Welcome to Julie's Blog.

Welcome to Julie Foster's Aromatherapy Blog!

We are going to start by giving you a little background information about Julie, then the next post will be from Julie herself.

As a qualified aromatherapist, Julie Foster is the creative energy behind Potions & Possibilities. She blends essential oils, such as lavender, camomile and sandalwood, to create the company’s very successful range of luxury aromatherapy products.

Julie was born and grew up in Lancashire. School was not always a pleasure; she suffered from bullying and so channelled her considerable energies into her academic studies. After achieving excellent results at school, she went on to study Design & Technology at Loughborough University of Technology, graduating with a 2:1 in 1982.

Her first job was as a nanny in London, but ambition soon meant that she moved on. She took a job with The National Trust promoting their work to non-traditional customers and quickly discovered a flair for selling. Another part of the job was to get behind the wheel of a 6.5 ton Mercedes Benz van. Both experiences were to shape her future.

When she married in 1984, she moved to Suffolk and applied for a sales job selling Mercedes vans. When rejected on the basis of her sex, Julie became all the more determined and joined the company as a secretary. Within a very short period, she had become a crucial and very successful part of the van sales team. However, it remained her ambition to join the big truck sales team – a role she eventually took on after turning down a pay rise in favour of HGV driving instruction. Julie went on to become Mercedes Benz’ first ever female sales manager, achieving numerous accolades for her work.

She began to research complementary health and the use of essential oils – a subject that had interested her for some time – following a health scare. Then in 1996, after a short spell with a Rover dealership in Suffolk as its first ever female manager, Julie decided to take the plunge, leave the motor trade and set up as an aromatherapist.

The culture shock was immense. Far from the harsh and often male-dominated world of the motor trade, she found herself in a culture where breast-feeding at meetings was not uncommon.

Eight years later, Julie now has a successful and fast-growing business on her hands. She has also done much to move aromatherapy products from clinics and health food shops – the principal outlets in the 1980s - to take their place alongside prestige ‘mainstream’ beauty products in major stores.

It’s no surprise, then that she is regularly asked to speak at media, business, charitable, educational and social events about her experience and achievements.