Pulse September/October 2025 | Page 30

THOUGH JANE IREDALE IS an icon in our industry, she never envisioned her name would be synonymous with skin-friendly makeup.

Instead, the English-born Iredale relocated to New York more than 50 years ago to pursue a career in advertising at J. Walter Thompson, where she worked as a casting director. There, Iredale encountered actress after actress who struggled with skin issues due to the heavy makeup required on film and she wondered what could be done. Though Iredale would table this question to run her own film production company, she returned to it years later when she sought a career change.“ I got show business burnout,” remembers Iredale.“ Show business can be toxic, especially for women, and so I was done.”

“ I went to bed one night asking myself‘ What’ s wanted and needed?’ over and over,” Iredale says,“ and at 3 in the morning I thought,‘ Why can’ t we have a makeup that’ s good for the skin?’” That thought was the seed of jane iredale, which launched in 1994 with its signature Amazing Base foundation. Iredale and her chemist worked backwards, tearing makeup apart until they were left with a base of minerals.“ At the time we didn’ t understand the significance of mineral sun protection,” notes

Iredale, but they did understand that people who used the base had one word to describe it: amazing.

“ I had no idea how it was all going to unfold,” Iredale says, and one product soon turned into a full lineup in response to customer requests. Iredale made a pivotal choice to market the brand in its early days to skincare experts and estheticians— in other words, to emphasize the skincare in skincare makeup.

Now, more than 30 years later, jane iredale stands as the vanguard of the broader skin-friendly makeup movement that has boomed over the past decade. Reflecting on her role driving clean makeup forward, Iredale says she“ feels as if we’ ve effected change that really does enhance women’ s lives, and the overriding mission of the company has always been to enhance the lives of women.”

FOUNDER’ S PLAYBOOK l ADVICE FOR YOUR YOUNGER SELF:“ Don’ t underestimate how hard you will have to work.” l PERSONAL MOTTO:“ Always do what you say you’ re going to do.” l BIGGEST MENTOR:“ The women I work with. What amazes me is how they manage to do it all.” l ALTERNATE CAREER:“ I would have been a book editor.”

The spa community is fortunate to have leaders who have elevated the spa experience and shaped the industry ' s evolution.

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