From launching a skincare brand to initiating the Age Without Apology campaign, Jenni Retourné is changing the narrative around ageing and helping women embrace their years with confidence and grace.
It all started with a conversation between a mother and her daughter-in-law.
“The concept for the Age Without Apology campaign took shape following a conversation I once had with my mother-in-law over a cup of tea and she was quite upset about how visible her wrinkles were becoming. My immediate response was that when I look at her, I barely noticed her wrinkles. I just saw her as a whole, a person that I love. But that conversation really stuck with me."
"It made me realise that we are not really analysing other people in as much detail as we perhaps look at ourselves in the mirror. As a skincare brand, I saw an opportunity to help women feel better about ourselves as we age. And that’s where it all began,” Jenni Retourné tells us.
With over 20 years of experience in the beauty industry, Jenni Retourné is the founder of the skincare brand Willowberry which she launched in 2017. It went onto to become a success as an independent British brand specialising in natural skincare for mature women that is cruelty-free and eco-friendly.
The concept - Age Without Apology – was everything Willowberry, as a brand, stood for and gradually it evolved into a larger campaign embraced by lots of women, several skincare and beauty brands and the media. The campaign is now officially recognised as well with June being observed as Age Without Apology Month.
Embracing multiple narratives and experiences of ageing
“Since then I’ve spoken to countless women and surveyed thousands of customers about their views on age and I found people broadly fall in one of these three groups - some people absolutely hate it and actively want to reverse the signs of ageing on their faces, some positively embrace age and some people would rather they didn't have signs of age on their face, but they accept it and want to make the most of their skin.”
“It has really helped to get a deep understanding of how people actually feel about themselves with age rather than guessing or telling them how to feel. And from all that, I realised - age is an energy. It's how you show up for it. So, for Willowbury, it's about showing age in as many different ways as possible, because it really is a unique experience for every woman,” Retourné explains.
“Every year we try to show a different way of looking at age and that’s where the themes for our national Age Without Apology Month comes in. In 2023, it was - ‘Age is an Energy’ and that was all about having our models, all mature women, in poses usually reserved for models in their 20s. It was about changing the representation of older women in cosmetic imagery."
“Last year, it was – ‘Wrinkles are Earned, they can’t be Bought’ – which was about radically flipping the wrinkles narrative on its head within an industry that relies on women buying to hide their wrinkles.”
“What inspired the Age Without Apology campaign was essentially this – embracing a different take on the anti-ageing message, which is obviously rife in the beauty industry, “she says.
Jenni Retourné’s personal experience of ageing
“I am 42 and I am a firm believer of the saying – ‘You can't be what you can't see’. For instance, seeing people on social media with grey hair, feeling amazing makes you realise that you can be embracing your greys and feel amazing about it."
"Shaping the Age Without Apology messaging for Willowberry has also influenced my personal views on ageing. Before working on Willowberry, I think I would have automatically started dyeing my hair without even thinking about it because we're just conditioned that way."
"But now I am just letting the greys come through and I’ll see how I feel about it. It’s all about doing what you feel right – dye your hair, don’t dye your hair – it’s up to you. Whatever it is, do it for you, not because you feel you have to,” she says.
Beauty Writer Sally Hughes is a great example for this. She saw that her silver strands were coming through and decided to go grey overnight. She shared on social media that she liked her original hair colour and she liked grey hair. What she did not like was the growing out stage, so she dyed her hair grey.
“She looked stunning and that was absolutely eye opening to me, because it would have never occurred to me to dye my hair grey as a response to going grey with age,” Retourné adds.
What does the skincare routine of the founder of Willowberry skincare look like?
Jenni Retourné shares the one simple thing that she feels makes a big difference in your skincare routine.
“It all comes down to consistency. A skincare routine doesn't have to be complex. You can have a really simple skincare routine that you stick to consistently, twice a day, and your skin will thank you for it.”
“It’s about getting your best skin, which looks healthy, radiant and glowing, rather than trying to rid of wrinkles,” she says.
The one product that Jenni Retourné absolutely cannot live without is a good face oil.
“I think a face oil is such a game changer because it hydrates and nourishes your skin at the same time. The Willowberry Nutrient Boost Face Oil is that product for me. It calms inflammation and redness, evens out skin tone, hydrates and adds an instant, subtle and healthy glow,” she says.
In terms of embracing a better lifestyle, she says, “Look after your future self. Every day, it is a 1000 tiny decisions – Are you going to commit to an exercise routine, a healthy diet or a skincare routine? Are you going to get up and go to the gym today? Are you going to eat fast food or choose a healthy meal instead?”
“It's about showing up for the person that you want to be.”
The fine balance between ‘ageing without apology’ and being part of the ‘anti-ageing’ skincare industry
Jenni Retourné has been working in the beauty industry for over 20 years now and for a number of those years, she was a beauty journalist and editor.
“With more time that I spent working in this field, I realised how damaging the concept of ‘anti-ageing’ can be, in terms of the usual messaging and imagery we use in media. Older women were invisible in the visuals surrounding beauty and makeup for the longest time."
"The anti-ageing industry will never disappear, and brands will continue to create more products. But I do believe that we can talk about age and beauty in different ways and as we can see now, there are better age narratives coming in,” Retourné says.
One change that she wishes to see in the industry when it comes to promoting skincare products for mature women is – “Don’t call it an ‘anti-ageing’ product. The message should be about achieving your best skin and educating on how to look after your skin as you age, rather than selling the idea of reversing age.”
“No pot of skincare is going to get rid of your wrinkles, because if it did, we'd all know about it. So ultimately, if someone is selling an anti-wrinkle cream, they are selling a lie. This is where messaging focused on getting your best skin as you age becomes important.”
Message to women embracing age as the founder of Age Without Apology
“Be kinder to your reflection. Many of us speak to ourselves looking in the mirror and there are times when you know that you wouldn't speak to your best mate like that. So, don't speak to yourself like that. We are all learning to shed the decades of societal conditioning telling us how to feel and behave as we age. And at the end of day, that’s what it is all about – being kinder to ourselves.”
Akhila Thomas is a digital writer at Yours.co.uk and her areas of interest are beauty, fashion, food, wellness and lifestyle. She has previously written for magazines like Leftlion, Women’s Health and t’Art and worked extensively with art, culture, fashion and social media trends. She also likes to travel and explore new cultures and cuisines.