Rescuing Sensitive Skin
Lilli Gordon, founder of First Aid Beauty, on why there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to skincare
At the age of five, Lilli Gordon was captivated by her grandmother’s radiant skin—and that eventually paved the way for her own solutions-driven beauty brand, First Aid Beauty (FAB), which was founded in 2009.
Like many of us, Gordon faced all kinds of skin challenges, beginning from her teenage years. Unable to find skincare products that were effective, safe and suitable for sensitive skin, she took matters into her own hands, driven by a firm belief that real skin should be given real solutions.
Created with an understanding that not all skin is equal, FAB addresses everyday dermatalogical concerns—from eczema to an oily T-zone, wrinkles and more—with a wide variety of products that allow you to create a skincare routine that suits your individual needs.
With a rescue mission to offer highly effective, luxurious skincare solutions with immediate, long lasting relief for all skin types, FAB skincare products are formulated with skin nurturing, dermatologist tested ingredients that are free from harsh chemicals and known allergens.
On her trip to Hong Kong for the official launch of First Aid Beauty’s first retail counters outside of the US, at Facesss in Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui and Times Square in Causeway Bay, we sat down with Gordon to talk about skincare solutions for Asian skin, her beauty secrets and more.
How did the FAB skincare line come to be? My initial inspiration for First Aid Beauty came as a little girl, when I was five years old. My grandparents were living with me, and every Sunday my grandmother and her sisters would meet for lunch. These women were known for two things: beautiful skin and great legs. I’d literally be mesmerised, looking at their skin. They were older
women, but it wasn’t about the fact that they had fine lines and wrinkles—their skin was translucent and beautiful. In hindsight, I learned at that age that beautiful skin and wrinkle-free skin weren’t synonymous.
Fast forward to 10 years later; I was a teenager and my skin was a mess—with acne, dry and irritated. In the prestige department stores back then, there were only facial creams for more mature women, and if you had skin problems you’d go to the drug store, which didn’t feel effective for the long run.
In my adult years, when I was in finance for about 20 years, I got involved very early on with the founders of Fresh, Lev [Glazman] and Alina [Roytberg], who became my best friends—that was my foray into skincare. After we sold that, I was on my own—a point in my life when I could create the skincare brand of my dreams, inspired by my grandmother and her sisters, and later by my own personal experience.
At that time, there weren’t any purposeful, feel good products that treated specific skin challenges. First Aid Beauty was born with a mission to provide products that are efficacious and safe for sensitive skin.
What are FAB’S best-selling products and what makes them so popular? In every market we’ve been in, all of the top products are very consistent. Our face cleanser is a top seller. You might be surprised: how could something so basic become so popular? We believe great skin starts with a great cleanser. It’s the balance between the cleansing properties, the non-irritating formula and the right ph. All of our products are dermatologist tested and free of artificial fragrance; we’re one of the first brands to be clean in the US.
With our Facial Radiance Pads, people think about exfoliation as something to do once or twice a week, but I think about it a little differently. Our pads are like brushing your teeth every day—the way to get glowing, healthy skin is to clean your pores on a daily basis. The pads have just under 5 per cent active ingredients, with a blend of lactic and glycolic acid. Some brands come up with 15 or 20 per cent pads, and a lot of people think the higher the percentage the better—that’s why 70 per cent of people in the US have self-perceived sensitive skin. The philosophy of our brand is that when it comes to our skin, less is actually healthier and leads to more beautiful skin over time.
Our Ultra Repair Cream is another best-seller, which has a gorgeous whipped cream texture. It’s so hydrating that it even treats eczema, but it’s not thick at all. It’s the antithesis of what you’d think of using on dry, itchy skin. We sell one of these every 20 seconds. We’ve done both scientific studies and consumer perception and have measured a 169 per cent average increase in skin hydration after a single application.
What’s next for FAB? Launching in Asia is a big step for FAB, and between Hong Kong and entering Mainland China there’s going to be a process. As we get to learn more about our customers here, there might be some product development exclusive to this market. Hopefully we’ll become a household name in this part of the world.
More information on First Aid Beauty can be found on the website at firstaidbeauty.com.hk