Gemma and Diana are the co-founders of Skindays, a tailored skincare discovery platform. Skindays’ mission is to help women age naturally and to feel their natural best through skincare. They believe that keeping your skin healthy shouldn’t be a mystery and are building a platform that helps users master the right products, by honestly uncovering their ingredients, formulations and usage according to skin type and concerns. They believe in the connection between mind and body and want women to feel empowered and confident in their natural skin.
Tell us a little more about your backgrounds and the inspiration behind the brand.
Before launching Skindays, Diana garnered industry experience at Farfetch, Amazon Fashion and LVMH. Working as a Senior Strategy and Investment Manager for Farfetch, and in Commercial Strategy at Amazon Fashion, Diana developed well-rounded e-commerce expertise. This instigated her passion for identifying customer problems and market opportunities, to translate them into successful business models.
Gemma has a background in digital marketing and content. Before founding Skindays, Gemma worked at Farfetch, where she led key business partnerships and SEO projects to drive customer acquisition. She first became a digital evangelist during her time at ASOS UK, where she led and implemented complex cross-channel marketing campaigns. Gemma’s expertise has fuelled her outlook of “best in class” customer experience, as a driver of sustainable growth.
The idea for Skindays was sparked in the changing room of a pilates class where Diana was amazed about Gemma’s skincare routine and whilst she wanted to improve her skincare routine to better fit her concerns, she felt ill-equipped to make the correct purchases online without seeking in store recommendations. The absence of a guided and curated online skincare marketplace seemed to be a huge gap in the market. One, that Skindays had been devised to fill.
How did you both meet, and what is it like to work together as both colleagues and friends?
We met while working at Farfetch and our friendship and professional relationship evolved at the same time.
How have you chosen the brands for your curated platform?
We wanted to offer something unique and different that makes our brand selection exciting. We focus on expert-backed skincare brands that are honest, results-driven and sustainable. All brands are vetted and tested by our team before making it onto the platform.
Tell us a little more about your own skincare journeys and the routines that do and don’t work for you
We both believe in less is more. Gemma suffered from really bad acne problems when moving to London and this had a drastic effect on her confidence and skincare routine. She switched to pure, natural products, non-comedogenic and alcohol free formulations.
In the shift towards product and process personalisation, how can consumers be empowered to make truly informed decisions?
Content and education are at the heart of our brand. We try to make it as seamless as possible for users to make informed purchase decisions. For example, our INCI list explainer on the product description pages breaks down each individual ingredient highlighting how it’s been sourced and its benefits.
What are some of your favourite products from the range right now, and what’s yet to come?
Lately, we have been so impressed by the results of Peace & Pure’s Timeless Elixir Oil, and Oio Lab, a botanical brand developed in Poland. In terms of our hero products, we always reach out to Votary Cleansing Oil, Goldfaden Vital Boost and Venn Age-Response Compiund K Hyaluronic Serum.
What changes would you like to see in the cosmetics industry as a whole?
At Skindays we are committed to promoting a more sustainable and customer-centric approach to skincare, and there are 3 main changes we are excited to see in the industry:
First, we would love to see the cosmetics industry integrate sustainability into the core of business operations instead of treating it as a marketing tactic.
Second, at Skindays we believe in quality over quantity and utilising technology to assist customers in making informed purchases based on their individual skin needs. Thus, discouraging the overconsumption that results from relentlessly promotional communication channels.
Thirdly, we believe in promoting positive ageing and moving away from anti-aging messaging, to promote pro-ageing attitudes and healthy skin at any age. By prioritising sustainability in business operations, utilising technology to enhance the customer shopping experience and discourage overconsumption, as well as promoting age inclusivity and positive ageing messaging, the cosmetics industry can create a more transparent, sustainable, and inclusive space that empowers customers to make informed and responsible choices about their skin.
What is the overarching mission of the brand in 1 sentence?
“To guide our customers through their skin days”.
When you first launched, what brought the most traction and momentum for you?
Since launching in May 2022, our primary focus has been on growing our community and customer base by providing value and building engagement. To achieve this, we’ve implemented a range of community-building initiatives, including our Pop-Ups during the summer and holiday seasons.
For example, our November 2022 Holiday pop-up event provided a physical connection to over 150 customers, allowing us to better understand their needs and preferences. We’ve also seen strong engagement with our Skindays branded products, such as our caps and tote bags, as well as the Skindays Gua Sha tool, which was well-received and helped to diversify our product offerings.
Overall, we’ve been driving customer engagement, acquisition, and revenue through a combination of organic marketing initiatives, such as our WhatsApp outreach, and strategic partnerships with likeminded brands.
What’s the smallest change that’s given the biggest return?
As we’re still in the early stages of our business journey, we’ve been focusing on testing and learning through small changes to drive growth. For example, in September 2022, we sent personalised product samples to a select group of our customers to introduce them to our new product selection with carefully chosen products tailored to their skin and concerns. We saw significant engagement and conversion rates from this initiative, as customers appreciated our targeted recommendations and personalised matches.
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