She’s all lip

Shanghai Suzy founder Jo French has not only built one of Australia’s leading independent beauty brands stocked in hundreds of salons, boutiques, and stores around the country, she’s also a busy mum who’s just had her very own lockdown baby! We caught up with Jo to see how she juggles motherhood and one of Australia’s favourite beauty brands!

Wow! Jo you must be one of the busiest gals in Melbourne right now! Running your biz and chasing after three little ones all whilst in lockdown? How do you do it all?

You know it’s so crazy at the moment with three kids under five at home and balancing their needs and running my little business. I try to work in the evenings and just be kind to myself, we can’t do everything! The house is often a mess and the to-do list is often untouched at the end of the day and that has to be OK at the moment. I’m also grateful that I’m not needing to manage home schooling on top of that - I’m not quite sure how it’s logistically possible for those working mama’s who are also home schooling and I take my hat off to them!

When you created Shanghai Suzy eight years ago, did you have any idea it would grow to be such a favourite?

I was hopeful haha! But honestly there was such a gap in the market for affordable, good quality lippies. I still look around at any of our competitors and I feel that comparatively we offer such a beautiful product, especially considering the price point ($19.95) and that we’re made in Melbourne and we’re vegan and cruelty-free too! I’m so proud of our lippies and I’m obviously biased but I’m so confident that we have the best formulas on the market.

You pride yourself on the fact that Shanghai Suzy is vegan and cruelty free! What do you think the future of vegan makeup looks like and why should we all be extra careful to check labels?

I personally swing between vegan and vegetarian in terms of my diet and lifestyle so it’s a lot to do with my personal values - we can make such a huge positive impact on our planet by cutting out animal products. I think the future of makeup (and the world for that matter) is one where no animals are harmed. Also for our health - there is so much research coming out about our microbiome and gut health and eating a whole food plant based diet and I’m so here for it! I think the same extends to our beauty products and many of the other products in our home - why harm animals and the planet if we don’t even need to?

Spring is here! What does that mean for your skincare routine and your makeup bag?

I just re-jigged my skincare routine last night! I like to sit in front of our floor length mirror and do my skincare and makeup, total teenager vibes even though I’m 35, haha! I have my skincare AM/PM boxes and my makeup box and I take out the appropriate box and sit there and apply my products. I love it! I have just switched my SPF over from SPF 25 to SPF 50 now that it’s getting sunnier and I’ve added in an extra serum. I also fake tanned last night so I look like I’ve been on a holiday (lol, we can dream right?!). In terms of makeup, day to day I wear concealer only (no foundation), a powder bronzer, eyebrow gel, no eye makeup, and lipstick of course. I’ve got my makeup routine down to about 3 and a half minutes!

Spring/Summer lip trends - What do we have to look forward to?

COLOUR! Finally!!! After what seems like an eternity of hibernation with continued lockdowns and hiding behind masks it’s time for us to wear some colour. Even though masks will be around for a while at least we can take them off at restaurants and I CANNOT WAIT to

wear a bright red lip (our matte colour Poppy is the one I have in mind!) out for dinner and drinks with friends. CANNOT WAIT.

Is matching lip colour with your nail polish a big “yes” or a fashion faux pas?

I love that but I’m never organised enough to do it! It would be so fun for an event though, like a flowy silky white dress in Summer with matching coral nails and lips! It’s a big yes from me.

Are you a matte or a satin girl?

Matte in Summer and Satin in Winter for sure! In Winter our lips need extra moisture and our Satin formula has avocado oil, shea butter and jojoba seed oil which nourishes the lips and creates a super comfortable balm-like finish. Our Satin formula feels almost edible. It’s so soft and delicious to apply. I find myself just reapplying it all day even though I really don’t need to haha. In Summer I need something with more staying power that doesn’t sweat away or transfer easily in the heat so I love our mattes as they’ll stay put and in place!

What do you think is the most underrated lip colour and why?

I absolutely love browns. Every time we release one we have die hard brown lipstick fans that will buy 10 of them for themselves but generally they don’t sell well across the board. It’s the same with orange! Orange lipsticks never sell well but you’ll always find a bright orange in my makeup bag.

As we get older are there any ‘rules’ on what lip colours we should avoid?

I think rules are made to be broken and we see such a difference in preference with our customers. It really is each to their own. My mum who is in her late 60’s for instance will only wear soft hued satins... but then most of our beautiful older customers who come into our little Brighton studio for colour matching will only wear the brightest of bright and only mattes. Which I totally love!

Finally, the hardest hitting question of all.... If you could see Shanghai Suzy lipstick on anyone’s lips who would it be?

I’d love to see some of our nude satins on instagram star @mathildegoehler - I’m obsessed with her style! Check out the range at www.shanghaisuzy.com