22-05-2025
Molly Sims's Skin-Care Brand for Busy Women Debuts at Sephora: 'The Cheat Sheet I Wish I Had'
Welcome to Behind the Beauty, a recurring series spotlighting the power players driving the beauty world forward. In it, these leaders muse on every facet of their journey, from where they draw inspiration to the breakthrough advice that has transformed their careers.
When it comes to skin care—and just about everything else—Molly Sims tells it like it is.
'I was doing Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen with Lisa Barlow, and she was like, 'I'm getting this CO2 laser.' I said, 'Oh no, you're not. Listen to me,'' the 51-year-old model and actress tells InStyle. 'I've interviewed 10 surgeons. That's one of the worst things you can do for your skin barrier—you're literally taking 17 layers of skin off. If you strip the barrier every day, you will look older. I've seen it a million times.'
They don't call Sims the barrier queen for nothing. Protecting it, nourishing it, and strengthening it is the core of her skin-care brand, YSE Beauty, created specifically for women in their late 30s, 40s, 50s, and beyond. Launched in 2023, the line has skyrocketed to success, and it's headed to Sephora next month.
Sims understands the skepticism around celebrity beauty brands, but she's firm: The results of her science-backed formulas (like YSE's best-selling Your Favorite Ex exfoliating pads and Morning Cocktail vitamin C serum) speak for themselves. Another reason it has the beauty editor's stamp of approval? She insisted on clinical trials from the very beginning.
Skin care has been a lifelong passion. ('Being a model is the single best education you can have in beauty—because I've fucking tried it all,' she says with a laugh.) But the idea for YSE came from personal need. In her 40s, she struggled with adult acne and melasma, finding few products that were accessible, effective without overstripping or irritating her skin, and elevated in their look and feel.
'That white space is why my brand is doing so well—because we're meeting [that customer] where she is,' says Sims. 'I'm on this journey. I don't want to talk about beauty during menopause or being someone's grandmother. I want to talk about beauty where I am. You want results-driven skincare that can also exist in a fun, inclusive, cool community. It doesn't have to be so harsh and so strong.'
Each of YSE's 'cocktails,' as Sims likes to call them, is designed to take the guesswork out of using active ingredients and cut down on unnecessary steps. 'I want to make women's lives easier,' she says. But YSE is more than just skin care. The brand's ethos is amplified by her hit podcast, Lipstick on the Rim, in which she and co-host Emese Gormley interview beauty and health experts and get to the bottom of pressing beauty questions like: Is Botox a good idea? or What's the difference between chemical and physical exfoliation? 'It's about giving women who feel underserved and overlooked the tools,' says Sims. 'We've built a loyal community. It's really intentional, and we do it with a sense of humor.'
That community drives the brand forward. 'Our eye cream, Wide Awake, sold out in a week because I asked women for three years, 'What do you want me to do?' They said an eye cream. But when I asked, 'Do you actually use one?' They said, 'I forget. It smells. It's icky.' So I made one you actually use—something that brightens, helps with dark circles, puffiness, fine lines, wrinkles, and is a little tinted.'
Now, as YSE Beauty prepares for the tidal wave that is the Sephora effect, Sims sits down with InStyle to reflect on launching her own brand, carving out space in a saturated market, and what she's learned as a founder and working mother of three.
What first ignited your passion for beauty?
I've always been a lover of beauty. My mother was a lover of beauty, and I would watch her. Being in the modeling industry for so long, getting to live in different countries—I got to live in France, I got to live in England, I got to live in Italy—and I never met a French pharmacy that I did not love. I was very privy to all these amazing derms, experts, and people in my world of fashion. I got to learn so much about beauty early on. I had cystic acne in my mid-to-late 20s and early 30s. I was living in Europe, and I had a dermatologist over there. It's how I learned about the skin barrier and all of the things.
How did you break into the beauty industry? What motivated you to found YSE Beauty?
Honestly, a problem. I felt like I was kind of forgotten. It's almost like I got to my 40s and felt like I was going to have acne my whole life. Then, when I had my babies, I had hyperpigmentation—melasma. I really struggled trying to treat it because I was doing everything too strong, too harsh. We used to think the more it burns, the better. The redder you are, the better. But more doesn't mean better—it can actually thin your skin and cause damage. There wasn't smart, accessible, and cool skin care. I needed efficacy. Everything was really harsh in [dermatologist-created skin-care products] and not to my aesthetic. On the other hand, there are fun, cool Gen Z brands, but they are not efficacious for someone my age.
What are the core values that guide YSE Beauty and your approach to creating skin care?
YSE is the cheat sheet I wish I had. If you told me I had to use 15 products every day, I wouldn't do it. Consistency, with really good actives, is the magic. I'm a hero-driven, SKU-driven brand. That's how I buy. So when I develop products, I think about efficiency. How do I use it? Can I use it daily? What's the system? You need to wear vitamin C, niacinamide, ectoin, gluconolactone (PHA)—all those things. If you cocktail them right, you can do less and get better results.
There's a perception that celebrity brands can lack authenticity. How did you want your brand to challenge that?
It was intimidating because all the other girls launching brands bring so much to the table. But I knew what my products had done for me for three years. I was in a place of desperation, and I just wanted to share the knowledge. Plus, I didn't just slap my name on it. I developed every single piece of that product, from the componentry to the colors, working with Aruliden, the best branding team.
I wanted effective skincare. We can all play in the same sandbox, but it's why I fought so hard—even with my husband and myself—to do the clinical [trials]. I want you to believe me, but the proof is in the pudding. Here are the clinicals for Ex Pads, Wide Awake, Morning Cocktail, etc.. With Morning Cocktail, I wanted something that wouldn't peel, smell, or feel tacky. It needed to work. That's what made it so successful—it's weightless, and you don't even feel like you're wearing it. When I was doing Skin Glow, I needed more of an adult glow. I can't have anything that gives me acne. So, I created Skin Glow to give me that blurring, a little bit of glow. It has niacinamide and protects me. That's how I think about product. I think about it in a very hero-driven way. I just wanted age-inclusive beauty.
How does your podcast serve as a way for fans and customers to get to know you better as a brand founder?
I started Lipstick on the Rim because I'd ask people, 'Here's what I do—I've done shots in my ass in Paris, mesotherapy, everything. What do you do?' Then I'd get answers like, 'Oh, I just drink a lot of water,' or 'I sleep a lot.' On our podcast, our goal is not to gate-keep. We try to answer the questions we didn't know before, so we come out wiser and better for it.
I think the podcast also helped when I launched the brand. The celebrity part of it was softened because I'd interviewed over 150 experts. It helped me, and it helped my community.
What are your top pieces of advice for other founders?
So, first of all: Pray. Be passionate. Know your white space. Know your 'why'—why are you doing it? You need to be able to answer that immediately. I read a book by Emily Heyward—Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One. It was a really good book.
You have to believe more than anyone else in your brand, in your company. You need a strong point of view. You have to go with your gut. And you need to put smarter people around you—and actually listen to them.
But in the end, you've got to buckle up. Put your oxygen mask on and prepare for the ride. Because it is a ride. It's dealing with loans, walking into rooms. You have to bet—go to Vegas and bet on black, bet on red, just bet. That's the best advice.
How does it feel to have YSE Beauty launching at Sephora?
It's a little bit of a pinch-me moment. I also think that for my community—who we are—we've just built such loyal women, and I think it's the perfect foray into the next chapter. For me, in terms of brand awareness... I've grown up with Sephora. Even though I'm 51 years old, I feel like I've been living there off and on for 20-plus years. I just like what they stand for. I like how they help brands. They've been instrumental in getting us there. Our partnership has just started, but they have been incredible partners so far. It's really exciting.
As a mother of three, what approaches have you found most fruitful in thriving both as a parent and a professional?
Being a mother really helps you. You will learn patience. Patience from my kids helps me be a founder, because you've got to meet someone where they are. I meet my 12-year-old differently than where I meet my 8-year-old. So, meeting people where they are. It is developmental, right? That's kind of how we deal with products. I'm growing with my own products.
What does the future of YSE Beauty look like?
We're going to crush it! Every month just keeps getting bigger and better. And I think we're going for it with Sephora. We're going big, baby! I know that we have something that no one has. People want results that fit their daily lifestyle. We always say YSE is for women too busy for skin care. We're taking the hard parts out, giving you that cheat sheet I wish I had.
Read the original article on InStyle
