Taking its name from a mythical mountain near Rome, storied to be the birthplace of soap and human bathing rituals, Mount Sapo is the brainchild of Serena Wise.
A former advertising creative director, she started the process of formulating her organic all-over oil, which she says has ‘12 different uses, from cleansing skin and hair to brows and beards’, five years ago, but it was just over a year ago that she decided to take the leap and launch her brand.
‘I had a baby girl two months afterwards and began the renovation of our 1960s home in Kent,’ she adds, with a note of disbelief. Formerly a devotee of complex, 10-step skincare regimes, Wise recalls feeling guilt about the amount of packaging and waste involved. All products, she asserts, should be ‘multi-use, hardworking and create daily joy for people’.
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An important element of that joyful message is Mount Sapo’s 1970s aesthetic (from its orange and brown bottle to the gumball-machine-inspired font) that can also be seen in Wise’s house. After moving an original 1970s pink tub into the family bathroom upstairs – ‘much to the annoyance of the builders,’ she recalls – the lover of all things retro set about creating a cocooning feel in her ensuite, with tiles in a palette of browns.
And, despite being an advocate of a minimalist approach to lotions and potions, it’s her one-metre-wide Burlington basin that is perhaps her most beloved bathroom design touch. ‘I wanted it to be really generous,’ she says. ‘My husband said he wanted space for his contact lenses. I was like, “I’ll give you room!”’ she laughs.
Another custom feature is a large disguised bathroom cabinet. What does she fill it with, when her daily routine involves just one product, you ask? ‘I arrange trinkets that make me happy. Stones from holidays, Murano glass sweets, Mexican cherubs... It’s fun, but also satisfying to close it away and have everything neat and clean.’ mountsapo.com
