Jake Jamie on life after the watermelon mask
Beauty26 October 2026
AuthorAniesha Chidwick
PhotosCourtesy of Jake Jamie
CHERUB speaks to beauty influencer and activist Jake-Jamie about his journey through the industry, product development and what he’s up to now.
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hen TikTok didn’t exist and Instagram videos were limited to just 15 seconds, Jake-Jamie was using content as an escape from his job in buildings and facilities management.
He knew his passion lay elsewhere — in an industry where he didn’t feel represented: makeup and skincare.
His own experiences of feeling embarrassed when approaching a beauty counter and asking for help led him to realise that he couldn’t be the only man who felt this way. That realisation sparked his first-ever campaign, and what began as a way to create a space for men in beauty has since grown into a career spanning viral products, major beauty collaborations and, more recently, stepping into the role of founder.
He shares his journey into the beauty industry, the highs, the lows, what he’s learnt along the way, and the story behind his latest chapter: GLACE.
What first sparked your interest in beauty and skincare, and did you ever imagine it could become your career?
Jake-Jamie: When I first started creating content there was no TikTok, you could only upload 15-second videos to Instagram,and being an influencer wasn’t really a career yet. Social media felt much more about community, it was genuinely just a hobby and a way to connect with people who shared the same interests as me.
At the time it all started, I was really struggling with my skin, and working in business development for a buildings and facilities management company. I’d worked really hard to climb the ladder following the path I think a lot of us were taught growing up: get a job, work hard, climb the ladder and earn as much as you can. Was I passionate about buildings and facilities management? Absolutely not!
Creating content became my escape, and makeup became a way for me to feel more confident. But whenever I went shopping for makeup or skincare, I never felt like I belonged there, and I remember feeling embarrassed even walking up to a beauty counter and asking for help. Men just weren’t represented in beauty in the way they are today. I remember thinking, if I feel like this, surely there must be so many other men who feel the same way.
So I started a campaign called ‘Makeup Is Genderless’, with the aim of challenging the idea that makeup belonged to one gender, and hopefully helping other men feel that there was a place for them in the beauty industry too. I certainly never imagined that 10 years later it would have become my full-time career, and eventually lead to me creating 39 products across Revolution and GLACE!
Looking back now though, it feels quite fitting that my own struggles with my skin were such a big part of where the whole journey began.
Was there a moment when you realised your content was really connecting with people?
JJ: The first moment I realised this could actually become a career was when ‘Makeup Is Genderless’ went viral, and the campaign ended up being covered by more than 150 publications around the world. L’Oréal approached me to be one of the faces of a new foundation, and suddenly my face and campaign were on huge posters in Boots and Superdrug Suddenly something that had come from such a personal experience was connecting with people on a much bigger scale.
The real full-circle moment was seeing the campaign in stores and thinking how surreal it was that I’d gone from feeling like I didn’t belong in those spaces, to becoming part of the representation I wanted to see. People weren’t just watching the content; they were connecting with the message behind it, and brands were beginning to recognise that too. That was the moment I started to realise I might actually be able to turn something I loved doing into my career.
How did your relationship with Revolution begin, and what was it like developing products with them?
JJ: I’d flown out to Dubai with my mum and had just finished filming a collaboration with Huda and Mona Kattan. I was the first boy they’d filmed a collaboration with at the time, which already felt huge! After filming, I received a DM from Adam Minto, the founder of Revolution, asking me to come down to London to discuss creating a product together.
It was a pretty exciting couple of days! It’s not often you can look back and pinpoint a two-day period where an entirely new chapter of your life opened up, but that really was one of those moments for me. Revolution hadn’t launched skincare at this point. We discussed creating a makeup collaboration, but the more I thought about it, the more I saw an opportunity to do something really exciting with skincare instead.
I was coming at product development from a creator’s point of view. I wanted to create products that were fun, visual and engaging, but still serious when it came to the formulas and what they could do for your skin. As a creator, I’d receive thousands of products in PR, but the ones I naturally wanted to pick up and film with were always the ones I could create an awesome piece of content around.
They were visually exciting, there was a story to tell, and there was something about the product that immediately gave you an idea for a video. At the time, I didn’t feel like we were seeing enough of that in skincare. I remember thinking about sending these products out to my friends in the industry and wanting their immediate reaction to be, “I NEED to make a video with this,
Where did the idea for the viral watermelon face mask come from, and did you expect it to become such a hit?
JJ: The concept was my idea, as was everything we created under Revolution x Jake-Jamie. I was making a lot of DIY face mask videos at the time, taking fruit ingredients from my kitchen and turning them into masks. Many of those videos were getting millions of views. I remember thinking, what if we could create skincare products that felt like something you’d freshly whipped up in your kitchen? That’s really where the watermelon mask came from.
I was incredibly hands-on throughout the whole development process, Adam himself would probably tell you that I really pushed Revolution creatively. It was completely new territory for them and technically quite difficult to produce. When we first took the idea to the factory, they definitely thought we were mad! I remember going back to them again and again saying, “More seeds! It needs more seeds!”.
I wanted real seeds suspended throughout the mask, and initially had no idea how we were going to make that work. But he basically said, “I trust you, let’s try to make it happen.” I had absolutely no idea it would become as viral as it did, but it was definitely created with virality in mind.
I knew from being a creator that if we could make something visually different that people immediately wanted to pick it up, play with and film, it could be incredibly powerful. What I could never have predicted was just how much people would connect with it and how synonymous that little watermelon mask would eventually become with that chapter of my career.
What did your time with Revolution teach you about product development and branding?
JJ: My time with Revolution was an incredible education in product development. It taught me how to take an idea in my head and turn it into something real, and I learned so much from seeing how people responded to those products once they were out in the world. I think I’ve become much more considered over the years, and GLACE is probably a reflection of that. Revolution x Jake-Jamie and GLACE are two very different projects, created at very different points in my life.
GLACE really came from taking everything I’d learned over the last 10 years, both developing products and trying thousands of them as a beauty creator, asking myself: what actually earns a permanent place in my routine?
Over the years, I’d found that the brands I trusted for solid, dependable skincare foundations could feel a little clinical or boring, but on the other hand, the products that looked the most fun were trying to do everything at once. And through my own experiences with my skin, I’d learned that more isn’t always better.
With GLACE, I wanted to bridge that gap: all the fun on the outside because that’s naturally a huge part of who I am, but dependable skincare essentials on the inside. Thoughtful formulas you can rely on every day, wrapped up in packaging that feels exciting, looks cute on your dressing table and makes you want to reach for your skincare.
For me, It’s about combining the fun that has always been part of what I do, with 10 years of experience and being much more considerate about what sits underneath it.
When you moved on from Revolution, what did you want from the next chapter of your career?
JJ: Being completely transparent, I didn’t actually decide to move on from Revolution. We were due to launch a further 16 products together, but in 2022 Adam Minto stepped down from the business and I was informed that Revolution was revising its stock purchasing processes, meaning those 16 products were scrapped. At the time that was incredibly disappointing. We’d built something really successful together, sold over a million units, and I loved creating products.
I genuinely think that if Adam had remained with the business, we would have continued working together for many more years. I remember thinking, I can sit here and cry about what’s happened, or I can pick myself up and go again. I chose to go again. That experience did give me a much clearer idea of what I wanted the next chapter to look like.
I didn’t want to build another collaboration, I wanted to create something with its own identity and its own legs; a brand that could stand on its own rather than being defined as “brand x Jake-Jamie.” I’d seen first-hand just how much work it takes to build a successful skincare business and I knew I was prepared to do it all over again.
Building something that lasts takes years of showing up, constantly putting your energy behind it, and the market is incredibly saturated. You can’t just launch a product, talk about it once and expect people to buy it. I wanted the infrastructure, expertise and team that comes with an established beauty business, but the freedom to build an entirely new skincare brand from the ground up.
I wanted to remain focused on the creative side and continue my career as a content creator, so I was looking for a partner who understood that vision. That’s what led me to the opportunity I have today with GLACE. It gave me the chance to take everything I’d learned from that first chapter, and build something designed to have an identity and a future of its own.
You explored launching independently before partnering with BPerfect. What made BPerfect feel like the right fit?
JJ: I seriously looked at starting completely independently, and I also had conversations with lots of existing beauty companies. I explored pretty much every option. Starting independently sounds amazing because you have complete control,but you quickly realise that running a beauty company involves so much more than creating great products. There are operations, logistics, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, finance and an entire infrastructure behind the scenes. BPerfect offered me the best of both worlds.
They already had this incredible infrastructure, but Brendan and the team were willing to give me the creative freedom to build something completely new rather than making it “BPerfect x Jake-Jamie.”. GLACE could have its own name, identity, formulas, visual language and reason for existing, while still having an experienced company behind it. Because I'm still a full-time content creator, that was hugely important to me.
I wanted to be able to focus my energy on the areas where I add the most value without pretending I'm an expert in every part of running a beauty business.
What was it like building GLACE from the ground up while having an established team behind you?
JJ: It's been incredibly exciting, but also much bigger than I realised when we started! Every tiny decision matters when you're creating a brand from nothing, GLACE took around two and a half years to develop, so there were hundreds of those decisions along the way.
You're not only deciding what a moisturiser should feel like; you're deciding what the brand believes in, how it speaks, what it looks like, what belongs in a formula, what doesn't, and how somebody should feel when they first discover it. Having the BPerfect team behind me meant I could be incredibly involved without having to build an entire company from scratch. I think GLACE is much stronger because it's been collaborative, there are people around me who are brilliant at what they do.
What did you want GLACE to represent, and how did you develop its playful, fruit-inspired identity?
JJ: I think skincare has become quite overwhelming over the years. There are so many actives, so many steps and so much conflicting information. Sometimes people don't actually know what their skin needs anymore. I really wanted GLACE to make skincare feel simpler and more trustworthy. I wanted to bring it back to really good, dependable everyday essentials that work hard without overcomplicating your routine.
Creatively, I still wanted the brand to have that fun and playful side that's such a big part of who I am, and that's really where the fruit identity came from. But it was important that the fruit wasn't just there as a marketing gimmick. We carefully select fruit-derived ingredients for the benefits they can bring to the skin, but we don't then add fragrance to make the product smell like that fruit.
That's where our philosophy of “the benefit is in the fruit, not the fragrance” came from. Every GLACE product contains our Barrier Support Complex because supporting the skin barrier was another really important part of the brand for me, because I don't think barrier support should be something you only think about when your skin is irritated. It should be built into the everyday products you're reaching for again and again.
We equally considered what we left out, the formulas are made without soap, drying alcohols, mineral oils, parabens, sulfates or artificial colourants. The philosophy comes down to intelligent simplicity: gentle, clever ingredients, purposeful formulas and no unnecessary noise. Ultimately, I wanted GLACE to be the kind of skincare that fits into your life rather than taking it over.
How do you balance making a product exciting on social media with creating something people will genuinely keep using?
JJ: This is one of the biggest lessons I've learned from being on both sides of the industry. I completely understand what makes somebody stop scrolling, beauty should be exciting: texture, colour, packaging and a great concept, but novelty might make somebody buy a product once, It won't necessarily make them buy it again.
With GLACE, I always want both. I want you to see something and think, “Oh my God, I need to try that,” but six months later, I want the reason you're still using it to be completely different. It should be because it's one of the most hydrating cleansers you've ever used, or because the moisturiser sits perfectly under your makeup and you can’t imagine your life without it.
That's the balance I'm looking for. The creativity might be what catches your attention, but the formula has to be what keeps you coming back.
Was there an idea you loved while developing GLACE that didn't work, or something you changed your mind about along the way?
JJ: Fragrance is probably the best example, and I think it also shows how much my approach to product development has evolved over the years. A lot of the products I created with Revolution were fun, sensorial, wash-off products that did contain fragrance. At that point in my career fragrance felt like a natural part of creating that whole experience.
When we first started developing GLACE, it felt obvious that the products would smell like the fruits we were talking about, building this really playful, fruit-inspired world, but the further we got into development, the more I started questioning whether we actually needed it. GLACE isn't predominantly a range of wash-off masks; we're creating everyday essentials that people are applying to their skin again and again, and products that stay on the skin.
I kept coming back to the same question: what is the fragrance actually doing for somebody's skin? And ultimately, it wasn't adding a skincare benefit. We changed direction, kept the fruit-derived ingredients where they had a genuine purpose, but removed the added fragrance.
How has building GLACE with BPerfect differed from your previous collaboration with Revolution?
JJ: They're two very different setups. Revolution was very much a traditional brand and creator collaboration: Revolution x Jake-Jamie. I had a huge amount of creative involvement and we developed an incredible number of products together, but I was creating within an existing brand. GLACE is different because from the beginning we've been able to create an entirely separate identity. It sits within the BPerfect family and is owned by BPerfect, but has its own name, visual identity, product philosophy and direction.
That freedom has meant we've had to think much more broadly. We're not just asking, “What's the next product?” We're asking, “What does GLACE stand for, and does this product belong in that world?” That's been a really exciting evolution for me.
What has been the biggest challenge of balancing GLACE with your career as a content creator?
JJ: Time is definitely the biggest challenge, because I'm trying to balance my full-time career, content creation, alongside being incredibly hands-on with GLACE. There is so much time that goes into developing a brand, from testing and refining formulas to reviewing packaging, working on campaigns and making decisions about products that people might not even see for another year or two. There are also things I personally choose to invest more time into because I know how much of a difference that personal touch can make.
A really good example was building the PR list for the launch. I reached out to every single creator on that list myself. It would have saved me an enormous amount of time to take a less personal approach, but relationships are everything to me, these are people I've known, worked alongside and, in many cases, been friends with for years.
I wanted them to hear directly from me about what I'd been working on for the last two and a half years, because that personal connection really matters to me. That's something I've realised I uniquely bring to GLACE from having been a content creator. I've built genuine relationships across this industry, and I've been incredibly lucky to see how much people want to support me.
Throughout my product journey, both with Revolution and now with GLACE, I've had so many successful creators choose to share the products organically because they want to see me do well, just as I want to see them succeed. You can't manufacture that kind of support or build those relationships overnight.
So yes, being that personally involved makes balancing everything much harder and definitely takes more time, but it's one of the things I wouldn't want to change. Seeing people I've known throughout my career get behind GLACE because they're excited for me has been one of the most special parts of the entire launch. Those relationships and that personal connection are such an important part of what I bring to GLACE.
Looking back on your journey so far, what have you learned most about yourself and the beauty industry?
JJ: The biggest thing I've learned is that you never stop learning, and you have to be willing to evolve. When I first started creating products with Revolution, I'd already spent years talking about beauty online and I thought I knew the industry really well, then I started developing products and realised there was this enormous world behind every formula that I'd never seen before. I've also learned that changing your mind isn't a weakness.
Some of the decisions I made ten years ago aren't necessarily the decisions I would make today, because I know more. I've become much more confident in questioning things and trusting my instincts. If something doesn't feel right, I'd rather go backwards and fix it than release something I don't completely believe in. That's how it should be, your approach should evolve with your experience.
In terms of the beauty industry, I've learned that trends will always come and go, but longevity comes from creating things that people genuinely love and want to come back to. I'm incredibly proud that people still talk to me about the watermelon mask all these years later, but even more proud that I've been able to take everything that experience taught me and use it to become better at what I do.
Thirty-six products later, and after spending another two and a half years developing GLACE, I'm still learning all the time. Every chapter has taught me something that I've been able to bring into the next one, and GLACE really feels like the culmination of everything I've learned so far.
What are you most excited about for the future of GLACE?
JJ: Honestly, I feel like we're only just getting started. There are already products we're working on behind the scenes that I'm so excited for people to see, but I want us to grow thoughtfully and build a brand that people trust and keep coming back to. We were really intentional about launching GLACE with just three everyday essentials rather than arriving and telling people they needed a 12-step routine.
I've learned not to try and predict what's coming next too much. If you'd told me ten years ago when I first started creating content where all of this would lead, I wouldn't have believed you anyway. I definitely still have that little bit of imposter syndrome that wonders when this incredible ride might end. Hopefully in another ten years I'll still be saying exactly the same thing and wondering how on earth I got so lucky.
Personally, I just hope I'm lucky enough to still be doing what I love.
