Back in 2016, Mintel identified an opportunity for Beauty brands to help consumers get the most out of their fitness routines, with products that help them before, during and after exercise. After months of studying this yet-to-boom market, Mintel’s ‘Active Beauty’ Trend was born, and it resonated immediately with clients and the press. Over time, we have continued to develop the trend, and have been delighted to see many of our predictions transformed from blue sky thinking into commercial reality. One example is Skin In Motion, a new active beauty brand which successfully launched this month. The brand was directly inspired by Mintel research, so we caught up with founder Gia Mills to learn more about it.
Mintel (M): Hi Gia, can you please tell us about your background and how Skin In Motion came about?
Gia Mills (GM): Sure! I cut my teeth in the advertising world as an account manager, working for agencies such as M&C Saatchi and J. Walter Thompson. That’s when I was first introduced to Mintel, which was always an invaluable tool for us! However, in my mid-30s I got the ‘make-up bug’ and crossed over into a whole new career as a makeup artist. For 10 years, I worked with great celebrity clients, such as Joanna Lumley, Emma Weymoth, Laura Bailey, Cara Delevingne, Dominic Cooper and Pamela Andreson. But then something happened…
Sitting on a packed bus two years ago, on my way home from a makeup job, I received an email from Mintel informing about the Active Beauty report. It was a light bulb moment! I had recently seen a Sport England stat about women being put of exercise due to their appearance, which concerned me and made me wonder what could be done to get women exercising. As a fitness lover, I knew the benefits and wanted to encourage other women to give exercising a go, but how? Reading your report changed all that; there, in front of me, was the answer. A skincare and makeup range designed specifically for pre, during and after exercise. Whose purpose it to give women
the confidence in their appearance and give them that boost to put on their trainers and book a class. I never thought I would start a beauty brand, but it kind of found me and I blame Mintel for this journey!
M: What products does the range include?
GM: Skin In Motion includes both skincare and makeup products. Our skincare line cleans, hydrates and (re)nourishes exercise-stressed skin, while the makeup enhances natural beauty and stays in place during sweaty workouts.
We’re launching with four products:
- Clear It Wipes: Soaked with salicylic acid, pomegranate enzymes and aloe vera, these wipes dissolve sweat and dirt while moisturising the skin.
- Cool It Mist: A moisturiser in a spray, this refreshing mist is infused with hyaluronic acid to deeply hydrate, natural mint derivatives to help cool and licorice extract to calm the skin during and after exercise.
- Lift It Waterproof Mascara: Its formula, infused with Japanese berry kernels of the Sumac tree, is powered to lock in colour for the sweatiest of workouts.
- Work It Tinted Moisturiser: A natural-looking, breathable and sweat-proof formula, non-comedogenic and enriched with Argan oil to hydrate the skin.
How do we know they work? All products were trialled extensively on athletes! One of them is Adelle Tracey, GB 800m athlete, World Cup silver medalist, Commonwealth Games, Olympic 2020 hopeful. She said of the range: “I really love the idea of makeup and skincare I can use when I am competing, something female athletes would love to use. I haven’t used a tinted moisturiser that is as breathable as Skin In Motion’s before. It’s great there is a process with aftercare to help skin too”.
M: What have been the biggest challenges in starting your own brand?
GM: The main challenge has been juggling my job as a makeup artist while building the brand. I had to master all aspects a business demands, from legal and financial requirements, to product development, supplying to retailers and ensuring Skin In Motion has a genuine and sustainable offering. What has helped is my wonderful business partner Sophia Lahlou, who hails from an illustrious career at Unilever and came on board earlier this year. It has been invaluable to have someone to share the journey with! We are very excited about the launch, but we’re already looking ahead. In the future, I’m positive Mintel will provide guidance on how to reinforce our sustainability offering, how we can evolve and how we can offer the best choice for our customers.
For more information about Mintel’s Active Beauty Trend, download your free report here. And if you’re curious about other predictions we made and how they are playing out in today’s consumer landscape, check our Mintel’s You Heard It Here First white paper.
