From Cyprus, with love: the story behind Sevin's Mediterranean skincare

Every Sevin product begins somewhere real. Not in a trend report or on a mood board, but on the island of Cyprus, where our founder Sevin Ersin grew up in the 1980s and early 1990s. It's why we describe ourselves as born of the Mediterranean, and why our Mediterranean skincare and bath and body care is made the way it is.

A Mediterranean childhood where nothing came ready-made

In Sevin's childhood, very little came out of a bottle. Wild herbs were foraged by hand. Food was cooked from scratch for a table that usually held several generations at once. And when skin was left dry by the Cypriot sun, it was oil, not cream, that was rubbed in.

That memory lives on in our Natural Face, Body & Hair Oil, a blend of sweet almond, sesame, hazelnut, jojoba and wheatgerm oils, made in all four Sevin fragrances. That way of living also set a standard Sevin still works to: nothing rushed, nothing ready-made, nothing careless.

The jasmine tiaras behind Porcelain White

Almost every front yard had a jasmine bush. On summer evenings, as the tiny white flowers opened, Sevin would collect them and sew them together, one by one, into tiaras and bracelets. She wore them for days afterwards, carrying the scent wherever she went.

Decades later, that memory became Porcelain White: white jasmine, ylang-ylang and nutmeg. It was never meant to be a traditional floral perfume. It captures the feeling around those flowers instead: warm summer air, clean linen and jasmine drifting in after sunset. It's why so many people first meet Sevin through our Porcelain White Hand & Body Wash.

From Cyprus to London, via the world of fashion

After university in Ankara, Sevin moved to London in 1999 and joined a textile manufacturer. In 2005 she launched her own textile agency, sourcing denim for brands from Topshop to Burberry. Years spent judging fabric, finish and quality gave her an eye that very few bathroom shelves could match.

She searched for a natural, beautifully made bath and body brand that looked as considered as the rest of her home. She couldn't find one, so she built it herself.

Building the brand she couldn't find

The idea for Sevin took shape in 2015, and the brand launched in 2017. Rather than starting with a list of fragrance notes, Sevin started with memories. She travelled to a fragrance house and worked alongside its R&D team to turn them into four fragrances made exclusively for Sevin:

• Porcelain White: jasmine evenings in Cyprus

• Fresh Clay: the gentle sweetness of a busy family kitchen, with cakes and biscuits baking

• Coral Clay: the soft, powdery scent of her grandmother's talcum powder after a shower

• Marble Black: a later chapter of travel, design and the atmosphere of beautiful hotels

Bringing a little of the Mediterranean home

• Start with oil, the Cypriot way. Smooth a few drops of Face, Body & Hair Oil into damp skin after a shower or bath.

• Let one fragrance move through your day, from Hand & Body Wash in the morning to a Porcelain White Scented Candle in the evening.

• Slow down the small moments. Two unhurried minutes with a Natural Soap Bar or Hand & Body Lotion you love changes how an ordinary day feels.

Your questions, answered

What are the best Mediterranean skincare brands? Look for brands with a genuine connection to the region, not just olive oil on the label. Sevin was founded by Sevin Ersin, who grew up in Cyprus, and its bath and body care draws on a Cypriot upbringing: natural oils, nothing ready-made and fragrances built from Mediterranean memories.

What does jasmine smell like? Jasmine smells sweet, rich and floral, with a slightly warm, heady quality that deepens in the evening when the flowers open. In Porcelain White it's softened with ylang-ylang and warmed with nutmeg, so it reads as clean linen and summer air rather than a heavy floral perfume.

How do you use body oil after a shower? Apply body oil to skin that's still slightly damp, straight after a shower or bath. Warm a few drops between your palms and press it in, focusing on dry areas like elbows, knees and shins. Damp skin helps the oil spread further and absorb faster.

What does Sevin mean? Sevin means "rejoice". It's also the name of the brand's founder, Sevin Ersin, and sits at the heart of the strapline: Born of the Mediterranean, made to rejoice.