About Mir

Most websites just have a paragraph on their "About" pages, but we're not "most companies".

If you want the condensed version see the margin notes. We are based in the UK and ship worldwide, delivery rates are shown on the Shopping Basket page. At present we sell direct from this website only. The best way to discover calm, clear skin and find out everything you need to know is to purchase a Trial Pack. If you have questions, e-mail us. 

We're not botanists, herbalists, dermatologists or aromatherapists.  We are skin care specialists and cosmetic scientists dedicated to developing the very best products for the long term health and beauty of your skin.

Just because a product is organic, sounds good enough to eat or is used by a myriad of celebrities is no indication that it is good for your skin. Organic products contain irritants and pore-clogging substances (essential oils, heavy natural oils) and one of the most hyped moisturisers on the market today contains 16 ingredients which are banned from our products.

We don't care about hype, we care about results. 

Our deliciously cool, clean products were specially formulated to soothe, smooth, benefit and balance sensitive and problematic skin and conditions such as rosacea, eczema, psoriasis etc. They are suitable for women, men and children.

Mir is also beneficial to those with non-sensitive, healthy skin seeking fuss-free, fragrance-free products that let skin breathe.

Mir is exclusive: we exclude many of the ingredients that other natural, sensitive, organic and specialist niche ranges include.  In fact we exclude more than 200 substances and offer paraben-free options.

Mir is a minimalist, holistic range:

• Products are formulated to be used in ways that are the most beneficial to the skin eg cleansers are designed to rinse off with lukewarm water, leaving no dryness or residue. (Discover Mir's Optimal Skin Care methods in the Gisele's Guide section.)

• They are multi-tasking, can be used in a variety of ways to suit the user's preference, changing skin care needs etc.

I created Mir over a period of ten years. I'm a holistic skin care expert and a former lawyer who qualified as a cosmetic scientist in order to solve my own skin care needs.  I have rosacea, as do many of my customers.

We ship worldwide from the UK, shipping rates are shown on the Shopping Basket page.

At present we sell direct from this website only.

The Mir Difference

Many of our customers come to us having found other ranges irritating, pore-clogging or ineffective despite claims to the contrary. These days there are so many skin care companies claiming to specialise in natural, gentle and fragrance free products but:

Products for sensitive skin tend to be formulated for the 60% of people who think they have sensitive skin, not the 6% who actually do. Tested only on volunteers' arms - not sensitive faces - they may leave out a few token irritants but invariably contain:

• Irritants, essential oils and fragrance

(See Gisele's Guide for a list of irritants). Essential oils are almost impossible to avoid.  Companies use them because it allows them to add fragrance to a product and claim they are fragrance free! They are just as irritating as chemical fragrance if not more so.  Just because an ingredient is natural does not mean it is gentle. 

• Comedogenic (pore-clogging) substances

Oils such as avocado, olive, cocoa, coconut and sunflower may sound delicious but the skin and the stomach are two very different organs.  Products that sound good enough to eat are not necessarily good for the long term health and beauty of your skin.

• Fatty alcohols - cetyl, cetearyl and stearyl alcohols are known to produce cumulative irritation and are impossible to avoid. They may at first be well tolerated but can gradually cause irritation or exacerbate sensitive skin conditions. We are the first and only company to exclude them from all our products.

For detailed information, please refer to Mir Products and Gisele's Guide.

Gisèle Mir's story

I originally worked as a Scotland Yard and court interpreter (French, Spanish and Farsi) then qualified as a lawyer (solicitor/attorney). I began researching and experimenting with cosmetic ingredients in the early nineties because I could find nothing to help my skin which was becoming increasingly sensitive and blemish-prone.  

Having experimented with a wide variety of botanicals I discovered there were only a few that had all the benefits necessary for skin health and decided to focus on using these as the base of all future blends.  I also compiled a "banned" list of several hundred harmful, pore-clogging and irritating ingredients.

My botanical blends helped to calm and clear my skin and I began to dream about having my own range developed but had no idea how to go about it. I knew there must be many other people who, like me, were fed up with over-hyped products that promised so much yet delivered nothing.

On 16 April 1996, a life changing day, I read an article entitled "Beauty Queens" in Elle. It was about three women who had developed very successful cosmetic ranges without prior industry experience. If they could do it, why couldn't I?

It's true what they say: if you want something badly enough you will find a way and it's amazing how much you can achieve when you are driven by the belief that you really can do it - and do it better!

Because of my research and obsession with skin care I won a scholarship to study cosmetic science. This was a post-graduate course for those with degrees in chemistry or biology, it was tough but I graduated with merit and was even nominated for a writing prize for my essay on the Psychology of Fragrance. I also qualifed as a make up artist and worked with Flame, a London modelling agency in order to get hands on experience with a wide variety of skin types.

Mir Cosmetics with Integrity launched on 16 April 2002, exactly six years after reading the Elle article, and we now have customers in 32 countries.  I sold my London home to finance the venture because I believed in it so passionately.

Since 2002, I have been consulted by national newspapers, magazines, the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News on issues including the care and treatment of sensitive problematic skin.  I have also gained a reputation for my views on commercially manufactured anti ageing products and was invited to participate in a series of the TV programme How to Look Good Naked as their consulting cosmetic scientist.  My brief being to focus on the lack of integrity in the cosmetics industry.  I declined.  

I hope you enjoy using Mir as much as I enjoyed creating it.