Meet Lancashire's female beekeeper Bramble & Bee who sells soap flower bouquets made from honey

I am welcomed into a rustic soap shop, called Bramble & Bee, where owner, Samantha Taylor. shows me one of her unique soap flower bouquets - an ideal mother's day gift!

On first glance I see a regular - albeit beautiful - bunch of flowers. But then, Samantha explains that some of those vibrant purple blooms are actually soaps.

"The idea is you can just pick a mini soap off the bouquet as you want to use it," Samantha explains.

Although her little store has only been in Ansdell for a few months, she already has a local customer base from doing beauty treatments at The Grand Hotel - where she also sells her own products.

But there is a very unique twist to Bramble & Bee. Not only does the cosmetologist craft her range of soaps, lotions and lip balms by hand but she uses her own honey!

"Everything in here I craft by hand, using honey from my own bees," says Samantha, who lives in nearby Warton. "I grew up around bees because of my grandfather, and the honey has a lot of benefits for the skin."

She grew up with a love for gardening, growing flowers, all things botanical and also with a huge love of bees - mainly because her grandparents kept bees and  introduced beekeeping to her at a young age, therefore she has been aware of the healing properties of honey since childhood . 

Sam then became a skincare facialist for many years from which she decided to turn her passion for wildflowers, bees and skincare into a business.

To learn more or buy products visit https://brambleandbeecosmetics.co.uk/