About Us

Born and raised in Ireland, Aoife moved and lived in Toronto, Canada for five wonderful years. Her first Canadian winter was tough, especially on her skin. She used a variety of store-bought creams and balms but found they just didn't provide the moisture and protection needed.

In her previous job, she had rooftop beehives and this inspired her to procure some beeswax to make lip balm and creams. Aoife really loved how easy beeswax was to work with and the smell, texture and protection it provided. 

Then came COVID-19 and working from home during the day left her wanting to find an escape in the evening. Aoife got back into the kitchen and started whipping up batches of lip-balm, cream, beeswax wraps, face-mist, sugar scrubs and finally made the leap to cold process soaps. After a year in lockdown, Aoife decided it was time to move back home to Ireland in 2021 and brought Notions & Lotions with her to continue her little business there. She now looks for inspiration in the beautiful Irish landscape and coast where she is lucky to call home. 

Working in the sustainability field, Aoife is always interested in finding local, natural and planet-friendly raw materials to incorporate into her recipes. Eco-friendly packaging and ingredients are central to what we want to achieve. All our products come in plastic-free packaging, reusing local newspapers and packaging while all labels, envelopes and boxes are made from 100% recycled materials. Soaps are formulated using 100% all-natural essential oils. In supporting the circular economy we strive to reuse raw materials over buying new you will see this in our packaging and bottle/jar return scheme.

The name-Notions & Lotions was inspired by Aoife’s father who often commented on the many "notions" Aoife would have while growing up. These notions often led Aoife to new projects and Countries and it somehow stuck. Aoife sometimes has these notions which lead to the development of a new product. You will see this as the range expands. Aoife’s parents have been the backbone of Notions & Lotions, helping her to convert their childhood treehouse into a bespoke soap and candle making studio while her Grandmother Madge is busy hand-knitting soap saver pouches and facecloths. Aoife’s sister Gilleesa (GiGi as many know her) has also jumped on the bandwagon as head of Design and Digital Marketing.

We are proud to be working towards a more sustainable future and will continue to bring you the highest quality Notions & Lotions to help you live a more planet-friendly lifestyle.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed learning a bit about me, Aoife Gillen :)