LISA Hanna spent years preparing for a venture that brought together her life experiences, personal struggles with her skin, and instinct for spotting emerging trends in the global skincare industry.

Now, just six months after launching Lisa Hanna Beauty, the former Miss World and Jamaican parliamentarian has scored a double industry triumph, with two of her formulations earning top picks from Skin Anarchy, a respected beauty platform whose evaluations involve board-certified dermatologists.

For Hanna, the recognition is more than a promising start for a fledgling global brand competing against established names; it is validation of a vision years in the making, and a deeply personal story poured into every bottle.

“I was shocked, because if you think [representational] politics is full of politics, the beauty industry is a lot of politics. And a lot of times it’s very humbling to walk into some of these cocktail parties among established brand founders and be the rookie on the block,” Hanna told the Jamaica Observer.

The two Lisa Hanna Beauty formulations that won Skin Anarchy top picks. The Luminous Face and Body Glow was recognised in the Body Serums category, while the Hydra Dew Elixir was recognised in the Best Mist and Toner category.

“It’s humbling because I enjoy it — learning from the ground up — but it’s also interesting because of my life’s journey,” Hanna said.

“I can look at something within the framework that it is being said. And I listen a lot, so I do very little speaking at some of these events, and if I’m asked questions, I answer. But I think they are learning about Lisa Hanna Beauty,” she said.

“Awards can be very political, based on who is judging, and why these awards are very, very special is because of the people who judge the awards — they are about science, formulations,” Hanna explained.

Among the professionals who judge Skin Anarchy’s Top Picks Beauty Awards are physicians, dermatologists, cosmetic chemists, and scientific researchers. Information posted online about Skin Anarchy states that while the internal scientific review board remains largely confidential to maintain evaluation integrity, several prominent beauty experts, medical professionals, and industry leaders frequently serve as guest judges or public panel members for its collaborative programmes.

The Skin Anarchy recognition for Lisa Hanna Beauty went to two formulations: the Hydra Dew Elixir, named a top pick in the Best Mist and Toner category, and the Luminous Face and Body Glow, recognised in the Body Serums category.

The brand also received early attention from Cosmopolitan, which selected its Advanced Fade Balm as a top pick when the products launched in mid-April.

“Even in our category, others that won are established names that I’ve known for years. I know what those brands can do, and to see our name beside them I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I mean, literally, ‘Wow!’ I remember Alex [her son] and Richard [husband] saying to me, ‘Wow, Lisa, that’s really impressive.’ And I said, ‘Boy, I was actually stunned when I saw it,’ ” she shared.

The early recognition has been very encouraging but Hanna is under no illusion that it was influenced by her profile as a former Miss World.

“Nobody really cares; a manufacturer doesn’t care that you were Miss World; distribution doesn’t care that you were Miss World; somebody is not going to purchase your serum because you were Miss World. They’re purchasing the serum because it’s good,” she stated.

“And so, when you look at our numbers, for example, our repeat clientèle tells us they’re not buying the product because I was Miss World 33 years ago, they’re buying the product because it actually works. And I think those metrics are important.

“The industry now is focused on what works. And so when I had decided to start a beauty brand, I had really done my research. So if you look at, for example, women who are over 50 in US households… in 2024 they spent about US$10 trillion on consumer goods,“ Hanna explained.

That figure, she added, is forecast to climb to US$22 trillion by 2060.

“A lot of those women, say over 60 per cent of them, say, ‘Look, we’re comfortable in our skin. We’re a lot more comfortable.’ It’s what I say, in terms of as we age, ageing intelligently. We have more perception, we have more perspective, we actually have pattern recognition. We make decisions fast, and if we’re more comfortable in our skin then we have to have representation. And so what Lisa Hanna Beauty was able to do was to step into [that] space for these women, particularly because women wanted to see themselves differently,” Hanna said.

“And we recognised that if you are comfortable in your skin then you don’t want to fight, or reverse, or alter, because at this stage of your life things are working in a direction that the transitions that you’ve made gave you pause. You’ve been on your journey and you’re at a place that gives you gravitas, and so you want the beauty industry to feel that transition. You want beauty products to make your skin feel resilient and radiant at the age. So ageing intelligently, we knew we could fit into that space, and [we] started to do that research to tailor products for the women over 50,” she explained, adding that her products are clinically tested and science-based.

Pointing out that some competing brands have been operating for years, giving them time to establish themselves internationally, Hanna revealed that the groundwork for her venture began long before the first product reached the market.

Her interest in skincare dates back to her teenage years, when acne, sun exposure and other skin problems repeatedly sent her to dermatologists.

Winning Miss World at age 18 in 1993 only sharpened her awareness of the importance of healthy skin, as her public appearances and international travels demanded that she maintain a presentable, natural look.

In an era before today’s image-editing culture and the proliferation of beauty filters, The Queen’s School alumna recalled that natural appearance was highly prized. Yet, even with makeup, she understood that healthy-looking skin was fundamental.

Her search for suitable products proved frustrating. Many formulations available at the time were heavy and oil-based, while finding products suited to her complexion was difficult. As her career evolved through media, project management and politics, skincare remained a constant concern.

The demands of public life made that search even more urgent. As a Member of Parliament she spent time in the field, visiting farms and a raft of community events, often exposed to the sun. Meanwhile, the industry was embracing ingredients such as retinol, alpha hydroxy acids and vitamin C.

Although these ingredients were becoming popular, her skin often reacted badly to them, leaving her with burning and stinging sensations and sending her back to the dermatologist.

Rather than simply accepting the limitations of the products available, Hanna began paying closer attention to the science, the market, and the needs of consumers whose skin did not respond well to prevailing beauty trends.

“I was looking at the research… and you could see it peeping through. But it was getting louder — and I saw it very, very early,” she said of the shift towards healthier, more natural-looking skin.

The turning point came in August 2022, when she decided she would not contest another parliamentary election. By then, she had already begun researching the beauty industry and considering where a new brand could fit into a rapidly changing market.

Her decision not to return to representational politics gave her the opportunity to pursue the venture in earnest.

“I was keeping my head down, finishing my constituency work, not getting involved in answering the narratives about whether I was coming back or not because, quite frankly, I had to learn this industry very, very fast and understand which niche I was going to operate in. And so we decided it was going to be in the ageing intelligently group, and to create luxury products for women to meet them where they are,” Hanna explained.

Her drive to produce clinically and scientifically supported formulations, informed by dermatological expertise that could serve all skin phototypes, was central to securing the opportunity to launch at The Spa by Equinox Hotels.

Situated within New York’s prestigious Equinox Hotel, it enjoys an outstanding reputation for its exceptional, science-driven, wellness offerings, designed to optimise health and performance.

“The reason why they took me is not because I was Miss World but because the products were good, and because of the labs that it was coming from. So, all of that is a story to say that this is a culmination of my entire life. Which is one of the reasons why those involved, and the lab, and my board, and my board chairman and different people said, ‘It has to be Lisa Hanna Beauty because we poured you into a bottle.’ It’s all your experience,” Hanna told the Business Observer.

“So if you look at the bottles and how it’s presented… all of that copy… everything you see on the website — apart from the science — everything that encapsulates what the brand is, how it translates, was all me writing it,” she shared.

The journey from developing the brand to bringing it to market was punishing, often requiring her to travel more than 5,500 miles on each trip, from Kingston, Jamaica, to New York, USA, and on to Milan, Italy, where the laboratory is based. Add to that stops in Spain where she has a team.

Her days are long as she manages operations across Jamaica, the United States, the Caribbean, while preparing for expansion into the United Kingdom and European Union (EU) in the first half of next year. Although the brand is already EU-regulated, entering those markets requires specialised packaging, additional regulatory oversight, and careful preparation.

For now, Hanna is focused on growing the brand’s established products rather than rushing to expand its range.

Hanna believes in strengthening and innovating the brand’s hero products while remaining attentive to what women genuinely need to age intelligently, rather than simply chasing trends.

The business model is also deliberately selective. Rather than opening standalone Lisa Hanna Beauty stores, she is building the brand through high-end dermatology and plastic surgery practices, luxury hotels, spas and, eventually, premium department stores. She is also particularly passionate about supporting women-led businesses, with a model that allows participating businesses to earn a percentage of sales.

Additionally, Hanna has committed that five per cent of all profits will be pumped into helping women and children with neurodivergent conditions.

Lisa Hanna, founder and CEO of Lisa Hanna Beauty, enters the Jamaica Observer newsroom for an interview in which she shared that two of her formulations earned recognition from respected beauty platform Skin Anarchy, whose evaluations involve board-certified dermatologists. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)