Zoë Foster Blake chats with The Carousel about her debut skin care range, Go-To.
Zoë Foster Blake has many hats: beauty writer, relationships expert, author of numerous novels including Amazing Face and the editor of frivolously funny beauty blog, fruitybeauty.
And at just 40, Zoë’s CV reads like a veteran with past beauty editor posts at Cosmopolitan and Harper’s BAZAAR magazines.
Now, the mother of two and founder of Go-To skin care takes five minutes to hang out with The Carousel and talk about the launch of her exciting all-natural range.
What inspired you to create your own skin care range?
ZFB: After 10 years as a beauty editor, I’ve been lucky to have some incredible feedback from women about how confusing and complicated they find skin care – partly because there is just so MUCH of it out there. So, I thought, why not merge what I’ve learned on the job, with what I believe women need and what they are asking for (something simple, effective and uncomplicated) and do something useful and practical, to cut out a lot of the noise/bullshit and keep things straightforward. So I did, and Go-To was born.
How long has Go-To been in the process?
ZFB: Just over 18 months. I now have MAD respect for any one who produces their own products; so much work goes into every element, from the packaging and design to the formulas and texture and fragrances (Fig and rose? Or fig and mandarin? Rose and mandarin? Fig and rose and mandarin?) and then of course there’s the bit where you hurl it into the world and people tell you exactly what they think of it….
Well, tell us what you think about Go-To… What can we expect from the range?
ZFB: Go-To is a tight edit of five products, each of them very practical and simple to use. They were purposefully designed to act as the foundation of any skin care routine, really. There’s a cleanser, Properly Clean, which was created to thoroughly remove daily grime, but also all the primers, sunscreens and makeup women uses each day. There’s Very Useful Face Cream, which offers as much in the way of anti-oxidants as it does moisturisation, because I believe the skin demands just as much of both to be authentically healthy. Then, there’s the (gentle, AHA-based) Exfoliating Swipeys, which are single-use cotton pads that remove all the confusion about exfoliation, and get the job done in 30 seconds, a few times a week. There is alsoLips!, a super lip balm created by a crazed lip balm snob (“me”), and which genuinely restores, hydrates and conditions the lips. And finally, there is Exceptionoil, an all-over, multi-purpose oil/balm that heals and nourishes everything from dry heels, cuticles, split ends, dry skin (of the face and body) and which smells like tropical nirvana.
And lastly, be honest – are the products designed for all skin types?
ZFB: I realise how ridiculous and optimistic it sounds to say so, but any skin type can use Go-To, from the temperamental and teenage, to the lined and lasered. After all, we all need to cleanse and hydrate and exfoliate. Everything is very gentle, and designed to be effective without disruptive, even when actives are being utilized. Plus, Go-To is completely free of nasties; even sensitive skin types can use the range.
