Welcome to the next instalment of the #beautyinsider Q&As, where you can read about how beauty experts got into their field of work. This month’s guest is Anna Gecheva, Founder of 100% natural, vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand Miss Organics. A little while back a catch up with a beauty industry friend led her to mentioning Anna and how she’d love to connect us due to our love of all things natural skincare. As it turned out Miss Organics was already on my radar, so I was delighted to have an excuse to get in touch and not only review some of her beautifully simple products in Kind to Skin Kind to Planet: Miss Organics Review, but also interview her to find out about the benefits of skinmalism as well as her plans for world domination.

1. Hi Anna, thank you for being my Insider Q&A guest this month. Let’s start from the beginning: every beauty brand has a story, what’s Miss Organics’? 

A healthy, natural lifestyle was something I was brought up with thanks to my parents but despite my skin sensitivities, I never scrutinised what I put on my skin. Until my mid 20s when an extreme facial skin rash caused by a high-end natural-sounding product not only made me dread going to work looking like that but also fuelled my desire to work for a change in the beauty industry. I simply wanted safe products that were manufactured responsibly and honest branding which eliminated greenwashing. I soon realised I wasn’t the only one with this need but as I didn’t find this on the beauty shelves in 2012, I embarked on the journey to train in natural skincare and subsequently created the brand and products I could trust.

2. What is it that makes Miss Organics stand out from other skincare brands?

We take any second guessing out of the equation: if it’s Miss Organics, it’s organic, vegan, cruelty-free and 100% natural. Our own guiding principles, the 4 P’s, are at the centre of everything we do: People, Planet, Pets, and Plants.

As our name suggests, we put a focus on formulating with certified organic raw ingredients rather than just including a couple organic ingredients so we could make the marketing claim. This means maximum organic content and as a result maximum bioavailable plant power for more potent results.

We are 100% natural – not 95% or 99%, so you won’t see any contradictory ingredients, including widespread synthetic preservatives, silicones, or fragrances. This makes us one of the purest brands around when it comes to the full ingredients list. But also we are not trend-led and so I use specially curated high grade essential oils to create the most sensorial products. Our customers often tell us it is a joyful experience to apply them. And our formulations are unique: I formulate everything in-house meaning you get a unique experience with every product.

3. What does a typical day look like for you?

There is no such thing as a typical day for me because the life of a small business owner is so varied and unpredictable. They say this about life and it couldn’t be truer for me in business too: the only constant is change. But I love this dynamic! Before going full-time with Miss Organics I worked as a finance manager for a number of beauty and fashion brands and even though I still do the financial bits for my business, I have loved moving away from the regular month-end routine that came with the job. Now as the main force behind the brand, one day I could be developing our next product, the next day I could be on calls with stockists, then working on a photoshoot, tweaking the website, or engaging on our Instagram page. But being so involved at every step of running the company also allows me to extend my personal values to the business and ensure that we stick to them: like sustainability, product and ingredient quality control, ensuring everything is vegan and cruelty-free including any content we share and collaborations. Because as a long-time vegan (since 2010 before it became more popular) it is something I deeply care about.

4. What exciting projects are you working on right now?

I am very excited about expanding our product range to include a full skincare routine as well as some new holistic products but I will be able to tell you more in the near future. A big project coming very soon is our expansion overseas in the US market. We are establishing local operations and our US customers will be able to benefit from better shipping options through our website as well as physical stockists. We are expanding our stockists overall in the UK and Europe too so more people can discover our products and buy more easily in stores as well. And last but not least, we are working on a website update and I can’t wait for it to go live with the refreshed content and visuals.

5. As founder of Miss Organics, what so far has been your proudest career moment?

We have had some very exciting collaborations in the past with big household names and seeing our stall at trade events has felt surreal but what makes me proud on a daily basis is something very humble. Just like the journey is more important than the destination, I try to make mindfulness and gratitude a part of everything in my life and Miss Organics is no exception as it currently is my biggest focus. So it may sound as a cliche, but what makes me the most proud is the positive customer feedback I get. Just this month I’ve had two Instagram DM’s telling me my products are working better than some huge, well-known and well-respected brands in the same space! Hearing this and hearing it consistently is what fuels me on my mission to change the industry from within, one product at a time. I started the company as a 20-something ‘miss’ with just a dream and to see that the hard decisions I made, like being organic, 100% natural, keeping production in-house, etc. are working, means the world to me.

6. Insider news please! What natural skincare trends do you think we should look out for?

I think skinmalism will continue as a trend leading to the use of multi-tasking products like face oils becoming even more popular and people realising the benefits of a tighter but more carefully curated routine. I hope that we finally see the pandemic on its way out and we will move from the focus on stress-releasing and relaxing products to ones that bring excitement and energy as we start socialising and travelling more (I am very positive, yes…). And I believe and hope the trend for more sustainable packaging, including plastic-free and plastic-minimal, continues and turns into a standard rather than a trend.

7. And finally – what do you get up to in your spare time?

I am a nature lover through and through: you will find me walking, hiking, photographing, and even gardening as the weather starts warming up. Also yoga is a big part of my life and along with meditation, it helps me to stay present and energised. I even trained as a yoga teacher so I could do yoga ‘on demand’ and address my needs in the best possible way. I am trying to do yoga almost daily this year. And lastly, skiing in winter is my favourite activity and I hope to do more of it.

If you have any burning questions you’d like to ask Anna why not leave a comment below? Or you can get in touch with her directly on Instagram.