Beauty guru Estée Lalonde on how ritual and self-reflection makes you feel and look good

Who doesn’t adore self-care products, body oils, and the aroma of body scrubs? Now imagine having all of that from a brand that is at the forefront of self-reflection and community enrichment.

Estée Lalonde, 31, is a creative director, YouTuber and podcast host. With a staggering 687,000 followers on Instagram and over one million subscribers on YouTube, the beauty guru showcases her authentic style and personality.

She has also been transparent with her followers about her struggles with mental health and depression.

Lalondee’s career has led to collaborations with high-profile, prominent brands such as Lancome, Nars and Daisy London. She is also an ambassador for Lancôme, Garnier and Adidas.

Her latest endeavour is “Mirror water”, a sustainable lifestyle brand that sells bath and body care products.

We caught up with Estée Lalonde to talk about how…

The Big Issue: How did you start your journey?  

Estée Lalonde: I started over 10 years ago when I moved to the UK from Canada. I was 19 years old and still at university. I was spending a lot of time at home by myself, and I didn’t have that network of friends and support.

I speak now about my struggles with mental health and depression. But at the time I wasn’t as familiar with that. I knew that I needed a support system. I started blogging and the reason that started was because I thought I’m so low I want a little pick-me-up.

I was sharing my experience as well of moving to another country. I was nervous but I started a YouTube channel after two years of blogging, just as a hobby, which I’ve made into my full-time job.

How was your move from Canada to the UK? 

I was so young, I’d never been to Europe. I was surprised at how different it was culturally. I grew up in the suburbs of Canada where I knew everyone and then suddenly, I was living in London. After about five years, I started to feel like London was home.

What inspired the creation of Mirror Water?  

It’s still a new project for me. It was an idea that was birthed during the pandemic. I wanted to create a space where things like self-reflection could be discussed in a safe environment.

I couldn’t think of anything that was feeling right in my soul and bones until I thought of Mirror Water. During the pandemic I got so low, like everyone, and sometimes the only thing I could do was take a bath. I just realised how much I love bathing, showering and just taking that minute to let go. I realised that there weren’t many brands talking about self-reflection or speaking to my age.  

I love beauty because I find that there’s ritual in beauty. That’s kind of how this this idea was born.

Every Instagram post promotes self-reflection and positivity, where did that idea come from?  

I wanted to share inspiring imagery. I’m trying to create content that’s aspirational in the feeling but not necessarily like I need to buy that thing. My goal is that I want people to feel better because I know what it feels like when you just need to take the edge off.

Mirror Water is a sustainable brand, talk me through your minefield of sustainability? 

We are doing our best at Mirror Water to be as sustainable as we can with the resources we have. We spend a lot of time on it. Everything that we use is recyclable the glass is recyclable, and the lid is plastic, but it’s recyclable. 

Also, with our ingredients we don’t use synthetic fragrances we use only essential oils and most of our products are 99.6% natural.

What is your favourite part of London?  

My favourite thing about London is the people. I find such solidarity in London. I owe my entire life to it has completely shaped me… It has created the person I am today.