Close Menu
The Spa Traveller
  • Home
  • Features
    • An Inspector Calls…
      • An Inspector Calls: Ellenborough Park in The Cotswolds
      • The Thalassa Spa at the Anassa
    • Anti-ageing
    • Ask the experts
    • Destinations
    • Features
    • Featured
    • Spa Traveller Magazine
  • Wellness
    • Destination spas
    • Digital Detox
    • Spa and wellness glossary
    • Spa and Wellness Awards
    • Treatments for men
  • Destinations
  • How to be spa savvy
    • A-Z of Massage
    • A-Z of spa facilities
    • A-Z of spa treatments
    • Target your treatment
    • Ask the expert
  • Spa products
  • Spa Basket Shop
  • Get In Touch
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
The Spa Traveller
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube
  • Home
  • Features
    1. An Inspector Calls…
    2. An Inspector Calls: Ellenborough Park in The Cotswolds
    3. The Thalassa Spa at the Anassa
    4. Anti-ageing
    5. Ask the experts
    6. Destinations
    7. Features
    8. Featured
    9. Spa Traveller Magazine
    10. View All

    An Inspector Calls: Ellenborough Park in The Cotswolds

    The Thalassa Spa at the Anassa

    Yoga Glossary

    The world’s top eco-friendly spas

    Pilates Glossary

    The ultimate spa traveller experience

    Yoga Glossary

    The world’s top eco-friendly spas

    Pilates Glossary

    The ultimate spa traveller experience

    Zest of wellness at the Lefay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda…

    Feeling gilty!

    A Digital Detox in a Spa with Space

    Dream Asian destination spa with a western twist

    Denise Leicester: founder of Ila

    Margie Lombard: Skincare expert

    Marieke Teagle: Director of Leisure & Spa – Celtic Manor Collection

    Mark Smith: The Spa Man

    Zest of wellness at the Lefay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda…

    The world’s top 10 luxurious spa break experiences…

    Top 5 Unique Bermuda spa experiences

    5 reasons to escape to The Scarlet in Cornwall

    The world’s top eco-friendly spas

    Zest of wellness at the Lefay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda…

    What is included in a body balance class

    Man-ifique!

    Top 5 Unique Bermuda spa experiences

    In the relaxation room with… Susan Harmsworth

    Music to our ears

    An Inspector Calls: Ellenborough Park in The Cotswolds

    Getting your man in a spa

    Yoga Glossary

    The world’s top eco-friendly spas

    Pilates Glossary

    The ultimate spa traveller experience

  • Wellness
    1. Destination spas
    2. Digital Detox
    3. Spa and wellness glossary
    4. Spa and Wellness Awards
    5. Treatments for men
    Featured

    The world’s top 10 luxurious spa break experiences…

    11 Mins Read
    Recent

    Yoga Glossary

    The world’s top eco-friendly spas

    Pilates Glossary

  • Destinations

    Zest of wellness at the Lefay Resort & Spa, Lake Garda…

    The world’s top 10 luxurious spa break experiences…

    Top 5 Unique Bermuda spa experiences

    5 reasons to escape to The Scarlet in Cornwall

    Feeling blue? Shake off winter and step into spring…

  • How to be spa savvy
    • A-Z of Massage
    • A-Z of spa facilities
    • A-Z of spa treatments
    • Target your treatment
    • Ask the expert
  • Spa products

    In the relaxation room with… Susan Harmsworth

    People Behind the Products – VOYA

    Denise Leicester: founder of Ila

    Margie Lombard: Skincare expert

  • Spa Basket Shop
  • Get In Touch
The Spa Traveller
Home»People behind the products»People behind the products: Ila
People behind the products

People behind the products: Ila

Updated:31/10/20225 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

People behind the products

Purity, energy, balance

The inspirational founder of ila Denise Leicester talks to JANET BRICE about the true meaning of “beyond organic”

When you open your next ila product box take a moment to look at the gold spot embossed on the top.
I bet you’ve never noticed it before – but this gold dot is known as a Bindi and means your gift box has been personally sent out to you with a blessing.
Each and every jar is also placed over a small gold square mat, known as a Sri Yantra, and blessed as it is filled with hand-blended ingredients such as Himalayan Crystals, Damascena Rose Otto or Sandalwood.
With such exotic ingredients sourced from around the world you may also be surprised to learn that this personal touch is carried out in a barn in the heart of The Cotswolds in England.
And this is where I was about to meet the founder of ila Denise Leicester to talk about how she has built up such a successful global brand in less than a decade.

Denise Leicester
Denise Leicester

As I crunched over the gravel path towards the barn it was simply a case of following my nose as the scent of essential oils wafted from the doors and windows and out across the rolling English countryside.
On entering the building I was struck by the peace and serenity of the staff and as the ingredients are blended and distributed around the world from Hong Kong to Mumbai all I could hear was the gentle sound of Eastern chanting.
Denise arrived looking fresh-faced despite just jetting in from a recent spa conference and happy to talk about her time as the guiding light behind ila.

What does ila mean?

ila is the Sanskrit word for Earth and the ancient Earth is the very heart of ila.
What is the philosophy of ila?
Absolutely everything in ila products comes from a plant or mineral and nothing else. This stems from our faith in the power of nature as the source of real wellbeing.
We seek the highest levels of purity in our ingredients, which are mostly organic, where they are not it is because we believe we have found an alternative of even greater purity.
Purity is vital to ila – our products are beyond organic as they work on a deep level to restore, to nurture and to balance.

What does “beyond organic” mean?

Going “beyond” means getting in touch with the heart of the earth and this is ultimately our relationship.
Beyond Organic means supporting people who have a great relationship with Mother Earth and bringing a great product to share in the market place.

Where do your source your other ingredients?

In the foothills of the Himalayas you will see slopes covered with Indian Rose Damascena with an exquisite smell. Here we found Pawan and his family who have been growing and distilling roses for many generations while also supporting local rose farmers.

As the rose petal are distilled immediately after they are picked there is no loss of purity or potency. Water drawn from the earth simply by solar energy is mixed with the petals in copper vats and heated by the natural fire fuel of cow dung.
Our salt crystals come from the eastern end of Pakistan at the point where it enters Kashmir. We met people mining rock made of salt crystals. The rock is hard, pink and of an extraordinary age, having been formed hundreds of millions of years before man walked on the earth.
We source our Argan Oil from the Lower Atlas Mountains in Morocco as this is the only place in the world you will find the ancient Argan Trees which are 84 million years old. The Moroccans have always prized this tree and the Berber people have harvested the nuts for its oil. The purest most concentrated extract is used for massaging into the body and is famed for being rich in omega fatty acids and anti-oxidants.

What was your inspiration to start ila?

I am a medical nurse and worked for the Royal family in Dubai and also trained in yoga, aromatherapy, reflexology and counselling.

“I was struck down with ME and told I would probably never work again… This affected me for seven years and during this time I became very sensitive to what nurtured me and what depleted me.” Denise Leicester. I was nurtured by Mother Nature and all that was untouched and pure.

I got energy from this and ate organically but also noticed what I was putting on my skin and also started to link this to my health.
This is when I started to source the pure ingredients which we now use in all the ila products as they not only respect your body and are totally natural but we also respect the environment.

What are your plans for the future with ila?

In the next five years I would love to open our own ila spa with wellness being the core.
But I am delighted with what we have achieved especially our ambition to give back to the environment which is very important to everyone at ila.

ila-spa.com

anti-ageing Best of the Cotswolds cotswolds Ila ILA-Spa People behind the products spa products Wellness Wellness local
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
admin
  • Website

Related Posts

Yoga Glossary

The world’s top eco-friendly spas

Pilates Glossary

Leave A Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

The Spa Traveller
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram YouTube WhatsApp TikTok
© 2025The Spa Traveller.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.