Hello — I'm the formulator behind Formulab AI

I'm a Formula Botanica graduate, holding the Advanced Diploma in Organic Cosmetic Science, and I've been formulating cosmetic products as a passionate hobbyist for the past ten years.

What keeps me hooked is the research. There's always a new sustainable ingredient to understand, a supplier's technical data sheet to pick apart, a COSMOS requirement to get right. Working out why an emulsion behaves the way it does — and how to make it behave better, with genuinely responsible ingredients — never stops being satisfying.

The other half of the story

Alongside formulating, I've spent thirty years in the IT industry as a software developer and business analyst, working on major transformation programmes. Two quite different worlds — but they turn out to have a lot in common. Both are about understanding a complex system, respecting its constraints, and building something that actually works in practice rather than just on paper.

Why I built this

Formulab AI started as a tool to make my own formulating life easier.

I was tired of scattered notes, spreadsheets that didn't talk to each other, supplier PDFs buried in folders, and re-deriving the same calculations every time. I wanted somewhere to keep my ingredients, suppliers, stock and batches together — with an AI assistant that actually understands cosmetic chemistry and sustainable formulation, rather than one that guesses.

So I built it. It brings together my two passions: technology and cosmetic science.

Sharing what I've learned

The blog exists for the same reason. Sustainable formulation has a steep learning curve, and a lot of the genuinely useful knowledge — the pH traps, the active-matter percentages, the difference between a standardised extract and green water — is scattered or hidden behind jargon. I wanted to write the guides I wish I'd had, and share what I've learned with like-minded people.

An honest note

Articles here are researched with AI assistance and then reviewed, corrected and expanded by me, drawing on my formulation training. Where I'm uncertain, I say so — and I'll always point you back to the supplier's technical data sheet, the current regulations, and a qualified safety assessor.

Formulab AI is a tool to help you formulate and learn. It doesn't replace proper safety testing, a Cosmetic Product Safety Report, or professional advice — and it never will.

Thanks for being here. Happy formulating. 🌿