Last Friday, Oprah Daily interviewed in the New York office of The Outset, the skincare brand that was co-founded by actress Scarlett Johansson and the company’s CEO, Kate Foster. As the team walked in, they saw the actress wiping her hands down her jeans as she stepped out of the building’s restroom, saying,” We need to order more hand towels!”
While celebrity skincare brands are common these days, this is not your typical celeb-facing brand. The brand recently celebrated its second birthday and its 10th product. But Johansson spent five long years working on the brand and its formulations and Foster joined after three years.
Now, more on to what the actress had to say about her beloved brand and her new sunscreen.
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The Outset recently turned two. Looking back, what was the aha moment that made you want to launch it?
Scarlett Johansson said:
We weren’t hit over the head with the idea; we spent a lot of time asking, what is true to us, and what do we really desire. There’s so much out there, and it’s a very crowded space, but still, we were missing a cohesive system. I’d been cherry-picking from different brands when what I needed was one easy-to-understand, transparent, essential routine.
Were you always obsessed with skincare?
No, but I used so much of it because I was looking for a solution to my acne. I started getting hormonal acne when I was 12 or 13, at a time when we’d wash, scrub, and dry out a pimple. Of course, we know better now, but cycling through peels, drying creams, masks with charcoal and tea tree oil, and Retin-A—these products were so harsh. On top of it, I was terrified of using anything that had oil or any kind of moisturizer. I had to wear a lot of makeup to cover up [my acne] for work, which just made it worse. Then, in my mid-to-late 20s, I was getting acne and wrinkles. I finally thought, I’m just going to simplify my routine and switch from all those products made for acne-prone skin to those made for sensitive skin. Just a week of doing that was healing.
Now that you are so skin savvy, what’s something you’d absolutely never put on it?
Mineral oil and petroleum. Those are just terrible for my skin. I end up getting little bumpy rashes and allergic reactions to them. I have very sensitive skin and just can’t use products that have those chemicals in them. I’ve learned my lesson.
Let’s talk about your newest product from The Outset. It took you four years to launch this sunscreen. What was it about this formula that made you say, “This is it!”?
We wanted it to be an all-mineral sunscreen, but we didn’t want it to leave a white cast all over your face. It had to be fragrance-free, hydrating, able to be worn under makeup—all while meeting our clean standards, which is really hard. Also, the FDA takes forever [to review and approve sunscreens]. But it’s here, and we’re so excited about it. This is your fourth daily skincare step: Cleanse, prep your skin with the serum, moisturize, and then put on this sunscreen. I have melasma, and my dermatologist says, “Don’t even walk across the street without sunscreen on.” It’s the number one thing you have to use.
How are you passing on this knowledge to your kids, and what do you think about this “Sephora kids” craze?
It’s so wild. I’m learning all about this in real time. I have a 9-year-old, and while I don’t have TikTok, our friends at Sephora tell us how they have all these teens and tweens coming in asking for all these crazy skincare products with lots of active [ingredients]—and then they’re having bad reactions to them. Meanwhile, my daughter just attended a 10-year-old birthday party the other day that was a spa theme, and she wants to go to Sephora and buy all this stuff.
I said, “Rose, first of all, Mommy has a skincare line. And while I love that you care about your skin and want to have a routine, I would feel more confident if you’d use The Outset because you have this precious skin barrier and perfect skin and I don’t want to disrupt that.” She completely got it. And of course, I think it’s great for young people to be caring for themselves. But it’s important, I think, to know at which stage you need different products because your skin is an organ that needs to be fed and respected.
What’s your philosophy on aging: Do you embrace it, or do you do whatever you can to counteract it?
I want to look like my best self. And I think there’s a balance between wanting to preserve a youthful appearance and embracing the changes. I’ve found that having a wonderful group of girlfriends and mom friends to talk to about all this stuff has made us all feel better about where we’re at. They’re so much more experimental than I am. I’m just terrified to try anything. I don’t want to look too different.
Also, I look at my face now, and I look more like my mom. My mom is very beautiful, and in photos of her in her 40s, she had four kids and she just looked like herself. When I see my face, I feel more like myself, too. And I’m proud of that.
More about Scarlett Johansson’s brand The Outset
Scarlett founded the brand on the concept of beginning with the basics and building an effective and universal routine. Technically, you can say that the brand is the Black Widow actress’s uncomplicated approach to beauty.
The outset debuted in March 2022 and is now available at Sephora and Amazon. While Johannson had been working on developing and curating five products and learning more about the beauty business, she then met Foster who is an entrepreneur and former beauty and fashion executive. She helped Scarlett shape the brand from its early stages.
The brand targets skin problems like dullness and dryness. Its products include a micellar-based cleanser, vegan collagen serum, squalane-infused daytime moisturizer, niacinamide night cream, vitamin C eye cream, the Exfoliating Caffeine Micro Polish, and the newly launched sunscreen.
This line can be an accessible skin care regimen that could be the basic entry point for those who want to try out a complete skincare line but don’t know where to start.
The Outset Gentle Micellar Antioxidant Cleanser
This is a great cleanser featuring the makeup-removing capabilities of micelles which are the main component of micellar water. It comes in a gel formula and creates a mild lather when one massage onto the face and effectively removes standard mascara and other makeup but isn’t able to tackle waterproof mascara.
It leaves your skin clean and refreshed, all thanks to its seven-amino blend and antioxidant-rich ingredients. Dermatologist Loretta Ciraldo said, “Amino acids are the building blocks of peptides, and in this product, they seem to benefit hydration and firming,”
The Outset Firming Vegan Collage Prep Serum
This serum gives a boost of hydrogen, thanks to The Outset’s signature hyaluroset complex, a botanically derived hyaluronic acid alternative, and its active levels of vegan collagen assist with skin plumpness. Ciraldo explains, ”Both hyaluronic acid and cassia seed, the plant-derived, main component of the hyaluroset complex, are glycosaminoglycans, naturally occurring substances that are part of skin’s dermal-support matrix,”
The Outset Nourishing Squalene Daily Moisturizer
This moisturizer is suitable as a daytime moisturizer and also night. It nourishes the skin with squalane, an oil emollient derived from olives.
Ciraldo says, “[Squalane] is very moisturizing, boosting skin’s barrier function, and not a problem with acne,”
The dermatologist also advised that the moisturizer’s oil-based ingredients like sunflower, coconut, and avocado oils will not trigger the acne. The inclusion of fermented fruit ingredients and vitamin E can “help to brighten the skin and provide an antioxidant boost.” As a whole, the moisturizer keeps the skin soft and hydrated throughout the day.
The Outset Restorative Niacinamide Night Cream
Dr. Ciraldo says, “Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) is beneficial for pore appearance, smoothing skin texture, and lessening redness and irritation,” This night cream has ingredients that will enhance skin glow and will work overnight. Ciraldo also said that the niacinamide also includes a long list of nourishing oils that create a thick consistency of the cream.
Because of these, you can maybe skip layering a face oil over the night cream.
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