Lara Lolla’s Story – Journey to Self-Care Serenity

Meet Lara Lolla, a dear friend of Living Strong, the beautiful artisan behind Lara’s Love, whose passion for cultivating and crafting with lavender from her own garden. Here is her story of how it all began:

How it all began –

1995. I was 25 years old and managing a new branch in Germiston for a recruitment agency. It was a Friday early evening after work travelling home that my new path was chosen for me. A serious MVA which landed me in a coma for two and a half weeks and a bad head injury.

There was a strong prognosis of me being a ‘vegetable’. Faith surrounded me and God had another plan when he placed me gently back to those who loved me and I became a miracle. Rehabilitation began.
Fast forward to 1996 I started my studies at Cordon Bleu and collapsed. Not giving up, I qualified in December 1997 with my culinary certificate. The rehabilitation still continued. I was constantly tired and taking huge amounts of medication. I started La Lolla’s Catering In 1998. Able to work 2 or 3 days a week. I fell pregnant and had complications so catering was put on the back burner for many years while I focused on my beautiful baby boy and then my second beautiful baby boy in 2002. I was still on serious medication. I opened up Lara’s Cooking school in 2003.

It was sporadic and continued into 2010 while giving my young boys my best attention.
Faster forward, my immune system was in tatters and always tired and sick. I picked up viral labrynthitis which stayed with me for a year……2019-2020. So much more medication on top of what was deemed necessary for me to function as a ‘damaged’ normal person.

We all know 2020 was the start of COVID and the end to so many lives and livelihoods (we as a family were not spared on the latter)
I saw a homeopath in 2020 and within 3 days my labrynthitis left me.
I took it upon myself to take my health back into my own hands. Get to know my own person.

So the journey began…..
I weaned myself off all my medications, carefully.
I started to feel
I started to live
I started to love…..to love Lara
I started up La Lolla’s Catering again in 2020 and gratefully received support from family, friends and other wonderful people.

In my own time I was creating something special, only for me. 2022 Lara’s Love. It started with my bath salts, something healing, something special, something I deserved.
With so many allergies (we all have them) I couldn’t find anything off the shelves or at the markets for my irritated, dry and sensitive skin.
I researched, sourced, tested, asked and then I tried with my own range. I gifted everyone, while still researching for more and better. More importantly it had to be in its rawest and purest form. The ingredients are costly. I needed to do more research on what I can use from my beautiful garden.
My body butter was created, it had to smell gorgeous (because well I love me right?)
It was used on my face too and still is if I run out of my face cream.

I love walking my dogs and being outside, I wanted more for my face. A ‘more’ cream with different ingredients. I gifted my cream as a night cream because of its richness. I decided to use it during the day too. Both my creams have sun protection ingredients.

Both are packed with pure natural goodness.
I have loved the knowledge I have gained so far (you’re never too old to learn) the people who have helped so much with advice, suggestions, guidance and most importantly – Love so much Love.

Lara Lolla, the visionary behind Lara’s Love, has gracefully woven her passion for nature and skincare into a delightful tapestry of self-care. Cultivating lavender in her own garden, Lara takes pride in crafting whipped body butter, face cream, and bath salts that embody the essence of tranquility. Her product range, aptly named Lara’s Love, reflects not only the botanical richness of her homegrown lavender but also the devotion she infuses into each jar and bottle. With a commitment to natural beauty and well-being, Lara Lolla invites individuals to indulge in a sensorial journey of self-love through her handcrafted skincare treasures, unlocking the rejuvenating power of her garden’s lavender blooms. To place your order, contact Lara on 083 696 4799 and follow her on Facebook.