About Mir

Based in the UK we ship worldwide, (delivery rates are shown on the Shopping Basket page). At present we sell direct from this website only. The best way to discover calm, clear skin and find out everything you need to know is to purchase a Trial Pack. 

For a brief description of Mir, please refer to the margin notes.  Otherwise, read on.

The Mir Difference

Our deliciously cool, clean products were originally created for women and men with sensitive or problematic skin but are just as popular with non-sensitive people seeking fuss-free, fragrance-free products that let skin breathe.

Mir is not a completely natural range, if such a thing exists, but we exclude many of the adverse ingredients that natural, sensitive, organic and specialist niche ranges include. 

Products are formulated to be used in ways that are the most beneficial to the skin eg cleansers rinse off with lukewarm water, leaving no dryness or residue. They are multi-tasking, can be used in a variety of ways to suit the user's preference, changing skin care needs etc.

Many of our customers come to us having found other ranges irritating, pore-clogging or ineffective despite claims to the contrary. These days there are so many skin care companies claiming to specialise in gentle and fragrance free products but:

Products for sensitive skin tend to be formulated for the 60% of people who think they have sensitive skin, not the 6% who actually do. Tested only on volunteers' arms - not sensitive faces - they may leave out a few token irritants but invariably contain:

• Irritants, essential oils and fragrance

(See Gisele's Guide for a list of irritants). Essential oils are almost impossible to avoid.  Companies use them because it allows them to add fragrance to a product and claim they are fragrance free! They are just as irritating as chemical fragrance if not more so.  Just because an ingredient is natural does not mean it is gentle. 

• Comedogenic (pore-clogging) substances

Oils such as avocado, olive, cocoa, coconut and sunflower may sound delicious but the skin and the stomach are two very different organs.  Products that sound good enough to eat are not necessarily good for the long term health and beauty of your skin.

• Unnecessary additives

If it isn't essential we leave it out eg colours, dyes, pearlisers. (Where an additive is essential to the integrity of the formulation and/or the health and safety of your skin it will only be included at minimal levels.)

For detailed information, please refer to Mir Products and Gisele's Guide.

Gisèle Mir's story

I originally worked as a Scotland Yard and court interpreter (French, Spanish and Farsi) then qualified as a lawyer (solicitor/attorney). I began researching and experimenting with cosmetic ingredients in the early nineties because I could find nothing to help my skin which was becoming increasingly sensitive and blemish-prone.  

I discovered there were only a few substances that had all the benefits necessary for skin health and decided to focus on using these as the base of all future blends.  I also compiled a "banned" list of several hundred harmful, pore-clogging and irritating ingredients.

My botanical blends helped to calm and clear my skin and I began to dream about having my own range developed but had no idea how to go about it. I knew there must be many other people who, like me, were fed up with over-hyped products that promised so much yet delivered nothing.

On 16 April 1996, a life changing day, I read an article entitled "Beauty Queens" in Elle. It was about three women who had developed very successful cosmetic ranges without prior industry experience. If they could do it, why couldn't I?

It's true what they say: if you want something badly enough you will find a way and it's amazing how much you can achieve when you are driven by the belief that you really can do it - and do it better!

Because of my research I won a scholarship to study cosmetic science, graduated with merit and was nominated for a writing prize for my essay on the Psychology of Fragrance. I also qualifed as a make up artist and worked with Flame, a London modelling agency in order to get hands on experience with a wide variety of skin types.

Mir Cosmetics with Integrity launched on 16 April 2002, exactly six years after reading the Elle article, and we now have customers in 36 countries.  I sold my London home to finance the venture because I believed in it so passionately.

Since 2002, I have been consulted by national newspapers, magazines, the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky News on issues including the care and treatment of sensitive problematic skin.  I have also gained a reputation for my views on commercially manufactured anti ageing products and was invited to participate in a series of the TV programme How to Look Good Naked as their consulting cosmetic scientist.  My brief being to focus on the lack of integrity in the cosmetics industry.  I declined.  

I hope you enjoy using Mir as much as I enjoyed creating it. You can now read my Elle interview on the News page of the site.