Jasmine Wicks-Stephens, founder of Faace.
Having built a successful career in the beauty PR industry, in 2020 Brighton-based Jasmine Wicks-Stephens set out to disrupt the multi-billion dollar beauty industry with her fuss-free ethical skincare line Faace. Within two and a half years, the brand is now award-winning and available in 59 retailers in 23 countries, from Harrods to LookFantastic. And this month, the brand launched an initiative crowdfunding campaign. Here the spunky Wicks-Stephens offers her ultimate travel and career advice.
How did you come up with the idea for Faace? I spent 16 years working with other beauty brands before I decided to create something meaningful myself. I was about to become a parent and some nights brushing my teeth was off the list due to exhaustion, let alone a long skincare routine. This was the light bulb moment for Faace.
What does Faace offer that wasn’t already available? We’re on a mission to simplify skin care routines. Our range is for every face – from menstrual to tired, sweaty to menopausal. We understand that there are times when you’re tired, have been exercising or on your period and that it’s not always realistic to do a full skincare routine. So we’ve created a range of easy-to-use and ethical products that can simply be rolled out with minimal fuss. We formulate each tube to include many different skincare actives to help your skin at that time, and we’ve openly named our ‘no sheet masks’ Period, Tired, Sweaty, Menopause as there’s something empowering about to be there saying yes, so what, I’m sweaty, but who cares, or I’m on my period.
We want to open up the conversation, destigmatize topics that are still somewhat taboo like menopause and periods. We’re also committed to giving back – we support Hey Girls in its period poverty mission and donate to the Menopause Charity.
Campaign images for Faace.
Why crowd funding and why now? With the support of our community, we’ve built the foundations of a much-loved brand and now want to reach even more people in the UK and beyond. The global beauty market is projected to reach over $180 billion by 2025, and we want to provide consumers with an easier, no-BS way to shop for products in that space.
I’m incredibly proud of how far Faace has come—you can find us in 23 countries and 59 retailers worldwide—but there’s so much more we want to do. So many other important conversations we want to address, more skin care problems we want to solve, more sheet masks we want to save from the landfill, and more great causes we want to support.
On the go with Faace.
Tell me a little about your travel groups? Whether your skin is tired, dull, or in need of a good scrub, we’ve got the perfect travel kit. We have our own Travel Buddy for both Party Faace and Festive Faace. All of our travel kits come in airplane-friendly packaging made from 60-70% recycled plastic that’s also super lightweight. and designed to absorb quickly into the skin.
Where are some of the farthest places you’ve sourced ingredients and how did you find those suppliers? We work with a UK based laboratory that specializes in ethical and sustainable beauty. They work with supplies from all over the world, to ensure that the ingredients are ethical and organically or wild harvested. Our newest launch, Stress Faace, which will be released later this month, has Neurophroline, a plant found throughout India, especially in South India and the Western Himalayas up to 6000 ft and helps fight stressed skin.
What are your top travel tips in 2023? Boring but essential – wear SPF all year round. It’s easy to forget to apply SPF when the sun’s out, but the best way to ensure skin stays healthy and youthful is prevention, not cure. Get recommendations from people who like the same things as you, not online reviews. And try to slow down during the holidays, as it’s so easy when you live a busy life to try and also pile on too much during the holidays, but I think things are much more enjoyable when you’re able to go with the flow.
Skin care by Faace.
What is always in your suitcase? Hair dryer and all my brushes. I don’t have good hair anyway and I like to have my tools from home. All my beauty products—cleansers, masks, eye cream, SPF—everything I like to use. Lots of clothes. I don’t like to plan my wardrobe, I’d rather have choices so that everything is packed “just in case”. And baby food – no one wants a hungry child (or man).
What does no one tell you, but you want to know about running your business? That there will be big ups but also massive downs. That you sometimes feel alone. That there will be an endless amount of frustration as you rely heavily on other people and other businesses and so things will often be out of your control. So be patient. Don’t sweat the small stuff and find serious time to celebrate the victories.
