Invaluable travel advice from the founder of an award-winning UK-based beauty brand

Having built a successful career in beauty PR, in 2020 Brighton-based Jasmine Wicks-Stephens set out to disrupt the multi-billion dollar beauty industry with her fuss-free ethical skincare line Face. In less than two and a half years, the brand is now award-winning and available in 59 retailers in 23 countries, from Harrods to LookFantastic. This month, the brand launched an interest crowdfunding campaign. Here the intrepid Wicks-Stephens offers her solid travel and career advice.

How did you come up with the idea for Face? I worked with other beauty brands for 16 years before I decided to create something meaningful myself. I’d become a parent, and some nights brushing my teeth was off the list due to sheer exhaustion, let alone a long skincare routine. That was the lightbulb moment for Face.

What does Face offer that isn’t already there? We are on a mission to simplify skincare routines. Our range is for every face—period to fatigue, sweat to menstruation. We understand that it’s not always realistic to have a full skin care routine when you’re tired, working, or on your period. Therefore, we have developed a range of easy-to-use and ethical products that can be started with minimal fuss. We create each tube to include a variety of active skin care ingredients to help your skin during that time, and our “No-Sheet Sheet Masks” clearly label that there’s something empowering about being out there—period, fatigue, sweat, menopause. Yeah so what, I’m sweaty but who cares, or I’m on my period.

We want to open up the conversation and break down somewhat taboo topics like menopause and menstruation. We’re also committed to giving back—we support Hey Girls in its term poverty work and donate to The Menopause Foundation.

Why crowdfunding and why now? With the support of our community, we’ve built the foundation of a much-loved brand and now we want to reach even more people in the UK and beyond. The global beauty market is predicted to reach $180 billion by 2025, and we want to give customers an easy, no-BS way to shop for products in that space.

I’m incredibly proud of how far Face has come—you can find us in 23 countries and 59 retailers worldwide—but we want to do so much more. There are more important conversations we want to tackle, more skincare problems we want to solve, more sheet masks we want to save from the landfill, and more great causes we want to support.

Tell us about your travel packages? Whether your skin is tired, dull, or just in need of a good cleanse, we’ve got the perfect travel kit for you. We have our “travel buddy” and holiday season party face and festive face. All of our travel kits come in airplane-friendly packaging made from 60-70% recycled plastic, which is also super lightweight. and is designed to sink into the skin quickly.

Where are some of the far flung places you source ingredients from and how did you find those suppliers? We work with a UK based laboratory specializing in ethical and sustainable beauty. They work with ingredients from around the world to ensure the ingredients are ethical and organic or wild harvested. Our new release, Stress Face, out later this month, contains a plant called Neurofroline, which is found all over India, especially in South India and the Western Himalayas up to 6,000 feet, and helps fight the war on stressed skin.

What are your top travel tips for 2023? Boring but essential—wear SPF year-round. It’s easy to forget to use SPF in the absence of bright sunlight, but the best way to ensure healthy, youthful skin is prevention rather than cure. Get recommendations from people who love the same things as you, not online reviews. Try to slow down during the holidays, because when you live a busy life, it’s very easy to spend too much time on vacation, but I think if you can go with the flow, things will be more enjoyable.

What’s always in your suitcase? My hairdryer and all my brushes. I don’t have great hair anyway and prefer to keep my tools away from home. My beauty products – facial cleansers, masks, eye creams, SPF – are all the ones I like to use. Lots of clothes. I don’t like planning my outfits, I like to choose, so everything is packed with “maybes”. Snacks for Kids – No one wants a hungry kid (or husband).

What do you wish you knew about running your own business but no one tells you? There are big highs but also massive lows. You will feel lonely at times. There’s an endless amount of frustration because you rely heavily on other people and other businesses, so things are often out of your control. So be patient. Don’t sweat the small stuff, take serious time to celebrate success.