Pick-My-Brain:
Online Specialist Consultancy Sessions
Est. 2013
Vivienne will Help You to use Herbs and/or Seaweeds Properly, Effectively & Professionally in your Natural Skincare Products
(Pick-My-Brain sessions are also available for wild food and/or herbal medicine products as well as private tutoring for students)
Get the help you need in these 60 min sessions.
Private live video meeting with Vivienne to deal with the key areas that you need assistance with.
Includes follow-up resources for you so that you can take the action you need right away.
The majority of the time (unless it’s an enormous project) Vivienne is usually able to cover people’s key questions in one session.
~ Private Consultancy for Natural Cosmetic Formulators & Brands ~
I help you to use herbs and/or seaweeds properly, effectively and professionally in your natural skincare products. Whether you are a large professional brand with a manufacturing premises and staff, or it's you alone working from home producing your range, I've got plenty of experience helping both (and people in between too!).
Some of the key areas I can help with include:
The law & herbs:
When is a product a medicine? When is it a food? When is it a cosmetic? Advice on navigating the complex and sometimes baffling rules and laws as relates to making and selling products that contain herbs.
Drawing out your idea:
From floating in your head to noting key details and features, and drawing up a specific action plan.
What's gone wrong with what I'm making?:
My product isn't turning out the way that I expected. Get my help with working out what's going wrong and how to prevent it happening in the future.
Testing: Is it safe to use my herbal or seaweed ingredients?
Not sure what tests you need to get (if any) on ingredients and extracts that you produce yourself? I can help you with what's required legally and also ethically so that you can move forward with confidence that you have a safe, responisble & reliable procedures in place.
Recommendations for resources and ingredients to fit with the ethics of your brand:
Vegan, local, organic certification, alcohol-free etc.
Helping you start or develop your formulations with herbs:
Grow your confidence using these ingredients.
Sourcing quality ingredients:
Not all ingredients are made equally! It might have the same name on the label but it doesn't mean it's the right quality. Avoid poor quality ingredients harming your products. Help with recommended, reliable suppliers of professional ingredients.
Formulating with Herbs for Skin Issues:
Using herbs to help to create the desired actions & effects that you want your products to have.
Safety:
Is my product safe? Are my ingredients safe? Are the amounts safe? The texture isn't what I expected, is that safe? How do I make my products safe for sale? Are my ingredients safe for women to use if they are pregnant?
Reviewing and Refining your Formulation:
Helping you to make it effective and viable as a sellable product.
Business Viability & Longevity:
~ Established brands: As time goes on things tend to change and it can be helpful to review, reflect, revise, pull back from some things, pursue other/new things etc.
~ New brands: If you are starting out with your brand then you will need a well thought-out plan to help you get on with this first stage .
~ I have been self-employed for 22 years: I’ve worked through economic booms, busts and recessions. This is genuinely my livelihood (You'd be surprised how many business advisors there out there who have not ever lived from the work that they tutor people on!).
~ I have plenty of experience in having to adapt to changed circumstances and finding ways to continue to thrive, no matter what’s going on out in the bigger world! I have been helping people to develop their own natural cosmetic brands since 2013.
~~ Ask in Confidence ~~
Your work is yours and is private:
You can rest assured that I always keep work confidential for my clients (I will not steal your ideas or share your work with others).
I am always happy to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) if you require one (send me your own or I can send you a standard one).
What’s included in a Pick-My-Brain Session?
~ A 60 min (sometimes a little longer) live video call with me where you can ask as many questions as you need to about the areas that you need help with.
~ If required, I can do demos for you of practical things such as how to complete the records that your cosmetic chemist will require if you are making your own herbal extracts.
~ You get to keep the video recording from the 60 min consultation.
~ I will also send you on any relevant notes and links based on what was discussed during the consultation e.g. documents & guides, links to where to buy equipment, recommended suppliers, recommended testing kits, info about getting your ingredients contract-manufactured, record-keeping templates, reliable books/online sources in areas you’d like to learn more about, contact details for recommended cosmetic chemists etc.
How much does it cost?
A 1 hour (-ish!) session costs €175.
Will I need more than 1 session?
~ This will depend on what you need help with and how much help you need.
~ However, the majority of the time (unless it’s an enormous project) I am usually able to cover people’s key questions in one session.
Book Here
~ Click the PINK Booking Button and complete your payment on the checkout page.
~ Email Vivienne so that we can schedule a date & time for your session.
When are sessions available?
IMPORTANT!: These sessions are only available at certain times of the year:
~I am only able to offer these private sessions at certain times of the year when I have time available and privacy for dealing with this work.
~ I cannot offer these sessions when I am away teaching, running courses or events etc. This means that there can often be a long wait for consultancy appointments.
Booking is now open for appointments in January & February 2026.
~ If you know that you need help, then I recommend booking in now otherwise there can be months of waiting for the next time with me to become available.
~ Appointment dates & times:
My usual appointment times are from 10 am, 11 am or 2 pm (GMT/WET/Ireland/UK time) on weekdays.
However, it can be possible to offer other times, especially for people in different time zones. If you know that you'd like to book then please email me with your time and day/date preference. Thanks!
FAQs
What if Vivienne doesn’t know/can't help?
If your questions are not related to my area of expertise then don't worry, I usually will know who best to refer you to so that you can get the assistance that you need.
Because I have worked in herbal medicine and professional product-making for so long, I have a strong network of very experienced and reliable colleagues that I can often refer people to. So if I don't know the answer to a question then I can usually point people in the direction of someone that will! If you're not sure whether or not I'm the person to help you with your current stumbling block then please reply to this email and ask me. I'll do my best to let you know if I can help or if there's someone else who specialises in that particular area.
I am just beginning. Is my business too small for your help?
Yes, I can help you. Many people get in touch when they are still at the stage of studying and learning basic formulation techniques. It can be very useful at this stage to discuss your ideas and set you on the right path to what you want to achieve. Few courses teach product-making based on herbal extracts that you make yourself. If this is key to what you want to develop, then a session at this stage can set you up with the right areas to focus on, and save you from the frustration of lots of wasted time, effort and money.
We have a well-established brand and now want to develop new products based on herbs. Can you help us?
Yes!
Whichever scale you work at:
~ Solo business owner making everything yourself
~ A business with staff that manufactures products at scale
~ A brand that requires outsourcing of manufacturing.
I can usually help you with getting your specialist herbal extracts made at scale by specialists.