Before “clean” beauty and celebrity-created brands became the norm, there was Miranda Kerr. The Australian-born businesswoman got her start as a model, moving to New York City in her early twenties, where contracts with Maybelline and Victoria’s Secret quickly made her a household name. But when she wasn’t on the runway, the model found herself immersed in researching skincare ingredients—an interest that began after her mother’s cancer diagnosis when Kerr was still a teenager. “That’s when, as a family, we really started to take a closer look at what we were putting in our bodies,” Kerr, now a mom of four, tells Observer, her one-year-old son on her lap. “We thought that we were health conscious, but we were shocked to find out how many household products made it into our home that had potentially toxic, potentially carcinogenic ingredients.”
In NYC, Kerr continued her wellness research, got in touch with a chemist, and began to develop skincare products—her way. For Kerr, that meant following the Ecocert COSMOS standards for organic cosmetics, which regulate everything from how product ingredients are grown and harvested to the packaging you see in stores. “It guarantees there’s no synthetic pesticides, or herbicides, or toxic chemicals that get used in growing or harvesting our ingredients,” she says.
One of the benefits of going certified organic is a potential boost in the potency of your ingredients. “Basically, if you continually harvest on the same soil over and over, the nutrients in that soil become depleted,” Kerr says, explaining that one of the Ecocert requirements restricts this, resulting in more nutrient-rich soil (and, by extension, ingredients). “For me, it was a no-brainer. If I can get the same, if not better, results using these products that are better for you, and they’re better for the planet, then why wouldn’t you?”
Kerr initially started making her skincare products solely for herself and her family, but when she began noticing real results, she decided to introduce her passion project to the masses. In 2009, Kora Organics debuted in Australia, but it would be nearly a decade before the certified organic brand made its way stateside. “There was a lot happening between those years, because it was the height of my modeling career and Kora Organics was still my baby,” says Kerr, whose high-profile career during this time included being a Victoria’s Secret Angel and starring in campaigns for Prada and Givenchy. Additionally, Kerr enrolled in New York’s Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where she earned her health coach certification in 2010. “I wasn’t ready to launch it internationally until 2017, when I knew I could put more time and effort into the day-to-day runnings of the business.”
More than 15 years in, Kerr is still leading the charge in what it means to be a “clean” beauty brand—a position she feels a deep responsibility for, and an occasional frustration with due to the lack of regulation around using the term. “We are still the only fully certified organic skincare brand in Sephora,” the Los Angeles-based businesswoman says of what sets her apart. “It’s so much work, it’s so much time, it’s so much money, but I think this is the way it should be.”
As the owner of 95 percent of Kora Organics, Kerr remains heavily involved in every aspect of the company, including developing and testing the latest creation, the multi-use Milky Mushroom Ultra-Hydrating Mask. Designed to bring the most benefits as an overnight mask, the formula includes ingredients like silver ear mushroom, hyaluronic acid and coconut milk to draw more moisture to the skin. “It’s great for anyone who is experiencing dry, parched skin—whether from travel, the environment, or just skin type,” shares Kerr. “My mom loves to keep it on to continually hydrate her skin all day, and I love to use it like a quick-flash hydration mask,” she adds of other Kerr family-approved ways to use it.
Following the launch of her Milky Mushroom Ultra-Hydrating Mask, Kerr shared her current essentials—from her morning beauty routine that includes a favorite by her Victoria’s Secret makeup artist to the L.A. restaurant she and her husband, Snap Inc. co-founder and CEO, Evan Spiegel, head to on date night.
Miranda Kerr’s Essentials
Her morning wellness routine
Generally, I’ll wake up around 5:30 a.m.—and the kids don’t get up until 6:30 a.m.—so I’ll have time to give back to myself a bit. I drink room temperature water with lemon, then I’ll have 32 ounces of celery juice, and then I’ll have my coffee. I’ve been on and off coffee. I have a love-hate relationship with it, but I do have one a day at the moment, with almond milk. I check my Oura Ring in the morning to see how well I slept. And I love doing a little bit of yoga and then a little meditation, or a little exercise that I can do in my room from my phone; Megan Roup has these quickie workouts that you can just get your yoga mat out, your hand weights and ankle weights and get in a little bit of exercise.
Megan Roup and Miranda Kerr.
Courtesy Kora Organics/Sculpt Society
Her morning beauty routine:
I dry body brush before I get in the shower, and then it’s my skincare routine. I love to use the Turmeric Foaming Cleanser when I take my shower because it just energizes you, and it doesn’t strip your skin at all. The turmeric scrub I also keep in the shower, and here’s the thing: I have oily/combination skin and my husband has very dry skin, but we both use it. I call it a facial in a tube because you can really dictate how intense you want to go with the scrub. Or, alternatively, you can leave it on as a detoxifying mask. It has rosehip in there, it has the turmeric, it has aspen bark, and that gently exfoliates the skin. Our whole family uses the hand and body wash and the body lotion—since the baby was born, I even wash his hair with the body wash. After I cleanse my skin and I’m out of the shower, I use the Minty Mineral Mist; it’s basically a hydrating and soothing toner, but it has peppermint and palo santo oils to uplift and energize you. Then, I use the Kakadu Plum Vitamin C Serum and the new Plant Stem Cell Retinol Alternative Moisturizer all over my face to brighten. I’ll put on the eye oil and a few drops of the Noni Glow Face Oil to lock everything in, and then the sun drops, obviously. It took me five years to develop the Silky Sun Drops. In the past, I couldn’t find a sunscreen that looked good under makeup, and this one, I put on even in the nighttime if I’m going out, because it’s such a good primer for my makeup.
I love to keep my makeup products as clean as I can. I’ve been using the RMS UnCoverup Concealer for years. It’s by my friend Rose-Marie [Swift], who was my makeup artist back in my Victoria’s Secret days. I also love Saie Beauty’s Slip Tint, Tower 28 MakeWaves Mascara and the Merit Beauty balm blush.
Miranda Kerr with the Kora Organics Turmeric Brightening & Exfoliating Mask.
Miranda Kerr/Kora Organics
What she’s binge-watching
My husband and I started watching The White Lotus. We watched the last season as well, and the one before it, and we loved it. I just love doing the one episode a week—it gives me something to look forward to.
Aimee Lou Wood in The White Lotus.
Fabio Lovino/HBO
What she’s reading
I got this new book the other day, and it’s called A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom. Basically, it says it’s ‘An encyclopedia of humankind’s spiritual truth,’ and it’s got quotes from Shakespeare and then quotes from the Bible. It’s a very big book, so I haven’t gotten through it, but I’ll just flip to a different page and get a little quote.
A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom.
Amazon
The crystals she always has for positive energy
Oh, crystals are all over my house! My go-tos are rose quartz, citrine, clear quartz, aquamarine and amethyst. I’ve been fascinated with crystals ever since I was a little girl because of my grandpa. He had a house-moving company in Australia, and he would literally uproot the houses from the ground. In the process of that, he would come across these big geode crystals that he would bring home to my grandma. She wasn’t that interested in them, but I was fascinated. All of the Kora Organics products are filtered through rose quartz crystals just to bring that loving energy. We’re all energetic beings, and if we’re doing a monotonous skincare routine, why not have that positive energy?
Kerr is big on crystals.
Courtesy Kora Organics
Favorite vacation spot
No matter where I am with my family, I love it. But I must say, every time we go to the Bahamas, we have such a great time. We’ll usually rent out a house, and it’s really great to be able to go swimming there because you can see through the water. It’s always so sunny, and it’s just very chill.
What she’s traveling with
Well, I’ve had my Louis Vuitton rollie for like, I don’t know, probably over 15 years now. If I can, I’ll do just a carry-on. Over all my years of traveling, they’ve lost some things, so I try to pack as much as I can into a carry-on. Always make your outfits before you go, and then just stick with that. On the plane, I keep a phone charger with me, my mini cleansing balm to make sure I can clean off my skin, and I love this specific water, Ophora Water.
Louis Vuitton.
Louis Vuitton
Los Angeles favorites
My husband took me to this amazing restaurant called Somni. It’s like a creative tasting menu at the chef’s counter in a private cellar room, and they make the most incredible things that I can’t even describe. It’s like an art form. I actually want to take my 14-year-old because he’s an artist, and he also loves and appreciates food. I also recently became a member of The Bird Streets Club, which is a cool private little club in L.A., so I’m excited to go there more often.
Somni.
Somni
The one thing in her wardrobe she refuses to part with
Shoes, I just love shoes so much! Maybe I’ve had them for 20 years, but if it’s a high heel that I don’t wear that often, I have a hard time letting go of them. I also am someone to resole my shoes if they’re my favorite. I’ve also had a Louis Vuitton hoodie, that looks like I bought it maybe a year ago, and it’s been over 15 years. I remember my friend telling me, ‘I don’t know why you’re wasting money on getting this Louis Vuitton hoodie.’ And I was like, ‘It’s an investment.’ And by the way, it has been a great return on my investment, because it doesn’t have any holes in it, nothing—quality over quantity.
