Josie Maran on her anti-ageing wonder ingredient: "I think it’s the most powerful thing on the planet."

Josie Maran, during her visit to Australia. (Source: Instagram.)

Josie Maran has built a career from beauty, so if anyone is qualified to give advice on living a beautiful life, it’s her. She shot to fame in the late ‘90s as a young model, featuring on magazine covers, Maybelline ads and even in The Backstreet Boys’ music video for Everybody.

She’s now famous for Josie Maran Cosmetics (available at mecca.com.au), her range of natural beauty products, with argan oil as the hero product.

Josie sat down with The Glow to tell us all about the “magical elixir” that is argan oil, while also spilling her secrets on everything from self-esteem to the Backstreet Boys.

When did you first learn about argan oil? Why did it appeal to you so much?

“I discovered it 12 years ago, on a modelling trip in the south of France. I met this beautiful older French woman. She walked in, and I was like, ‘I’ll have what she’s having.’

“I asked her, ‘What are you doing?’ She’s 70, but she looks so amazing. She says, ‘Argan oil.’ I went to find it. Back then in France it was more popular but nowhere else. I think I was the first person to bring it to the States.”

Why do the majority of your products contain argan oil?

"I think it’s the most powerful thing on the planet. I used to not give it as much anti-aging credit. It just has amazing clinical results. It’s nature’s richest source of essential fatty acids, and vitamin E. It’s just really lightweight and moisturising.

It’s 100 per cent organic, 100 per cent pure, so the body doesn’t need to filter through lots of other ingredients and so I think it gets to work faster than most things. It’s just a very special, magical elixir."

You're a busy mum to with two daughters, Rumi (nine) and Indi (three). What beauty products and techniques do you use to look and feel your best?

"I mean, honestly, my big thing is Josie Maran 100 per cent Pure Argan Oil ($23 for 15ml). It’s 100 per cent organic, 100 per cent pure, and 100 per cent a multi-tasker. I just whip it on, and it gives your skin that beautiful glow. Fingernails, hair, elbows – it’s as easy as that. Just put on a little lipstick, and you’re done. It’s very simple, but ideal when I’m in a rush. My daughters love it, too. We just have a big argan oil party!"

What advice do you give to your daughters, when it comes to their understanding of self-esteem, beauty and body image?

"We always say, 'It’s how you feel, not how you look.' And they’ll repeat that. If somebody says anything about how they look, my 9 year old will literally stop them and say, 'It’s not about how you look. It’s about how you feel.' That’s the mantra we bring out. I reinforce it all the time – even when I see someone doing something beautiful, I really talk about it, so that my daughters can see that that’s what I value.

"My mom’s really good at that. She’s making sure to carry that on with the whole tribe. When I was a model, my mom was trying to keep my head on straight the whole time. She would always say, 'smile with your eyes', because how you feel will come through."

What's the best behind-the-scenes beauty trick you learned from makeup artists?

"The best makeup artists use their fingers. It just warms up the makeup, and kind of moulds to the skin so that it doesn’t look like makeup. They’re just infusing the colour into your skin, so that it just becomes you. And that’s the best way to look – like you, and not like makeup."

You seem to have a really happy and laidback attitude. What's your best tip?

"I came into this world very light and hopeful and positive. It’s just my way of being. So much of my life is reflecting: 'Oh, that really worked.' It’s about staying positive, and creating the good. I think that when you see that’s working, you just keep building on it. It works, it really does.

"Of course, you have to be real with the truth, and have feelings and pain, but you’ve got to learn and keep going towards what you want. I just keep going, and I totally believe in this idea of a beautiful life. And I’m going to get it, and I have it. Turn negativity around, and go towards what you really want, otherwise you create what you don’t want."

Which Backstreet Boy would you have on your squad?

"I was in the video [Everybody] with Howie D, and we had a definite connection, because he was sucking on my neck. So I guess him."

Do you use argan oil in your beauty routine? What are your favourite multi-tasking oils?