Nicolas Travis, founder of Allies of Skin.

It took Nicolas Travis, founder of Allies of Skin, two years of clinical trials and 10 revisions to finally arrive at his debut beauty product, the 1A All-Day Mask. Its formula boasts a powerful blend of collagen-stimulating, skin-healing and stress-relieving ingredients, and it promises to sweep away the damage caused by pollution.

In spite of its name, the 1A All-Day Mask isn’t your usual weekly wash-off mask. Instead, it should be applied everyday as part of your skincare routine. Touted as a multi-tasking supercharged booster, “It works hard throughout the day to fix your skin so that it becomes smarter and more resilient to external aggressors,” explains Travis.

Allies of Skin’s aim is to continue creating products that synchronise with your skin and feed it with the necessary ingredients to answer its specific needs. Travis adds, “It can be a noteworthy skincare solution for the modern day multi-hyphenate looking for a fuss-free quick fixer.”

The 1A All-Day Mask is a “mask” that you can wear every day.

Travis, whose first job was in Ogilvy & Mather after his graduation, decided to switch from writing social media campaigns in his public relations job to skincare. “Eight months into my job, I realised that agency life isn’t for me; you’re either cut out for it or not,” he says. “So I kept thinking about my next move. Back in business school, I created a business plan for a skincare line. Since I had all the information and contacts, I decided to go ahead and launch one product first.”

It’s a move even the famous New-York based model-turned-stylist Linda Rodin made—starting with just one luxury facial oil for her own brand Rodin Olio Lusso before expanding her business to include perfume, candles, lip balms and more.

As with any new start-up, things are challenging. “We have to convince people to spend their hard-earned money on our product. We don’t have the funds which a lot of big brands do, so we have to align our brand with the right people. Another challenge is to make sure that we stand out from all the other beauty products,” he says.

Few men really understand a woman’s beauty woes, and we think Travis is one of the special few. His passion for beauty stems from his youth: “Like many adolescents, I struggled with bad acne so I took antibiotics for years and saw many dermatologists. It was tough especially when I was studying and I didn’t have a lot of money to find the best products. The dermatologists advised me to look for products that are non-comedogenic so that my pores won’t be clogged. But when I tried finding such products over the counter, it was hard. This had later influenced me to produce products that are non-comedogenic and work for all skin types.” Travis shares more about his skincare line, Allies of Skin.

NICOLAS TRAVIS ON…

... The Allies of Skin line

All of our products are designed to be “nutrient reservoirs” and they’re booster treatments for the skin. The users don’t have to give up their existing products to use my items. I’ve designed my products to be the backbone of any, and every, skincare routine—from dermatologist’s prescriptions to La Mer.

... What inspired him to create 1A All-Day Mask

I tried a lot of products to hydrate my skin after late nights, before early morning meetings as well as during my flights when I’m travelling, but all of them left my face feeling greasy. I couldn’t find that one product that allowed me to just “apply and go”; I believed that there had to be an easier solution to this so I created the 1A All-Day Mask.

According to Travis, the 1A All-Day Mask (middle) complements your existing skincare.

... The benefits of the 1A All-Day Mask

Because we live in the city, we’re constantly bombarded by smoke, haze and other pollutants. This product works as an anti-pollution shield and it repels pollution such as smog and heavy metals that are found in acid rain. It also doesn’t suffocate your skin so it won’t clog your pores.

There are 35 different nourishing actives in the formula and this product is like a multi-vitamin pill for your skin—it brightens, plumps, hydrates as well as increases collagen production and decreases melanin production. So for example, if you’ve had too much to drink the night before, your skin’s dehydrated so it’ll take in the hyaluronic acid in our formula.

... What his customers think

Now that we’ve been out for a month, we’ve received a lot of love on social media. We get people who’re in their 20s and even those who’re in their 50s that are drawn towards the effortless nature of our products.

Some common complaints that I always hear from my users include the hassle of following too many steps and buying products only to end up not using them because they don’t know how to use them. So what they really like about my product is that it’s easy to use; you apply and you get along with your life—that’s it! We believe that products should work for you and that we shouldn’t be slaves of our own skincare routine.

Two more products will be introduced in March 2016.

... His plans for Allies of Skin

We have nine other products in the pipeline and we’re launching four this year. Currently, we’re working on the next two releases that are coming out in March. One of it is called 1A Overnight Mask and it’s made with an encapsulated time-release form of retinoid and it gives you a truckload of benefits. It reduces acne, pigmentation, wrinkles and fine lines without any dryness or irritation. Plus, through our clinical trials, it’s proven to reduce acne by 62.7 per cent after a 28-day use.

The other launch will be our Molecular Saviour Toner Mist. It’s made with a special form of water molecule that clings to your skin cells and has anti-evaporation properties, so you’ll get a concentrated dose of rose water, acai berry and probiotics that feeds your skin with goodness. We’re also coming up with an anti-oxidant booster and an overnight treatment.

To shop for Allies of Skin products, click here.