BEING YOUR BEST
– INSIDE AND OUT
Mike Morgan is leading the way in more ways than one with a brand-new men’s luxury grooming range. Vir Original is soon to be launched and Gail Bailey met with Mike to find out more
Whilst Mike Morgan, founder of Vir Original, recognises there are lots of great male grooming products on the market he could never really find anything that completely ticked all the boxes for him: “I wanted something that had natural ingredients, but also performed really well and smelled like nothing else out there,” he explains.
A structural engineer by profession Mike decided to create his own luxury range, both to fill a gap in the market and to satisfy an ambition to communicate a message that he’d long since held.
Vir Original products are manufactured locally, comprise of a range of body washes, sprays and shampoos, with the formulation of each based around completely natural ingredients and drawing their fragrance and benefits from high quality components. “Everything that goes into Vir Original products are high in quality – they are silky, lavish and have the most fantastic aroma. When you use the product you really know you’ve used it,” Mike says.
The products containing natural ingredients was of the utmost importance to Mike, but he knew this shouldn’t compromise on luxury and performance.
The list of some the ingredients in the range such as liquorice root, raw honey, tea tree, sea salt, lemon and coconut, to name a few, sound both amazing and good for you.
The signature range, which is due to be released first, contains coffee extract, black cherry and more.
Mike adds: “The greatest satisfaction I get is when people have a double take and want to ‘second smell’ the products, when they realise just how fresh and different they are.”
Due in some part to the presence of such natural ingredients the fragrance is long lasting, but as Mike explains, not overwhelming: “The product is the suit beneath your suit. They are a confidence booster and the perfect start to the day.”
Another important factor is that the body spray works alongside other colognes and due to the presence of menthol, it will freshen but won’t clash.
“I didn’t just rely on my own judgement when producing and trialing the products,” Mike goes on to explain. “I ensured I did thorough research and had many different people try the products, so I could get lots of feedback. I knew when I had achieved what I wanted to, but it was even better to get this affirmed by others.”
Mike knew he needed to work closely alongside specialists to produce the range, and this was a key element in its creation. He worked with cosmetic chemists who truly understood the concept that he wanted with Vir Original, and this alongside the branding and design, was crucial.
“I believe that we can achieve whatever we want to achieve, it just requires work, patience, practice and more work, so this formed one of the pillars for the brand. The other is that being at your best on the outside and being at your best on the inside go hand in hand,” explains Mike, when he describes the ethos of his company and his products.
It is not only the products that Mike is leading on, he is also keen to ensure that his range is ecologically efficient too, and he has considered how he can make it easy for his clients to recycle the empty bottles.
“Not only do we take great care when deciding what goes in the products, we also take great care on what goes around them. In a world that is full of plastic we have made sure that we can recycle as much as possible,” he explains.
This includes packaging and Vir Original don’t use any plastic bags when shipping their products: “Plastic bags may be cheap, but they are really harmful in the long run. So, we’ve decided to use cardboard which can easily be recycled and is a lot less damaging,” he adds.
Vir Original are expecting to launch in late March and will be available not only via their website but also in selected salons, hotels, barber shops, gyms and menswear stores to give men everywhere the best start to their day: “We put the best ingredients in to our products so that you get the best out, and you’re feeling clean, fresh and confident all day so you can go on to do amazing things!”
For more information visit: www.viroriginal.com
