Our Story
Hello! My name is Ansulene, founder and "Jill of all trades" at JUSTBLiSS Soap, located in Bloemfontein.
The story of "how JUSTBLiSS started is a bit of a long read😊.
Many of our customers have asked me where the inspiration behind our brand came from. In short, after the move to Bloemfontein (March 2019) I was lost! I was basically feeling lost in life! I didn’t know what I was doing in Bloemfontein - why did I agree to the move?. I didn’t know who I was. I was sooo unhappy. When you lose all sense of self, and more importantly, you realise that you’ve lost all sense of self, you can quickly spiral downwards...which happened to me.
One morning in July 2020, during Covid as well, while looking through the window into our garden I realised that although the trees in our garden had no leaves they were still alive, patches of grass were dead but most were still alive, the plants that were covered with "cloth" for winter were still alive! If we haven't covered those plants, or took care of them by protecting them, they would have died as well.
I realised at that specific moment that like an uncovered plant I did not survive "winter".
What I have learned in the few years since moving to Bloem is that if you want your garden to survive in winter, you need to KNOW the "DNA" of the specific plant...And let's be honest, I didn't survive "winter" because at the age of 54 I just didn't know the DNA of ME! What do I like? What makes me happy? What motivates me? What makes my soul happy? The TWO things I knew I like, like forever, is to take a warm bath, and a lovely garden...
I made the decision then that while I am taking a bath in this whole "get-to-know-me" process, I can just as well use quality luxurious products. I ordered some online as I couldn't find anything in Bloem. And honestly, that's when the change happened in ME. I enjoyed knowing that I am taking care of myself, I enjoyed that feeling of just closing my eye, smelling the essential oils from the soap or bath salt, I enjoyed the feeling of having a soft skin, I enjoyed that feeling of deliberately applying the natural body butter on my skin....And slowly the healing process happened.
My husband and family could see the change in me, and I realised that I want other woman, or men, that goes through what I went through...either through retrenchment, retirement, loss (of any kind)...to find themselves again by something so simple...taking care of one's self! I found purpose again!
As I couldn't at find quality natural products in Bloem, I decided to make my own. After a LOT of reading, I bought some equipment and supplies to make my first natural soap. I experimented with different kinds of oils, butters, etc., and knew immediately what kind of ingredients I wanted to use in the products. I created a base recipe with amazing good-for-you ingredients (such as Hemp Seed Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Oil and Castor Oil), and my friends and family (the poor guinea pigs) absolutely loved the feeling of these natural products on their skin! The next product that I made were my signature Rooibos Tea Body Butter, and from there on I started to experiment more and more.....
When I had to decide on a namefor this new "baby", I decided on JUSTBLiSS. The word "Bliss" , according to the Oxford dictionary, is is a magnified emotional state of joy, fulfillment and happiness.
And that is what I want YOU, our precious customer and friend, to experience and feel whenever you are using a JUSTBLiSS product....complete Happiness!
Since 2021, when JUSTBLiSS was officially launched, my vision for JUSTBLiSS is that each of our products not only nourishes your skin, but more importantly, it also evokes a mood, and conveys a sense of wellness in mind and body; it ultimately nourishes your spirit!
Thank you for reading my story...
Much Love.
Ansulene