When Kate Morris founded Adore Beauty over 20 years ago, the beauty industry was in a very different place. Beauty-specialsed e-tailers didn’t really exist, specialty skincare was difficult to access and the industry as a whole was a little intimate to approach. Morris changed all of that with Adore Beauty.
Inspired to create a disruptive beauty shopping model for consumers looking to embark on a personalized beauty journey, Morris launched Adore Beauty in her Melbourne garage, building what has become a mega beauty business that nobody believed in at the time. Today, Adore Beauty is Australia’s leading online beauty retailer, offering consumers some of the world’s best new and existing skincare brands coupled with an unparalleled dedication to education.
Viviology is just one of the newest skincare brands to join the leading beauty e-tailer, created by renowned dermal therapist James Vivian together with Morris for Adore Beauty exclusively.
Viviology is a six-piece cosmeceutical range, backed by science and dedicated to making skincare simple, fun and inclusive. The products are formulated with active ingredients and include a foaming cleanser, liquid exfoliant, retinol serum, niacinamide + HA serum, vitamin c serum, and a ceramide moisturizer.
“Since the inception of cosmeceuticals in recent years, I’ve seen clients and consumers faced with an overload of products and information that can leave them and their skin feeling confused and overwhelmed,” says Vivian. “I was driven to create a brand that made one look and feel great, was straightforward, full of active ingredients and didn’t break the bank.”
After years of visiting Vivian’s Melbourne-based dermal clinic, coupled with her e-commerce and beauty expertise, Morris worked closely with Vivian in bringing Viviology to life.
Grazia spoke to Morris about all things skincare at the official Viviology launch in Sydney, where she even disclosed some of her personal beauty hacks.
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Grace: Hi Kate! So lovely to chat with you. First off, can you tell us a little bit about Viviology, how it came to be and how it differs from other skincare brands in the market?
Kate Morris: “Hi Grazia! I have been a client at James Vivian’s Toorak-based clinic for years now, where I’ve experienced his knowledge and expertise first-hand. Viviology is an extension of James’ experience through a range of dermal therapist-created products that you might not otherwise have access to, or knowledge on how to use.
“The high-performance skincare range includes six products and aims to be ‘everything you need and nothing you don’t.”
That’s great. And what do you and James want Viviology to represent?
KM: “It represents James’ philosophy on skincare: it should be fun but educational and accessible to everyone.”
Who is Viviology targeted towards?
KM: “When James was developing Vivilogy, it was about trying to make it work for as many people and as many skin types as possible. The people who are going to love it are those who want skincare that really works, products that are truly effective and high performing.
“The way that the range was curated makes it particularly good for people who want to get into using cosmeceuticals but don’t really know where to start — it’s an easy and affordable entry-level skincare offering. Equally, it was also designed to appeal to those who are more advanced in their skincare routine but would really like a good, high-performance product to slot in — you can certainly mix and match Viviology with other brands.”
As the founder of Adore Beauty, how have you used your 20+ years of experience in the beauty industry to now start your own skincare line together with James Vivian?
KM: “I’ve tried many products myself over the years and have a pretty fair idea of what works and what doesn’t! We also have a lot of data from our super-engaged community at Adore Beauty; this gives us a clear picture of what needs are being met and which aren’t, so the concept for Viviology came from a lot of consumer demand for high-performance skincare without the confusion. The desire to get into skincare but the uncertainty about where to even start was something that we heard a lot.”
In your opinion, how has the skincare landscape changed since entering the industry?
KM: “I think when I started, skincare was a category that people weren’t particularly engaged in because they didn’t know a lot about it, they didn’t know about what ingredients worked. It would often be a case of people spending a lot of money on products and not being overly excited about the results because it wasn’t very accessible or something people felt empowered about — you just bought what the person at the counter told you to.
“It tended to be more of a hygiene thing, like brushing your teeth — you had to cleanse, tone and moisturise every day but were you particularly enthusiastic about it? Maybe not. What’s changed is the level of empowerment and education. People do have much more control over what they choose and are able to mix and match products based on choice. Where there’s still a gap in time — not everyone has hours and hours to go and educate themselves to the level of a dermal therapist and so there’s still an education gap where we as experts can help.”
Men are notorious for neglecting any sort of skincare regime. Do you think the times are changing? Are guys catching on and starting to take skincare seriously?
KM: “If I think about how things looked 20 years ago, I don’t think there were many men who would’ve confessed to using a moisturizer. Now it’s very normal for most men to use some form of skincare and what we’re seeing is a lot of men getting increasingly engaged with the category and wanting to do more and understand it better.”
KM: “My biggest hack is to wear sunscreen every day. Find one that you like and can tolerate and wear it every day. At Adore Beauty, we have a very democratic philosophy towards beauty, we’re not going to tell you what you have to do — but you do have to wear sunscreen. Wear makeup if you want to, or don’t, but do make sure you’re wearing sunscreen.
“Also, particularly during winter when you need more hydration, I like to use a sleep mask. Get a really nice hydrating mask or serum, put it on at night, wear it while you sleep and wake up with bouncy skin.”
What does your skincare routine consist of, Kate?
KM: “It changes quite a lot. I have recently been using all of the Viviology products which have been great. Typically I like to layer a whole bunch of different serums, like the SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic Serum and Hyaluronic Acid, Ultra Violette Sunscreen and at night time, depending on what my skin is like, I use retinol (like our new Viviology serum) twice a week and then focus on lots of hydration.”
What’s one beauty product you can’t live without?
KM: “Ultra Violette Supreme Screen, Bioderma BB Cream (makes me look like I’ve been on holiday!).”
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