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THE story of how Anthony McDonough's men's skin care range dates back 20 years when he was living in Russia in minus 35C temperatures and every product he used to try and moisturise just made his skin more irritated.
It took a while to act on this, but in 2012 McDonough decided to make the leap and start his own skin care brand.
He quit his job as a marketing specialist, bought a Porsche, and doubled down on his new project with his life partner Chris Glebatsas (pictured right), and so Lqd was born.
The product is designed especially for men's skin, which McDonough swears is completely different to what women's skin needs.
"Most men's skin care is about taking an existing formulation, recolouring it, re-fragrancing it, repackaging it, and selling it to me," says McDonough.
"While women want their skin to feel really tight, guys don't want that. They want clean, soft, supple skin. It's a really different feeling.
"There's a fundamental difference between men and women's skin care needs.
"Men shave, and this trauma causes the skin quite a lot of discomfort so you need products that will quickly repair the skin and also maintain the hydration."
It has been five years since the product line officially launched, and Lqd has gone from strength to strength since.
McDonough first launched the product on social media, but took his time entering the retail market and now his product has a global reach, being stocked exclusively in Bloomingdales in the United States, and most recently, in Harrods in the UK.
We spoke to McDonough about how the brand realised its overnight success, how he differentiates the product in a highly competitive market, and the future for Lqd Skin Care.
What inspired you to start Lqd?
How did you launch the product over the last five years?
What were some of your biggest challenges starting up and in these last five years, and what do you wish you'd known before going down this road?
You mentioned that you were very strategic about your expansion. And your recent expansion into the UK is interesting too, but what are your future plans?
Where do you see the company in 5 years and in another 10 years?
What about expanding into the Chinese market?
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