Here is a woman whose beauty advice we’d follow down whatever bizarro trail she might lead us.

Lucy Vincent Marr has a skincare and beauty IQ that ranks off the charts. She founded the incredible skin and hair care brand Sans [ceuticals] that we can’t get enough of, and has an inspiring entrepreneurial cachet with an interest in every part of her business that goes right down to the botanical, even molecular level.

THE FILE got the skinny from Lucy on what actually goes into developing a product when you have an ethos steeped in a pro-sustainability natural focus, an acumen for carefully considered problem-solving, and the directional contemporary woman’s tech know-how. In short: a fucking ace.

“The first product I developed was our hero – Activator 7. It was born out of a frustration of not being able to find clean, natural products that were really active, well designed and sustainably minded,” she explains.

“I wanted products to be highly effective and have a noticeable effect on skin conditions such as eczema and dermatitis and also the ability to repair the most damaged of hair. Cosmeceutical technology was just starting to hit – this is where cosmetic and pharmaceutical technologies merge, however what was on offer was synthetic formulations and uninspired packaging.”

“I discovered through research that the key actives with the best studies (vitamin A) were more often natural, so we dialed them up really high and suspended them in clean, natural ingredients. The results were incredible, so much so, a local naturopath started recommending his chronic eczema and dermatitis clients to use it. This is was a great moment for us.”

It has been up and up ever since.

When we ask about her personal style, Lucy describes her oeuvre as “definitely low maintenance” and favours a timelessly modern vibe and beautifully-made basics by the likes of Acne, Neuw Denim (whose jeans she wears in our shoot), Karen Walker and Jac + Jack.

 So is beauty is an important part of style? Because we assume with her vested interest in the science, it would be in-built.

 “This is a hard question because people have many different perspectives on beauty,” she says. “For me, style is all about character whereas beauty is something that should be understated and not a central part of the lens. For Sans [ceuticals], it’s about everything being at its optimal and healthiest. There are many other things that have an impact such as diet and state of mind.”

It’s inspiring to see a woman bringing a fresh, analytical and exploratory approach to a field that comes with such a traditional weighty heritage like the beauty industry. It’s also inspiring to learn she can bounce back after a hangover like a pro. She shares her recovery recipe with a laugh:

“I have 10 years experience of this and what I find works best is 1 litre of green smoothie. I have to make myself do it because I know I will feel so much better and I do. Plus I drink another litre of water with lemon squeezed into it. Then come 5pm, as luck would have it, I feel so good, I’m ready for a glass of pinot noir!”

A woman after our own hearts.


Her Style File