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When did you first decide you wanted to launch a skincare line?
I have a note in my phone from 23rd April 2013, so nearly 10 years ago, where I listed out what I would launch under a different name. These were my early thoughts of it, as I’ve always looked at overhyped claims and thought ‘if I had the opportunity, I would do it better than this’. Now, there is so much goodness in the industry that the thought has switched from ‘I will do better than this’ to ‘I want to do our best work’.
How did you decide on the name Skin Rocks?
This went back and forth for a long time. I knew early on that I didn’t want to put my name on a box. For me, I didn’t want the ownership, I wanted a brand that was based on science and innovation, not my ego and about more than me.
Why did you choose to start with a retinoid?
There isn’t a really in-depth story here, it was literally what was ready to go and I was totally in love with it. Between Brexit and COVID it’s a miracle that we’ve got anything out. We’ve been through every obstacle you can imagine, when we were trying to launch there was a shortage of paper – things you don’t begin to think about.
Shop the Skin Rocks Retinoids here.
What sets Skin Rocks apart from other skincare brands?
Ultimately, that will be down to the customer to say. From my point of view, I can confidently say that we only release something when I’m 100% happy with it. I know that we’re ready to put something to market when I’m using a sample instead of a product already out there. When my routine consists of samples from Skin Rocks, that’s when I take a moment and go ‘oh bloody hell!’.
How will Skin Rocks sit alongside your channels?
The Skin Rocks product will also get the same treatment from me across the blog, I will always say if you do or don’t need it and why. I’m not going to try and recommend something if it won’t work for you, and there will always be recommendations from other brands alongside.
What is the ethos behind the brand?
We are formula first and formula is Queen. We then find the best packaging solution to keep the formula stable and ensure it’s a comfortable experience for customers to use.
Most brands work backwards and set a budget, then work out their costings and margins.
What's been the biggest challenge?
Where do I start? The biggest challenge has been certain products that I am adamant we can bring to market and we’ll get to the last week of testing and something would fail, so we scrap and start again.
For certain products, I have been adamant that I want the version I have tested and the lab might try to compromise and say ‘if we take out this and put in that’, and I just smile and say ‘no.’.
What's been the most rewarding part of the process?
Testing something and thinking ‘oh this is bloody good’, seeing it come to fruition and building a team that are as excited about it as I am. People keep thinking ‘this will be the big milestone when she cries’ and I’m not there because I’m not done. Yes, it’s obviously exciting and I definitely have pinch me moments, but equally there’s a part of me that is very comfortable and knows it has always been part of my path.
Can you share a sneak peek of what’s to come?
I think most people will be shocked that we didn’t launch with an acid, cleanser or cleansing balm, and that’s fine, I like to keep people on their toes! At some point there will be a full routine, but there will not be superfluous products or 45 cleansing balms.
I want to contribute good product that is needed, whether or not it’s what I would use (as I have one particular type of skin), but it will always be something I fall in love with and can happily recommend to skin that needs it.
Searching for products to calm and condition your skin? Shop the latest Skin Rocks products here.
