Liquid Gold

Negin Mirsalehi shares the real story behind Gisou, a brand born out of a passion for honey bees and haircare

- OLIVIA MORRIS

Can you talk us through your career?

My career really started while I was still completing my studies in marketing. During this time, I thought it would be a fun outlet to maintain a blog about my biggest passions: beauty and fashion. I was one of the first bloggers on Instagram, and I guess my content resonated because I quickly became one of the fastest-growing beauty and fashion influencers globally. My channels didn’t take off by themselves – I definitely had to work at it and post on a consistent basis.

I received the most positive comments and questions about my hair. So, I was inspired to share my beauty secrets through a beauty line. In 2015, Maurits and I launched Gisou, a line of bee-based haircare products. Since then, I maintain a career as an influencer, but also as an entrepreneur.

What inspired you to start your own brand?

When I first started blogging, my content was centred around pictures of my outfits and beauty tips. At a certain point, I shared more of my personal life, including my family’s bee garden. I was surprised by how interested my followers were about my family heritage and the bees.

My father is a beekeeper and my mother is a hairdresser. We grew up using honey from our bee garden for a wide variety of purposes, and my mum used it in her homemade hair products, which she also used on me. I was inspired to share my homemade haircare secret using honey from our bee garden. We launched Gisou with the Honey Infused Hair Oil, which is based on a homemade family recipe formulated by my mum. Gisou is the project I am most proud of – it’s inspired by my family and heritage and combines all of my passions for bees, nature, family and beauty into one brand.