Hi! I’m Donna, Editor-in-Chief of The Beauty Ed® and I’ve spent the past 28 years reporting from the ‘front row’ of the beauty industry.

My journey began in London and has led me to my current home in St. Petersburg, Florida. Along the way, I’ve directed over 100 unretouched cover shoots for Boots UK and have tested tens of thousands of beauty products for newspapers and magazines like Allure, Cosmopolitan, InStyle and The Daily Mail.

My commitment to honest, ‘real world’ beauty journalism was formally recognized in 2021 when the US government awarded me an O-1 Extraordinary Ability Visa - which basically means I had to prove that no one else has my experience or could do my job.

Today my passion for keeping beauty content relatable, truthful and trustworthy continues through my work here at The Beauty Ed®, my podcast Smiling Gives You Wrinkles, and my Substack on sober living, My Skin Type Is Sober.

I am also passionately committed to continuing this legacy via my student mentorship program: THE LAB. In an era of AI-generated content and overly filtered and scripted influencer culture, The Beauty Ed® THE LAB is a return to reality for the next generation.

💌 Subscribers have full beauty access

I believe beauty should be accessible to all, which is why all of The Beauty Ed® content is completely free! But that doesn’t mean we don’t need your support. Please helps us grow and partner with aligned brands that appreciate our vision by subscribing below:

Look out for lots of honest reviews, thoughtful reports and insider news from me and the team!

When you subscribe, you also get automatic access to:

♡ THE 40+ PROJECT

The unretouched truth about what works as we age. As a 49-year-old editor who chooses a skincare-first approach without Botox or fillers, this is my passion project.

🕸️ But if it’s not for you, you can opt-out in your membership settings.

📝 THE LAB

This is my passion project! A student mentorship program that posts articles and reviews written by these amazing Beauty Editors in-training. THE LAB-stars are future-proofing the way we talk about beauty and culture.

🕸️ But if it’s not for you, you can opt-out in your membership settings.

I truly hope you enjoy The Beauty Ed®.

My door is always open: if there is a product you’d like reviewed, have a trend that needs checking over, or have a beauty question that we’ve missed, please submit your feedback. I only want to publish what you want to read.

Keep being you!

Donna Francis 🐞

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Meet The Team

🐞 Donna

I became a Beauty Editor by accident after working in the fashion department at a glossy magazine in London. I had studied Ancient History at UCL in London, but during my studies, my love for fashion and magazines never went away.

After working for free for a year at Company Magazine (a glossy 90s magazine with an office in London’s Soho), the Beauty Director asked me to help research for a beauty feature. I loved it. I had a passion for writing and loved the way beauty blended fashion too.

I was given my first beauty Q&A column - Dear Donna - when I was 23 years old, and the rest, as they say, is history.

I have always been passionate about helping others celebrate their unique identity. This was very much shaped by my relationship with my sister, who grew up pushing against the 80s and 90s aesthetic - a mould that I appeared to fit. All I wanted was to help her feel good.

That mission was further solidified during my time at an all girls school, where I became acutely aware of the intense pressure that other girls felt to look good on the outside, in order to feel good on the inside.

I hated this cookie-cutter way of approaching beauty. I didn’t and will never want women to strive for an ideal that society and trends push them to believe they should follow. So I decided early on in my career, when answering all of those questions for Dear Donna, that I would always encourage women to embrace their unique beauty.

At the teen magazine, CosmoGIRL!, for my photoshoots, I always cast models with quirks - gaps in their teeth, freckles (I LOVE FRECKLES!), even frizz (positive spin = texture).

In 2015, when I was appointed Beauty Director at the British drugstore Boots, I led the team that brought unretouched imagery to the British high street. This meant nothing could be airbrushed away from the photos with a digital pen. Not a stray hair, spot or stye (yes that happened once) could be erased! I went on to direct over 100 of those shoots over 5 years, all across the world. I LOVED IT!

So when I created The Beauty Ed.® on Instagram over 15 years ago, I wanted to create a space that not only made every woman feel seen, but I wanted it to be helpful in a down-to-earth, unpretentious and respectful way.

Today, The Beauty Ed® is like my third child and I have cared and nurtured it just like one of my kids! So I want it to treat you just like I treat them - with respect, kindness and honesty.

Alongside my global team of contributors, we are breaking through AI and toxic influencer culture with trusted beauty storytelling that is built on 3 decades of expertise, realness and sincerity.

I hope you love it ❤️

🐞 Hayley

I started my career in beauty by accident when I took my first job at Lord & Taylor in New York City as an assistant planner in fragrances. I soon transitioned to an assistant buyer in cosmetics, where I worked in the largest volume office in the company and I fell IN LOVE! I credit my love to not only the product but having bosses who truly believed in me and made me into a strong woman within a very competitive industry. I transitioned to the vendor side and never looked back! I like to say I am a bit of a chameleon, where whatever position I am thrown into I embrace with excitement and joy. I have been lucky to travel the world following this passion from LA to London to Paris and more! It never gets old.

Throughout the years I have found myself primarily working for founder led brands which is one of the most exciting places to be; you can work hard and fast and quickly make a difference. This is how I met Donna. A brand I was heading marketing for solicited Donna as a freelance writer and I knew there was something special about her, and the message she was sharing. Fast forward, I was lost in my career so I cold reached out to her and we had a zoom, mainly so I could pick her brain about what the F to do with my life and we hit it off. Two plus years later, we are now both co-workers and very close friends.

The Beauty Ed® is an extremely unique platform that allows everyone to be heard, but also to provide authentic and honest reviews and advice in a world where we are fed so much content that it is hard to dissect. As the Director of Marketing and Paid Media for The Beauty Ed® it is nothing short of exciting and inspirational. Follow along as we continue to grow in the most wonderful way!!

With love from NYC, Hayley (& Bear 🐾 )

🐞 Gia

I’m Gia, a London-based journalist writing across fashion and beauty. I recently graduated from UCL with first-class honours in Literature. My work has always sat between the two industries: one eye on the runway, the other on a makeup bag. I’m interested in how the two inform each other; the way a look comes together, the meaning behind getting dressed, and the small details that shape personal style.

Creatively, I’ve always pushed a little past the expected. I’ve often been told I’m too much or encouraged to fit more conventional moulds, which is perhaps why meeting Donna felt so aligned. From the outset, she has celebrated a voice that is distinct and unfiltered, while still holding it to a high editorial standard. Working with her has already helped me grow as a writer, and I’m infinitely grateful for the space she’s created, one that is open, welcoming, and genuinely excited by new perspectives.

At The Beauty Ed®, I write with a Gen Z lens. I’m interested in products and fashion that feel worth the investment, pieces that become part of a routine or a wardrobe rather than a fleeting trend. Everything I cover is tested properly and written about with the same honesty I’d offer friends.

I’m excited to make my corner of The Beauty Ed® feel like the place you come when you need clarity, comfort, or just someone to tell you what actually works.

-Gia, in London xoxo

🐞 Paloma

I’m Paloma, a final year uni student and freelance writer based in London (and beauty enthusiast). I’ve been obsessed with makeup for as long as I can remember - in school, I was told off for having more lip products in my bag than pens!

I started creating beauty and lifestyle content for Instagram and Substack over the summer and have absolutely loved the creative outlet it gives me. On social media, it’s challenging to filter out content that inspires versus what gets us down, but The Beauty Ed® is a strictly empowering space, and I’m excited to be a part of it.

I’m super passionate about testing out products, trends and brands - and am the go-to girl for my friends when it comes to skincare and makeup advice (in fact, they’re probably sick of hearing about it!) Hopefully, this community connects us all, and we can collectively share our favourite hacks and products.

I love Donna’s mission for The Beauty Ed® and am so inspired by her ambitions for it, and can’t wait to see her ideas come to life!

Love Paloma xoxo

🐞 THE LAB

The LAB is a Gen A collective of high school students from The Shorecrest Chronicle in Florida. Mentored by Donna, The LAB-stars report on the beauty products and trends affecting their world. Sharing the products blowing up the group chat and the trends that they truly care about.

We really hope that you enjoy being part of The Beauty Ed® and that it makes you feel happier when you’re here ♡

If you would like to share anything with us, be it a beauty recommendation or question, we are all ears! You are what helps us shape the content after all!

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