Clay And Glow

Clay And Glow is a Dutch skincare brand based in The Hague (Den Haag), Netherlands. Despite its English name, it is not a Scandinavian label; the company describes itself as Dutch and female-founded, and makes its products in the Netherlands. It was founded in 2019 by Julia Veer, then a 21-year-old student, who launched the brand's first product, a pink clay face mask, on 23 May that year [1]. The company positions itself around affordable, mostly natural formulas aimed at sensitive skin, summed up in its tagline "Problem solving skincare, but cute."

The brand built much of its early audience through social media, involving Instagram followers in product development before launch, and remains active. Its founder was named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list, and the homepage promotes current launches such as SPF30 and SPF50 sunscreens alongside seasonal bundles.

Julia Veer started the company while a student dealing with sensitive, acne-prone skin. According to the brand, she reacted badly to most commercial skincare and was advised to use only organic and natural products, but found those products visually unappealing. Wanting something that was both gentle and, in her words, "cute", she set out to develop her own line [4].

Sources differ slightly on who founded the company. The brand's about page and two editorial profiles name Julia Veer's partner, Randy Feliz, as co-founder, describing the brand as started by the couple from Veer's student flat [6]. The brand's own "how it happened" blog, by contrast, frames the story around Veer alone and does not mention a co-founder [4]. Veer is consistently the public face and is credited as founder in press coverage.

In interviews, Veer has said the hardest early obstacle was finding a manufacturer. She recounted being turned down by laboratories in the Netherlands, Barcelona and Paris, attributing the rejections to being a young woman without an existing business, before partnering with a Dutch chemist to develop the first formula [5]. The company says she spent around nine months developing the debut mask and personally tested products on her own skin before release.

Clay And Glow describes itself as a community-focused brand. The company says it develops products by listening to its social-media audience rather than relying on internal assumptions, a point Veer has repeated in interviews: "Unlike other companies, we mainly listen to our community" [4]. Ahead of the first launch, she used Instagram to ask potential customers about their skincare needs and to build interest before the product existed [5].

The brand frames itself as a deliberately playful alternative within natural beauty. Veer has said that natural skincare brands tended toward "boring green packaging" and a dull image, and that Clay And Glow set out to differentiate through modern design while keeping formulas largely natural [6]. Its stated mission is to "provide simple, fun, affordable, problem-solving and cute cosmetics" suited to all skin types. The range is positioned at an accessible, indie price point.

The first product was the Detoxifying Pink Clay Mask, which remains the brand's signature item. According to trade coverage, it launched in May 2019 as a vegan formula with 98.5% natural ingredients, built around pink clay, black quinoa, aloe vera and açaí, and excluding perfume, parabens and alcohol [5]. The company has since expanded into a broader routine, with cleansers, exfoliants, toners, moisturisers, sunscreen and a set of serums featuring hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, niacinamide and retinol. Bundled routines such as "The Everything Set" are marketed as the brand's hero offerings.

Clay And Glow states that its products are vegan and cruelty-free, that it does not test on animals, and that everything is made in the Netherlands. The company also describes its formulas as dermatologically tested. It does not list third-party certifications.

The Detoxifying Pink Clay Mask drew early attention on social media; trade press reported that it "sold out twice within a couple of months" of launch [5]. The brand has cited several awards, including a Dutch Beauty Award and an ICI Paris XL "Best Exclusive Brand" award in 2020, and a "Best Skincare Launch" recognition from ICI Paris XL in 2024 [1]. Cosmetics Business profiled Veer in 2020, focusing on how she involved Instagram followers in developing the mask.

Veer was later named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list in the Retail and E-commerce category [7]. The brand says its products reached a milestone of 100,000 online orders in 2023.

Beyond its own webshop, which ships across much of Europe as well as the United States and Canada, Clay And Glow is sold through ICI Paris XL stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. The number of stockists is reported inconsistently across sources and dates, ranging from roughly 221 to about 300 ICI Paris XL locations across the Benelux region [6].

The brand is active. Its homepage promotes current sunscreen launches and seasonal bundles, and its founder received Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe recognition in 2026. The company reports a retail presence across ICI Paris XL in the Benelux countries and direct shipping across most of Europe plus the United States and Canada.