Canadian-born Marcia Kilgore has always been one step ahead of the beauty curve. A serial entrepreneur with an uncanny sense for unmet needs, she first transformed the spa experience with Bliss in 90s, turning clinical facials into cult indulgence, before launching Fitflop, which reimagined comfortable, healthy footwear as chic.
But perhaps it’s beauty buyer’s club Beauty Pie, where members can access everything from luxury skincare to haircare, makeup and fragrance without the industry’s notorious markups, that is her boldest statement yet.
Whip smart, endlessly inventive and fiercely practical, Kilgore proves that beauty can be glamorous, game-changing and democratic.
We caught up with her in town this week…
This week is a busy one. We’re launching our Beauty Pie Youthbomb Extreme Retinal Triple Renew Serum, (£82 or £49 for members, beautypie.com) It’s especially unique because when we talk to women about their worries related to using retinoids, it’s still (!) always that they think it’s going to make their face red, irritated, peel, or ‘purge.’
With this product, we’ve hit an elusive sweet spot: it’s incredibly potent, but still gentle on your skin. Mixing high levels of slow-release retinoids with high levels of skincare super ingredient GGA [Geranylgeranone], which helps to extend the ‘youth span’ of skin cells, it can deliver incredible results without redness or rawness.
To me, beauty is energy. It’s that magnetic, almost intangible spark that someone has when they feel confident, seen, and good in their skin. And if a great lip gloss or serum helps unlock that? Even better.
What drew me to the beauty world? Honestly? It was acne. I had bad skin as a teen and couldn’t afford fancy facials or products, so I became obsessed with skincare, and ingredients. It was less about vanity, more about being able to walk out my front door without shame. Once I figured out what worked, I thought - why isn’t this knowledge more available to everyone?
My customers have inspired my career most. They’re the reason I do what I do. Every business I’ve built has started with me thinking, “Why isn’t this easier, more affordable or more honest for people?” And then hearing real women - juggling careers, kids, life - telling me that they feel overwhelmed by the beauty industry’s smoke and mirrors? That’s fuel. They’re smart, funny, opinionated, and they want products that work without needing a PhD or a second mortgage. So I build for them. They’re always my North Star and my unofficial board of directors.
Launching Beauty Pie is my proudest career moment. It felt like everything I’d learned over the years came together in this one beautiful, disruptive, democratic concept. It was completely different, and terrifying, but I did it anyway. (FitFlop also won Footwear Brand of The Year this year, at the Drapers’ Awards, which was kind of great.)
For those that don’t know, Beauty Pie is luxury beauty without the luxury markup. Our mission is to give everybody access to the world’s very best skincare, makeup, fragrance and wellness formulas - by cutting out the middlemen, expensive retail layers, plus the smoke and mirrors.
In terms of wild, pinch-me moments, there was one when I was 28. Broke. Self-funded. Still living in a one-bedroom walkup in the East Village NYC. LVMH was interested in acquiring Bliss, so they flew me over to Paris (and back) on Concorde, wined and dined me, took me to the Dior store to do some shopping, and gave me a Louis Vuitton shoulder bag. (Of course I landed back at JFK and took the subway to the office on a Sunday to check on the refinishing of the floors to ensure they’d be dry in time for our opening on Monday morning.)
Am I high maintenance or low key when it comes to my own beauty routine? I’m high maintenance skincare and supplements, then 5-minute makeup.
If I (or you!) could own only 8 Beauty Pie products? Oof, narrowing it to eight is like choosing a favourite child, but here we go:
- Youthbomb™ 360° Multivitamin Radiance Concentrate, (£65 or £39 for members) - Swiss, derm-developed, glow-up-in-a-bottle.
- Super Healthy Skin™ Deluxe Body Moisture Crème (£35 or £19 for members) - French, like bodycare couture.
- Triple Hyaluronic Acid Elastic Lifting Eye Serum (£30 or £18 for members) - Because … loose eyelids happen.
- Wondergloss Collagen Lip Oil+ (£20 or £12 for members) – Plush lips, zero stickiness.
- YouthBomb 360* Elasticity Support Capsules (£49 or £29 for members) – Gravity, who?
- Chollagen Hydrolysed Collagen Powder (£49 or £29 for members) – Your daily latte can now also up your skin elasticity
- The MicroCaviar Mask (£49 or £29 for members) - Why pay £400, when you can pay £29?
- Super Healthy Skin Featherlight SPF50 (£25 or £15 for members) - A joyfully wearable Swiss sunscreen unicorn, £15 a bottle. (all beautypie.com)
My London-based beauty or wellness favorites are … For a haircut, Nic at Andrew Jose (andrewjose.com) is like the world’s best kept secret, and now I won’t be able to get an appointment with him, but the world really needs to know.
Fiona Kamale (@fiona_kamale) is AMAZING for an at-home manicure, pedicure, and positive energy boost.
Sophie Thorpe at Skinesis Clinic SW1 for permanent eyebrows (book ahead), and I have just been introduced to Dr Barbara Kubicka at ClinicB (clinicbe.com). Apparently she’s the best around for Botox (which is always good to have as a backup, should all other topical interventions not quite do the job.)
