Launch Date: April 2020
Geography: California, US
Founder: Michele Gough-Baril, Founder + Chief Brand and Product Officer
Executive Team:
Board Members: Cristina Nuñez, True Beauty Ventures
Notable Investors:
2025 Full Year Projected Revenue: $5M - $8M, according to industry estimates
Primary Category: Makeup
Other Categories:
Funding: Venture Capital
Primary Distribution Channel: Mass
Other Distribution Channels:
Key Retail Partners:
2025 Projected Offline Distribution Points: 621
Things changed when I turned 40. My skin got drier and makeup looked cakey and flat. I needed extra hydration and serious skincare actives, but I didn’t have time for a 10-step routine. I was on a mission to make simpler products that didn’t sacrifice performance or the planet. Every single Iris&Romeo product is a hero multitasker that delivers clinical skincare and low-maintenance makeup in a single step. Each formula is developed to treat skin concerns and deliver a weightless no-makeup makeup finish that works for your skin now.
Our philosophy is simple: beauty should evolve with you and your life. Because you’re not done yet. In fact, we’re just getting started.
Insights: Michele Gough-Baril, Founder + Chief Brand and Product Officer
Why now and why you?
I founded Iris&Romeo in 2019 after two decades as an executive in the beauty industry. Burned out by the persistent excess and hustle culture, I decided to walk away from the industry and went to live on the land with a herd of free-roaming horses in Northern California. I gave myself permission to reprioritize my relationship with my body and myself, and it was here while living on the land that Iris&Romeo was born. I decided to come back to beauty, but this time on my terms.
From the beginning, every Iris&Romeo formula was consciously formulated with the unique needs of women 40+ in mind, from skin-loving textures to nourishing, clinically backed ingredients that deliver real performance and tackle problems like dryness, dullness, hyperpigmentation, and redness, while delivering a healthy skin barrier. But formulas are only one part of the story. We strive to meet our woman where she is, at events, through book clubs, and in intimate conversations on our Substack and through social. We have a bigger vision to change the narrative around aging to one about health, wellbeing and finding personal fulfillment.
What fuels your competitive advantage?
Iris&Romeo’s competitive edge lies in a rare blend of authenticity, innovation, and cultural resonance—rooted in a deep emotional connection with a powerful yet often-overlooked audience: modern older women, particularly Gen X. While most beauty brands chase younger demographics, we intentionally fill the gap with products and storytelling that reflect the real lives, values, and evolving needs of women in their 40s and beyond.
Every campaign is a reflection of that commitment. For our most recent launch, Weekend Skin Lip SPF 30, 98% of our talent were women over 40—including paid influencers and product seeding. The campaign sold out in just 48 hours across DTC and Sephora.com, a direct result of our messaging resonating with the lived experiences of the women we spotlighted—like Meredith Peck (creative director turned viral fashion voice), Shani Darden (former Destiny’s Child backup dancer turned celebrity esthetician), and Sissy Chacon (stylist turned sex therapist). By centering real stories and real women, Iris&Romeo isn’t just creating beauty products—we’re redefining who beauty is for and how it fits seamlessly into our modern lives."
What are you most proud of accomplishing to date?
We’re most proud of shifting the narrative from anti-aging and perfection to skin wellness and fulfillment at any age. Our community reflects that mission: 63% of our customers are over 35, with an 84%+ repeat rate on new product launches. It’s proof that Gen X doesn’t want to be told what’s best for their evolving skin—they want to see it reflected through marketing that feels real and representation that feels earned. Our Gen X user-generated content consistently outperforms, delivering 2x the engagement of our top-performing UGC and an average CPC of just $0.13—significantly more efficient than content featuring younger creators.
When we amplify real stories from real women, the impact is clear: during our latest Weekend Skin Lip launch, where we spotlighted three powerful reinvention stories, we tripled our earned media value, sold out in 48 hours, drove a significant spike in Sephora traffic during their Savings Event, and earned the title of Best Tinted Lip Oil from Allure—all while featuring women 35+ across our paid media.
We’ve built a brand that gives the modern, older women the visibility and thoughtfully formulated products they’ve long deserved.
What is the one thing you wish someone had told you?
Focus on the long game. Great brands aren’t built overnight. Don't be so hard on yourself when it doesn’t happen right away. When I started out and especially once I took on venture capital, I felt a lot of pressure to scale the business quickly. The pressure is real, so is running out of cash, but building a successful business is a day-to-day effort and requires consistency over time. It’s about relationships and refinement. It takes time. The stories you see in the press are unicorns, most success stories take time. Nobody told me that. But I think you have to live it to really know it.
What would you tell your past self before starting this journey?
"This will be the fastest journey you’ll ever take to your own personal growth. You will come up against all your self limiting beliefs and you’ll have to overcome them while also continually showing up for your investors, your team, your brand partners, and your family. There will be days when you don’t know if this will continue, and there will be days that blow your heart and mind wide open because you achieved something exceptional or you connected with someone deeply. You cannot prepare for this journey, you just have to keep going, and amazing people will show up to help you along the way. Stay true to yourself, to your vision, and trust that you are going to be fine no matter what. You already have everything you need. Oh, and try to have fun. Life is short and you will discover just how short when you lose your mum (Iris) the year after you begin."
What does success look like in the next 3-5 years?
"Continuing to disrupt the beauty industry by authentically serving women who’ve been overlooked and underestimated for far too long. At the same time, inspiring younger women to let them know it’s okay to age, it’s not the end of your life, it’s actually the beginning of your power. Success also means growing into a globally recognized brand that’s known not just for its award-winning, high-performance products, but cultivating our later stories through beauty and life. Success means expanding our reach through existing retail partnerships, deeper connections with our community, and seeing our brand resonate across diverse communities. But most importantly, success looks like a team of people who are enjoying the process, feeling inspired to create amazing things in the world, and proud of all they’ve accomplished."
What's one industry trend that is overhyped, and what's being overlooked?
"An overhyped trend that particularly infuriates me are the DIY/viral hacks on social media, especially those about sunscreen. This trend is extremely dangerous and misleading. Sunscreen is a federally controlled drug that prevents premature aging and skin cancer and misinformation that leads people to make their own sunscreens can literally mean the difference between life or death. Brands like ours work with expert chemists to develop formulas and have to go through very strict and expensive clinical testing with the FDA to gain SPF certification and demonstrate that the product effectively protects against both UVA and UVB radiation, and so to see creators (and brands) encourage people to make their own or use ingredients that haven’t been tested is very scary indeed.
What’s being overlooked? SPF for lips. Your lips have only three delicate layers of skin, compared to 15 layers on your face, making them especially vulnerable to sunburn, dryness, premature aging, and even skin cancer. Yet SPF lip care remains an afterthought in most routines. We chase youth with complex regimens while ignoring one of the most at-risk areas on our face. Age is just a number—SPF isn’t."
How do you think the industry needs to evolve?
The industry’s obsession with youth needs to evolve. Women aren’t allowed to age in our culture. Female oriented aging and disempowerment is so entrenched in our culture and the only way to make progress is for the industry to keep cultivating our later stories through beauty, but it has to be authentic and we have to tackle it head on without shame or tokenism. Let’s keep it real and let's have fun with it. Let’s celebrate every stage of the journey through life and let’s normalize all the shifts and transformations for women. The goal is health and fulfillment, not to never get old. Fear of aging is fear of living and women should not stop living in their 50’s, 60’s and beyond. Age is a privilege and as I’ve said before it’s also the beginning of our power. We need more women in power. We need more women to own and lead the industries that serve them and I believe it’s female founders who are 40 and beyond that can really have an impact here by being honest about their own journey, not just with aging, but all of their personal evolution stories.
If you could wave a magic wand, what one wish would you make for your business?
"That we become big enough that we can really amplify our platform to make change and inspire every woman who’s ever felt overlooked or underrepresented or too old, to prioritize their health and emotional fulfillment. I want to tell the stories of their evolving beauty and deeper wisdom because it deserves to be seen, celebrated, and supported."
