<p>My guest this week is Danielle Close - founder of My Skin Feels - a skincare brand using rescued food. </p><p>Danielle discusses early lessons about hard work from her entrepreneurial father and teacher mother, struggling in an academic school as a dyslexic student, and finding her way into beauty through makeup training and an early role as Charlotte Tilbury’s PA, where she learned “never take no for an answer.” </p><p>After years in beauty and burnout, she moved toward natural and ethical wellness, ultimately founding My Skin Feels - initially inspired by her own anxiety and self-care journey and later defined by making skincare from rescued food byproducts. She explains reverse-engineering formulas to meet performance goals, customer education challenges, and the surprising benefits for skin conditions driven by her rescued food ingredients. </p><p>We get into the detail of bootstrapping the business, building sales through relentless market stalls, turning down a Dragon’s Den deal for a better investment deal and her parallel life as a trained fifth-generation psychic medium whose intuition influences her decisions. </p><p>This is a fascinating whirlwind! </p><p>Find My Skin Feels on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/myskinfeels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here</a></p><p>Find the My Skin Feels website <a href="https://www.myskinfeels.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here</a></p><p>Find Danielle&#39;s own website <a href="https://danielleclose.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here </a></p><p>Don&#39;t forget to join the conversation with me on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nickydensonelliott/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here </a></p><p>----------</p><p>This episode is sponsored by <a href="https://ivyt.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">Ivy</a>.</p><p>Ivy makes organic cotton essentials - t-shirts, sweatshirts, Breton stripes and more - designed for women who are done compromising on quality.</p><p>Founded by Sally, a former fashion buyer, Ivy exists because she couldn&#39;t find what she needed: sustainably made, great quality basics that actually fit real women living real lives. So she built them herself.</p><p>Every piece is made from GOTS-certified organic cotton, produced by a Portuguese factory running on solar power with zero waste to landfill. Good ethics and exceptional quality, in the same place.</p><p>The fabric is soft, the fit is considered, and the pieces wash and wear beautifully. Which is why Ivy has one of the highest returning customer rates in its category.</p><p>Use code TWC20 for 20% off your first order and shop Ivy <a href="https://ivyt.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">here.</a></p>