About Us

BrightEssence is a cottage business based in Tasman Nelson, dedicated to crafting natural artisan soaps, salves, and moisturisers. 

Made with love, each product is a gentle blend of nature and care — perfect for daily self-care or thoughtful gifting. At BrightEssence, we believe that great artisan soaps and skin nourishment start with great ingredients. 

I, Debbie, founded BrightEssence after making natural skincare for my family — one of my children struggled with eczema and dry skin that didn’t respond to medicated creams. I researched the power of plants and began creating BrightEssence salves and moisturisers that were calming and nourishing for my daughter’s skin. My journey led me to explore herbal medicine, and I haven’t looked back. I discovered my passion for natural soap making, which allows me to control the ingredients and integrate artistic design, a creative outlet I missed from my cake decorating days. I’m amazed by the science of transformation, watching ingredients change from one state to another. BrightEssence focuses solely on making artisan soaps, salves, and moisturisers — we do not offer herbal or medicinal advice, nor do we make claims about the potential benefits of our products. 

I strive to create soap that is both functional and an expression of art. I firmly believe that artistic soaps should not compromise quality; they can look good while still being cleansing and nourishing. BrightEssence takes pride in crafting artistic soaps that contain quality ingredients and are enjoyable to use. Inspired by the joy it brings, we aim to share that same care and quality with the world, one bar at a time. 

We offer two product lines of soaps — our Premium range features high-quality, skin-loving botanicals, natural colours, and essential oils, while our Artistic and Fun range may include micas and fragrance oils. Both lines include quality oils like olive oil; we do not use cheap filler oils. Check out the Ingredients pages on the menu for more information. 

Each bar of our natural handmade soaps is carefully crafted to be gentle, effective, and a little luxury you can feel good about.