1.    What has been your proudest career moment?‍

I mean every single brand that we’ve launched has really offered me a new career-best moment, but I would have to say launching out BYOMA has been a real career high. With BYOMA we wanted to create something truly revolutionary and disruptive in the skincare category, completely inspired by and in response to consumer demand. It’s been so incredible over the past few months to hear what people think and to see people using and loving this incredible, barrier-boosting skincare. It's barrier boosting skincare driven by science, powered by actives for the ultimate skin-compatible solution.

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‍2.    Who has been/is your biggest mentor?

I have been incredibly lucky to have met loads of amazing people in my career, but my mum is my biggest mentor as she taught me to believe you can achieve anything when you have drive, focus and determination.

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‍3.    What’s the most valuable piece of advice you have ever received?

No is never an ending. Every no gets you one step closer to a yes.

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4.    Which training body would you recommend for someone wanting to enter your area of the industry?

The advice I would give anyone wishing to enter the beauty industry is to join at an appropriate level for their experience (even if it’s a more junior role than they are used to) and simply immerse themselves in all things beauty! For a lot of roles there is no formal training, however by surrounding yourself with all things beauty, registering for relevant newsletter and spending time with people who are beauty obsessed you will naturally learn, grow and develop. And don’t be afraid to try new things, if you want to be at the forefront of innovation, you have to challenge what everyone else is doing.

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‍5.    How do you make sure you stand out from the crowd e.g. up-skilling, research, social media?‍

I think standing out from the crowd is all about being authentic to yourself and your own values. There’s nobody out there who will approach things in exactly the same way as you will.

As an example of this- while other brands turned their channels into selling platforms during the pandemic, we decided to take a step back and reflect, instead transforming our channels into hubs where audiences could find a place of joy – through cooking tutorials, yoga classes or top tips for tanning from home. This allowed us to forge an emotional connection with our audiences and create communities who remain incredibly engaged to this day.  

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‍6.    If you could give one piece of advice to someone starting their own business, what would it be?‍

I would always say to think about the consumer first. Really get to know your audience and everything will fall into place.  

My overall philosophy is best summarised as the three P’s! Performance, People and Personality. Performance – I’m a total product perfectionist at Future Beauty Labs and inspire my team to be innovators in their respective fields, whether it’s product development, operations, or marketing. The team as a whole is 100% committed to bringing the best formulations with the highest performing ingredients to market first, and I motivate them to be true industry disruptors. I empower my team to create with me – and no idea is a bad idea. Our products are inspired by them, and are tried and tested, and tested again by real people, and if they don’t need, love and obsess over them we simply don’t do it. People – People are everything to the business. Collaboration is crucial to our success and my team truly shapes and drives the company’s vision. Personality – Diversity, transparency and inclusivity are values that hugely important to me as a leader, and I instill these values in my team so that they inform every element of our business. I’m lucky that I work with proudly inclusive teams who know that the key to standing out from the crowd is being true to those values, so it’s important to me that we all live and breathe them each day.

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7.    What’s the best and hardest thing about your job?‍

The initial product development process is always pretty intense. We are so active and reactive in everything we do, making decisions quickly, letting demand drive distribution and controlling our own innovation.

I’m a real perfectionist, so it always takes a lot of back and forth with the lab team to get the formula just right, because the products need to perform better than anything out there on the market and deliver incredible results to the consumer. I also need have total control of all of the ingredients and where they come from, to ensure that each ingredient is of the highest quality- as well as being cruelty-free, vegan etc. It’s always a long process getting everything just right before we launch, however it’s so rewarding to see the amazing results when we get it right- its’ a process that genuinely makes me obsessed with what I do.

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8.    How do you switch off after a difficult day?

Switching off can be so difficult, especially when I’ve had a super busy day, working across different timezones. Exercising can really help to clear my mind, and I think the importance of a good “wind down” routine before bed can’t be overstated.  After a really busy day filled with calls, I always write a last-minute list on my phone notes, so I can switch off fully and pick up on everything the next morning. I’ll meditate for 10-15 mins with the Calm app, then I’ll make myself a chamomile tea, light a candle and read a book until I fall asleep.

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9.    Desert island 3 course meal?‍

That’s a tough one – I love food. Let’ go with oysters, filet mignon with a glass of cabernet, and crème brûlée for dessert!
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10.  Which 5 people (dead or alive) would you have at your dinner party?

• Madonna  
• Elon Musk  
• Warren Buffet  
• Philippe Starck
• And my dear friend Jules Von Hep
• And my amazing husband Rob

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