In Conversation: Caroline Hirons, Dr Sam Bunting, Nicola Elliott and more...
September’s interviews explored how beauty businesses turn customer needs into products and retail experiences. Founders discussed developing purposeful ranges rather than chasing novelty, while retail leaders examined the connections between beauty and wellness. Career conversations offered advice on backing your judgement and learning across the business.
TheIndustry.beauty also went backstage at Erdem’s London Fashion Week show and spoke to Penhaligon’s about bringing its fictional fragrance family to the Royal Academy of Arts.
Here’s a recap of the conversations, with links to read more...
Caroline Hirons on scaling Skin Rocks without losing its purpose
“As always, the brief to the lab was simple: no budget, just make the best Eye Cream you can.” - Caroline Hirons, founder of Skin Rocks.
Skin Rocks’ The Eye Cream won Best New Product: Skincare Treatment (Prestige or Luxe) at TheIndustry.beauty Innovators Awards 2026. Hirons discusses developing the refillable formula to address multiple eye-area concerns. She also explores how innovation informs the brand’s wider growth strategy, the opportunities and challenges shaping the market, and what consumers can expect from Skin Rocks next.
How I started in beauty: Dr Sam Bunting
“I'm a fundamentally different person professionally than I was seven years ago, and that growth came from backing myself rather than waiting until I felt ready. You're never fully ready. Start anyway.” - Dr Sam Bunting.
Bunting’s first beauty job took her in front of the camera on TLC’s Extreme Beauty Disasters. In this interview, she reflects on overcoming public-speaking anxiety and how those communication skills later supported her clinic and skincare business. She also discusses the inspiration behind her first book and what the next chapter of her career looks like as she expands the Dr Sam’s skincare brand internationally.
From Bunting’s move from medicine into beauty, we turn to Vicky Kelly’s career across product development, buying and retail leadership.
How I started in beauty: Holland & Barrett’s Vicky Kelly
“Seeing the category return to double-digit growth within the first 12 months was incredibly rewarding, particularly because it demonstrated what can happen when there is a clear strategy and teams across the business are aligned behind it.” - Vicky Kelly, Beauty Category Director at Holland & Barrett.
Kelly traces her career back to new product development and sourcing, where factory visits gave her valuable insight into how beauty products are developed and ultimately reach consumers. She reflects on the benefits of moving between different functions rather than following a traditional career path. Now at Holland & Barrett, she is bringing topical beauty and ingestible wellness closer together, while leading a transformation of the category.
Kelly’s focus on bringing beauty and wellness together leads us to Neom founder Nicola Elliott, whose approach to bodycare combines wellbeing with product performance.
Neom founder Nicola Elliott on bodycare innovation and global growth
“I was clear from the outset that this couldn't just be a nice-smelling oil; it had to perform, full stop.” - Nicola Elliott, founder of Neom Wellbeing.
Neom’s Great Day Pro-Vitamin D3 Dry Body Oil won Best New Product: Bath & Body (Prestige & Luxe) at TheIndustry.beauty Innovators Awards 2026. Elliott discusses the development of its fast-absorbing texture and natural wild mint and mandarin fragrance, as well as the importance of performance in bodycare. She also explores the growing pressure on prestige brands to demonstrate value at higher price points and outlines Neom’s priorities for its next phase of growth.
SURI co-founder Gyve Safavi on taking on oral care’s established brands
“We’re never going to outspend those companies, so we have to think differently.” - Gyve Safavi, co-founder and CEO of SURI.
SURI has sold more than one million toothbrushes globally since launching in 2022, Safavi says. He discusses how customer research has helped the brand address frustrations with existing electric toothbrushes while building a business around lower-waste materials. The interview also explores SURI’s mail-back programme for used brush heads, its move into refillable toothpaste, and the role of retail partnerships in building awareness and consumer trust.
Boots CMO Charlotte Lock on moving from categories to customer missions
“We don’t want to just categorise how customers shop by aisle because they don’t. They come in with a mission.” - Charlotte Lock, Chief Marketing Officer at Boots.
Boots launched Give It Some Boots on 9 September, bringing its category-led campaigns together under one unified platform. Lock discusses how customer research helped shape stories around real-life concerns, from navigating overwhelming skincare choices to managing perimenopause. The eight-week national campaign spans broadcast and digital channels, with creators bringing their own experiences to the stories, while Boots’ store colleagues also play a role in bringing the campaign to life.
Space NK CEO Emma Simpson-Scott on reinventing the store experience
“The success of Oxford Street has reinforced something we've believed for a long time: physical retail is incredibly powerful when it gives customers a reason to visit.” - Emma Simpson-Scott, CEO of Space NK.
Space NK’s Oxford Street flagship won the Physical Retail Award at TheIndustry.beauty Innovators Awards 2026. Simpson-Scott, who became CEO this month, discusses how the store brings together expert advice, interactive discovery and a more engaging approach to physical retail. She also explores the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of beauty, how Space NK is responding to a changing market, and what customers can expect as the retailer continues to grow and innovate under her leadership.
Among Space NK’s September arrivals was Sarah Creal Beauty, prompting a closer look at how brands address the 40-plus consumer.
Sarah Creal Beauty’s UK debut and the 40-plus consumer
“Age is not a skin type. You can have dehydrated skin in your twenties or oily skin in your fifties.” - make-up artist and Ruby Hammer Beauty founder Ruby Hammer.
Sarah Creal Beauty made its UK debut through Space NK, with formulas tested exclusively on women over 40. The feature explores how the brand is positioned within the growing market for products aimed at this consumer, alongside brands including Merit and Laura Geller Beauty. Beauty journalist Jane Cunningham discusses the brand’s tone and product edit, while Hammer considers the case for age-specific formulas, arguing that application technique and individual skin needs should ultimately guide product choices.
Merit, another brand featured in that discussion, also appeared in our London Fashion Week coverage, working backstage at Erdem.
Backstage at Erdem SS27: Translating the collection into beauty
“There's lots of sequins, it's really quite glamorous and high-octane. So we really needed to pull back the make-up and make it a little bit more masculine.” - Lynsey Alexander, the make-up artist working with Merit for the show.
At Erdem’s SS27 show, skin preparation and minimal coverage supported a collection inspired by the aerialist Barbette. Facialist Hadda Akrim worked with SkinCeuticals, while Alexander used Merit to create defined brows and bare lashes. Kevin Murphy’s Global Artistic Ambassador Eugene Souleiman developed windswept styles that worked with the models’ different hair textures. The backstage conversations explore how the teams coordinated their work around Erdem’s masculine and feminine references.
Penhaligon’s on ten years of Portraits and international growth
“If you pretend, you fail. It needs to be true.” - Thomas James, President of Niche, Wellness & Skincare at Puig.
Penhaligon’s marked Portraits’ tenth anniversary with a Royal Academy of Arts exhibition from 18-20 September, introducing The Manoeuvres of the Baroness. James discusses how the fictional fragrance family has helped the brand expand internationally. He also explores the balance between recruiting younger consumers and serving loyal customers. In China, he says, Penhaligon’s archives help demonstrate the British heritage behind its positioning.
