Entrepreneur Linda Thompson is the brains behind Biography, a skincare line comprising the top learnings from this beauty pro's years of industry experience. We spoke with Linda to learn more about the inspiration behind the brand, which has already been featured in Vanity Fair, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and other discerning publications. Explore the concept below, from the founder's early days to the exceptional product and the chic packaging it comes in.  

How was Biography founded?

Linda Thompson founded Biography in 2020, but the brand has been on her mind for much longer than that. A natural storyteller, she specializes in understanding consumer trends, grasping a brand’s DNA, and then connecting diverse people and ideas to bring new products to life. Her love for storytelling led her to the coveted position as Editor-In-Chief at Cartier International in Paris. It was around this time that Thompson discovered a more natural French approach to beauty. Her skin had been acting up in the cold Parisian winter, and she searched around for a good moisturizer. A local pharmacist steered her away from the artificial, harsh ingredients in most known brands and whipped up a handmade blend of plant-based natural oils for her to try—and it worked miracles.

Thompson searched as far as Belgium and Australia to find the purest natural ingredients and handcraft new formulas. Her goal was to create the most efficacious blends with the most pleasing scent profiles. Due to industry minimum order requirements for bottles, she developed a significant quantity and began giving her formulas to friends and industry acquaintances. Before she knew it, the oils were in such demand, she gave them a name, Organic Oil (Olie Biologique in French), and a business was born. The formulas won industry awards and quickly became a cult favorite of makeup artists, models, and beauty junkies, as face oils were relatively new to the US market. Thompson’s side passion inadvertently became a nearly decade-long focus group with over 10,000 testers and led her to develop a new beauty brand, Biography.

Biography is a collection of active oils built on all of Thompson’s prior learnings and loves—including art, design, scent, and bespoke blending. Each of the four blends has a unique story, color, aroma, and purpose. The brand gracefully collects and shares its users’ stories, chapters, and verses—always noting that beauty, like nature, lies in what changes, not what remains the same.

Who is the brand's target audience?

Biography's four oils really cover all the bases for anyone looking for a face oil. Men and women, older and younger, sensitive and more active... There is something for everyone. More than our oil offerings, Biography wants to reach people who lead interesting, authentic lives. Those who care about what they put on their skin, but also have way more important things to do in the world.

What makes Biography stand out in the skincare market?

Biography stands out in the skincare market because our products are the only ones to be made with natural, clean ingredients, have sustainable packaging, smell incredible, work very effectively and also look really great on your counter. Aside from the products themselves, Biography focuses on people’s experiences and stories, instead of solely outer appearance. This is not a novel concept, but we do believe that philosophy is missing in the beauty, skincare, wellness space. Our name, Biography, shows our commitment to celebrating all types of people’s stories. We are no longer interested in the “youthful” and “anti-aging” promise and product offering. Taking the limelight away from those surface level things opens the floor to create an interesting brand and community that people want to be a part of.

Where can we shop Biography products?

Our website is www.biographynyc.com, where we sell direct to consumer. We also are being sold at Onda Tribeca and Sag Harbor and a variety of smaller boutiques in Miami, New York and Los Angeles.

Any upcoming launches, collections or exciting updates to have on our radars?

We will be launching our line with Anthropologie in September and we also have several very exciting retail prospects coming for the summer and holiday season. We are working hard on some really amazing future Biography products... one should be ready for the holidays and the others will be coming early 2022.