Mecca’s founder Jo Horgan is an expert when it comes to what women want from skincare and makeup. With years of experience up her sleeve, she has embarked on what has been her biggest project to date: her new Mecca Cosmetica signature line collection. She talks to Trudi Brewer about where and how the concept came about.
How did you come up with the concept of the Living Lab of Beauty?
It was really very simple. When we looked at our business and we thought very hard about what makes us different, it became clear that it was our staff. Their passion for beauty and their passion for their customer is what brings the Mecca brand to life, and so finding a way to capture this was critical. The simplest way was to involve them in the process. And so the Living Lab of Beauty was born. It is the alchemy of their expertise, experience and passion, channelled into each product of the Mecca Cosmetica signature line range.
Who are the experts in the circle and why were they selected?
We have a combination of our store teams, our support centre staff and our product development team. Experts that live and breathe beauty every day, that know what the Mecca Cosmetica customer wants from her beauty products.
With 79 skin care products in the range, are you tempted to create colour?
Interestingly, the range is much wider than skin care. We’ve really worked hard to build our expertise in sun care as we know this is a critical concern for all of our customers. And our sunscreen To Save Face is the number two selling item in our business. We have expanded our sun care offer with an SPF30 hand cream and a SPF50+ body sunscreen. In addition to sun, we focused on body care in the new range, introducing a body oil, with the new Mecca Elixir. Initially this elixir was to be specific to one product, but our store teams loved it so much that we decided to add it to all the products in our new body range. Accessories are a key part of our line with a set of brushes and tools that hopefully bring a little slice of luxury into the everyday beauty ritual.
How many product ideas did not come to fruition?
There have been many products that we have tried and tested but for any number of reasons do not meet our criteria, based on what we believe is the absolute best. I keep reminding myself that we are developing product for the absolute beauty aficionado and she does not want nor deserve just any product; it must be beautiful to use and it has to perform.
What is the top seller in the range and why?
The Mecca Elixir Luxury Body Oil because it is beautiful to use. Firstly the formulation is incredible; it is a powerhouse of vitamins A, B and E, derived from sandalwood nut oil in its purest form, along with rosehip, jojoba, avocado and nut oils. It was critical that this product was light enough to use every day, yet strong enough to target stretch marks. This product is the heart of our Body Collection and was declared hands-down favourite by our skincare specialists. So, we decided to infuse it into our entire new Body Series.
What was the most challenging product to create and why?
The Mecca Elixir Luxury Body Oil. It took us a long time to develop the oil so that it was luxurious and hydrating, but not sticky or oily.
To learn more about the Mecca Cosmetica Signature Line range go to their website.
