Hollywood’s complexion queen is celebrating 15 years in business with a bright and modern overhaul of her Melrose Place clinic. Here, the influential esthetician shares career highs, future plans and the product she dreams of creating.
What’s a highlight from the past 15 years?
Generally, I’d say the biggest accomplishment is how we’ve taken some of our most technical treatments from the clinic and bottled them for consumers to use at home. For example, DermalQuench Liquid Lift. We were able to bottle pure oxygen and create
a packaged product that pushed it directly into the skin. It took us five years to do that! Additionally, I had a client who was leaving town for a while on a job, so I combined some ingredients and bottled a formula for her. Down the line, that became ExfoliKate.
What do you love most about your job?
I love transforming skin. I love seeing people get their confidence back. They come into the clinic because they don’t feel like their true selves, and soon that becomes a distant memory.
How does living in Southern California inspire your work?
Los Angeles is the mecca of skincare and beauty. It is so progressive, especially when it comes to the medical side of beauty. Being that my products are born out of L.A., I wanted the packaging to be light and colorful, even though it is serious, clinical skincare. When we launched, other brands in clinical skincare were all very serious with black and white packaging. I was like, ‘It’s California—we need this to be colorful!’
What product doesn’t exist yet that you’d like to create?
A cream that emits LED lights.
What’s next for you?
My next venture is a clothing line that’s good for your skin—no chemicals, seams or tags. I have a hard time with clothing because I’ve always had bad eczema, and I want to develop a line for people like me who have a need for this. I want to be comfortable, not only in my own skin, but in my clothes too! katesomerville.com
Photography by: PHOTO BY CHRIS NICHOLLS FOR KATE SOMERVILLE SKINCARE
