Interview | Katy Cottam of Luna Daily

Katy Cottam is a beauty industry veteran who, in 2019, walked away from her dream role as Global Head of Brand at Charlotte Tilbury, to launch her own beauty brand, Luna Daily.

Luna Daily is a personal care brand that was inspired by both Cottam’s personal teenage experiences with feminine hygiene and her realisation that, 15 years later, there had been limited progress in the less-than-desirable beauty category.

We sat down with Cottam to discuss Luna Daily’s mission, her advice for aspiring beauty entrepreneurs, and her own body care goals.

What inspired you to create Luna Daily?

Luna Daily has been an idea of mine since my teenage years, after an intensive course of antibiotics caused me to have thrush. I can still remember the shame, confusion, and embarrassment I felt. There was also the frustration of having to resort to using ‘feminine hygiene’ products with all their ‘what’s wrong with her’ connotations. It got me questioning… why are we so in the dark when it comes to our intimate skin? Also, why are we so embarrassed to talk about our vulvas? Why aren’t we taught about them (I didn’t even use the word vulva back then)? And why should we even need specific products for intimate skin?

Fifteen years later, with a career in beauty and wellness behind me, I could see that nothing had really changed in the category since my teenage years, so during the first pandemic I decided to quit my job and give Luna Daily a go. I started out by commissioning pioneering research amongst 1000 women of all ages, stages, and skin-types. It was revealed that 87% of women were not taught about intimate care at school and 43% of women experience gynae issues as a result of their intimate washing routines (shockingly 1 in 3 women are washing inside their vagina, despite it being totally self-cleaning). The research also showed women are more embarrassed to talk about their vulvas than they are about how much they earn or their sex life.

What product best introduces the brand?

I would say The Everywhere Spray-To-Wipe, as it’s the product we’ve become most famous for. It is a sustainable and effective alternative to single-use wipes. So, it’s perfect for all those times you want to freshen up on the go, but don’t have a shower around and don’t want to use wipes. It’s got a trademarked base formulation that combines probiotics, thermal water, and vitamins, E, C and F to balance, nourish, and protect the skin microbiome. It’s super versatile and has endless uses, whether you’re transitioning from a gym class to a date, managing your period, or just wanting to feel refreshed. It’s alcohol-free and can be used absolutely everywhere, from your underarms and under boobs to your inner thighs. We have two different formats available – full size and mini, making it portable. It also comes in three variants: hydrating, original, and fragrance free.

What has been your biggest highlight?

From a business perspective, it would be launching into Sephora in America as the first ever intimate body care brand. A year later, we launched the first ever motherhood collection in Sephora which was such a huge highlight. Sephora is the global trailblazer of beauty, so to be building this category with them represents such a huge shift in retailer behaviour and focus, which ultimately influences consumer behaviour.

From a personal perspective, the launch of our vulva therapy campaign is a huge highlight. We introduced the world’s first free vulva therapy hotline, offering a service where individuals who feel awkward about the word ‘vulva’—often due to societal shame—can call to learn techniques that help normalise the word ‘vulva’ and related concepts. On the day of the launch, Google searches for the word ‘vulva’ increased by 35%. So, in terms of our mission to normalise conversations and help change education, that’s got to be a highlight.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to launch their own beauty brand?

Have a very clear vision of what it is you’re trying to build beyond the product, because I don’t think it’s enough today to just sell a product. I think people want to buy into a bigger vision, mission, and purpose. My goal was to connect women of all ages and stages with each other and with their entire bodies. Very simply, I want more people to feel as I do now, and less like I felt when I was a confused, awkward, embarrassed, and ashamed 19-year-old.

What’s next for Luna Daily?

You will continue to see us innovate in body and care for everywhere. From your head to your vulva, your knees and toes, and across all life stages. We aim to support women with daily care throughout every phase of womanhood, including motherhood and menopause. You’ll see lots of exciting innovation in these key, underserved categories.

What does your daily skincare routine look like?

I’m really low maintenance and want products that work hard for me. I prefer multifunctional products designed to address multiple symptoms. This philosophy is reflected in the Luna Daily brand, which is why all our products are versatile and can be used everywhere.

Skincare for me includes care for both my face and body. For body care, I use Luna Daily’s Everywhere Wash Original, followed by the Everything Oil on my underarms, intimate skin, and cuticles—it’s even great for preventing ingrown hairs. I then apply The Everywhere Lotion as soon as I get out of the shower.

For my face, I’m currently using Weleda’s Skin Food, Hello Sunday’s SPF 50 Serum and the brand’s Lip Balm, along with Tatcha’s Dewy Skin Cream. Additionally, I use Tan Luxe’s Face Drops once a week, which give my skin a healthy glow when I’m not wearing makeup.

What are three beauty products you cannot live without?

Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter – I’m a no makeup, minimal makeup kind of girl and love that I can pop a bit of this on after my moisturiser and just look glowing. Everybody comments that my skin looks great, and it just makes me feel more confident.

Hello Sunday SPF 50 The One That’s A Serum – I only wear SPF 50 and I love how lightweight this formula is. It’s not heavy at all and it gives me the protection I want. The packaging is really cute too.

Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara – I actually launched this mascara into the market a long time ago, and I think it’s really good value. It just makes your lashes just look so beautiful, long, and thick. It will always be my holy grail.

What is the biggest beauty lesson you’ve learned?

Listening to your whole body. Too often, women, myself included, ignore symptoms or only address things when there is a problem. Our skin faces various concerns such as dryness, redness, and itchiness across the body. Yet, we tend to overlook these issues until we deem them so bad that we need to see a specialist, or we overlook the possibility that they may be caused by the products we’re putting on our skin.

I think it’s important to have a consciousness around your whole body and really look at holistic health. Consider what you’re putting inside your body, what you’re putting on your body, and how that might be the driving cause behind any concerns you experience.

For years, I struggled with not just poor skin, but really inflamed skin. I had a really, really inflamed microbiome, which affected my internal digestion and skin. It wasn’t until I really looked at everything I was doing to my body, including the products I was putting on my skin, that I was able to transform my skin health. This experience formed part of my inspiration for Luna Daily. I wanted access to products I could use everywhere, safe in the knowledge that they won’t irritate the skin on any part of my body.

What person or brand would you love to collaborate with?

Allyson Felix, the Olympic athlete, business owner, entrepreneur, and mum. She is celebrated for her advocacy on maternal issues, which began when she testified before Congress on the black maternal mortality crisis. She followed that with an op-ed in The New York Times, where she openly criticised Nike, her previous sponsor, for not providing salary protections to female athletes post-pregnancy. What she stands for is so incredible. I think she’s phenomenal!

What’s not getting the attention it deserves in the beauty industry right now?

I think we’ve only just started to see the opportunity within the body care category. The dominant categories within beauty have been colour cosmetics, skincare, and fragrance. However, hair and body care are finally having their moment and are only now getting the attention they deserve.

95% of our skin is on our body. When we think about the key changes that women go through in life, including motherhood and menopause, many of them affect our body. Our skin is our biggest organ, so I’m excited to see the body care category get the attention it deserves. This attention is also being driven by several brands and retailers who are helping to elevate the category. Historically, I think customers haven’t been as excited about personal care because it’s been driven by cheap, mass synthetic formulas.

There is a rise of body care brands offering new products that help women in new ways. They are enriching the offering through clinically tested formulations that are developed by experts. These formulations are natural, clean, and efficacious, and they use brilliant ingredients that, for a long time, were just reserved for facial skincare. That’s absolutely where Luna Daily plays and sits, and we know we’re carving out our own whitespace opportunity within that segment.

Luna Daily is available at Cult Beauty and Boots in the UK, and Sephora and Amazon in the US.