‘Preservation is key’: Esmi Skin Minerals aims to tap into skin barrier-strengthening needs in SEA

This launch with Sephora SEA marks the firm’s debut in the South East Asian region.

The brand was conceived by founder Evette Hess, who prior to launching the brand was a beauty therapist with two decades of experience.

“I also worked as a cosmetic dermal therapist for quite a few years while at the same time teaching beauty therapy. We were doing a lot of advanced treatments for scarring, for pigmentation, for acne. They were quite harsh and very stripping and would often be unpleasant,”​ Hess told CosmeticsDesign-Asia.​

“What I found that a lot of the product we would use in the clinic for these more vulnerable skin conditions. In beauty school we learn about the skin barrier and the importance of caring for it by not stripping it down. Then I thought what about making the skin microbiome our main priority?”​

Esmi Skin Minerals, which is also cruelty-free and vegan, has arrived in SEA at a crucial time as interest in non-surgical cosmetic procedures such as laser therapy, microneedling, chemical peels are rapidly growing.

“I think preservation is key. I feel like it’s our job to work on the outside while the client works on the inside. We make sure to provide products that we know aren’t going to compromise their skin barrier because a compromised barrier actually leads to a lot of other issues down the track. Like premature ageing, breakouts, dermatitis, dryness. Sometimes, you got to go back to basics when it comes to skin care, and that’s sort of what we like to think of ourselves as,” ​said Hess.

The brand’s interest in the microbiome led it to develop its range of probiotic skin care products, Skin Mylck.

“I was lucky to be invited to see a facility in Australia dedicated to bacteria and probiotics. That’s when I got my first introduction to probiotic life sciences and understanding how important it is for maintaining the skin barrier and supporting the barrier,” ​said Hess.

The Skin Mylck range utilises probiotic lysates that are 100% Australian made and produced in an Australian cGMP/TGA approved laboratory.

The brand claims the probiotic lysates strengthen the skin barrier against outside irritants and pathogens that trigger reactivity and redness in sensitive complexions.

Esmi Skin Minerals is a brand under Makeup Cartel brands, which also manufactures PONi Cosmetics, Lip Heroes, and Sun Skills.

In 2020, private equity firm Point King Capital made a minority investment in the firm.

Point King also has investments in beauty brands such as BYBI, Lanolips, and The Beauty Chef.

Creating for a new market​

Hess, who also leads new product development, told us that the company does not let trends determine its pipeline.

Instead, the focus is on what its customers need, and Hess is aware the consumers in their new markets may have different requirements.

“What gets me excited is that every market is different. And every market deserves their own custom product and I get so excited about the idea of creating for a market. Although, coming from Queensland, the climate is quite similar to SEA. We do also have quite a big range. We’ll see where it goes from here. If the market asks for something specific, we can create it for them,” ​she said.