The Saya® Woman is an interview series showcasing extraordinary women who share their experience, insights and advice to life, business and everything in between. We hope their stories inspire you as much as they inspire us. For our Saya Woman Series #6, we are excited to chat with model, social media influencer and co-founder of Bless Inc - Lucy Brownless. In this exclusive interview, Lucy candidly opens up about her personal skincare journey, unveiling how nourishing food, gut healing and living a slower lifestyle  has had a positive impact on her skin and overall well being. Also, Lucy shares the inspiration behind the name Bless Inc and how the brand found its beginning - creating meaningful, purposeful products with intention.

Lucy, can you tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be where you are today? 

In true manifesting generator style I have always had so many interests and hopefully this stays with me forever as I will continue to learn and grow throughout my entire life. So many things interest me and if there is one thing about myself which I have learnt throughout the past couple of years is that I never want to feel stuck or stagnant, and I always want to keep trying and testing new and exciting things. This lends itself to a couple of things at the moment which I am super passionate about. 

The last few years have led me down the health and wellness direction which I am so passionate about. I studied a Health Coach course after school which I absolutely loved and after that I completed my 200 hour Yoga course, and another 50 hour Yin Yoga course on top of that. I started my own business ‘Bless’ with my mum and sister a little under a year ago which I spend a lot of my time on. Starting a business is not for the faint hearted but it is oh so rewarding and we have so many exciting ideas and avenues we want to explore with this. Bless was always an idea we wanted to do, so when it finally came to life (after a few years of planning) it felt a little surreal.

Can you share with our readers your own skin journey?

I have been on such a big skincare journey over the last 10 years. During high school and just after school I suffered from really bad acne and this affected my self esteem tremendously. My skin was my biggest insecurity for so long and I basically did and tried everything to heal it naturally. After numerous doctor's appointments, naturopath apts, blood tests, different diets etc I was at my wit's end and ended up going on a small dose of Roaacutane for 6 months. This helped clear up my skin however the breakouts returned after 6 months or so of coming off it - it was more of a bandaid fix - I think in the end the breakouts had a lot to do with hormonal health. I really doubled down on food and skincare that worked for me and did lots of gut protocols during this time, and focused on a slower, simpler lifestyle and I think this had a really positive impact. I still have breakouts/flare ups from time to time (who doesn’t) and this is why taking care of my skin and overall health is one of my biggest priorities and I will never take for granted how far my skin has come and how confident I now feel day to day without wearing makeup. I am passionate about using natural and clean skincare on my face and body as I know how important this is and how much this changed the game for me.

What does your morning skincare routine look like?

I usually don’t cleanse my face in the morning, I just splash my face with water. Sometimes I’ll use my ice roller or an ice cube on my face if I am feeling a little puffy. I then have been obsessed with my Saya Glow Serum, followed by the balanced moisturizer. I then like to use my Gua Sha to sculpt my face (we have just made one with Bless and I love it so much), lastly I’ll apply my SPF with a tinted Serum. I’ll brush my brows up with a gel, and sometimes I’ll pop a little concealer under my eyes and a little blush on my cheeks to make me feel more alive. Last step is a good lip tint and I’m good to go. I love how easy and streamline my morning routine is! I usually don’t wear any makeup during the week and I love using good skincare to give me that natural glow!

As a female entrepreneur how do you manage a work/life balance?

I am constantly juggling the work/life balance and find myself most of the time always ‘on’ with new content ideas, or ideas for my business and I do find it hard to completely switch off. 

This year something I am prioritizing is time management and learning to switch off - I think this is very important to recharge and give yourself time for fresh ideas to come through, and also to enjoy the downtime that comes with switching off and not having too much pressure with the hustle and always being on.

How do you love to move your body?

I have been practicing yoga for over 12 years now and love how gentle yet effective this practice is on my mind and body. I also love both mat and reformer pilates and really love a long walk with a great podcast! I generally stick to low impact workouts and always listen to my body on how I am feeling and I also take into consideration where I am at in my cycle - I read ‘In the Flo’ a couple of years ago and learnt so much about women’s hormones and how important it is to have the knowledge to know what is going on and how cycle syncing (eating and working out with your different cycle phase) is really important.

What was the inspiration behind the name Bless Inc and how did the brand find its beginning?

The name came first for ‘Bless’. My mum, sister and I were sitting on a train from New York to Montauk one summer and we were playing around with names and business ideas before we landed on ‘Bless’. it is our last name ‘Brownless’ shortened. Having such a close bond the three of us always knew we wanted to do something together we just weren’t sure what it would be. After going on a big wellness journey we wanted to create meaningful, purposeful products that had intention behind them. We also wanted to create something that had a beautiful, positive message behind our products, and that is when we came up with the idea of creating cotton singlets with our favorite positive quotes sown on the inside of the singlet seams - As it is what is on the inside that is the most important thing after all. From here, we created a head scarf with similar quotes printed on the outside of the scarf for more mindfulness. We also created a tote bag and muslin cloth for your face. Recently, we have just created a ritual pack which includes a dry body brush, gua sha and tongue scraper as we are delving a little more into the wellness side of things. We have so many ideas and exciting things in place already for this year and I can’t wait to see how we keep expanding and growing as a little business! I really am so proud of how far we have grown already.

If you were to recommend one Saya product, which would it be?

I’m obsessed with the brightening peel (this is something that has never been a part of my skincare routine before and I love how my skin responds to this). Also the Argan Oil -  I use this after every shower and I can’t get enough of the beautiful smell and how hydrated it leaves your skin!

What’s next for Lucy Brownless?

I am planning to focus on my business and to put myself first while also planning on more travel for this year. I am at a point in my life right now where I feel very lucky to have the freedom and the drive to keep exploring, putting myself out there and to keep challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone. I also want to enjoy more of the little moments in life and not be too focused and caught up on always having goals I need to be hitting and work on being a little more fluid. 

I have a really good feeling about 2024 and I am excited to see how I grow and expand.