You may have initially heard about Georgia May Jagger due to her famous surname, or the fact that the British-American fashion model and designer has walked in some of the biggest Fashion Week shows, including Chanel, Versace and Tom Ford.
But, with the launch of her organic skincare brand MAY Botanicals, Georgia May Jagger is breaking the mould. Firstly, like so many of the inspiring women we feature on Citizen Femme, Jagger is not content to just be the celebrity face of a brand. Her time as co-owner of the London hair salon BLEACH London has helped her cut her teeth in business marketing, and now she’s very much ready to change the face of the natural beauty market too, firmly in the driving seat.
Here, she tells us about her ‘Week In Beauty’ – including how she discovered her love for skincare (by sharing recommendations with her mum, supermodel Jerry Hall) and how she balances the time difference when working between London and Los Angeles.
On finding her love for skincare
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“I’ve always been interested in the beauty world and especially skincare, just from working in the fashion industry over the years and meeting lots of makeup artists. I’ve also been lucky to have a community with my friends, my sisters and my mum, where we are obsessed with suggesting products to each other.”
“I guess it started out when I was a teenager and I would go to visit my sister in New York. When I moved there, I would go around and find lots of brands that we didn’t have in the UK and bring them back to my friends; especially those that fell into the organic and natural beauty world that we weren’t seeing as much at the time.”
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On launching MAY Botanicals
“It’s been about five years since I had the idea for MAY Botanicals. I really wanted to create something that was suitable for very sensitive, reactive skin like mine, but that didn’t look like your usual sensitive skin product. I wanted something that felt like a luxury product, with natural and organic ingredients; not like the sort of things I used to buy when I had eczema. They just used to look horrible in my bathroom and I was always hiding them. I wanted to make something that you would be proud to have.”
It’s fair to say that Jagger has succeeded in that regard. MAY Botanicals is quickly becoming known for its products’ personality-filled names and beautiful packaging, which was illustrated by a friend of Jagger’s – the fashion designer Matty Bovan. She’s delivered in terms of sustainability and organic credentials too, and is proud to have partnered with WWF to donate a portion of the proceeds from the range.
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The biggest challenges she’s faced
“There have been a lot of challenges,” admits Jagger – from ensuring the range was totally palm oil-free (it is, but many other natural brands still use it), and her commitment to organic ingredients in general. “We have also had to balance wanting the top quality ingredients with not making the products too insanely expensive for the person buying them.”
Jagger’s own existing profile was also a source of concern for the brand founder, although perhaps not for the reason you think. “My worry was that because I have worked in fashion and worked with so many other brands, people might just assume that this is some sort of licensing deal. But, with MAY Botanicals, I have created and put everything into it myself. I was so nervous when it launched – I was a nightmare to be around – and it was hard to champion myself, but I’m trying to stand behind myself more. It’s about backing what I’ve spent years working on.”
Our recommendations: the product range
Clean Slate Cleanser, £45: contains red clay, salicylic acid and lots of rose water for a deep cleanse that doesn’t strip your skin.
Kelp! Seaweed Face Mask, £15: a 100% kelp biodegradable sheet mask, which Jagger calls “an amazing treatment.”
Save Face Spot Solution, £22: enriched with kaolin clay, witch hazel, tea tree and salicylic acid – aka four brilliant ingredients for congestion-prone skin. You can also leave it on overnight to draw out impurities, but in good news, it isn’t overly drying.
Daily Dose Moisturiser, £62: Jagger describes this as “so calming, prebiotic and barrier protecting; it’s cocooning and soothing, even for people with really reactive skin.”
Golden Hour Face Oil, £120: this about-to-launch oil, is set to be the brand’s most organic formula (99.9%) to date. “I’ve always been a big champion of oils and I wanted something that was very hydrating. In the winter especially, I like to add something extra to my routine,” says Jagger. It contains carrot root oil, which is rich in antioxidants and vitamin E, plus borage flower – a light oil that delivers hydration without greasiness.
Her secret to flawless business dressing
As a model it is not surprising that Jagger has her workwear wardrobe down to an art-form too, and she favours a timeless businesswear combination: “I always like to wear a well-fitting pair of black mid-rise, straight-cut trousers with a shirt or a waistcoat.”
“Makeup wise, it is mainly YSL’s mascara and a neutral lip, but I’ll also use our Super Balm as a highlighter on my cheeks. I like a lip, cheek and eye stain – especially RMS’ Lip2Cheek so I don’t have to worry about lots of other products – as well as Chantecaille’s hydrating foundation and either No7’s concealer or one from Cle de Peau. My hair is always a bit funny when I first wake up, so I normally wet it and apply the Bleach London serum, before letting it air dry.”
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A Week In the Life
Monday
“Monday is a big day for me. I’m living in LA at the moment, but I am working on English time, so I wake up pretty early! I also co-own Bleach London so I’ve got a bit of a juggling thing going on. I actually quite like it though as it means I can plan out my week. There are times that it all has to change – if there’s an award show or a fashion shoot, for example – but I tend to like to have a couple of meetings with team members in the morning and I check in with Alex from Bleach too. I have been trying not to look at my phone after a certain time though, as if I look at my phone too late, people in England have woken up and I could end up ‘starting’ work again at 11PM.”
Tuesday
“If I’m travelling or doing modelling work, my week can really vary, because I can suddenly get some job last minute. Recently, I went to New York for one day. Everyone is really understanding of that, but I do try to stay quite planned ahead with things. If I can, I’ll always travel the day before a meeting or shoot, as I’ve realised that jet lag doesn’t really kick in until 48 hours after the flight for me.”
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Wednesday
“Wednesday is another planning day for me. On the one hand, I feel like I am greeted with a lot of emails when I wake up [due to the time difference between London and LA], but on the other, by 1PM I feel like a lot of my day is done so it gives me a bit of me time. I’m able to go and exercise and walk the dogs (who sleep in way later than me actually – they have a dog bed under my desk). Then I can do a little bit more work later on.”
Thursday
“I don’t tend to wake up as early on a Thursday as I’m trying not to do every day on London time. Having specific days where I can have a small lie-in – even one more hour – is currently how I base it. I’ve definitely had to develop my ability to be a morning person in the last few years! It’s funny because my boyfriend is on a really different schedule; I’ve usually drunk two coffees and have done half my meetings by the time he’s woken up.”
Friday
“For years, I was modelling and travelling and doing a lot of back-to-back stuff, and in fashion who you are working with can vary so much. With MAY Botanicals, I like working with a team where everyone gets along and works together on a regular basis; Friday is another of my focused team working days. My big goal for the future is for MAY Botanicals to be stocked in more countries. It’s just the UK at the moment but we have had a lot of requests, so I’m beginning to work on how to build the brand out.”
The Weekend
“On weekends I do try to give myself time to relax and not do much, apart from seeing friends and going for dinner. Everyone is quite busy; a lot of my friends have kids and they are travelling a lot as well, so it’s really nice to plan a meal once a week. When I was younger, everyone would just hang out everyday, but now, of course, you do have to schedule it. I love trying new places, and in LA, I love Sushi Park or Daichan for Japanese food, and there’s a great area with Thai restaurants, including Ruen Pair.
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Lead image credit: MAY Botanicals
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