Georgia May Jagger has been teasing her skincare line for over five years, during which she's name dropped an organic do-it-all balm as her long-time beauty mainstay. This week sees the British-American supermodel put a name to this mystery formula: May Botanicals Super Balm Skin Saviour; one of the five founding products in the 31-year-old's skincare debut.
May Botanicals is far from Jagger's first venture into beauty, though. The former face of Rimmel London and Bleach London co-owner has become known for her flamboyant beauty ensembles, never shying away from an experimental hair colour or avant-garde make-up look.
The model and new founder caught up with ELLE UK to discuss beauty muses, make-up bag must-haves and how she makes organic skincare chic.
What made you decide to start a skincare brand?
'Conceptualising the idea started almost five years ago. It took years of finding the different ingredients and trial and error. I had been travelling a lot and I experienced quite dry and sensitive skin, so the Super Balm was the first product. I felt that there were organic ranges but they always looked very organic. They didn't really have the beautiful aesthetic that we think about when it comes to make-up or high-end skincare.'
How has sustainability influenced your journey as a founder?
'I wanted to create my brand out of glass, recycled packaging and designed a lot of it myself. Matty Boven did the illustration that's on the packaging; the box is made out of 100% recycled card and a portion of proceeds go to the WWF. Because the Super Balm has beeswax, I went on this journey of looking for how it could be sustainable and how to give back to pollinators, so we're working with The London Honey Company. It actually has beehives that are on urban buildings all around London.'
May Botanicals Super Balm Skin Saviour
May Botanicals Clean Slate Cleanser
May Botanicals Daily Dose Moisturiser
May Botanicals Save Face Spot Solution
Tell us about your morning routine...
'Lately I've been taking liquid probiotics, I've always been bad at taking vitamins. Then wash my face in the shower or at the sink using the May Botanicals cleanse first. It's great because it's a hydrating cleanser but it doesn't leave a weird feeling on your skin afterwards. I follow up with our moisturiser which has prebiotic inulin in it. It's really good for helping your skin's barrier but it's also very lightweight; that product took the most time because it's quite difficult to create something that is lightweight but 70% organic.'
Who is on your beauty moodboard?
'I always try and get different references and talk to people that I'm working with about that. My mom is obviously one of my big icons but Vivienne Westwood is also a big icon for me. A lot of make-up artists that I've worked with give me inspiration from previous work that they've done.'
What is your go-to make-up look?
'In terms of how I do my own makeup, I go for quite a pared back routine day to day, then I have more fun with it in the evening. I use the Chantecaille foundation because it’s quite shiny. I use a Clé de Peau concealer. I also use a No7 concealer from Boots. I'm always trying out different multi-purpose, lip to cheek balms.
I like to do a tonal look and I'm really into fresh, dewy skin. In the evening, if I was going to do anything I go for a red lip. I prefer an orange-y red with a liquid liner or a creamy brown eyeshadow. I did get really into doing glitters and a full eye look for a while. Now I'll just do it during Fashion Week.'
How has becoming a founder influenced your personal beauty ethos?
'[When I began modelling] I was always wanting to discover new products, talking to make-up artists and people on set. It hasn't really changed that much. I'm still modelling so now instead I'm asking "what do you use?" I'm on this journey of discovering what people want, trying to figure out if there's any future products in that.'
Tell us about your hair routine...
'The Bleach London Reincarnation range is amazing. I just couldn't get enough of it. I made [the owner], Alex, make it in the giant pot for me because it was in the tube before and I needed a big tub. I try and do deep conditioning twice a week and leave that in for as long as I can.'
What is your favourite Bleach London shade?
'My toxic trait is that I'll just show up to work with orange hair and be like "it's fine". I did this thing for TikTok for Bleach last year when we did Ginger Spice hair and then I had a job I had to go to and I had a slight of ginger in my hair that they weren't really expecting and I was trying to wash it out. But I think my favourite shade is The Big Pink. I do also like I See Red. I think I do gravitate towards the pinks.'
What is your number one beauty tip?
'Any facial massages that you can get. We did a pop-up with FaceGym and I had the most amazing one with them. I have all the like kind of like rollers in my freezer when I do them in the morning.'
Are there any trends you're buying into right now?
'There are all these amazing brightly-coloured liquid eyeliners and I wish that I could use them. I always used the different colours of the Urban Decay glitter eyeliners when I was a teenager and I bought a silver one recently and it was really easy to use.'
Shop Georgia May Jagger's Beauty Look
Chantecaille Future Skin Oil-Free Foundation
No7 Lift & Luminate Serum Concealer
Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner
BLEACH LONDON BLEACH LONDON The Big Pink Super Cool Colour 150ml
What is your personal wellness routine?
'I do yoga. Lately, I've been using a pressure point trigger ball on my feet because my feet were hurting, and then also on my back because I haven't had time to get a massage. It's actually heaven. I also just like to listen to audiobooks (anything that's about crime) or doing something that's not on my phone. I like no screen time.'
