Stars align for Edmonton skincare brand
Much of Lane Edwards' line was inspired by Fleetwood Mac but she never imagined they'd become fans of hers
When Lane Edwards was spending hours in her home laboratory, crafting the first products for her skincare line Pura Botanicals, she was blasting her favourite band, Fleetwood Mac, for inspiration.
"They were the soundtrack," Edwards told CBC's Radio Active.
She even crafted her very first product as a homage to Stevie Nicks.
"I was inspired by her ethereal, mythical, witchy energy," said Edwards. "Every single note was inspired by her essence and energy."
Little did she know that just four years later, Nicks would become a big fan of Pura Botanicals, too.
That first product was a sandalwood, rosewood and vanilla-infused perfume mist. Edwards had wanted to call it Gold Dust Woman, after the 1977 song from the album, Rumours. But wary of copyright laws, she went with the Fleetwood-inspired Zingara Gypsy Mist, instead.
Fast-forward to 2018. Edwards runs her all-natural line — 37 products including face masks, cleansers and rejuvenating serums — out of her flagship boutique on 124th Street. Until recently, she had no idea that someone in Fleetwood Mac's inner circle had been following her company's progress.
But two months ago she got a message from a woman named Sole Weller.
"It was a Monday morning, and I got this message directly through Instagram and I had to read it over about 10 times," said Edwards.
"I looked at her profile to see if it was real, and of course… right on her website it says she's Fleetwood Mac's health coach."
Weller told Edwards that she does a lot of facials for the band in their hotel rooms and a lot of self-care for them during air travel. Specifically, she was interested in Pura's overnight mask collection.
About two weeks ago, Edwards curated a bunch of products for the band, and timed a shipment to arrive at their next hotel. Fleetwood Mac is currently on a world tour, arriving in Edmonton Saturday.
The bounty was a hit.
"They got the products and touched base with us and said they were beyond amazing and nourishing and everybody loves them," said Edwards.
"They said, 'we're always on the move, so we're going to be making frequent orders because we can't have too much with us."
The universe aligned for Fleetwood Mac to find Pura Botanicals, but it's not all dumb luck. There are major similarities between brand and band.
It was important for Fleetwood Mac to "connect with an all-natural luxury brand," said Edwards.
"We're such a magical, celestial brand as well — that was the connection point. We're so aligned with their music and lyrics… Stevie is so witchy and we always say we're the good witches of Edmonton; what we do here is alchemy. For us, it's just amazing to be looking after them."
And if it wasn't enough to be the official skincare brand for Fleetwood Mac's world tour, Edwards is going to the show Saturday with Weller, who will visit her at the boutique first. She's also bringing her daughter, Morgan — who's already a big Fleetwood Mac fan, at age 9.
"It's just surreal to think that we're an Edmonton beauty brand," said Edwards.
"They're from Los Angeles — that's the Mecca of beauty brands. We're so isolated here in Edmonton, and we have to work three times as hard…. They could have picked anyone. It's just so amazing that we're here."