[7 MINUTE READ]
Good morning everyone and welcome back to our Friday Founder interview segment! As we reach the final weekend of January, we have been thinking a lot about beauty trends for 2021.
One thing that we have noticed is that many people in the industry are using lockdown to simplify their skincare and target longstanding ailments.
Luckily this week’s interviewee is Isobel Reid, the founder of Gloh Beauty, a beauty company on a mission to simplify supplements and help everyone achieve healthy skin that radiates beauty from the inside out. Sound like your cup of coffee? Just keep reading...
"Our skin is our largest organ and it supports the life of all our other body parts. It makes sense to nourish it from the inside out and fill your body with the nutrients it needs."
Good morning Isobel! Thanks for joining me! Could you start by telling me a bit about your background and how it has influenced you today?
I am a beauty and supplement addict! As much as I love a full face of makeup, a perfect smoky eye or a bold lip, there is nothing more beautiful than having clear and radiant skin that doesn’t need to be covered up.
Having lived in New York and London, I would spend hours commuting on dirty trains and, as a result, my rosacea-prone skin suffered. Drinking lots of water and taking a combination of supplements helped, but it was an expensive and inconvenient routine to try and maintain. No one wants to haul eight different pill bottles on a weekend getaway!
Absolutely! So how did you get your start in the beauty industry?
I wanted to create my own skincare cocktail that worked, was delicious and encouraged me to drink more water, and so Gloh Beauty was born.
So Gloh Beauty came from your own need?
Exactly! Gloh Beauty’s launch product is Beauty Powder. We source the most sustainable Marine Collagen Peptides from Iceland and combine it with high-quality Biotin, Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamins A, B2, B6 and B12 so that every skincare big-hitter is included in each sachet. You simply add the peachy powder to your water (or smoothie) and sip your skincare. Our skin is our largest organ and it supports the life of all our other body parts. It makes sense to nourish it from the inside out and fill your body with the nutrients it needs.
The Gloh Beauty tagline is “Everyday Radiance” because when you are taking care of yourself from the inside out, you glow differently. Whether you are creating a beautiful makeup look or going fresh-faced for a day at the office, incorporating Gloh Beauty Powder into your daily routine helps you achieve that coveted beautiful glow.
I love the idea of being able to achieve that glow from the inside out. When did you decide to start up Gloh Beauty and why? Was the timing important?
Gloh Beauty launched in November 2019. From May 2019 I was working on the formula and branding but there was no particular thought about when we might launch. I believe that when you want to do something, there is no time like the present!
I completely agree! Speaking of the present, would you say that people are more conscious of the ingredients in their beauty and skincare products nowadays? If so, why?
Absolutely! Everyone is so informed and all these ingredients that would have previously been like a foreign language are now recognisable terms. It is great that consumers are informed. I have got Celtic skin so as much as I love being tanned, I also suffer from rosacea and have to be really careful with what I put on my face.
Once you educate yourself about ingredients it is easy to spot the products that will do more harm than good, as well as the ones that have too many ‘filler’ ingredients to bulk them out. I am really proud of the fact that Gloh Beauty only uses clinical, functional ingredients without any fillers. That is what our customers love about us!
That is a really important lesson! What do you think were your biggest challenges in starting up Gloh Beauty?
All the admin! I am not going to lie, I am not a numbers whizz so invoices and generally keeping on top of accounts is definitely the hardest part for me. Everything else is pretty simple by comparison! I built the Gloh Beauty website myself, manage all the social media, fulfil orders and approach buyers myself. If I don’t know how to do something I just google it – there is huge power in modern technology, you just have to be open to learning.
I am the exact same! It is great to learn new skills that you previously thought would never be your ‘thing’. What strategies do you think have been key to the success of your business?
Just doing it. If I like a retailer I just go for it and approach them to offer samples. That is half of the fun of being a start-up, you can do what you like and tweak your approach as it goes on. I think being agile and keeping an open mind is the most important strategy.
That is great advice. I try to keep that in mind in my day-to-day life too! What is your favourite thing about your job?
I adore creating products! I have so much fun brainstorming, researching ingredients and deciding upon a look and feel for a product. Before Covid-19 hit, I also did a few in-person events at retailers; I loved chatting to all the customers and running samplings.
Aw, I miss in-person beauty events! That must have been a great opportunity to gain customer insight too. What do you think makes Gloh Beauty stand out?
At Gloh Beauty, we are most proud of the quality of our ingredients. Gloh Beauty Powder has a simple formula so our customer knows exactly what they are ingesting.
Unlike traditional supplements, Gloh Beauty Powder is just that, a powder. Our blend of skin-loving, potent ingredients has a peachy taste and comes as 28 individual sachets per box. Rather than dreading swallowing myriad capsules each morning, Gloh Beauty Powder is something to look forward to. The peachy flavour tastes great added to water or juices and you can just grab a sachet for your bag on the way out the door. The product puts the customer back in the driver’s seat as you can take your supplements when it is convenient for you.
It is also important to us that Gloh Beauty looks and feels like a premium product but our customers get a very pleasant surprise when they see the price! Gloh Beauty Powder is priced at 89p / $1 a day because taking care of your skin shouldn’t mean compromising other aspects of your life or budget. Gloh Beauty has a strong aesthetic and our customers love to display our boxes on their vanity because it has such a premium look and feel.
"In normal times, I travel around every month so I get a lot of inspiration from browsing shops and pharmacies around the world."
I would have to agree. I love the Gloh Beauty aesthetic! Could you describe your biggest “pinch-me” moment since launching Gloh Beauty?
Seeing Gloh Beauty sat on the shelves at Harvey Nichols – what a dream!
Oh, that is wonderful! What inspires you?
I’m definitely inspired by Instagram… I probably spend way too much time on there! I make so many mood boards for branding ideas. In pre-Covid times, I would also travel around every month so I get a lot of inspiration from browsing shops and pharmacies around the world.
Travel is definitely a big inspiration for me too! Could you describe what an average day looks like for you?
I work from an office so I keep to a 9-5 routine most days. I really love having a routine so I normally workout or go for a walk with a friend in the mornings, then get to my desk by 9. I am much more motivated in the mornings so that is when I do my bigger tasks and then, I tend to save fulfilling orders for the afternoon. At the moment, I am completely obsessed with the original Sex And The City series, so in the evenings I have been watching that and wearing my LED mask for an at-home spa experience!
Oh, I love that! Sex And The City is my favourite! Do you think you have a work/life balance?
Absolutely! I think part of the reason I do is because I have a separate office and normal working hours. I am not a night owl at all, so I usually stop work on time and give myself plenty of time to wind down.
It is refreshing to hear that. So many people don’t! What words do you live by?
“Love Does” – Bob Goff
The simple ones are often the best ones! What’s next for Gloh Beauty?
A new product launch! I am so excited for it!
Like what you read? Head to the Gloh Beauty website to shop now!
If you fancy checking out some of our previous interviews, you can find them here. Want more from CAROLINAGMX? Check this out: Your Cheat Sheet to the Microcurrent Facial with Foreo Bear
Gabriela is a London-based writer and creative, working in marketing. Her favourite skincare product is Darphin’s Ideal Resource Youth Retinol Oil Concentrate.
