Meet the co-founder of DAMDAM, Giselle Go

Japan has long been known for their artisanal approach to crafts, design and lifestyle. This too applies to beauty. DAMDAM has based their brand on the same careful, holistic method to the art of skincare. We talked to the co-founder Giselle Go to hear her thoughts on the concept of slow beauty and working through a pandemic.

Name: Giselle Go

Title: Co-founder

Company: DAMDAM

Hometown: Currently, Tokyo

Instagram: @damdamtokyo

• What does slow beauty mean to you? 

To us, slow beauty is using ancestral ingredients and local production with a holistic approach of crafting products through processes refined and perfected across centuries. It is honouring ancient craft in a sustainable, modern way.

• What are your daily beauty rituals?

In the morning, a simple 3-step routine using Nomad's Cream Purifying Cleanser followed by Paradisi Mist Hydrating Essence and Magic Drops Balancing Oil Serum. At night, I indulge a bit more. I like lighting up an incense and doing a twenty-minute yoga practice and then finish with a hot bath and salt scrub to detoxify the body and Skin Mud Power Mask for a deep cleanse on the face. 

• Can you share your three favourite places in Japan? 

Oh my gosh, so many... My partner and I are building a weekend house by the sea in an old fishing village, which is only an hour and a half away from Tokyo so we are there quite often these days. When we have more time to explore, we like taking long road trips. The most recent one we did was to take the shinkansen (bullet train) to the mountains of Zao for onsen and to view the magical 'snow monsters' which are beautiful gigantic trees that get frozen with horisontal icicles.

• How do you maintain balance and stability in these uncertain times? 

Doing yoga or a meditation always help clear the mind and on weekends, either work on a hobby (it varies depending on my mood but I've done sewing and pottery recently) or travel to the countryside to be close to nature. 

• What can we expect from DAMDAM in the future? 

We have just launched new skincare products - a face cream and a cleansing oil - and we are continuing to work with Japanese artisans for DAMDAM [Atelier] which we first started over the pandemic. We work a lot with ceramic artists and wood workers, and we will be launching something exciting for the home and bath very soon. We are also planning to expand a little more internationally so that will keep us very busy this year!