Ignae, a start-up from the Azores, is igniting the international beauty industry. As it lands in Ireland, we meet the founder to discover why …
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We see a LOT of new skincare. Gone are the days when Clinique and Clearasil had barely a drop of competition, and we used Nivea for everything. But how do we sort the wheat from the chaff, and work out if something so new and fashionable is worth making space on your shelf for? I’ve sat in many presentations being told a new cream is magic, and life-changing, and heard from founders who speak of devastating skin conditions that vanished upon trying a rare elixir plumbed from the depths of Madagascar (yours for several hundred euro).
We may have once been wowed by the latest wonder ingredient, from snail mucus to bindweed from Brazil. But now we read the small print of ingredients lists (often so small it hurts our eyes), and demand more than fairytales, however fabulous – we want the best that science can bring us, beautiful textures, sustainable packaging. Most of all, we want results, at a time when we can otherwise choose to pay lots of money for a more interventionist route such as injectables, machines and chemical filler. As French brand Biologique Recherche has proved, skincare doesn’t have to even smell good or look glamorous if we like what it does to our faces.
When Tonya Costello, founder of Real Skin Solutions, takes on a new brand, I know that it’s worth looking into. As the distributor for Biologique Recherche in Ireland, she has long experience in premium skincare that works. Real Skin Solutions has just taken on Ignae skincare, and yesterday I got to meet the founder and international ingredients expert, Miguel Pombo. Ignae, meaning “on fire”, is named after the igneous rocks of the Azores, home to some 26 active volcanoes, where Pombo is based – and where all the key ingredients are sourced.
It’s been a while since a brand founder quietly blew everyone in the room away. Unassuming and yet deeply knowledgeable, Pombo is, in the best way possible, an absolute ingredients nerd. Pombo does not have a “my skin was terrible and this magically fixed it” backstory. Instead, he was working in regulatory affairs in Brussels, looking into the safety and efficacy of ingredients in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This inspired him to return to his native Azores (a group of nine volcanic islands off the west coast of Portugal) and create a sustainable brand that utilises the great natural resources of the area, a place of hot springs and thermal waters, rich in minerals, and beautiful native plants. Pombo quite literally sources the key elements from the Azores: this involves diving into mineral-rich waters sourcing unique algae and picking camellias early in the morning, as well as being in the labs. Sounds fantastical, but his passion for the project is clear – he’s come a long way from an office in Brussels.
So what propelled Ignae from start-up in 2017 to being stocked in top hotels around the world (including the Four Seasons Ritz Lisbon)? Serendipity, as much as anything. Renowned facialist Joanna Czech, who is on speed-dial for celebs such as Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Aniston and Anna Wintour, noticed it, ordered samples and fell in love with them, using the skincare on clients for the Met Gala in 2018. Such is her reputation that a recommendation can propel a product sky-high, and this is what kickstarted Ignae’s success, also helping to bring in an influential and experienced CEO, Claire Chung. Esteemed stockists worldwide already include Skin in Amsterdam, Muse & Heroine, on rue Charlot in Paris, one of the most exciting beauty and lifestyle line-ups I’ve seen in ages (Ayuna’s Need-le is available there, a brilliant, really spicy skin-brightening product championed here by Dawn Hill at Floraison; check out the cashmere robe, too. You can lose hours on this website), and the influential John Bell & Croyden in London.
Everything starts with ingredients for Ignae, with elements from algae to bacteria used in innovative and energy-saving ways. Like other luxury brands such as Augustinus Bader, Pombo’s innovative approach means developing their own proprietary ingredients, including the patent-pending EPC Factor Complex. Joanna Czech says that “The science is what impresses me the most about Ignae.” Experienced facialist Megan Byrne, highly skilled in Biologique Recherche facials and beyond, now brand development manager for Real Skin Solutions, says she was taken aback when she saw the ingredients lists, expecting prices to be far higher for this quality. She is now working on developing treatments with these products.
Ignae is also mindful of the environment. “We use only natural and ethically sourced ingredients, and carefully monitor our production methods to minimise our ecological footprint.” The brand has been awarded the Positive Luxury Butterfly Mark, denoting sustainability in the luxury industry. All packaging is recyclable. The one drawback is that you can’t take the packaging apart to squeeze out the very last drops of product – something many of us want to do when investing in luxury skincare – and you can’t see how much is left in your bottle. Love the sleek silver look of it though. Describing the brand as “clean” as well as sustainable, because of the care taken over ingredients and their sourcing, Pombo acknowledges the problems and vagueness around the use of “clean beauty” as a term, but notes that the best rule of thumb is that of beauty retailer Sephora, which categorises all products in its Clean at Sephora edit accordingly.
The brand now consists of nine products, for both face and body. I’ve just started trying some things out, but it’s immediately clear that one of the absolute stars is the Regenerating Body Oil, a beautifully purist blend that feels instantly incredible on the skin – especially post-summer dried-out arms and chest area. The main ingredient is camellia seed oil (sourced from camellias that grow freely in the unique ecosystem of the Azores), plus argan, grapeseed, jojoba, chia, olive and rosehip oils, squalane and bitter orange leaf oil, with bakuchiol, a natural antioxidant obtained from a plant that has been found to have similar results to retinol, but without the risk of irritation or redness. The body oil is €112 for 100ml (so a little more than the Augustinus Bader Geranium Rose body oil, €93. If I had to choose one, it would be the Ignae, with its incredible natural scent and immediate hydrating effect on even the driest skin; I have an absolute soft spot for and belief in camellia oil, as anyone who’s tried the camellia-based No1 de Chanel range will do also).
I’m clearing my shelf of other testers and trying other items in the range, including the Blue Light Serum, a protective blend that’s become a bestseller, repairing damage from blue light and pollution; and the Rich Night Serum, which seeks to give humble sebum a renaissance – sebum is generally associated with excess and spots, but it’s one of skin’s natural stars, and this seeks to replicate the effects, with a high bakuchiol concentration to promote the production of new collagen and support epidermal renewal. I love an enzyme cleanser, but they’re usually powders, since they’re hard to stabilise in a liquid formula. Pombo has managed it with this beautiful light formula that cleanses gently. The clay mask, too, is different, in that it doesn’t dry out on your face, with that slightly suffocating tight feeling, but has a soft texture that exfoliates and detoxes skin in a lovelier way.
I have high hopes for results with this range – will report back – and it ticks all the boxes. Most of us look now for the best of science and nature, rather than ethereal claims of magic and mystique. @sarahhalliwellbeauty
At www.ignae.com and Melissa Ferguson Skin Studios, 11 Thomas Street, Limerick; www.facialist.ie.
