The founder and CEO of the popular New Zealand skincare line shares her beauty essentials …
Mandy grew up in New Zealand, and spent over a decade working for global beauty brands, including Armani Beauty and Tom Ford Beauty, in London and New York. She founded RAESO (originally called Raaie) on returning to her family’s farm in northern New Zealand.
It’s a minimalist, distinctive-looking skincare line centred on circadian rhythms, and powered by potent botanicals, formulated with cutting-edge cosmeceutical science. She is now based in East London. RAESO is stocked at Sarah Warren Skin in Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Key beauty staples or old favourites I’m never without …
“It’s the predictable route, but it’s going to have to be RAESO’s morning and evening serums. I’ve built the entire brand around the skin’s circadian rhythm, so it would be rich of myself to ignore targeted treatments as a religion for morning and evening.
I’m loyal to a fault as a beauty lover. Once something earns a spot in my routine, it never leaves. Bioderma Sensibio H2O [from €14.25 at millies.ie, or €24.84 for 2 x 500ml special edition bottles, at lookfantastic.ie] has been with me since I was a teenager and I never travel without it. Despite the pace of the industry I work in, I’m not someone who chases the next skincare trend every fortnight. For me, it’s about having three or four products that truly work.”
Best beauty investments – what I spend a bit more on that’s worth it…
“A good serum, as they carry smaller molecules that actually make cellular changes. When used consistently, there is this turning point where you feel the difference the next morning. I also do not negotiate on sun protection. Running a skincare brand has made me very unsentimental about price versus performance – I’ve seen too many formulation sheets to be talked into paying for packaging alone.”
I’m coveting …
“As autumn and winter herald towards us, I’m zeroing in on ceramide-rich moisturisers. Our own (refillable) Cocoon Ceramide Cream [€115] is a fan favourite during this season. As the air gets drier and the skin barrier takes more of a battering, ceramides are what actually hold everything together, so it’s the season that I reach for something richer and more protective.
Beyond that, I’m excited by the next wave of skincare built around chronobiology – products designed to work with skin’s natural rhythms rather than simply delivering actives at random. The science here never fails to compel me, I truly think it’s one of the most interesting areas of beauty innovation right now.”
Most recent purchase …
“Sculpta by Déesse PRO. This facial device (or modern witchery, in my eyes) combines LED, radiofrequency and microcurrent into a singular tool. You get the lifting and sculpting benefits of an in-clinic facial without leaving the house. I’m such a fan that I’ll sometimes use it for ten minutes as I’m answering emails. I’m impatient by nature, so anything that lets me multitask my way to better skin is a winner.”
Favourite places to shop for beauty …
“Liberty London is impossible to beat. It’s a wondrous place where you don’t need to buy anything to feel the magic. I always leave inspired, and have lost hours in there without noticing. I also love John Bell & Croyden: forget French pharmacies, English pharmacies are where it’s at. And along the RAESO journey, I’ve also become quite nosy in a professional capacity too. I’l pick up a serum in a shop just to read the ingredient deck on the back. My other half finds it mortifying. I stand by it.”
One foundation I swear by …
“Confession: I very rarely wear foundation. Perhaps it’s from years of having to during my advertising career, but as I get older it’s about investing in skincare. I feel most comfortable with the lightest veil where I want it. When I do wear one, I look for something sheer, luminous and skin-like rather than full coverage. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation [€55] has been in my bag for years. I want something that behaves like skin, not like a filter, and this is the only one that’s never let me down under London light, which is a uniquely unforgiving thing to be tested against.”
All-time favourite beauty item …
“A great vitamin C serum. Healthy, luminous skin is forever the best foundation.”
My favourite Irish beauty product …
“I’m a long-time admirer of Pestle & Mortar. Their approach has always felt unique and considered, and I love seeing an Irish brand earn such a cult international following.”
Favourite treatment …
“Sarah Warren’s facial treatments, at her Maynooth skin clinic. I love treatments that combine massage, sculpting and lymphatic drainage rather than relying on machines. You walk out looking healthier, not just temporarily tighter.”
The loveliest perfume bottle on my dressing table …
“Courrèges Slogan eau de parfum. It perfectly captures the sculptural, tactile aesthetic I love – very close to how I’d imagine a RAESO fragrance.”
My home fragrance …
“Diptyque candles [from €55] instantly shift a room’s energy. Whether I’m working from home or cooking dinner for friends, their scent makes any room calmer.”
My beauty ethos…
“Great skin comes from doing less, but doing it exceptionally. I’m a huge believer in working with skin’s natural biology rather than constantly trying to correct it. That philosophy has shaped everything we’ve built at RAESO. Skin behaves differently at 8am than it does at 2am, so why would we ask one product to do everything? By day, skin is defending itself against UV, pollution and oxidative stress. At night, it’s repairing and renewing. Once you understand that rhythm, your routine becomes much simpler and much more effective. Think of it as your skin in sync.
It’s a philosophy I trace back to growing up around New Zealand’s native botanicals and Maori harvesting practices, which only ever take what’s needed and nothing more. That reframed how I think about skincare entirely: less about correcting skin into submission, more about giving it what it needs at the right moment, then leaving it alone.
Consistency beats intensity every time. The most innovative product in the world won’t outperform a consistent routine done properly, every day, for a year. For me, beauty has never been about chasing perfection. It’s about building and supporting healthy, radiant and resilient skin.”
