I didn’t have time for skincare after giving birth so created no-faff face masks – I made £278k in first year of selling
Two products are aimed for specific skin types
AFTER having her first child in 2017, Jasmine Wicks-Stephens quickly learnt that she didn’t have enough time for skincare – especially not the 10-step routines being pushed on social media.
Working full-time while juggling life as a first-time mum, the 38-year-old knew she needed a product that focused on exactly what was wrong with her skin, and addressed the issue there and then.
Jasmine, now a mum-of-two and proud owner of six-figure skincare brand Faace, says that the products are “prescriptive without the faff”.
Its flagship masks, which double up as primers, moisturisers and overnight treatments, are perfect for those who want to look after their skin but are too busy for extensive routines.
She used personal savings and borrowed money from her nan to cover the initial costs of the products. Though she doesn’t remember exactly how much, she says it “wasn’t a lot”.
“I thought maybe I should create a routine that was really simplistic to understand and use,” she exclusively tells Fabulous for Bossing It.
“But still with lots of really good ingredients and lots of good stuff in there so you wouldn’t feel like you’ve completely fallen off the skincare wagon.
“I wanted it to be that you could apply it anywhere, at any time.”
Jasmine is also CEO and founder of Known PR, a bustling beauty public relations firm, and drew upon her industry knowledge and contacts to design Faace’s first products.
Her husband Dan was able to create all the branding and necessary graphics to give Faace an identity, saving her heaps of costs on outsourcing.
“I can’t remember the exact figure we invested to get started, but we spent literally just enough to cover the cost of the first round of products,” she says.
“That’s all we were able to scrape together to do it.
“Like most people, I took to the internet to find somewhere that could formulate the products for us and found a lovely family-run business near where we live in Brighton.”
Faace first launched a capsule collection of three multi-use skin masks, named Sweaty Faace, Period Faace and Tired Faace, which were designed to treat the skin complications caused by their namesakes.
In January 2020, Faace had £29k in stocks and no money in the bank, according to Companies House. Within a year of launching, Jasmine had multiplied the company’s value almost tenfold.
The brand turned over £278k within its first year of selling, proving that doing business with your “consumer hat on” is a winning strategy.
Faace is now raking in six-figure sums on a yearly basis and it’s all thanks to Jasmine staying true to her brand’s ethos of no-frills skincare that’s easy to understand and use.
Jasmine's Top 5 Business Tips
- Financial planning Make sure you’ve got a short-term financial plan, but also a five-year one. Look at what you’ll actually need financially and be savvy with the numbers to ensure you don’t become unstuck later down the line
- Put in the hours There isn’t really a secret to business, it’s just about putting in the hours. You have to accept that you won’t have much free time
- Don’t feel guilty There are times where you’ll have to prioritise your business over family, friends and other things. Try not to feel guilty about that. With my kids, I know that me working hard sets a good example to them
- Build a network Being an entrepreneur can be lonely, so I have a strong network of other female business owners around me. I don’t see them as competition, we’re all team mates who share advice and tips with each other
- Strong brand identity Be really clear about how you want your brand to be communicated and its identity. This will help it stand out
“When I launched the brand, I was looking at it with my consumer hat on, rather than my business owner hat,” she says. “Everything we did was with our customer in mind.
“We make our products 100ml, whereas most skincare is around 30ml. That way, our customers get really good value.
“You need to know exactly what you want your brand to communicate and who you want it to go to after.
“That doesn’t mean you have to strive for world domination. Just know your audience and know why your product is important to them.
“It’s really important that you give your product a clear goal and make sure it’s going to stand out.”
Fast forward three years since its launch in 2020, Faace now sells four different masks, two cleansers, a moisturiser and a soap bar that can be used on your face and body.
The brand’s hero products have become those focused on helping and nurturing skin affected by menstrual cycles and menopause.
For hormonal skin, the brand’s best-selling Period Faace, a mask with lavender to balance cells and zinc to fight breakouts, costs £27.
You get an average of 40 uses per tube, meaning it costs around 68p per use.
The brand’s Menopause Faace Daily Face Cream costs £31 for a tube and is packed with ample collagen-boosting, super-hydrating and anti-inflammatory ingredients for women with skin suffering from perimenopause and menopause symptoms.
And despite officially being a daily face cream, it can also be used as an overnight mask or quick refresher if you get a hot flush during the day.
With the UK beauty industry being valued at £12.14 billion, Jasmine thinks it’s important to give back.
Faace partners with social enterprise Hey Girls on its Buy One Give One initiative. That means that for every hero mask sold, one pack of period products will be donated to those who have no access to them or funds to buy them.
“We’ve got a lot of exciting things lined up for the next few months,” Jasmine says. “I’m set on growing the brand and growing awareness around it.
“We’ve just launched on QVC so I’m going to try to get some more shows on there. That’s been exciting for me as I got a taste of being on TV and I loved it.”