustainable habitats and non-endangered species or habitats (wild crafted).
•    As far as possible to select fairly traded ingredients.
•    To ensure we use only GM free plants and derivatives. To avoid harmful and questionable synthetic chemicals.
•    To use no ingredients or materials that have been tested on animals.
•    To make small batches frequently rather than hold large stocks for longer periods. This ensures our customers receive our products as fresh as possible.
•    To prepare our products with an attitude of respect, care and gratitude.
•    To ensure all packaging is from environmentally-friendly, recyclable materials.
•    To use paper only from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) accredited sources, and encourage the sustainable management of the world’s forests.
•    To choose power companies who invest in renewable energy sources, such as, in the Netherlands, Green Choice, and in Britain the pioneering Ecotricity. Also banks with good track records in ethical investment, such as Triodos. To avoid buying from or supporting companies, organisations or individuals known by us to be engaged in ecocide.

•   To constantly strive to ensure our business is ethical by making choices that help protect our planet and its ecosystems and avoid exploitation of suppliers in poorer countries.
•    To share our passion for and knowledge of nature, health and wellness. To support freedom of informed choice in health and wellness matters.