Detecting a real need in the market and turning it into a fact, that has been Raquel González’s trajectory in the world of beauty. In 2011 she founded Pure Skincare after working in the perfumery world and in London, in some of the city’s major department stores and with brands such as Perricone MD. After returning to Spain where she managed Dermalogica for seven years, she decides to take a step further and bring pioneering science brands, at a time when some popular e-commerce platforms were not as widespread.
By profession an agricultural engineer and cosmetologist, she places great importance on the brands she distributes and on her own line in formulation. Her project is born with the intention of bringing to Spain brands that were not available and filling a market niche that did not exist at that time. What defines her is a venture born from a love of skincare and the science behind it.
From Distribution to Her Own Brand
After years dedicated to distributing prestige skincare, the year 2023 marked a key moment for González as she decided to take the leap with her own project: Byoode. When asked why make the jump, the professional answers: «I wanted more. I always tell you all the same thing: when you are a journalist, what do they expect of you? That you write a book, well, when you understand cosmetics they ask you, when is your brand coming?» This ties in with her interest in the business side, and if you want to value your company you also have to work on an intangible asset that adds value.
To develop her own company, she studied a master’s degree in cosmetology at the University of Barcelona. This gave González a knowledge of what the formula really means. A crucial point for the development of her brand, which seeks differentiating elements that drive cosmetic innovation and that join ethical reference actives that are also present in superfoods that will define the next generation and the future of nutrition, leveraging crops.
The success and establishment of the brand are such that it has a legion of followers and its own treatment at the Royal Hideaway Sancti Petri hotel: Royal Superfood Facial. An illuminating protocol that combines reference actives such as antioxidants, hydroxy acids and hyaluronic acid with the sensoriality and aromas that are so characteristic of the brand.
Skinimalism, Sensory Experience, and Sustainability
If there is a trend that is currently thriving in the market, it is skinimalism. We asked Raquel about her positioning on this and she highlights that she works with brands that include many steps, but her philosophy is to prescribe to the skin always according to each person’s life needs. The expert continues and mentions that she is a person of minimalist routines and that she bets on multifunction products that treat conditions such as acne, aging, hydration, or luminosity. For González it is key that, in addition, any person who uses the products will benefit, without having to change their routine, and this also encompasses different ages, with room to enrich the steps of the routine.
We also find that textures and aromas are being demonized in some products or brands, eliminating that sensory moment that also wins over the consumer. Regarding this, González believes that cosmetics are about wellbeing, and the more cosmetic the product, the better the project, together with neuro marketing and the neuroscience that if a product contains an ingredient, it must smell in order to connect with the product.
Sustainability is also a pillar that more and more brands are applying, but what does this mean in Raquel’s project? We take great care with sustainability details. In packaging, in packs coming from renewable sources, in reducing the carbon footprint. They even have a blacklist of what may be contained and what may not, with their indications.
Mistakes and Omissions in Routines
Asking someone so closely linked to the beauty world about the main mistakes in a routine is essential. For Raquel González, the main ones are cleansing and the lack of exfoliation, since in Europe as well as in the United States the skin is exfoliated a lot, and this step, she adds, helps to prevent skin cancer risks. We are more aware of SPF but we do not remove it properly.
Another major learning from this expert is that, even though Spain is one of the European countries with the highest average expenditure on cosmetics, Spanish women are the ones who invest the least in cleansers and foot care products. In addition, another factor to highlight is that it is also among the countries where less money is spent on facial treatments, although that is growing.
Overinformation vs Misinformation
Is the consumer truly informed or misinformed? Today we live in a world where social networks provide a lot of information, but the reality is that we find people using actives they do not need, González notes. She adds that we are confusing biological age with chronological age and we are overexposing ourselves to actives that we may require in the future. With this, she concludes that we are more misinformed than informed because there is information saturation.
That said, the consumer knows what they want and builds their routines because there is more information about skins, actives, and textures, even if sometimes misinformed. Therefore, is the personalization of routines a critical point in skincare? González reflects and is emphatic: all brands talk about how we can personalize a routine with a product, and nobody asks you where you work, how you go to work, what is the light in your office or what is your stress level, and with this she states: as long as we do not perform detailed lifestyle inquiries, routines cannot be personalized.
Looking to the Future
More than 20 years linked to beauty provide a rich source of wisdom. What has Raquel learned over all these years? “I take away that there are no limits, that it is a world to dream about and that it is the most beautiful sector that exists.” Regarding this, she adds that it is one of the sectors that progresses, researches, and innovates the most in terms of investigation. Focusing on what is coming in the beauty sector, González says there is nothing too transgressive, but the focuses will be on PDRN, exosomes and their development and longevity. Last year was the year of menopause and retinoids; this is the year for the development of these terms and actives.
