Nobody understands beauty better than women, which is why we’re thrilled to see so many amazing female-founded brands flourishing right now. And being great believers in girls supporting girls, we’ve teamed up with some of the most inspirational women in the industry to create a new OK! Female Founders Beauty Box, with 12 products worth a whopping £255 and yours for just £55 here while stocks last.
Of course, we couldn’t just pamper ourselves with the incredible box haul. We had to quiz the entrepreneurs themselves to find out the secrets to their success, as well as their own insider tips for beauty, wellness and pampering.
First up in the hot seat we’ve got the brilliant women behind Dr.PAWPAW, Bouclème, Balance Me and Floral Street, and next week we’ll be chatting to the entrepreneurs at Sensory Retreats, Mii Cosmetics, Emma Hardie and NEOM.
Pauline Paterson, founder of natural lip, skin and body brand Dr.PAWPAW
My inspiration came from… our daughter who had really bad eczema as a baby. We wanted to try the natural route instead of steroids, and because I’m from Australia, I was familiar with the pawpaw fruit being used in skincare. I had a pawpaw balm from back home, so I tried it on her and it worked. Pawpaw is hydrating, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial. You can use it anywhere.
I took it from an idea to a business… at first by trying to bring pawpaw over from Australia. At the time, Holly Willoughby was saying, “Pawpaw is my favourite product but you can’t buy it here.” None of the pawpaw brands would sell it to us, so we created our own brand.
The secret of my success is.. standing out. We really went in there, all guns blazing, going “look at me!” People always tell us they love how fun and colourful Dr. Pawpaw is, and it makes them smile.
One top tip is… fake it till you make it if you have to! We launched in Harvey Nichols with one product, just before I had our son. Within a year, they were asking for more products, but nobody knew it was me, working from home with two kids. That wasn’t socially acceptable then, so I’d lie on emails and say things like, “I’ll just get my team to do that.” They had no idea I couldn’t take calls because I was on maternity leave, breast-feeding in my pyjamas.
One pinch-me moment was… when Victoria Beckham was asked on a US podcast for her favourite drugstore product, and she said, “That pawpaw balm. They’re British. They’re iconic .”
I get the balance between work and home life by… making sure I’m fully present with my kids. All phones go away at the dinner table, and if they walk into a room to ask me something mid-email, I stop. That email will be there afterwards, but that moment when they come to me won’t.
For a big boss moment, my beauty essential is… a bright lip. A red, hot pink or bright orange is definitely a big power-up for me.
The treatment I swear by is… oh so many, I’m a self-confessed beauty junkie and I love all those science-powered treatments. I’ve had HIFU skin tightening and Morpheus8. The results are amazing but Morpheus8 is the most painful thing I've ever done. They numb your face twice, so I can't imagine what it would feel like if they didn’t.
If you want to start your own brand you need to… know your target audience and then get your price right. If you don’t, you’re basically doing it for nothing.
Pauline’s OK! beauty box product: Dr.PAWPAW Overnight Lip Mask (10ml travel size, worth £4.75)
Pauline says: “I knew I wanted a plumping formula but what I didn’t want to create was something that tingles on the lips. Instead, this overnight lip mask uses peptides which naturally plump the lips over time. It can also be used around the eye area and on the forehead to smooth fine lines.”
Clare and Rebecca Hopkins, sisters and co-founders of Balance Me skincare
We decided to start our brand because… we were leading really stressful lives in our twenties so our whole wellbeing was out of balance, including our skin. That’s really what inspired us on our natural skincare journey. We got really interested in the power of natural ingredients, and seeing how we could bring skin back into balance, but without creating new problems. [Rebecca]
The secret of our success is… that we’ve always tried to make the brand as accessible as possible because there’s no point having a fantastic skincare product if you can’t use it every day. [Clare]
The skincare tip everyone should follow is… to make a good skincare regime a regular habit, just like flossing your teeth. You see the benefits of doing gentle things little and often far more than suddenly using a potentially harsh or extremely potent product for one issue and then ending up causing others. [Rebecca]
Beautiful skin is all about… being skin positive. It’s about dialling up the glow and making the best of what you’ve got. It’s about ageing with confidence in the skin you’re in, rather than feeling like you’ve got to look like you did in your twenties. [Clare]
The best anti-stress beauty treatment is… a massage from an independent therapist. If they’re working for themselves, nine times out of 10 they’re going to be really good. A lot of the time I’m disappointed if I go to a spa hotel. [Rebecca]
We’re able to run a company together as sisters because… we can both be really honest with each other, and we trust each other. We have different skill sets but the same overall vision so we complement each other well. [Clare]
The best beauty tip is… to be happy, because you light your face when you smile. And try to use a calming bedtime ritual, because a good night’s sleep can make you look brilliant. [Rebecca]
To get balance between boss life and home life… you have to build in those relaxing moments. So we’ve both become really keen cold water swimmers and we do lots of yoga. [Clare]
The advice we’d give to anyone setting up a business is… it’s very competitive, so if your product isn’t great, don’t bother. You work really, really hard, so you’ve got to know it’s not your hobby and you can actually make money out of it. [Clare]
Clare and Rebecca’s OK! beauty box product: Balance Me BHA Exfoliating Concentrate (50ml supersized travel size, worth £13)
Rebecca and Clare say: “It will give you the glowiest skin, adding firmness and evening out texture, but without making it feel tight and dry – and it is great for all skin types, even very sensitive skin and can be used every day. What’s not to love?’
Michele Scott-Lynch, founder of curly hair brand Bouclème
My inspiration for the brand was… born out of personal need. I’ve got curly hair and when I started there was nothing for curls in the market. I have two daughters with curly hair, and I was like, “This is crazy. How can there not be good curly hair products?” The three of us have different types of curls, so when the products worked for all of us, I was like, “OK, we’ve got something here.”
My biggest success so far is… when customers have said, “You’ve changed my life.” Bouclème is about empowering you to feel beautiful wearing your hair’s natural texture. When I was growing up there weren’t any curly role models, so I hated my hair and straightened it for 30 years. Now I love it.
A big challenge to overcome was… trying to get people interested. A lot of beauty journalists had straight hair and it wasn’t for them. Luckily, curly women had created a community online where they shared tips and that was a game-changer for us.
A typical working day for me is… taken up with meetings, catching up with different departments and just making sure everything's humming to a fine tune. I normally leave the office about 5.30pm, cook dinner, then I just veg out in front of some really trashy reality TV. I don't have to think, and I can enjoy somebody else's drama.
If I need to power through the day I love… Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil, especially if I’ve not had a good night’s sleep. I will slather that on all over, step into the shower and just inhale all that joy.
If I need to lift myself up… I love a long soak in the bath with a podcast. Steven Bartlett’s The Diary Of A CEO or How To Fail with Elizabeth Day are both great.
My top tip for wellness is… meditation. There’s just so much going on in my head, so 10 minutes of just doing nothing helps centre me. I feel I make my best decisions when I’m coming from that place rather than running from A to B.
If you’re thinking of setting up a brand I’d tell you to… be really clear about what you’re good at, and make sure that you find people who have got the skills that you don’t have.
Michele’s OK! beauty box product: Bouclème Hydrating Hair Cleanser, 100ml full size, worth £10
Michele says: "With no harsh chemicals that can strip your hair, you can feel confident of having a great wash day. The essential oil fragrance adds a luxury spa element.”
Michelle Feeney, founder of Floral Street fragrance
The moment that set me off on this journey was… a walk in Covent Garden. I happened to look up at the Floral Street sign, and thought, “That would be a great name for a fragrance brand.”
The thing I wanted to change about the fragrance industry was… practically everything. I thought it was just completely old-fashioned. You were expecting a consumer to part with a lot of money for a cellophane-wrapped box on a shelf and perhaps a celebrity commercial. I’d seen how MAC had really democratised make-up by having good products at a reasonable price, and artists at the counter to teach you. I thought, “Well, why don’t we do that with fragrance?” and also make it about sustainability.
One thing I’d do differently would be… well, I launched with eight fragrances and who does that as a self-startup? It’s insane. Would I have done that now? No. But there again, you’ll never start a business if you think it through too much.
I’ve never used celebrity faces because… I want our customers to be the celebrity. We started with eight scents because I wanted women to see fragrance as this addition to their wardrobe, but also a helping hand in feeling more upbeat and confident. One word we’ve never used is “sexy”. I don’t think it’s a brand’s role to tell you that if you buy this or wear this it’s going to make you feel sexy.
One secret to my success is… mood boards. I'm not a fragrance nose so I teamed up with one of the best in the world and gave him mood boards of my different “mood muses” so he could create the fragrances to fit in with those personas. He was so inspired because normally the bigger companies just go in and say things like, “CK One is selling the most, recreate this in a different guise.”
The biggest compliment I’ve had about the brand is… hearing it’s made someone feel good. If you can do that for someone, especially busy women in the morning, that’s amazing.
My best bit of advice for someone who wants to start their own business is… learn to be resilient, take criticism on board and use it for your own personal growth.
If I’m feeling unsure I will… put it out to the universe, and say, “Send me a sign this is worthwhile,” and often an email will come through. I’m often called the White Witch, but I think being a female leader is about tapping into your gut and then backing it up with proof.
My beauty confidence boosters are… matte lipstick, Iconic London Underglow primer, Maybelline mascara, Pat McGrath eyeliner and a spritz of Floral Street Wild Vanilla Orchid. It’s like a hug but in a, “Come on, you can do this!” kind of way.
My best fragrance hack is… have a little bottle of your fragrance in your handbag, and before you go into a meeting, spritz it on, walk in and just own the room.
The DIY beauty treatment I swear by is… an LED mask. Whether or not it works, I don’t know but it is very relaxing and it does make you feel good. Something that gives you space in your day for a break is so important.
Michelle’s OK! beauty box product: Floral Street Sunflower Pop, 10ml travel size, worth £28
Michelle says: ‘This fragrance captures the positivity and brightness of a sunflower, and it was an honour to create it in collaboration with the Van Gogh museum. You cannot help but smile when you put it on.”
Feeling inspired? Then why not treat yourself to these women's brilliant products in our OK! Female Founders beauty box, available here for £55 while stocks last. It's limited edition so once it's gone, it's gone.
The OK! box also includes products from three more female-founded brands, Childs Farm, Rodial and Niré Beauty. You can discover the full line-up here. For the extra feelgood factor, we’ll be donating 10% of all box sales to the charity Refuge. This organisation works tirelessly to empower women to live without violence and fear.
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