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MECCA Archive
History of Beauty
21st Century Girl
Story of MECCA
About The Archive

The Making of the World’s Most Loved Beauty Brands
Words by Christie Sinclair, with thanks to our brands

Once upon a time (before TikTok #GRWMs and 10-step routines), there were founders mixing formulas in their kitchens and painting faces on sets and backstage at runway shows. These are the stories of how some of the world’s most loved beauty brands began, long (long!) before they earned a spot on your top shelf.

The Recipe For A Viral Brand

“From a very early age, we were taught skincare from our mothers… It was very much a moment of pampering, indulgence and enjoyment,” Glow Recipe co-founder Sarah Lee tells MECCA. That philosophy, rooted in her and fellow co-founder Christine Chang’s Korean heritage, became DNA of Glow Recipe.

Before watermelon became the world’s most viral skincare ingredient, Lee and Chang left corporate New York to build the kind of skincare they couldn’t find: playful yet potent, fruit-powered and grounded in innovation. What began as a small online brand based in their apartments quickly took on a life of its own. The Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask – a pink, bouncy formula that transformed skin overnight – became their breakout hero, selling out again and again, and establishing Glow Recipe as a global name in skincare. Today, fan favourites like the Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops™ and Watermelon Glow PHA+BHA Pore-Tight Toner continue to prove that fun and efficacy can go hand in hand.

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The Recipe For A Viral Brand

“From a very early age, we were taught skincare from our mothers… It was very much a moment of pampering, indulgence and enjoyment,” Glow Recipe co-founder Sarah Lee tells MECCA. That philosophy, rooted in her and fellow co-founder Christine Chang’s Korean heritage, became DNA of Glow Recipe.

Before watermelon became the world’s most viral skincare ingredient, Lee and Chang left corporate New York to build the kind of skincare they couldn’t find: playful yet potent, fruit-powered and grounded in innovation. What began as a small online brand based in their apartments quickly took on a life of its own. The Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask – a pink, bouncy formula that transformed skin overnight – became their breakout hero, selling out again and again, and establishing Glow Recipe as a global name in skincare. Today, fan favourites like the Watermelon Glow Niacinamide Dew Drops™ and Watermelon Glow PHA+BHA Pore-Tight Toner continue to prove that fun and efficacy can go hand in hand.

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The Pioneers of Collagen Skincare

ELEMISwas born in London in 1989 with a vision to merge the science of skincare with aromatherapy. From the start, its plant-powered formulas were designed for spa professionals, pairing serious results with sensorial rituals. By 1994, the brand was taking that philosophy global, bringing its treatments and products aboard luxury cruise ships and introducing a new audience to the idea that skincare could be both clinical and indulgent.

The House of ELEMIS opened in Mayfair in 2001, cementing its status as a destination for the UK’s best facials – but the true turning point came in 2003, with the launch of the now-iconic Pro-Collagen Marine Cream. Long before ‘collagen’ was a buzzword in skincare, this pioneering moisturiser – the recipient of more than 100 awards to date – went against the trend for heavy anti-ageing creams, trading it in for an incredibly lightweight gel texture, charged with actives from ocean plants.

It established ELEMIS’ legacy in results-driven skincare and paved the way for an entire collection of luxurious formulas to support skin’s collagen.

archive-early-days-elemis-2-oct-25.gif

The Pioneers of Collagen Skincare

ELEMISwas born in London in 1989 with a vision to merge the science of skincare with aromatherapy. From the start, its plant-powered formulas were designed for spa professionals, pairing serious results with sensorial rituals. By 1994, the brand was taking that philosophy global, bringing its treatments and products aboard luxury cruise ships and introducing a new audience to the idea that skincare could be both clinical and indulgent.

The House of ELEMIS opened in Mayfair in 2001, cementing its status as a destination for the UK’s best facials – but the true turning point came in 2003, with the launch of the now-iconic Pro-Collagen Marine Cream. Long before ‘collagen’ was a buzzword in skincare, this pioneering moisturiser – the recipient of more than 100 awards to date – went against the trend for heavy anti-ageing creams, trading it in for an incredibly lightweight gel texture, charged with actives from ocean plants.

It established ELEMIS’ legacy in results-driven skincare and paved the way for an entire collection of luxurious formulas to support skin’s collagen.

The Brand That Broke the Internet With a Mask

In 2018, two LA content creators turned a blue tube into one of the most recognisable skincare launches of the decade. Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland had spent years building digital communities, but when they couldn’t find easy, effective products with packaging as aspirational as their feeds, they created their own.

It started with the Jet Lag Mask, a multitasking, hydrating essential that quickly became a cult favourite and cemented Summer Fridays as a brand every beauty lover had to have in their collection. “We really wanted to create a brand that made our community feel like the routines were simple and beautiful and efficacious all at once,” Ireland explains, with Hewitt adding, “Social media gave us a platform and a voice, and it’s been a huge part of how we’ve created our brand and our products today.”

Seven years on, they've expanded far beyond one mask. Lip Butter Balm is now an everyday staple for millions, and new launches continue to deliver the same dreamy textures, glow-boosting formulas and shelf appeal that made that little blue tube a global icon.

archive-early-days-summer-fridays-3-oct-25.gif

The Brand That Broke the Internet With a Mask

In 2018, two LA content creators turned a blue tube into one of the most recognisable skincare launches of the decade. Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland had spent years building digital communities, but when they couldn’t find easy, effective products with packaging as aspirational as their feeds, they created their own.

It started with the Jet Lag Mask, a multitasking, hydrating essential that quickly became a cult favourite and cemented Summer Fridays as a brand every beauty lover had to have in their collection. “We really wanted to create a brand that made our community feel like the routines were simple and beautiful and efficacious all at once,” Ireland explains, with Hewitt adding, “Social media gave us a platform and a voice, and it’s been a huge part of how we’ve created our brand and our products today.”

Seven years on, they've expanded far beyond one mask. Lip Butter Balm is now an everyday staple for millions, and new launches continue to deliver the same dreamy textures, glow-boosting formulas and shelf appeal that made that little blue tube a global icon.

archive-early-days-summer-fridays-3-oct-25.gif
archive-early-days-vyrao-4-oct-25.gif

Scents With Superpowers (and Serious Style)

Feeling down? Uninspired? Out of juice? There’s a scent for that. Yasmin Sewell, Australian-born Londoner, fashion icon and Reiki trainee, was the first to fuse creative energy with master perfumery with Vyrao: a vibe-enhancing collection of fragrances launched in 2021.

Sewell pushed scent into a new territory, promising instant mood shifts alongside some of the most intriguing blends you’ll ever wear. The bottles themselves are sculptural, aura-inspired vessels that look as beautiful as the liquid they hold. Far too beautiful to ever throw away, each one houses a Herkimer diamond crystal charged in Hawaii by a ‘quantum energist’.

You could say Vyrao is perfume with superpowers.

archive-early-days-vyrao-4-oct-25.gif

Scents With Superpowers (and Serious Style)

Feeling down? Uninspired? Out of juice? There’s a scent for that. Yasmin Sewell, Australian-born Londoner, fashion icon and Reiki trainee, was the first to fuse creative energy with master perfumery with Vyrao: a vibe-enhancing collection of fragrances launched in 2021.

Sewell pushed scent into a new territory, promising instant mood shifts alongside some of the most intriguing blends you’ll ever wear. The bottles themselves are sculptural, aura-inspired vessels that look as beautiful as the liquid they hold. Far too beautiful to ever throw away, each one houses a Herkimer diamond crystal charged in Hawaii by a ‘quantum energist’.

You could say Vyrao is perfume with superpowers.

The Cult Brand That Started With a Scar

When pharmacologist-turned-beauty founder Michèle Evrard developed her Baume 27 cream in the early 2000s, she was searching for a product to support her own skin. “I conceived the product, very selfishly, for a scar I had on one of my legs,” she recalls. “I figured it was going to be working very well on healing and ageing skin because it's essentially a wound that you have to heal.”

From those early experiments, Evrard built a formula around Centella asiatica, an ingredient known for its skin-rejuvenating powers, which would the beginning of Cosmetics 27. As the product found its following, the design evolved too, reflecting Evrard’s vision of pared-back, purposeful skincare.

But Baume 27 was never about quick fixes or anti-ageing miracles – as Evrard puts it, “It was not about taking 10 years out of your skin in one month. It was about healthy skin… and ultimately, skin longevity.” That philosophy continues to define Cosmetics 27 today.

archive-early-days-cosmetics-27-5-oct-25.gif

The Cult Brand That Started With a Scar

When pharmacologist-turned-beauty founder Michèle Evrard developed her Baume 27 cream in the early 2000s, she was searching for a product to support her own skin. “I conceived the product, very selfishly, for a scar I had on one of my legs,” she recalls. “I figured it was going to be working very well on healing and ageing skin because it's essentially a wound that you have to heal.”

From those early experiments, Evrard built a formula around Centella asiatica, an ingredient known for its skin-rejuvenating powers, which would the beginning of Cosmetics 27. As the product found its following, the design evolved too, reflecting Evrard’s vision of pared-back, purposeful skincare.

But Baume 27 was never about quick fixes or anti-ageing miracles – as Evrard puts it, “It was not about taking 10 years out of your skin in one month. It was about healthy skin… and ultimately, skin longevity.” That philosophy continues to define Cosmetics 27 today.

archive-early-days-cosmetics-27-5-oct-25.gif
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The Beginning of a Retinol Revolution

Is it possible for retinol to deliver prescription-level results without irritation? That question sparked the beginning of VERSO. Founded in Stockholm in 2013 by Lars Fredriksson, the brand became the pioneer of Retinol 8 technology, a vitamin A derivative clinically tested under the supervision of doctors at Karolinska University Hospital.

Eight times more effective than standard retinol at the same dosage, yet gentler and more stable, Retinol 8 became the hero active behind every VERSO formula.

With experience in business, marketing and the beauty industry, Fredriksson had seen both the promise and the pitfalls of active ingredients. “When we launched VERSO back in 2013, retinol was considered the gold standard as well as the biggest irritant in skincare,” he recalls.

He wanted to prove that everyone could enjoy the smooth, clear, revitalised skin that retinol delivers – without redness, peeling or discomfort that had become synonymous with the ingredient. “The answer was, and still is, Retinol 8,” Fredriksson says.

archive-early-days-verso-6-oct-25.gif

The Beginning of a Retinol Revolution

Is it possible for retinol to deliver prescription-level results without irritation? That question sparked the beginning of VERSO. Founded in Stockholm in 2013 by Lars Fredriksson, the brand became the pioneer of Retinol 8 technology, a vitamin A derivative clinically tested under the supervision of doctors at Karolinska University Hospital.

Eight times more effective than standard retinol at the same dosage, yet gentler and more stable, Retinol 8 became the hero active behind every VERSO formula.

With experience in business, marketing and the beauty industry, Fredriksson had seen both the promise and the pitfalls of active ingredients. “When we launched VERSO back in 2013, retinol was considered the gold standard as well as the biggest irritant in skincare,” he recalls.

He wanted to prove that everyone could enjoy the smooth, clear, revitalised skin that retinol delivers – without redness, peeling or discomfort that had become synonymous with the ingredient. “The answer was, and still is, Retinol 8,” Fredriksson says.

How Sheet Masks Became Your Best Accessory

LOOPS had an unusual start. Founded in 2020 by beauty brand builders Syllable in partnership with production company Shot Studios, the brand reimagined skincare with a streetwear sensibility, turning hydrogel masks made in South Korea into must-have accessories.

The debut lineup featured formulas of the moment – from a mask that worked like slugging without the mess to one that delivered the hit of a clarifying facial in just a few minutes – all designed to slot seamlessly into real life. Tapping celebrity creative directors Emily Ratajkowski and later Camila Mendes, LOOPS turned the humble sheet mask into something ‘show off-able' – sleek, cool and convenient.

As co-founder Colin Peek explains, “The beauty industry can get pretty complicated. What we wanted to do is make a high-quality product that is easy to understand. Toss on LOOPS and get back to whatever you were doing.”

archive-early-days-loops-7-oct-25.gif

How Sheet Masks Became Your Best Accessory

LOOPS had an unusual start. Founded in 2020 by beauty brand builders Syllable in partnership with production company Shot Studios, the brand reimagined skincare with a streetwear sensibility, turning hydrogel masks made in South Korea into must-have accessories.

The debut lineup featured formulas of the moment – from a mask that worked like slugging without the mess to one that delivered the hit of a clarifying facial in just a few minutes – all designed to slot seamlessly into real life. Tapping celebrity creative directors Emily Ratajkowski and later Camila Mendes, LOOPS turned the humble sheet mask into something ‘show off-able' – sleek, cool and convenient.

As co-founder Colin Peek explains, “The beauty industry can get pretty complicated. What we wanted to do is make a high-quality product that is easy to understand. Toss on LOOPS and get back to whatever you were doing.”

archive-early-days-loops-7-oct-25.gif

Discover More Beauty History

The History of Beauty

A timeline of the moments that defined beauty culture from the 1900s to now.

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This Skin We're In

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On Making History

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Skip to content below carousel

The History of Beauty

A timeline of the moments that defined beauty culture from the 1900s to now.

This Skin We're In

Anna Funder on beauty, truth and living in our own skin.

On Making History

A message from Vogue's first Indigenous Australian cover model, Elaine George.

Skip to content above carousel