Did you hear? It’s our tennaversary. Naturally, there’s been a whole lotta reflection going on at Go-To HQ. So we had to ask a Very Important Founder (ours, specifically) to share some beauty and business-y takeaways from the last decade of peach.
Here’s what really stuck out for Zo.
Your face still stops at your boobs.
Stop treating your neck and decolletage like it’s in economy class. It deserves all the business class shit your face gets - it gets just as much sun damage, and is just as visible, skivvy season aside.
Fewer things better.
We are a brand anchored in uncomplicated, simple skincare… yet we keep releasing new products. HOW DOES THAT WORK. Well, now we offer more people and more skin types more options to look after their skin. (Not just a thirsty-skinned founder who wants to make the mask she needs...)
Every Go-To product fills a specific gap, and was made intentionally and carefully. We don’t push out products to keep up with what has become a furiously paced cycle of new-new-new. We take our time to make skincare with gold-standard, clinically proven ingredients, that will still be as relevant in 10 years as they are today, and then educate our customer on how to use them for the best possible results.
SPF is THE ONE.
I don’t care which brand you use. Find one you love, and use it every day. It’s the single biggest difference you can make to the health, youthfulness and appearance of your skin. (And if you’re using acids and actives, it’s mandatory.)
Skincare really matters in your forties and beyond.
I started Go-To in my thirties, before children and pandemics and running-a-company-stress. My skin was juicy-as. Fast forward 12 years and my skin needs are different. It won’t bounce back like it used to; it needs more help. I rarely make time for professional treatments, but I have built an (all Go-To) routine that is efficient and effective and that I enjoy, and which I can see has made a BIG difference to my tone, texture and overall luminosity.
[I emphasize hydration and nourishment (Fancy Face! Much Plumper Skin! Juicy Gel!), barrier protection (Very Luxe Face Cream! The Repair Shop!), SPF and brightening (Nifty Fifty! Much Brighter Skin!), and definitely resurfacing (De-Crease! Glow Exfoliator!). I do weekly masking (The Removalist + The Repair Shop) and since we’re best friends and I can be honest: More (or more accurately, better) sleep and less alcohol.]
What the people want, they get! Kind of.
I've spoken a lot (too much, some might say) about how useless eye creams are, but you, dear customer, very much wanted an eye product. “There are lots out there, use those!” I yelled. “But we want a Go-To one”, you yelled back. My heart bloomed; off to work we went. The end result (De-Crease) satisfies your needs, and mine: An eye serum with retinal and peptides that is clinically proven to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet, and boost smoothness and firmness.
Connection counts.
We are proud to be an Australian-owned, Australian-made company with a female founder. But more than that, we are proud to be trusted and liked. We have nurtured an open relationship and dialogue with our community since day one, and we know we have the best customers on earth. We are only here because of you, and it’s a joy and privilege to look after your skin.
It’s never too late - or early - to learn good skin habits.
I have gently encouraged mums at the school gate to use vitamin c under their SPF to brighten pigmentation, and I have shown my 12 year-old niece how to double cleanse to remove layers of SPF after a day of sport, and gently treat her breakouts with a BHA toner. Age is far less relevant than stage and skin condition. The appropriate products, applied correctly, are always going to bring positive change.
But it can be too early for spicy actives and strong acids.
One of the golden rules of healthy skin is respect the skin barrier. Support it, and keep it strong and healthy. Do not blast the skin with unfettered use of AHAs and retinol until you have something to treat (fine lines, hyperpigmentation, etc) and you understand the rules of engagement (SPF, correct layering, cycling your actives with your acids etc.) Tween and teen skin only needs SPF, cleanser and moisturiser. Plus a pimple treatment product if required. Less is more. Muck about with makeup, not your acid mantle.
Cleanse your face for at least 60 seconds.
True story. It will make a noticeable difference. No point using all those lovely serums and creams if you don’t get rid of everything first. I say this as a reformed 15-second-cleanser person.
Go-To is the best fun you can have.
Certainly as a founder, where I get to work with talented, passionate people every day to make and market cute, useful things that people can trust to work and which improve their skin and, pardon the hubris, also their confidence. But it’s also fun as a customer, which I very much am: The products smell delightful, they are beautiful to use, they make my skin dewy and plump, and they don’t take it all too seriously. I bloody love this company, I love these products, and I love our customers. Ten more years: LETSGOOOOOOOO!
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