Josie Maran with The Original 100% Pure Argan Oil
Red is undoubtedly a power color. It’s an attention-grabber. It communicates power and passion. Historically, it has symbolized courage. For Josie Maran, red means all of those things—and a lot more. “When I was modeling, I would always look into the camera and there was that red little dot that gave me power. My mom was such a good stage mom. She was always like, ‘smile with your eyes. It's all about how you feel.’ She made it about my inside beauty and never, ever was talking about outside beauty with me. She was like, ‘do not turn into that person.’ That red little dot brings out the fires and passion in the life force of hopefully all of us.”
That crimson adorns the new packaging of Josie Maran’s rebranding, or as she’s calling it, The Remix. Aside from being a striking hue, the signature red also pays homage to the origins of the brand. In that era, Maran was spending a lot of time with cameras pointed on her—the model-actress starred in campaigns for Maybelline and Guess, and appeared in films like The Aviator—when she realized the beauty products she was surrounded by could do better. A lot better.
Josie Maran The Remix
Maran spent so much time sitting in the makeup chairs of the best artists in the world and always asked them the same question: Whether it was possible to create natural makeup that would be good enough for professional makeup artists to use. “I learned a lot about the beauty industry on the other side, and I just kept asking that question and they all told me it was impossible,” she says. “So, I decided to quit acting and modeling, and invest all my money into my own mission of trying to help the future of beauty become more beautiful, more sustainable, more eco-friendly, obviously more healthy for us.”
She founded Josie Maran in 2007, with a focus on clean beauty that was better for you and the planet long before that was trendy and there were countless marketing terms to describe it. Sixteen years later, the company is still all her own, which allows her to make every single decision. That’s one of the many reasons it’s evident her brand has always been authentic and ambitious.
Refilling the Josie Maran Vanilla Vibezzz Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter
“I was on a mission to create what at the time was the first high-end, clean and chic-ological brand,” Maran says. “Back in the day, there was no clean [beauty]—we didn't call it that. They called it natural or non-toxic. I call it chic-ological, bringing luxury, good for you and good for the planet together. I wanted to prove that you can be luxurious [and clean] and they told me it was impossible.” She initially launched the line at Barneys New York.
Josie Maran has always been personal because Maran infuses so much of her upbringing and her heart and soul into it. “The rebrand is bringing back the NorCal vibes: rebel, disruptive, innovative, pioneering spirit,” Maran says. “I came from that world. My parents are very socially and environmentally conscious.” Maran calls her mom the “queen of upcycling,” as she used old cashmere to patch up Maran’s Levi’s, among many other eco hacks.
Josie Maran The Remix officially hits Sephora shelves today, featuring the new re-use and refill system that was in works for three years. All about sustainability, three of her most popular products underwent major makeovers. She tapped sustainability experts to share their expertise to meet her goal of majorly reducing the use of plastic.
Josie Maran The Original 100% Pure Organic Moisturizing Argan Oil
“It's all about refilling and refueling yourself and the planet, making it easy, enjoyable, cool, fun and normal,” Maran says. “I've been trying to move behavior and people to try new things, do better things and if you can't make it luxurious and something someone's going to want to use every day, it's gonna fall flat. I’m always trying to figure out how to get people to play more sustainably.”
New sourcing straight from Morocco and a cold pressing system means the 100% Pure Argan Oil is now even more lightweight, and it’s available in a 30 ml bottle, a 3 fl oz refill tin or 15 ml travel size. Both the Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter and Argan Oil + Sugar Balm Body Scrub come in three new clean fragrances, housed in stunning amber glass jars that can be refilled forever and are infinitely recyclable. The lids are made of monomaterial plastic (making them easier to recycle) and all boxes are made of 100% post-consumer waste and printed on with vegetable dyes. “You're going to have this one jar forever,” Maran says. “It's gonna be your refillable jar that you're going to just reuse, reuse and reuse, and onto your daughter's kids.”
While embarking on The Remix, the brand did a thorough analysis of their carbon footprint. “Our plastic packaging of our body butter was the biggest problem,” Maran says. “If I can make a difference on our most heavyweight carbon footprint products, these products they are buying all the time, every month, [that makes a difference].” Eventually other products in the line will also get repackaged.
Josie Maran Argan Oil + Sugar Balm Body Scrub
All three scents were dreamed up by in-demand perfumer Jerome Epinette, the nose behind many Byredo parfums and Rare Beauty’s body collection. Clean fragrance means something different to everyone, but Josie Maran defines it as using truly natural ingredients, specifically 100% plant-based fruit and plant essences.
Growing up with a mom who had chronic fatigue syndrome, Maran lived in a fragrance-free home because her mother was sensitive to chemicals. “I grew up not understanding fragrance and then I started smelling nature and I was like this like transforms and transports me—it's like a portal into a new me instantly,” Maran says. “I went to Jerome, a very acclaimed French perfumer, and asked him to help me create next level sophisticated fragrances out of flowers, plants and fruits.”
The process took years. Maran looked to her Northern California upbringing for inspiration for the three new fragrances. Scrumptiously sweet yet sophisticated, Vanilla Vibezzz, featuring top notes of bergamot and juniper berries, a violet heart, and a cedarwood and vanilla bean base, was inspired by the homemade vanilla ice cream Maran would make with her mom, a cherished childhood memory. Maran grew up eating tangerines, the muse behind Topless Tangerine, an invigorating bright and juicy potion featuring top notes of yuzu, pixie tangerine and pink grapefruit, a heart of black currant, pineapple and melon, and a brown sugar base. There were figs in her backyard, which explains Bohemian Fig, a warm and woody blend of orange, bergamot, Sicilian lemon, vanilla orchid, tonka beans and vetiver.
A model with the Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter on her skin
All of the fragrances feature ethically- and sustainably-sourced ingredients. “There's an amazing sustainable story to every element,” Maran says. “The bergamot comes from a local cooperative of growers, as well as the cedar. It is all about giving back, and the sourcing and [being able to] trace back to everything, and being really intentional and conscientious about every little piece.”
The body products will also be available in an unscented option, dubbed Always Nude, which has been their most popular option. “It's crazy because we were the first people in luxury to bring a fragrance-free thing to the world,” Maran says. “How is everything so synthetically fragranced that we put on our bodies? My mom was like, ‘Josie, you must do this for us people that can't wear scents.’ Our Body Butter is our own air whipped and proprietary process. It absorbs leaving moisture without greasiness; it's an addiction.” In fact, one Whipped Argan Body Butter is sold every 14 seconds. The Whipped Argan Oil Body Butter will also be sold as a minis kit for travel or on-the-go.
Josie Maran The Remix collection in Vanilla Vibezzz
A new Josie Maran means a new tagline: “Feel Good Naked.” That’s what her company stood for when she started it, and what it still means today. “We're all naked under our clothes,” Maran says. “It's all about progress over perfection and the joys in the journey of feeling good in your body and comfortable in your skin. I'm really excited to help start a new conversation around body neutrality. It's about how you feel, not how you look. It’s about not judging yourself. Think about the gratitude and appreciation for your body for making all this happen.”
“Feel Good Naked” is also about skin health. “When you're comfortable in your skin when it's moisturized—not greasy, heavy and sticky—it’s transformative of how you feel in your body and in your day,” Maran says. “It is super connected. [Skin] is an organ, like a lung or heart. It's actually a living important piece of our livelihood. It’s an easy way to take care of yourself and you get this two minutes or 30 seconds in the morning, a little love for yourself, a little self-care. It happens to be good for them and I'm serious about what we're putting on your largest organ every day. Make sure it's good for you. And it's delicious.”
