2 Cool Brand Founders Talk Favourite Products & Beauty Tips
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Go-To Products…
JW: Bioeffect’s EGF Serum is one of the best skincare products ever. We discovered it last year and are equally obsessed with it – and everything the brand does for that matter. It’s an Icelandic biotech brand that harnesses growth factors and the resources of Iceland. Everything it makes is a miracle product and I would go as far as to say we would never ever be without it in our routines.
JW: For affordability, you can’t beat CeraVe’s Moisturizing Cream. If, like mine, your skin is sensitive and reacts to most moisturisers, trust me, this is one of the best. Speaking of dryness, there are two lip balms I love. One is Sol de Janeiro’s Brazilian Kiss Lip Butter. During the cold winter months, it’s a total saviour, as is the Vanilla Lip Mask from Trader Joe’s. You can only get it in the US, but it’s worth stocking up on. Few lip products soothe chapped skin like those two.
Discothèque & Favourite Fragrances…
HB: A good product should make you feel incredible. Discothèque was born out of this idea. We wanted to take scent and bring all the other key senses into it. We combine nightlife, music and unforgettable moments in our range, so everyone can stash them away and revisit them whenever they want. We also wanted the brand to move the party into our own living rooms and bedrooms, bringing the dancefloor home with us if you will.
JW: Crisco Disco and Paradise Garage are two of our favourite scents from our brand. They are some of the first we launched, so they hold a special place in our hearts. We are both unhealthily obsessed with Les Caves du Roy too – we only light it as a treat since it’s limited edition.
HB: I’d like to be remembered for Lola at Coat Check. This is the type of scent that leaves you wanting more, it’s the definition of a good time and it makes you feel giddy and excited every time you wear it.
JW: The fragrance I would like to be remembered for is Baise Moi on The Dancefloor – not just because the name takes the French by surprise, but because I am addicted to it. I even spray it on when I am alone; it just makes me feel so good.
HB: Fugazzi fragrances are a new discovery for me. The scent Thirsty is so unique, as is Genetic Bliss by 27 87. The latter is so musky and warm, and it adapts to your body’s own unique skin scent.
JW: Outside of the brand, there are other niche scents I love. My current favourite is Les Fleurs by Maya Njie. It’s such a fresh, green floral that layers so well with other fragrances. I am big on fragrance layering – it helps you stand out and ensures the scent lasts on your skin.
Niche Recommendations…
JW: Omayma’s Bedouin Elixir Facial Oil is so nourishing. If you’ve never tried it, I can’t recommend it enough. Use it as the last step in your night-time routine. Not only does the scent send you off to sleep, it also completely transforms dull, lifeless-looking skin and lets you wake up in the morning with renewed glow and bounce.
HB: When it comes to niche brands, Fjör is one that everyone should know. Every product it launches is exceptional. The brand uses a patented Hydrolytic serum, and you can feel how deeply it hydrates – you can see it too. So simple, so effective and powerful. Another recommendation is the SkinCycles DNA Defence Sunshield SPF 100 – you feel so protected when you wear this.
JW: My last recommendation is the Dr. Dennis Gross LED Mask. I actually steal this from my fiancé because he’s a secret skincare fanatic. It’s one of the best anti-ageing devices I’ve tried. I also love Beauty by Earth Self-Tanner, which is full of natural ingredients that nourish the skin. It’s hard to come by a natural, vegan-friendly tan that’s actually good and doesn’t streak.
HB: We both love brow brand ByEllie. It’s no surprise it’s so popular on TikTok – everything is so good. The Brow Texture gives fluffy definition that actually lasts, with zero flakiness or that tell-tale crispy feel.
On Beauty Treatments…
HB: Iris Avenue is my favourite place to go for gels in London. They’re so efficient and the colours last so long. We both travel a lot for work, so I tend to do as much as I can myself, but one thing I love is a good facial. When I am in London, I also head to Kichi Studio. Natasha can instantly reverse any jetlag. She does the ultimate ‘snatched facials’, so I rely on her when I have a big event to go to and need a ‘disco ball glow’. When I’m in LA, I love to visit Striiike. It’s my favourite brow bar and is owned by three sisters who do hair, make-up and brows. I’ve never found anyone else who shapes my brows like they do.
JW: Treatments all depend on where I am — I trust my sister-in-law Jill with my life and she does my hair, but she’s in LA. The best haircut in London is Neil Wooley – I would trust him with anything.
On Career Lessons & Business Advice…
HB: Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There is so much inspiration and knowledge to be gained from people who have already done it. Owning your own business can be quite a rollercoaster ride, so perseverance is something that’s really important, as is knowing when to say no.
JW: Multi-task until you can do something full-time. When we started our first business (The Mighty Company) we were in our early 20s, working two jobs and doing freelance graphic design to pay the bills — simultaneously working late at night to develop and design our very first products and branding, as well as every weekend. This was the set-up for about a year before we even launched one product. If you can work on your brand full-time pre-launch, you’ll obviously get things done quicker but multi-tasking like that made it possible for us and we felt so driven to make it work since we invested so much time in it.
HB: Don’t wait for perfection. We are both crazy perfectionists and it kills us. Spoiler alert: things will never be perfect. Do things now and learn from them along the way. Get comfortable with putting things out there. The response will help you evolve.
HB: Learn to adapt. This is one of the most valuable lessons, and we’ve learned it the hard way. Trends shift, the economy changes and consumer behaviour can be unpredictable. Know you’ll have to pivot (and learn how to stay true to your vision at the same time) many times over.
JW: Ask questions and learn from other people’s mistakes. Try to be a sponge when it comes to advice and information. Ask anyone successful in your business everything you can, read books written by people you admire, listen to podcasts. Every piece of good advice saves you time or from making the same mistakes yourself – and since you will already make enough of those as it is, every little bit helps.
JW: Accept that failure isn’t the worst thing. We’ve had so many highs and lows, especially with our first business being almost a decade old, and seeing it through times of economic shifts, the pandemic and lockdowns, store closures and so forth. We’ve gone through being ‘investable’ to ‘un-investable’, as well as bootstrapped, government-granted, scared and on cloud nine. We have failed and won at so many things along the way. When we started, we used to be so scared of the idea that everyone we knew might see us fail. Now we’re just so proud of the work we’ve done to get where we are, no matter if our story has a fairytale ending or not.
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