For those of us who grew up dreaming of pared-down lingerie—and resorted to snipping bows off so many frilly bras—Land of Women is a kind of quiet oasis. When the New York underwear label, founded by plus-size model Mckenzie Raley, introduced its debut six-piece collection in late 2013, the cuts offered sly takes on the classics (including a sans-underwire bra that accommodated up to a D cup), and the one-note palette was direct. “We stripped it of color so the actual women would shine through,” Raley, radiant in said black, told me over coffee last week. “Now we want to do the same thing for skin care.”
True to that spirit of understated cool, Land of Women Skin launches today with three everyday essentials: a face oil laced with musk, a moisturizing rose balm, and a cuticle oil. Packaged in low-profile (and UV-protective) black glass, the trio is designed with the traveler in mind, as seen in the oils’ easy-to-apply rollerballs. The extension into beauty made sense, “because it’s all these things that are closest to a woman,” says Raley, who credits her education in beneficial skin-care ingredients to posing for brands like H&M and Levi’s. “The cool thing about modeling is that it’s an ongoing internship. I always connected with the makeup artists because they’re so passionate and so health-conscious.”
Raley carried those lessons into her products, which began as personal experiments before she partnered with a small lab in Berkeley, California. Loaded with nourishing naturals (squalane, rose hip oil), they project the same bien dans sa peau ease that her triangle bras and high-waisted briefs do—an effortless sense of well-being that also courses through LoW’s images, with castings that cut across size and age barriers. Here, Raley speaks with Vogue.com about her passion for skin care, the enduring influence of Isabella Rossellini and Anjelica Huston, and why plus-size campaigns should leave out labels.
What does Land of Women mean to you?
I wanted to create a name that all women could relate to, and it inspires this image of a woman who is very liberated. Even saying Land of Women, it makes you want to run through a field. I look at old photos of Isabella Rossellini, Anjelica Huston in the ’70s, even Grace Kelly stripped down, and makeup—aside from editorial, of course—didn’t seem like their main focus, and neither did hyper-femininity. They wore what they wore in their own way, and that’s exactly what I wanted Land of Women to be.
What prompted the shift into beauty?
It’s a huge passion project. I love skin care, and I’ve always kind of made my own cosmetics. To me, it was most about what ingredients made my skin happiest, and then I did some alchemy of my own, figuring out what’s oil- and water-soluble.
With so many skin-care lines going 100 percent natural, was there any hesitation in using petrolatum in your rose balm?
There are a lot of opinions about petrolatum. The one we use is in its purest form; it’s medical grade—they use it on patients in hospitals. It’s not a scary word to me. It’s also an incredible emollient. Ultimately, this is what skin care is all about. You choose what you like, and that’s what resonated.
And then the two oils round out the collection.
They all live together. Recently I went to Colorado, and the air there is incredibly dry, and my skin was screaming for attention. I used the face oil to use as a base, and then the balm worked for those dry patches when I was skiing or sleeping. A great thing about the balm is it creates this immediate glow—even when your skin is really dull. And the cuticle oil: To have healthy hands, for any woman at any age, is really lovely.
Any other beauty essentials? You told me once that you’re a fan of SK-II sheet masks.
Oh yeah! Who isn’t? I love Laura Mercier. The oils, the tinted moisturizer—I’m obsessed. There is this lanolin egg-white soap [by Victoria Scandinavian Soap] that is the best soap I’ve ever used; I’m really loyal to that. And I really like RMS—the concealers and cheek stains. I customize so many things. I’m a big eyebrow freak with getting the shape right, and I’ve actually crushed different eye shadows so it’s the perfect shade.
As someone who seems comfortable in her own skin, did you ever have body hang-ups?
I think every woman does. Sometimes I’ll look at things in a certain way and think, I could lose five pounds. The great thing about plus-size modeling is you can be a 10 or a 14—anywhere in between is game. I’m Scandinavian; I’m built a certain way. I’m never going to be a size 6, and that’s fine! I’m stoked. I’m at a good point in my life.
Are you sensing a shift in the modeling world?
Yeah. We’ve never shot a double-zero model, and with the exception of removing one tattoo, we don’t retouch, either. We recently did an awesome shoot with girls who were, I think, size 8, 10, and 12. It’s just more relatable. It’s happier. I think the biggest way to make a statement about size is to not mention it. Don’t say plus-size shoot. Just shoot her like you would shoot anybody else!
You’re just as apt to buck age norms. I’m thinking of that gorgeous silver-haired model.
Yazemeenah Rossi. She’s incredible; she just exudes contentment. What’s missing in the lingerie market is age! It’s youth-obsessed. Granted, she’s in incredible shape. It’s important to see that this woman can also wear this bra.
Wow! Talk about empowering.
Yeah! I just want to, like, go upstate and live in Eileen Fisher and my Land of Women bra and braid my hair at night. That sounds so relaxing. [laughs]
The post How a Plus-Size Model Broke the Body Mold and Started a Cult Skincare Line appeared first on Vogue.