Women-owned

Hi, I'm Bridget — cosmetic and environmental chemist, and the person behind Alchemme.

I've been formulating for 15 years, and I've built beauty brands from the bench up. My own range, bridget black™, has been going since [year] out of Perth — skincare, bodycare, baby care and candles, now with a loyal following across Australia and New Zealand. I still do every bit of the research and development myself. Not because I have to, but because that part has never stopped being the fun part.

What I kept coming back to is that an ingredients list isn't a mystery. It's a recipe. Almost every product you own is doing something fairly simple with about five ingredients that matter and a long tail of ones that don't. Once someone shows you how to read that list, you can't unsee it — and you stop being sold to.

That's really what Alchemme is. We supply raw materials to formulators, and the workshops grew out of the questions people kept sending us. Now they're my favourite part of the week.

Why I love teaching it

There's a moment in every class I wait for. It's when the mixture on the bench stops looking like separate ingredients and turns into the thing — the conditioner thickens, the emulsion goes glossy, and someone actually gasps. People arrive expecting a craft activity and leave having genuinely made something, from raw materials, with no pre-made bases anywhere in the room. That shift, from I bought this to I understand this, is the whole point.

Running my own brand for 15 years means I've made every mistake there is to make, usually twice. I'd much rather hand those shortcuts over than watch someone repeat them.

I also love that formulating levels people. It doesn't matter whether you've got a science background — everyone's hands are equally uncertain the first time they weigh out a surfactant, and everyone's equally pleased with themselves ninety minutes later.

What the sessions are like

Small — genuinely small, limited benches, so I can get to everyone. Unhurried. There's sparkling wine and something to eat, and you're just as welcome on your own as with a friend. You'll leave with products you made, in your own packaging, and the ability to walk down a supermarket aisle knowing exactly what you're looking at.

Come and make something you'll actually use.

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