Elisa Goodkind and Lily Mandelbaum, the mother-daughter team behind StyleLikeU, are well-known for The What's Underneath Project. You've likely seen some of their videos featuring people of all ages, sizes, genders, and origins strip down on camera while being interviewed about their personal histories and relationships with their bodies. The results are often painfully resonant, and always beautiful, compelling, and raw.
That sense of radical honesty, diversity, and personal expression is also the ethos behind their first beauty collaboration, launching this week with Olie Biologique. Founded by Linda Thompson, the face- and body-oil brand emphasizes simplicity, nurturance, and treating yourself (and your skin) like you're beautiful — not a problem to be fixed.
Goodkind describes her experience with the oil as a turning point that changed her entire take on personal care and the beauty industry in general. "I had very much fallen victim to dropping buckets of money on stuff that promised this or that," she says. "You know, 20 different products promising 20 different things." But after trying Olie for the first time, she threw everything else out.
Perhaps this seems extreme, but it's understandable once you've tried it. Using Olie, infused with a potent blend of essential oils, makes the skin-care ritual feel a lot more like a ritual. It brings a soothing sensation to the skin and smells incredible (think a heady floral mix of lavender, neroli, and bergamot). It's the difference between eating a cherry-flavored candy and eating an actual cherry.
Sure, it may sound totally woo-woo, but these ladies are no bullshit. Goodkind calls the oil the white T-shirt of skin care. "Just the fact that it’s so simple. I think there’s something very empowering about that, as opposed to hoarding a host of problem-fixing products," she says. "It really coincides with my overall feeling in life that, at 57 years old, it’s what I’m doing inside of myself that’s gonna make me look the best." Skin care, she feels, is there to enhance that and serve as a reflection of her lifestyle — not conceal her age.
She and Mandelbaum selected four women featured in The What's Underneath Project to mix their own oils based on their personalities and the stories they told. Australian jewelry designer Sarah Jane Adams spoke about the transformative experience of menopause, a life event she holds as "a badge of honor." Her oil contains vetiver and Kashmiri Blue Tansy to "nourish and highlight her aging skin," the description says. Jamaican poet Staceyann Chin created a bright, pungent mix of pomegranate, lemon, fennel, and pumpkin, reflecting her mission to "awaken people to their misperceptions." (We don't know about that, but the strong scent is definitely energizing.)
"Our whole message is about diversity," says Mandelbaum. "We made sure the four women were really different from one another so that point could be made. You don’t have to be older to use Olie, and you don’t have to be younger to be beautiful. Making the point in all different directions was really important to us."
See all the new episodes rolling out on StyleLikeU, and shop the limited-edition collaboration on Olie Biologique starting tomorrow.