Georgia May Jagger on Her New Skin-Care Line, Pregnancy Style, and the Return of Indie Sleaze

No matter how busy life gets, the model stays cool.

Georgia May Jagger has lots brewing this summer. The model, Bleach London co-owner, and eternal It girl is not only pregnant with her first child but is also launching her new skin-care brand, May Botanicals, stateside.

“It’s been quite exciting having both things happen at once,” Jagger tells me, flashing her iconic gap-toothed grin above her growing baby bump. “The baby is coming…and then my other baby is arriving at the same time!”

The genesis of her beauty baby? A lifelong obsession with natural skin care and a yearning to introduce a line that is both gentle enough for people with sensitive complexions (Jagger struggles with eczema and psoriasis) and luxe enough to turn your bathroom into an at-home spa.

“I wanted May to look very different from other kinds of natural and organic brands,” explains Jagger. “It had to stand out and really be my style because I don’t think we should have to compromise. Just because it’s more of a clean brand doesn’t mean it can’t still look beautiful like your makeup or perfume bottles do.”

Equal parts chic and efficacious, May Botanicals’ five offerings—a gentle cleanser, lightweight moisturizer, multi-purpose balm, and kelp sheet mask—are housed ever so coolly in gilded midnight blue packaging with pouty-lipped line drawings from British designer Matty Bovan. Gird your vanity accordingly!

While this year is one of many exciting changes for Jagger, she’s still sticking to her beauty signatures. Think: last night’s eyeliner, bold red lips, and lived-in waves—all synonymous with the Indie Sleaze era during which her modeling career took off. As for the era’s recent redux, she gets a real kick out of it. “It’s really funny because, personally, it’s never really left me,” she laughs. “I guess it’s a hard look to pull off pregnant, but I am trying.”

Here, Jagger talks about bringing May Botanicals to life, recalibrating her beauty routine for pregnancy, life lessons from her supermodel mom, Jerry Hall, and more.

What inspired you to create May Botanicals?

It really started a very long time ago. Since I was a teenager, I’ve been obsessed with beauty and skin care. My sister, who is eight years older than me, was always really into natural products. I would travel to visit her in New York and become obsessed with certain natural products that I wasn’t finding in the U.K. While working as a model, and especially during the winter, I was suffering from eczema and psoriasis and trying to buy tons of expensive products that weren’t really working for me or were just giving me more issues. I really had to pare back everything and just focus on using natural products, because that’s what I found was working for me.

So, five years ago, I started working on May with that concept. It took a long time, the process of it, and I just really, really wanted to make a core collection of five products. The ethos was having something that worked for people’s sensitive skin, but also felt luxurious and still gave you that feeling of giving yourself a spa treatment at home with the sheet mask. Not just being a medicinal brand that you get from the dermatologist, but also having that really fun, at-home facial feeling.

You’ve been open about having eczema and sensitive skin. Why is battling these things extra tricky as a model and public person?

It can be difficult being in that position where people expect that you wouldn’t have normal skin issues. But it’s super common, and I think that lots of people go through it, and it can be really stressful. So that’s why I developed a lot of the products with that feeling of really needing something now that’s going to soothe my skin and work. Or the spot treatment, that’s something that’s going to work overnight to help me with any breakouts. A lot of it was thought of from that urgency point of view of really needing something that worked. We’re all just like everybody else, and we all have our own different skin ailments. There’s a lot of stuff around everyone being perfect and having the most perfect skin and a lot of Instagram stuff like that. And I just really wanted the brand to be quite honest and be like, no, actually, we all have our issues, and I wanted to make something that worked for everyone.

Could you talk me through May’s core products?

The Clean Slate Cleanser is a very hydrating cleanser; I wanted something that didn’t strip away and didn’t feel soapy. It has Damask rose water, pink clay, shea butter, and organic English poppy seed, which is really, really hydrating. And there’s also salicylic acid. So it’s basically a combination where it cleans, but it still hydrates. A lot of the ingredients that are in it are things that you would put in a moisturizer. It makes the skin feel very clean and lightly exfoliates without stripping away your own skin’s natural oils.

Then there’s the Daily Dose Moisturizer, which is the most calming product for people who have very sensitive skin. It’s a daily lightweight moisturizer and has prebiotic inulin in it, and it has shea butter as well. It’s just amazing for any redness and hydrating skin on a daily basis, but without being too oily and thick. I wanted something that you could really use under makeup day-to-day, and it’s so good for any redness, calming—all of that stuff.

Next we have the Super Balm Skin Saviour, which is the first product that inspired the range. It’s a multipurpose balm for the body and face, so you can use it on lips, hands, or any dry skin. It’s in a big pot you can use on the go whenever you have dry skin. It’s got British beeswax from the London Honey Company, which is an amazing charity that puts pollinators and bees on urban buildings. It’s got a huge mixture of healing ingredients, like shea butter, coconut oil, and sweet almond oil, that are really nourishing. Those are the three core products you can use day to day, morning and night.

And what about May’s more targeted spot and sheetmask treatments?

The Save Face Spot Treatment is basically an emergency breakout solution. I have some right now. If you get a hormonal spot or you’re having a little breakout, you can just put it on there and leave it on overnight. It’ll draw out the impurities without damaging your skin. So it’s got witch hazel, tea tree, green clay, and salicylic acid in it as well. I just really wanted a chic spot treatment because I didn’t feel there were many out there. You can also use it as a T-zone mask or a targeted mask if you’re having breakouts.

And there’s the Kelp! Seaweed Sheet Mask; it’s 100 percent kelp and completely biodegradable and compostable. So many sheet masks are made of plastic, and I wanted to come up with a solution to the waste. It has two different pieces to ensure that it fits correctly on everyone’s face. It’s infused with an amazing collagen-product serum with mountain peony, wild yam, aloe vera, and peach, pear, and apple extracts. Just has tons of things that really help if your skin is feeling tired or you want super hydration before an event.

Congrats on our pregnancy! How is it impacting your skin-care routine these days?

I keep it pretty simple. My morning routine is just using the cleanser, moisturizer, and balm. Then I’ll use an SPF. Also, because it’s hot in L.A., I don’t like to layer too many products if I’m going to be sweating. So I just keep it to those four and then do my makeup or whatever. And then, in the evening, I’m paying closer attention to how my skin is. If I’m having a breakout, I’ll use a Save Face, or I’ll do the sheet mask once or twice a week. All of the range is pregnancy-safe. Sometimes, in the morning, I’ll use those cold globes with the moisturizer or on top of the mask.

I [developed] a facial with Skin Worship in Beverly Hills that focuses a lot on lymphatic drainage. It’s very safe for pregnancy because it’s more focused on massaging. And then they also do the mask and oxygen facial, which I love because my skin gets dry. And then the blue light therapy as well, they’re going to do all of that.

For my skin, I can’t use too much exfoliating stuff or overly exfoliating peel-type things; [they] affect me. So, I was just going for as much hydration, massage, and oxygen as possible. And then I’ll exfoliate probably once a week. We don’t have an exfoliator, but I’ll do it. I feel like my skin is growing new all the time in summer, and since pregnancy, my skin has been growing new skin all the time. So I do get dry skin that I have to [exfoliate], especially around my nose. So I’ll just do that once a week.

Do you feel like the state of your skin can be a mirror of what’s happening in your life?

One-hundred percent. I feel like I’m just such a reactive person that I almost just feel like I always say I have changey facey. [Laughs] If I’m tired or if I’m not in the right head space, I feel like I just don’t look and feel myself. So it’s a big thing for me. But I’m also quite relaxed in terms of the number of steps you need to take and the number of products that you need to use.

I like to keep it pretty pared back and do [my skincare routine] for a maximum of 20 minutes unless I’m getting a facial. I know that lots of people get really obsessive, and they’re using 10 serums and then [taking] all these pills, and it’s just so many unnecessary steps. I like to keep it simple.

What other products are you loving at the moment?

For makeup. I really love dark lipliners, like the ones from Victoria Beckham. I really want to try the Gabriette MAC lip. In terms of other skin care, there’s a little shop in New York that’s called Live Live where I got a lot of inspiration when I was a teenager to make May, and they do a cream called Bee Yummy. And I’ve been using that on my body. I actually went in there recently and chatted with him and gave him some products. It was really sweet and full circle. We talked so many years ago, and now I make my own products!

How else have you recalibrated your routine while being pregnant?

Well, oh my God, definitely focused on diet and trying to be as healthy as possible—but I am eating ice cream probably every other day. But that’s fine. I’ve been walking a lot. When I was in New York, I walked 18,000 steps on some days. So I’ve been trying to keep active in those ways, and I feel like that’s really, really helping me. I am also doing Pilates, just trying to take vitamins, taking it a little bit easier, and taking a bit of time for myself. But I have also been working the whole time, and I feel like that’s been good for me as well.

I love how much you experiment with your hair! How has that changed since becoming pregnant?

I’ve stopped getting highlights for most of my pregnancy. I used the Bleach London Instant Coffee Super Cool Color when my roots were growing out. There’s no bleach in them–it’s just a pop of color conditioner. I used it to tone down my hair and make me brunette, kind of. I did that for the first five months of my pregnancy but recently caved and got some highlights. But since I’m not really doing my regular hair appointments, I have to say my hair has grown quite well. It’s gone through a lot in all the years of work, so I wanted to give it a bit of a break with more natural colors. And then I’ve been just doing the [Bleach London] Reincarnation Shampoo and Conditioner, the serum, and all the care products, and the leave-in conditioner. But just because I’m a mom doesn’t mean my pink hair is over! I definitely am ready for it.

Are there any beauty trends that you’re loving at the moment?

I’ve been experimenting with my eye makeup more—maybe because my clothes don’t fit me and I have been very limited in my wardrobe. But I’ve definitely been wanting to be a bit more glam in the evening. I’ve actually been going back into wearing eyeliner a lot and liquid. So, liquid liner and pencil liner, which I was always afraid of water liner eyeliner for a long time. I think from being a teenager, I’d scarred myself because I’d only draw a really thin line of green in my waterline for years. So I was like, no, I can’t do that again. So, I’ve been experimenting again. And red lipstick, too. I’ve been going back because I was always wearing red lipstick every time I left the house when I was younger, and then I got out of that phase. But I feel like since being pregnant, I find it’s been helping me make my big T-shirt outfit feel a bit more done-up.

You began your career during the golden age of Indie Sleaze. How do you feel about it making a comeback?

It’s funny because I’m seeing it come back, and I’m like, Am I really that old? There are certain things that I will not come back to. I wore bowler hats. I wore trilby [hats]. I wore long beads. I do have a section of waistcoats in my closet that I have not worn since that time, but still live there for some reason. I don’t really know about the weird oversized blazers or the way that we wore them. I don’t know if that’s coming back for me, but I’m still really into my Vivian Westwood pirate boots. My boyfriend thinks they’re horrible. He just doesn’t get it! The fishnets, the makeup, and everything can definitely stay.

As you get ready to welcome your baby, what are some lessons that you’ve learned from your own mother that you want to pass down?

My mom is really good at all this stuff. I’m English, and English people are just a bit more uptight, and my mom is Texan, she’s just a bit more open. She’s taught me you always have to be able to laugh at yourself and not take yourself too seriously—especially in the kind of jobs that we do. So I think it’s just really important to be able to take a step back and be able to laugh at yourself and roll with the punches. Having a sense of humor in everything is a big thing I want my child to have as well. My mom also has a glass-half-full attitude with everything. Whenever I’m being negative, she’ll catch me and remind me to see the positive side of things.

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