At Just BeYOUtiful, product and brand choice has always been of the utmost importance — it is one of the reasons I decided to start my own clean beauty company. Beauty stores tend to be saturated with products and brands that have never even been trialled or tested by the company selling them online. If a brand is trending on TikTok or newly released with a celebrity endorsement, then any large retailer will pick them up. Their bottom line will always be sales and high turnover.

Obviously, for any business — small or large — the bottom line is important, but what is of greater importance to me is the integrity upon which Just BeYOUtiful has been founded. Every product must be chosen with intention, not hype.

Why I Opened a Clean Beauty Business

Two years ago, I found myself needing to have both my hips repaired due to many years of ballet dancing. Hip repairs cause major disruption to your body and the healing time is slow and arduous. Seven weeks on crutches, four weeks of rehab, and then I went in for the second operation — this time eight weeks on crutches followed by a year of rehab for both hips.

During that time, I found myself laying down a lot. I couldn’t work as a freelance makeup artist as I normally would — although I made it to London Fashion Week five weeks after my first operation and did the whole thing on crutches. Where makeup is concerned, I am nothing if not determined.

For the rest of the time, I had a lot of thinking space, and I made the decision that it was the right moment to plan the business that had been on my mind for some time. I wanted the business to address a few key points:

• To help women feel beautiful and recognise their true worth — not if they were younger or thinner, but exactly as they are

• To give valuable makeup and skincare advice based on deep knowledge, not trends or fads

• To offer beauty products that have been tried, tested, and chosen for a specific reason

• To create a space that does not overwhelm buyers but instead makes the experience calm and enjoyable

The beauty industry is fast-paced and overwhelming, and many women feel like they just cannot keep up. I meet women every day in my freelance work who ask me what makeup products I stock in my kit and why - and invariably ask me for beauty advice. So I decided to open a boutique studio offering personalised makeup and skincare experiences, whilst also building an online store that would feel like a haven away from the fast-paced, overstocked beauty businesses out there.

What Clean Beauty Means to Me

Clean beauty is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot, but for me it has a very specific meaning. It isn’t about fear-based marketing or banning every ingredient under the sun. It’s about choosing products made with integrity, transparency, and a genuine respect for the skin. Clean beauty should feel safe, simple, and effective — not overwhelming.

It’s about formulas that work, ingredients that make sense, and brands that care about the people using their products. Clean beauty should empower women, not confuse them.

How I Decide What Brands and Products to Stock

Every product that sits on the shelves of Just BeYOUtiful — whether in the studio or online — goes through 2–8 weeks of testing by me. I do not pick products because they are trending or because of the price behind them. I choose products that I believe work and deserve a spot in your bathroom cabinet. If I would buy it for myself, then I want you to know about it.

Another integral part of the decision-making process is looking at what we already have. For instance, if we stock two hyaluronic acids, then I need a pretty good reason to stock another. If I do, it has to stand out from the others in some way. Maybe one is a gel and one is a serum, so an oil-based hyaluronic acid would work well for some people. Or maybe one is priced at a luxury level — in that case, I would welcome adding a product that is more affordable. Or perhaps the sensitive skincare range is missing a hydrating serum (it isn’t, by the way) — that would be another reason for adding to this range.

Each product we stock needs to meet a customer’s need. We do not stock for the sake of stocking. Some online beauty stores have twenty hyaluronic serums, all promising to do the same thing, leaving women overwhelmed and unsure which one is right for them. If you are going to spend your money on a product, it needs to do the right thing and fulfil the desire you are looking to meet.

My Product Testing Checklist

When I test a product for Just BeYOUtiful, I look for a few key things:

• Does it perform under real conditions — long days, busy schedules, different skin types

• Is the ingredient list transparent and sensible

• Does it fill a genuine gap in the range

• Is it suitable for sensitive skin

• Does it align with our clean beauty ethos

• Would I confidently recommend it to a client in the studio

If a product doesn’t meet these standards, it doesn’t make it onto the shelves — no matter how trendy it is.

Why We Don’t Stock Full Brand Ranges

For the sheer reason that I don’t want to duplicate products unnecessarily. Just because I love a brand does not mean that another brand I love doesn’t create a better product for a specific reason. I stock the best. End of. If we already have a brand doing something exceptional, then there is no reason to stock another product that does something similar but not as well.

This is curated beauty — intentional, thoughtful, and customer-focused.  I want you to feel comfortable and seen when you shop at Just BeYOUtiful,

Amy x