Last week, we relaunched the product that helped put Sculpted on the map, and I’ve been thinking a lot about how changing a product people already love might actually be harder than creating something completely new.

When you launch something new, you’re starting with a relatively blank page. Of course there are expectations, but there’s also a lot of freedom. When you relaunch a hero product, you’re working with years of loyalty, routines, opinions and expectations, and that makes every decision feel that little bit bigger.

We first launched Second Skin in 2019 and, at the time, I don’t think we realised just how important it would become to Sculpted. Six years later, it’s still one of the products our customers know us for. For so many people, it was their first Sculpted foundation, and it’s been repurchased and recommended for years.

So deciding to evolve it wasn’t something we took lightly. The question we kept coming back to throughout the whole process was: how do you make a hero product better without losing what people loved about it in the first place?

There’s a different kind of pressure when people already care

I’d be lying if I said there weren’t nerves around this launch. With something completely new, you’re asking, will people like it? With a hero relaunch, there’s another question sitting alongside it: will the people who already love it still love it?

That feels different because you’re not just trying to win someone over. You’re working with trust that’s already there. There are seven years of customers behind a product like Second Skin. That means seven years of reviews, recommendations, repeat purchases and people finding the shade and formula that works for them.

You become very aware that “improving” something on paper doesn’t necessarily mean improving it for the person who has been buying it for years. It would have been easy to change everything and call it new, but that was never really the goal. And even more so when we did community testing as we always do - the message was loud and clear for them that they did not want anything that resounded “new & improved”. To which we said ok yes sir, point duly taken.

The goal was to understand what could be better, without losing the reason people loved it in the first place.

Knowing what actually needs to change

I think there can be a temptation in beauty to think that new automatically means better. New formula, new packaging, new claims, new everything. When we started looking at Second Skin, we realised pretty quickly that our job wasn’t to reinvent it. It was to understand what deserved to evolve and what absolutely didn’t.

The best place to start was with the people who had been using it for the last seven years.

We went back through years of feedback from our community: the things people loved, the things they wanted more from and the ways we could make the overall experience even better. Rather than changing things for the sake of having something “new” to talk about, we focused on the areas where we felt there was a genuine opportunity to evolve.

You told us you wanted more control over how much product you dispense, so we evolved the packaging from a pump to a squeezer tip. We grew the shade range from 30 to 40 shades and evolved the formula with Vitamin B5 + CICA Complex and SPF 30, alongside dermatological testing for sensitive skin. As with everything we develop, it was tried and tested across a wide range of skin types, tones and needs throughout the process. We’ve always been known for our mineral formula that is a trusted sensitive skin choice so that was never going to change regardless of any update we were doing.

And for the first time, we also expanded the Second Skin family beyond foundation with our new Soft-Blur Setting Powder.

Each change felt like a natural next step for a product that has been with us for so many years, taking everything we’ve learned from our customers, our team and the product itself and using it to make Second Skin even better.

Just as important as what we changed was what we chose to leave alone. The lightweight feel, the natural glow and that skin-like finish were the things people loved about Second Skin in the first place. We never wanted to lose those in pursuit of making something feel “new”.

Then you have to actually launch it...

After all the development, testing, tweaking and conversations, there comes a point where you have to stop working on it and let people have it. When it’s a product people already have such a strong relationship with, I think that might actually be the most nerve-wracking part.

Last week, we finally did, and I genuinely don’t think we could have expected the reaction we’ve had. Within the first few days, some shades had already sold out on our own website. Seeing the messages, comments and orders coming through, particularly from people who had loved the original, was probably the biggest reassurance we could have asked for.

Ultimately, we didn’t want to create a completely different product. We wanted Second Skin to feel like Second Skin, just with more years of knowledge behind it.

I think that’s been one of my biggest learnings from this whole process: not everything needs to be reinvented. We very much pride ourselves on being that reliable trusted brand you can count on - the best friend who never lets you down. So what has to be true for us is that we deliver on that promise vs trying to play in trends which we just don’t have time for.

Growth doesn’t always mean ripping something up and starting again. Sometimes it’s about knowing your customer well enough to understand what needs to change, having the confidence to make those changes and, maybe most importantly, having the restraint to know what was already working.

So here we are years later, it’s still Second Skin. Just evolved 🤍

Thanks for reading!

Aimee 💗

Anyway, I’m back. And what better place to start than Korea?

There are some decisions I simply don’t think you can make from behind a laptop.

Especially when you’re making something that millions of people are going to put on their skin.

Every single one of our complexion and skincare products are manufactured in Korea, a decision made long before the rise of K Beauty and one rooted in chasing formula quality and excellence only. But this also means I spend a lot of time there. I’ve worked with one of our manufacturers for nearly 10 years now, but whenever I’m in Korea I also make a point of visiting new manufacturers.

And it’s not just because I want to see where our products are made.

I want to know who I’m trusting to make them and for them to see how much priority and care we put into our goods. When you arrive in person it signals an entirely different commitment.

When you’re building a beauty business, your relationship with your manufacturer is incredibly important. You’re trusting them with your formulas, your quality standards, your timelines and ultimately the product that your customer is going to put on their skin.

So I want to meet them face-to-face.

I want to see the facility. I want to understand how they work, how seriously they take quality and safety, and whether they’re the kind of partner I could see us working with long-term.

You learn a lot more by actually being there.

And then there’s the product itself.

There is only so much you can discuss from a sample being sent in the post. Don’t get me wrong whether it’s posted or not I’ll typically know in seconds if it’s it or not but when I’m in Korea, I can sit down with the team and actually see, feel and test everything in person and most importantly better communicate changes I’d like to see.

I’ll swatch what feels like hundreds of shades when we’re developing colour products. We’ll compare tiny differences in undertones, finishes and textures. We’ll test samples, make changes, look at another version and sometimes decide that something simply isn’t good enough yet.

And this is probably the part of the job I find the hardest.

Eventually, someone has to make the call.

Sometimes I’m sitting there with a sample in front of me and I have to decide whether we go ahead, make another change or start again. That decision might mean another round of samples, weeks added to a timeline or a significant additional cost to the business.

It’s not always an easy decision, particularly when you know there are real people, time and money attached to it.

But that’s part of being the person responsible for the product.

I can’t pass that decision on to someone else because ultimately, I’m the one who has to stand behind what we put into the world. And it goes without saying that I can’t stand over something that is not fully ready or up to standard, so yeah there is lots of times where those decisions to wait are costly, stressful but never a regret.

And being there in person makes those decisions easier to make, even when they’re difficult.

I can ask questions immediately. I can see how something is being made. I can speak to the people developing it. I can understand what is technically possible and what might create problems further down the line.

Then there’s the relationship side of it.

I think it’s very easy to forget that behind every product is a whole team of people making it happen.

I’ve been working with one of our manufacturers for nearly 10 years, so there’s a genuine relationship there. We know each other, we understand how each other works and there’s a level of trust that you simply can’t build through emails.

But I also want to know that any new manufacturer we work with shares the same standards.

Because ultimately, I’m trusting them to make something that goes directly onto someone’s skin.

That’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly.

So yes, I’ll keep getting on the plane to Korea.

Not because factory visits are particularly glamorous, or because I enjoy making difficult decisions on the spot.

But because if my name is on the product, I want to be close enough to the process to know that I’m making the right decisions.

Even when they’re the difficult ones.

And what I have slowly learned over the years is that even though it’s week “out of the business” and as CEO you’re conscious of other teams that won’t get your time when you’re away - I have come to realise how much the creative in me needs the factory time. Sometimes running a brand can be heavy and so getting back to the lab and just sitting and talking innovation takes you back to why you started in the first place. It scratches a different part of the brain that is much needed.

No regrets.

Thanks for reading

Aimee 💗

So I’m focussing this week in the life type vibe on the general start to the year and more importantly what’s gone well and what’s gone very wrong.

First up let’s kick off with the positives. The 2 day offsite I mentioned - we do it every year have done for the last few years and - it’s always my favourite. We bring together the near 80 of our HQ team to Dublin for a kick off of 2026 strategy, a little look back on last year and a chance to focus us as a team on what’s ahead. But outside of the work and the energizer that it is, it’s a brilliant bonding session for us and a chance for everyone to be together in person. These days we have about a third of our team remote across the UK / in our London office and the other 66% (not exactly maths but you get me!) in Dublin. Nothing beats face to face connection and you can literally see the bonds being formed in the room.

So we break it down where the first day I kick us off and try to bring my CEO buzz (Chief Energy Officer I’ll have you know!). I talk to the history of the brand, a look back on 2025 and the official delivery of our 2026 strategic objectives along with a brief overview of the 3 year plan. I was actually quite nervous this year standing up and trying to balance giving a proper insight into the history of us, trying to land powerful and inspirational messages and ensuring that I keep us all on the same vision for going forward. In fairness after a few minutes into my speaking I settled in and really enjoyed it but it is funny how nerves are always around.

Anyway enough about me, between myself and leadership members talking to their areas that kind of made up the bulk of the first day but we’re always sure to break it up for part of it and get the team into groups to do some brainstorming and team work. We focussed a bit around team betterings/ culture protection and had teams deliver back their group work in whatever format they want. We had rapping, acting, singing you name it. It was hilarious!

For day 2 we trialled a new enough format of having panel sessions broken out by each of our 2026 strategic focusses. This was a chance for leads around the room to share their voices on important topics and for the team to ask open questions. It was brilliant and really created a lovely engaged feeling.

For the second half we had a creative group work session on general ideas to set us apart, make us better and continue to get closer to our global ambitions. The ideas were chefs kiss… the best creative team going I tell you! Watch this space for what we do this year.

So basically moral of the story is that I highly recommend starting the year with your team and doing a strategic / team bonding / bitta craic / unreal focus time offsite. It’s always worth it for us and I genuinely look forward to them.

But despite the loveliness of the offsite not everything has been smooth sailing.. I mean it couldn’t be right?! I came back from holidays to quite a large issue for us as a business and one that has a major impact on planning, retailers and honestly just about every single part of our business. We’ve had to make the decision to push a launch out which has been planned for a very very long time and we’re currently working through when the next possible launch date might be. I was actually brought into this situation while I was still away - I mean as founder you’re never actually off, but it also shows the importance of the issue. 3am calls with time difference in Australia was just glorious 😅

Firstly, it’s not abnormal for a product business to have to push a launch and we would never launch a product that we weren’t 1000% on and unfortunately for this one it’s just not ready yet (but it’s going to be just oh so gorgeous when it is 😭)

However the scale of this is quite large when you have 500+ stores ready and waiting for it plus alllll of the work amongst teams to get ready for that launch time. So here we are busy making plans in the background, I’m trying to stay positive and keep us focused on plan B whilst we also work in tandem to figure out when it can actually launch.

I often think when things don’t go to plan like this, something will come of it and it will be for a reason. I don’t have that reason yet but I’m pretty sure it’ll show itself soon and at the very least if it doesn’t, it’s giving me comfort these few weeks.

While I haven’t maybe gone into the detail of the day to day there is a helicopter view of the reality of work life right now. Trying to plan the building blocks for the next 3 years, making sure all objectives for 2026 are set, managing the fires for this quarter, being in the detail of sign offs for this month and being present for end of year reviews this week. Yep 😅

I’ll be back next week with some thoughts on something else. Who knows what’ll come to mind… in the meantime I’ll be keeping an eye out for that reason why to flash by my way 🤣

Hope you enjoyed the reality of sculpting in progress.

Thanks for reading

Aimee 🩷

Hi I’m Aimee 👋🏼 (or should I say Helloooo - as my team usually takes the piss out of me for. Every video with fail, I introduce with a drawn out hello)

I’m a true Capricorn, Christmas Eve baby, single child, 33 years of age, married, currently living somewhere between Dublin, London and an airplane, keen exerciser, adorer of business and also founder & ceo of beauty brand Sculpted by Aimee.

I’m gonna cut right to the chase and let you all in a little secret(the most indiscreet secret there ever was) and that is that I love business and beauty. Work is such a big part of my life, it’s what drives me, in many ways what fulfils me and in lots of ways was the reason for my near burnout in 2025. (But I didn’t! However I do have some very clear learnings to take into 2026)

So let’s take a step back - 11 years ago I graduated from my business & french degree in UCD (University College Dublin) after spending 6 years as a makeup artist working part time for the likes of Urban Decay & MAC, doing a weekly TV slot, writing about beauty and eventually studying to become a makeup tutor because I felt so passionate about educating in the very overwhelming beauty space.

I was a little unconventional at the time of cut creases and 2hr YouTube videos saying “Hey! Makeup does not need to be that complicated, few products, right placement, give yourself 5minutes and you can feel fantastic”. This later became the reasoning behind our signature Sculpted 5 Minute face.

So yes I loved to keep things simple, to make beauty approachable and ultimately create clever products that not only saved time but that actually worked. No gimmicks, no fads just trusted staples. And so here we are today - all of this still at the core of Sculpted by Aimee in the brand that it has grown to become but I’m going to be honest one thing I have not done well is consistently keep it simple and so this is a huge part of 2026’s strategy - personally and professionally.

In case you’re interested I like to keep things transparent - be it in showcasing products, my natural bare skin or in the realities of what happens behind the scenes - and so I am hoping that this will be a safe space for me to share, to rant, to divulge or just to air my thoughts. Instagram is quite curated, TikTok a little too chaotic and YouTube I just worry that if I go at it again it needs to be so consistent. Thoughts?

Anyway I hope you’ll stick around and enjoy my weekly musings. If there are particular areas you’re keen to hear on then please do let me know.

And if you are totally new here I promise this won’t be a sales push channel but I can’t not recommend how brilliantly simple and easy Sculpted by Aimee is so feel free to check us out @sculptedbyaimee. Www.sculptedbyaimee.com. If you need any help or recommendations just let me know!

(end of sales pitch)

So basically all I have to say is welcome! And just as a forewarning whoever said working in beauty was pure glamour … they may want to check in here from time to time. I adore it though - it’s warts and all! 🫶🏼