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.
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