This is how Dua Lipa and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley get ‘rich girl’ skin (and how you can too).
Call it rich girl, glass or glazed doughnut skin. It’s the beauty look everyone from Victoria Beckham to Dua Lipa is sporting … and this is how they achieve it.
Ultra-hydrated, plump and dewy – it has been called everything from “rich girl” to “glass” skin, even being likened to a glazed doughnut (if you’re Hailey Bieber).
From Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Victoria Beckham, Dua Lipa and Jennifer Aniston, this is how Hollywood’s A-list achieves “it” girl skin, from the Australian facialist who practically invented it.
Melanie Grant – the Australian-born, London-based skincare mogul known for her “clinical beauty” ethos – opens up about her secrets to flawless skin, as she launches an exclusive partnership with German luxury skincare brand, Auteur.
Since you launched your eponymous studio, Melanie Grant, in 2012, you’ve worked with some of the most recognisable faces from Australia – to Hollywood. Tell me about how you prep your A-list clients for runway shows or red carpets.
Melanie Grant: “Every treatment I perform on a client is completely tailored to the unique needs of their skin on that particular day. Before an event I’m always cautious not to do anything too corrective – so for [a recent runway], I was really focused on refining the skin with gentle peels, infusions with hydrating and brightening boosters, red light therapy to promote circulation and radiance and finishing with a firm and purposeful massage to flush stagnant lymph, sculpt, lift and tone the complexion and leave it with a healthful glow.”
You have relocated your based from Sydney to London. What can you tell me about your planned expansion into the London market with a permanent studio?
MG: “I’ve been treating from my private treatment space in Chelsea. We will be looking to open our diary there for new clients very soon, too. Our first official London studio will open in Mayfair before the end of the year.”
How did the alignment between Melanie Grant and Auteur come about?
MG: “I first discovered Auteur a little over a year ago through Instagram. I’m always on the lookout for new and noteworthy brands with interesting stories and above all, with best in class formulations that really deliver results. Strangely enough, at the same time the brand reached out via my Los Angeles studio to see if I’d like to learn more about their range. I’m a firm believer in divine timing and this was exactly that.”
What drew you to Auteur, as a line?
MG: “For me to bring on a new collection in studio [Grant operates studios in Sydney, Melbourne and Los Angeles – with London to follow], it really has to offer something for my clients that we don’t already have available, which can be hard now that we carry over 45 brands at each of my studios and online at skincareedit.com. For me, the unique peptide technology that underpins each of Auteur’s formulas is fascinating – there are peptides that react with light to energise skin cells, that organise collagen, that work with a cyclic approach to stimulating cell regeneration and renewal, and that boost the skin’s own hyaluronic acid stores rather than simply depositing it topically. There’s even a type of patented peptide complex that instantly lifts and tightens the skin, while continuing to build density and elasticity over time – it works like a Botox alternative. These peptides are paired with top tier actives – like microencapsulated retinol, ceramides, vitamin C, growth factors, amino acids and prebiotics – in the greatest allowable amount, without any addition of fillers or unnecessary additives. This is a succinct, sophisticated collection of really concentrated formulas designed around complete skin renewal.”
What are your must-follow steps for a Melanie Grant x Auteur facial – and what does each step achieve?
MG: “Each of my treatments is completely customised for the individual complexion in front of me, I never work from a set protocol. When working with Auteur, I like to incorporate the serums in the earlier part of the treatment to really hyper-hydrate the complexion and infuse actives into the deeper layers of the skin, followed by LED light therapy to boost collagen, elastin and stimulate cell renewal with the X50 Photoglow peptide. I like to finish my treatments with a firm European facial massage to lift, sculpt and saturate the tissues with nutrients from within and ensure all actives used throughout are really sealed into the complexion.
What are the hero products in the Auteur range – and why?
MG: Auteur Definitive Retinol Serum: A slow release retinol, this formula is particularly interesting because even though it’s highly active, it’s actually focused on barrier function first. This allows even finer or more sensitive skins to receive the firming, brightening and refining effects of a 0.5% retinol serum without the usual risk of redness and reactivity. It also contains bakuchiol to boost collagen, AHAs to metabolise cellular debris, and enhance the absorption of actives and five micro-low to high molecular weights of hyaluronic acid deliver comprehensive hydration.
Auteur Definitive Eye Cream: This profoundly hydrating eye cream lifts, plumps and brightens the delicate eye contour with a combination of astragalus extract, ubiquinone, anti-inflammatory vitamins b and e, nourishing plant oils like avocado, kahai and meadowfoam and a complex of patented peptides that relax fine lines and soften the appearance of deeper set wrinkles.
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Auteur Definitive Line Serum: The Line Serum offers a non-surgical option for those seeking to soften the appearance of deeper set lines and wrinkles. Used morning or evening after cleansing, this high-active treatment uses neurotransmitter blocking peptides to relax the micro-muscles to help release, relax and lift horizontal and lateral lines while infusing the skin with antioxidants like resveratrol and lycopene to preserve cellular longevity and ectoin to retain the skin’s moisture levels.”
The Modern Guide to Skin Health ($39.95) by Melanie Grant is out now. For details on her studios, see melaniegrant.com.
To purchase Auteur Definitive Retinol Serum ($460) and Definitie Eye Cream ($575) as well as the full range of products, click here.