Raised in a family of organic farmers in England, Kimberly Sayer took to organic skincare naturally

The daughter of organic farmers, Kimberly Sayer grew up in England surrounded by organic fruits, herbs, vegetables and flowers, and learned how to create organic skin and body care products at a young age. An aesthetician and formulator, Sayer led the pack when she launched Kimberly Sayer of London at Henri Bendel in New York City in 2002. Her lovely line of clean and effective skincare is certified organic, vegan and cruelty-free, with recyclable packaging, and is now a global brand.

ML: You’re a pioneer in natural and organic beauty. How long have you been in the industry and what inspired you to start?

KS: I feel like I have been part of the organic world since childhood, thanks to my family. I started in the beauty industry at a young age, working in spas, and offering aesthetics and facial treatments. I was fortunate to be able to make changes in some of the spas where I worked, such as Warren Tricomi in NYC. I was able to put forward a stronger organic offering and create holistic treatments for spa clients. This was really my inspiration—to not just create a clean, pure, vegan line of organic skincare products, but also offer a full back-bar line of professional products, partnered with holistic protocols for spas and salons.

ML: How do you characterize your line, and what is your mission?

KS: I would characterize my line as pure, clean, vegan organic skincare. It serves the health and well-being of our customers and provides support to self-supporting communities such as the suppliers of our foraha seed oil in Madagascar and our unprocessed shea butter from Uganda, to name just two.

ML: You grew up in England, surrounded by plants and flowers. How did your upbringing and background play a role?

KS: It was the foundation for my life today. It has been the biggest influence on my life, watching my family love and honor the land with its seasons and natural laws of being. I was incredibly fortunate to have learned at such a young age that this was the way to grow food, plants, etc. I have deep love and respect for every living thing and I hope I can do my family justice with my brand.

ML: What are some of your favorite ingredients to work with?

KS: I love watching cells renew and rebuild and for that reason these two ingredients are some of my favorites: plant phospholipids, the building blocks of cellular membranes, which help rebuild the epidermis and cellular walls; dipalmitoyl-hydroxyproline, a vegetable extract-based ingredient that stimulates and remodels the contraction of collagen fibers, protects elastin fibers against enzyme breakdown and scavenges free radicals.

ML: What is most important to you when creating new products?

KS: I tend to work backwards from need/problem of the skin to solution with specific ingredients and blends. For example, to address the changing needs of the skin due to issues such as the environment, I just created a new product, Wild Rose High Performance Face Serum with Vitamins C+E. Along with a multitude of anti-aging ingredients, it contains superoxide dismutase, a highly protective bioactive enzyme that captures free radicals generated by UV rays and pollutants.

ML: Where do you see the line developing in the near future?