First they ignored her — now they’re following her.

The Stoic Soul of Beauty

I was halfway through giving a talk at the weekend, when the thought arrived, clear, steady, unforced. The kind of thought that only comes when the world is slower. I had been reflecting on the words of Marcus Aurelius for my talk: “The nearer a man comes to a calm mind, the closer he is to strength.” And as I continued sharing my health and beauty knowledge, I realised how deeply this philosophy mirrors the way I have always approached my career in beauty and health and now my Awards. This feature began on that outdoor hike to a group of beauty founders in Biotech and Beauty, with the recognition that the world around us is accelerating faster than our bodies can follow, and that the true luxury now is not speed, but slowness. Not more, but better. Not urgency, but rhythm. Upon reflection and after the talk, we all agreed!

The World in Fast‑Forward

Here are some key thoughts from my talk to the group of founders from last weekend. I hope you will enjoy the read!

There’s a particular kind of exhaustion that comes from living in a world that refuses to pause. Fast fashion, fast food, fast beauty, fast news - even our emotions seem to be caught in a relentless fast‑forward cycle. The pace is dizzying. And so I return to the same quiet, essential question: if everything around us is accelerating, what is it doing to the body that must keep up? In an age defined by speed, choosing to slow down is no longer passive.

It is powerful. It is intentional. It is, I believe, the most intelligent act of modern wellbeing.

The Quiet Rebellion of Slow

Slowness is not a lack of ambition. It is a form of clarity. In a culture obsessed with the “instant”, I advocate for the restorative intelligence of homeostasis, the body’s natural desire for balance. Slow is not “less”. It is better. It is beauty that compounds over time.

Journey from Health to Beauty

My career began in health before I stepped into the high‑octane world of editorial make‑up. I spent years inside the industry’s inner sanctum - backstage at global fashion weeks, collaborating with designers, and beautifying the faces of supermodels, rockstars, royalty and Hollywood icons. I witnessed beauty at its most dazzling, and at its most demanding. But long before wellness became a trend, I was already questioning the pace.

The FRANK Magazine Moment

In 1998, during my first interview with FRANK magazine, I was asked the question every beauty expert is expected to answer: “What’s the best product for your skin?”My response was instinctive, shaped by my years in health and my understanding of the body’s eco‑intelligence:

“A good night’s sleep is just as good for the skin as any cosmetic product.”

Upon reflection, it was a radical statement at the time - almost rebellious in its simplicity. Back then, the industry was racing towards more: more steps, more actives, more instant results, more perfection. But I had already seen that the body’s natural rhythms could not be replaced by products, no matter how sophisticated.

When you listen to the body and honour its natural cycles, beauty aligns with biology. Harmony returns.

From Authenticity to Awards

By 2009, as the world drowned in the artifice of airbrushing, I felt a pull towards something more grounded. And with a team of creative colleagues published the book 8A - Imperfect Beauty is Perfect, now archived in the V&A, championing authenticity, uniqueness and originality, long before “transparency” became a marketing trend.

In 2015, I founded the Attracta Beauty Awards to celebrate merit over myth. My mission was clear: to filter the industry through the lens of Slow Beauty and Longevity. I have always viewed beauty through the cycles of health. Through the Awards, I continue to sow seeds for brands to evolve their language, shifting from “anti‑ageing” to “restorative”, from “corrective” to “regenerative”. Beauty, to me, is always a state of continual enrichment. And now, nearly three decades after that first FRANK interview, the industry is finally catching up.

First they ignored her — now they’re following her.

The Business of Wellbeing

We are living through a profound cultural shift. Beauty, once dismissed as superficial, has become a cornerstone of wellbeing. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2024, the British beauty economy contributed £30.4 billion to the UK’s GDP, growing four times faster than the wider economy.

According to McKinsey, globally, beauty is a $460 billion industry, but the true giant is the $6.3 trillion wellness economy. Beauty is no longer a standalone category; it’s linked to wellness and health. Consumers now know this. Today, 84% define beauty as integral to their physical and mental wellbeing. We see this in the rise of the “medical‑cosmetic convergence”, where regenerative aesthetics and tweakments are outpacing traditional cosmetics at three times the rate.

The Birth of the Expert

We are moving out of the era of the Influencer and into the era of Evidence. According to McKinsey, celebrity endorsement now ranks among the least influential factors in consumer decision‑making.

“In a world of information overload and product promiscuity, we are craving something far more valuable: TRUST.”

Trust is not earned through an #AD or a #Gift. It comes from experts, people with decades of hands‑on experience who understand the skin as the living, intelligent organ it is. Algorithms are synthetic; they create confusion. Skin, however, is biological. It deserves respect, not entertainment.

The Precision Revolution

The future of beauty is being shaped by biotech. Large corporates like L’Oréal and others now uses AI to analyse skin biomarkers. We are moving from “hope in a jar” to Precision Beauty, from guessing what the skin needs to clinically measuring hydration, oxidative stress and microbiome diversity. This is where the modern meets the original. Technology is helping us return and become more respectful to the body’s natural state. Nature does not rush. To respect the skin is to honour its rhythm.

Why the Attracta Beauty Awards Exist

The Attracta Beauty Awards were born from a truth every make‑up artist, doctor and hair artist or practitioner knows intimately, because we use products daily: we are the first to discover the quiet, established or emerging brands that prioritise efficacy over noise. Long before longevity became the word of the year, these brands were already formulating with integrity, intelligence and restraint. They were not chasing trends, they were honouring the skin. This is why I created the Awards. To recognise the brands leading quietly, thoughtfully, effectively. To celebrate the innovators who put skin health before marketing hype. To spotlight the products or treatments that work because they respect biology, not because they shout the loudest.

The Future Belongs to Slow

As I finished my talk last weekend, I realised something simple yet profound: beauty is not a race. It is a rhythm. A conversation between biology and intention. A practice of returning, again and again, to what the body already knows. When we slow down, beauty deepens. When we honour the body, it responds. When we choose rhythm over rush, we return to ourselves. I still uphold my quote from 1998!

ABA26 — Entries Now Open

Entries for the Attracta Beauty Awards 2026 are still open.

The deadline for submissions is 8 April.

If you are a brand committed to integrity, efficacy and the long view of skin health, we would love to see your entries. The Awards were created for you, the innovators, the quiet leaders, the formulators who were championing longevity long before it became a buzzword.