As an avid collector of memorabilia from the Golden Age of Hollywood (established as The Icon Collection), Icon Skincare was inspired by the rediscovery of Madam Renna’s skincare treatments and formulas in a chest bought at auction.  Included were autographed photographs and documents of Hollywood stars from clients dating from the 1930s to the 1980s. This was of specific interest because it included Marilyn Monroe’s favourite photograph of herself, taken by Cecil Beaton and inscribed to Madam Renna, her long-time beautician.  You were completely unaware that the skincare formulations were included in the chest. Can you describe your emotions at that time?

I was literally overwhelmed and thrilled beyond description. I thought how in the world could this information fall into my lap and I really began to feel that it was destined somehow, the opportunity to combine my passions, skincare, the Golden Age of Hollywood and Marilyn.  It was like discovering long lost treasure, filtering through formulas, Madam Renna's business records, photographs, articles and facial protocols.

The iS Clinical formulations and Madam Renna’s skincare formulations are both rooted in such different eras of skincare, so how did you balance the science of the contemporary and the artistry of Hollywood’s most glamorous era?

Yes, the formulation expertise has advanced considerably over the years. As I attempted to replicate Madam Renna’s formulas, many of the ingredients were long discontinued so I had to do quite a lot of research to find out which individual ingredients made up the compounds she used and then assess whether or not they had become usable over the decades.  Some of Madam Renna’s product designs remained innovative and relevant, even in today's sophisticated world of skincare.

We carefully selected the formulations that inspired us to recreate certain attributes of the originals, but today we can make them far more effective.  We no longer use some of the common skincare ingredients of that era, for example almost all facial cleansers were mineral oil based, which is no longer the case now.

Royal Jelly, Honey and Propolis appear throughout almost every product in the collection.  Was that consistency a deliberate signature thread running through the range, or did it emerge naturally by staying true to Madam Renna’s formulations?

One of the most important discoveries I found regarding Madam Renna was that she was one of the first beauticians, if not the first, that brought the use of Royal Jelly, Honey and Propolis to the US. Royal Jelly in particular is one of the most incredible ingredients that we know of.  In fact there are several very important published clinical studies showing the incredible properties of using Royal Jelly topically. 

Turning to the formulations, there are nine products in the range and it’s a tight curation, yet there are two cleansing products, Take One Cleansing Honey and MilkIt Cleansing Powder.  Can you explain the rationale behind that decision?

Take One Cleansing Honey is a honey-based gentle cleanser that gently cleanses and purifies, without stripping or drying skin and the MilkIt Cleansing Powder idea came from my childhood.  I remember my mother used a milk grain cleanser that, although rather heavily scented, offered such a unique cleansing experience that I actually looked forward to washing my face as a child. 

That 1960s grain cleanser my mother used became my inspiration for creating MilkIt Cleansing Powder, however I wanted to update the technology and remove the perfumed fragrance.  I chose to focus on the transformational scent of milk, experienced by each of us, as it is indescribably calming and nurturing.

I believe that Camera Ready is a product which earns its own heroic status the moment you try it.  What made you decide that this particular formulation needed to walk the line between a primer, a treatment and a final flourish, rather than choosing one single role for it to play?

We have worked with literally hundreds of well-known make-up artists over the years as iS Clinical enjoys incredible relationships with celebrities from multiple disciplines, film, television, music and fashion, and we asked several of our iconic makeup artists what their ‘ideal’ product would be and what it would do, and we created Camera Ready.  It has become the hero of the Icon Skincare brand; there is nothing like it on the market as this weightless, translucent gel creates a silky, soft-matte canvas that grips make-up in place, keeping skin beautifully shine-free all day, yet alternatively, and without make-up, it offers bare-face glam, keeping it effortlessly natural.

The Icon Cream Heritage stays faithful to the original formula that once lay beneath some of the most iconic looks of Hollywood’s Golden Age, while the Icon Cream Reinvented brings that same heritage into a thoroughly modern formulation.  What guided the decision to offer both, rather than choosing one path or the other?

The main difference in the two versions of the Icon Cream is that the Heritage version is almost identical to the original formula which uses Lanolin, ethically and humanely sourced from freshly shorn wool (raw fleece).  Lanolin is an amazing heavy duty emollient and protective moisturizer that has been used for thousands of years by cultures all over the world. Reinvented features a botanical compound that mimics Lanolin for those who want a purely botanical version of the Heritage Cream.

The philosophy of the brand’s existence is to awaken self-belief rather than to correct or fix.  At what point in developing the brand did that philosophy take shape, and was there a specific moment that made you realise this needed to be the foundation of everything Icon does?

We have seen more and more consumers experiencing ‘ingredient fatigue’ as they have been continually bombarded with competitive pitches from brands involving ingredients, studies and benefits. It has become almost impossible to differentiate products in the market. In addition, there has been an artificial expectation of perfection with the heavy influence of social media. Striving for beauty perfection is based on thinking that there is something wrong with us and that we need to continually fix something that is wrong.  Literally, we can never live up to the standards of today and it has become unbelievably stressful.

There are twenty-five years of clinical expertise behind iS Clinical, so twenty-five years from now, when people look back on Icon Skincare, what do you most want them to remember it for – the formulations, the story behind it, or something else entirely?

Our iS Clinical brand has garnered an incredibly rich legacy of scientific legitimacy and formulation expertise and we bring that 25-year heritage and reputation to Icon. We would love to create a legacy that Icon Skincare offered a joyful and fulfilling experience focusing on what is right with you and not what is wrong with you.