Celebrate skincare sensation Elizabeth Grant’s 100th birthday!

A 100th birthday doesn’t come around every day, especially when it’s that of a skincare icon: Elizabeth Grant. Born in 1923, she harnessed a miracle ingredient called Torricelumn that’s still in every formula the brand develops today, and created a family business that spans three generations of incredible women. Offering everything from intensive overnight concentrates to face masks that simply do ‘more’, the brand is synonymous with luxurious formulas that help you see results, which is why so many of you have fallen in love with it already!

To mark the momentous occasion of Elizabeth Grant’s 100th birthday, we sat down with her granddaughter Margot Grant Witz to talk about Elizabeth’s amazing achievements in the beauty industry and the brand’s exciting range, available right here at QVC.

It’s lovely to chat to you, Margot! Many of our customers have already heard of Elizabeth Grant’s incredible skincare formulas, but in a nutshell, what’s the brand’s ethos?

We genuinely love our customers, as well as helping their confidence and self-esteem grow. We want to help them realise that you have to grow and evolve in terms of who you are and what you are doing, which is we have been around for 75 years (and counting!). Not only because we make a phenomenal product, but because we value adapting, listening, and transforming with the community and world around us.

Our ethos is that we are customers too, and we want to create quality products that empower people as they get older. We truly believe that we are the three generations of cheerleaders in the world of skincare! So often, women around the age of 40 and above are made to feel that they should disappear, that they are “too old”, and that is something we have been working to change the narrative of for the past 75 years. We are one of the only privately-owned skincare companies in the world, owned and operated by three generations of women who make, manufacture and formulate every product in-house in our privately-owned manufacturing facility in Toronto, Canada. We do not buy someone else’s formulations and put our name on it, we make them from scratch, because we are customers too. Torricelumn™, which is our proprietary blend, is our exclusive compound that sets us apart from the rest of the world.

We all know what Elizabeth Grant stands for today, but how did this inspiring company begin?

It all started with an accident. My grandmother, Elizabeth Grant, did not always have the flawless skin she has today. Her skin was damaged during the Second World War and it became a source of personal shame and embarrassment – to the point where she avoided going out in public and living her life fully. All of that changed in 1948 when Elizabeth discovered a natural substance that was used to treat war wounds. She had it specially formulated with a unique blend of ingredients and began applying it to her own damaged skin. Gradually, but very noticeably, the transformation occurred. Within eight months, my grandmother’s skin had improved remarkably and was she able to get her confidence back and get back to the life and job she was so desperately missing.

My grandmother, who was a makeup artist at Elstree Studios in London, just wanted to get her confidence back in order to not only look and feel beautiful, but to ensure she could make others look and feel beautiful too. In her work as a makeup artist, one of her clients complimented her on her skin’s fresh, healthy and youthful appearance. Flattered and shocked that someone would actually compliment her skin after such damage being done to it, Elizabeth told her client about the miracle serum that she had created. The woman left with a sample, only to return 10 days later asking for more. It was in those 10 days that her client had discovered the power of Elizabeth’s moisturizing miracle. Her skin was starting to feel normal again and her symptoms – clogged pores and skin that looked tired and age-worn – were disappearing. When she visited my grandmother after those 10 days, her skin was glowing. Little did my grandmother know that the little product that she created would not only launch our company, but also create a new category in the skincare industry: the serum category for at-home use in 1948. At first she privately sold her products to people who asked, until she launched her trademarked secret to the public with the launch of her company in 1958 – and she did it with her ingredient known as Torricelumn™.

For those who are new to the brand and want to try it out, what should they start with first?

The best place to begin is the Supreme Essence of Torricelumn™. It is our hero product that not only launched our company 75 years ago, but has been dramatically improving people’s skin for over seven decades. It’s hypoallergenic, fragrance free, mineral oil free, silicone free, alcohol free, phthalate free, sulphate free, suitable for all ages, all skin types, all ethnicities, all genders, not tested on animals and can be used before absolutely any moisturiser you have at home.

The best part is it addresses and helps improve all five signs of aging at once, and you don’t have to chuck out your current beauty routine to get its benefits. The Supreme Essence of Torricelumn™ not only launched our company but helped create the serum category in the beauty industry. It is a game changer for your skincare routine, and it helps for preventative, reparative and maintenance in terms of the aging journey. It’s great for helping you go make-up free, helping your ageing skin without irritating it.

What we at QVC love about Elizabeth Grant is that it’s so much more than just amazing skincare. What else do you have for QVC customers that goes beyond that, like body care, fragrance and more?

The better question is, what don’t we have? Not only do we have skincare from head to toe, from body creams to lip butters, but we also have our world-famous lip stains that won’t rub off for at least 4 – 6 hours. We have perfumes, we have foot creams, beauty tools, masks, under-eye treatments and so much more. Elizabeth Grant helps to treat your skin from head to toe, as it’s our largest organ and deserves to feel good and look great, so you can look in the mirror and love what you see.

For those with mature complexions, what would you recommend to boost their skincare regimen?

Have a really great system. Start with a hydrating cleanser, then a serum, a denser moisturizer and don’t forget to exfoliate once a week. Our caviar system is divine – it’s powerful but not heavy, it helps to keep that hydration reservoir while also improving the look of collagen and brightness. Also, add a neck cream (but this tip is for everyone 30+)! Our necks are areas that can almost sneak up on us, so prevention is key to love the look of your neck and decollete area. Also, don’t be afraid to add different actives into your routine. My mother Marion is all about seasonal skincare, while my grandmother and I always have a little bit of each range to give our skin the best boost.

It’s cold outside, so for those whose skin is feeling a bit parched, what can Elizabeth Grant do for their complexion?

We build a reservoir of hydration. Quite often people dismiss the importance of hydration in their skin, but remember the difference between a grape and a raisin is dehydration! So with all of our products they contain Torricelumn™, which is our proprietary ingredient to help not only neutralize and change how our skin appears to be aging, but creates that beautiful reservoir to help maintain hydration for 24 hours.

I think often people worry about using a product that can help exfoliate their skin, but our Night Wonder Concentrate helps to remove the build-up of the dead skin cells, dry flakes and the roughness, while also ensuring there’s tangible hydration there too. It’s important to remove the surface debris that can lead to more dehydrated looking and feeling skin.

We know that caring for your skin overnight is just as important as during the day, so what does Elizabeth Grant have to offer that will give Q customers some well-deserved beauty sleep?

With all of our ranges, we have a complimentary night-time routine. But to give you that wow factor by the morning, we encourage our community to add in the Night Wonder Concentrate, our Progressive Peel, and our Salt Cream. These three products on top of your regular routine really help to do an overnight reset without the look of irritation, redness, or any ‘spicy’ feeling.

Overnight is a great time to help encourage your skin to rest and reset, but adding a little extra love to get you there and speed up the process is a very good thing. Plus, my extra little tips are: 1) I fall asleep with the eyepads and when I tell you it helps me look like I have slept 12 hours instead of five, I mean it – you will never want to be without them. 2) I love using our Foot Cream at night on my feet. They’re so much softer and brighter the next morning. That may seem like a silly tip, but my grandmother has always taught me: when your feet hurt, you can see it on your face!

Finally, what’s your personal favourite product from the brand that you simply couldn’t be without?

I have three: the Supreme Essence of Torricelumn™, Night Wonder Concentrate and our incredible Caviar Foot Cream. No matter where I am, or what I feel, if I have these three products, I know not only is it going to be a great-looking skin day but also, a great feeling skin day. The first two products are just so easy to use, and I can see the results almost immediately. They’re desert-island-must-haves!

Feeling inspired to check out all things Elizabeth Grant? Discover the brand right here at QVC and celebrate her 100th birthday with us!