The Drop By: Beauty Edition + an Iris & Romeo Giveaway
A chat with Iris & Romeo founder Michele Gough-Baril whose &Co newsletter just launched.
This Drop By Comes With a Giveaway! Follow me (The Drop By) and Iris & Romeo’s BRAND NEW Substack titled, &Co and be entered to win my absolute favorite products from the line (winner will be announced next week.)
· Weekend Skin SPF 50 Vitamin C + Glow
· Weekend Skin Lip (all three shades)
· The Reset Luminous Hyaluronic Serum Spray
“We're anti hustle culture.” Michele Gough-Baril is explaining the ethos of her wildly successful skincare brand, Iris & Romeo. With her product line now in every Sephora door across the US and actively producing highly anticipated new launches, it’s hard to fathom how she’s managed to avoid the hustle culture hamster wheel while deftly steering her brand through its ascent over the past 10 years. But she’s remained the antithesis of a 2010s “Girl Boss”, building a breakthrough brand with integrity and at a pace that protects her and her team’s peace. The intentionality is practically palpable in every product Iris & Romeo makes, speaking to a generation of women done with the frenetic pace of relentless productivity and ready to ease into a new paradigm of achieving success.
After 8 years as an executive at Smashbox Cosmetics, Gough-Baril felt intense burnout. Coupled with the fact that then, at 40, she realized no beauty brands aligned with her beauty (and life) goals as she approached middle age. She craved change and immediately embarked on pivoting toward a more fulfilling path.
With Iris & Romeo, she has created products that are aligned with her purpose of supporting and seeing women as we age. By creating her own brand on her own terms at an age most consider “late”, Gough-Baril has broken through the noisy beauty industry where youth is the constant goal.
Here, she chats about Iris & Romeo and staying the course despite the constant demands the beauty industry places on founders looking to build a winning brand.
- What was the impetus to start Iris & Romeo?
I was the head of marketing at Smashbox and after it was acquired (by Estée Lauder), the culture changed. It rapidly went from indie to global and I got burnt out quickly. I was also feeling a lack of passion and purpose for beauty. It was 2012 and there was a lack of inclusivity, transparency and sustainability in the industry. Plus, I was 40 and no one was talking to me in the industry. And there was a problem with excess - 10 steps routines were popular. I felt disconnected with everything I was saying and selling. I thought, “this isn't what I want to do anymore.” At that time, I met a racehorse named Romeo in Topanga Canyon and fell madly in love. I would take Romeo into the hills of Topanga and for the first time in a long time I had slowed down enough and heard a small voice saying, “this is not your life”. I listened to it, and I quit my career. I just knew that what I was doing didn’t align with my values.
I started consulting with female founders around purpose driven storytelling. I couldn’t put down the idea that I could change the industry, and I could do it on my terms. The narrative then was also that founders must be 30 years old and that the only way to do it was through hustle and burnout. I thought, I’m older and wiser and have experience. I’ll give it a go.
- The brand and products feel full of integrity and thoughtfulness. What are your non-negotiables when creating a new product?
When creating any product, we look at it through the lens of a bigger narrative of slowing down and simplifying. As I sat and really thought about what the problem I really wanted to solve was, it was excess and the 10 step routines that end up in a landfill. Older millennials and Gen X-ers want to simplify their routine, so taking clinical skincare and adding a tint to it made sense to me. It’s one step, totally sustainable, clean and the most incredible luxurious textures at an accessible price point.
I made Best Skin Days because as I got into my 40s, foundation didn’t look good on my skin anymore. Most looked flat faced and cakey and I wanted a product that made my skin look alive and hydrated. I asked myself, “how do I get my best skin days at this stage of my life?” Skin Cocoon is something to be layered but it’s not complicated. I am always looking for an authentic insight and point of difference.
We’re never going to make anything that she doesn’t really need. I’m very slow and purposeful in development. From getting the pigment right, the glow right. There is such a fine line in making something sophisticated vs non sophisticated. All our packaging is sustainable. If we use plastic, we use plastic waste. We use FSC certified paper and print with soy ink.
- In our currently very busy beauty landscape, how do you stay the course and stick to your values as you grow?
It’s easy to be reactive and try to move in different directions. You must really stay grounded around your vision and be very clear about what you want to make and who you want to make it for.
When we created Best Skin Days, no one had done makeup, skincare and SPF as one. It was the very first product that was speaking to that skincare-as-makeup narrative. Now we’re in a sea of sameness constantly trying to stay one step ahead. We just launched in all Sephora doors. This is an interesting time. 5 years ago, I knew I wanted to speak to women 35 plus, I knew there was a white space there. These women are talking about life changes and career resets. Women are also hungry to come together in community at this stage of life and we don’t because we have so many responsibilities. This is part of my bigger mission, to start doing community building events, which we’ve been doing and will continue doing.
I think culturally this is the time to be including women in the conversation but doing it in a relevant way. It’s always been my vision.
Love Iris & Romeo. Such a delightful interview!
Michele Gough-Baril’s success story in the cosmetics industry is quite remarkable and impressive. She and her business are poised to become the next major innovators and leaders in the world of makeup, cosmetics and women’s beauty products. Great write up Missy! 😍😍