Welcome to ‘The GLOWDOWN’. A new series on Amour Ophelia compromised of inspiring, real & honest conversations with girl bosses from all walks of life. Featuring company founders, photographers, creative directors, journalists and more, these interviews with empowering females will illuminate everything you need to know about life as a #girlboss. Grab something to write with as you are going to want to take notes…

I am honoured to introduce my first guest; Mona Ghafoori. A good friend and founder of hair accessories brand, Tort. As this interview will reveal, Mona is ambitious, grounded and très chic. She is someone I have looked up to since meeting 4 years ago whilst I was interning at a beauty PR agency and to this day, she is a friend who offers advice, support, love and great hair clips.

Meet Mona; founder of hair clip brand TORT and PR consultancy, Wave Publicity. Mona has 9 years experience of working as a beauty PR expert for leading brands and agencies amongst the likes of Burberry, Ole Henriksen, Laura Mercier and L’Oreal. In 2018, Mona saw an opportunity to forge a new path for her career, leading her to launch her own consultancy firm WAVE where she has worked with Ama Nails, Bam Brows, AP Wigs & luxury sun-care brand Saltee. In 2019, Mona went on to begin her latest venture, TORT; the newest and chicest hair accessories brand for all hair types. Mona’s clips have been seen the hair of icons such as Jorja Smith, Katie Jane Hughes, Estée Lalonde and Laura Jackson and featured in Vogue, Man Repeller, Who What Wear and Refinery 29.

In this interview, we learn about what inspired Mona to have her own business, how she built her network in the industry, her go to beauty routine and ultimately, what makes her the girlboss that she is today.

AO: “It’s an honour to have you on here as my friend and first guest! What are you doing right now in these strange times we find ourselves in?”

MG: It's quite a sad time really in so many ways, so I'm trying to focus on getting through each day - for me that mostly involves working, cooking and exercising. The whole world has been forced to slow down, which although isn't ideal in the most-part, it's a good opportunity to catch up and get organised for the months ahead.

AO: “I feel exactly the same. Now is the time to plan, take time out and recharge. As a fellow beauty lover, I’m intrigued to know what your relationship with beauty was like growing up?” 

MG: Coming from an Iranian family and being the youngest of two girls, beauty grooming started quite young. I remember waxing my legs and plucking my unibrow when I was 9 (because I was jealous of my sister and used to get bullied about it at school). I've always been very interested in beauty, I used to ask my mum to blow dry my hair from a young age as my hair was frizzy and I wanted it to be silky smooth. In terms of makeup, I only really wore a little concealer and clear mascara until I was 16, oh and I moisturised with Nivea Soft - which I'm pretty sure is for your hands not your face. I'm really glad social media didn't exist!

AO: “Nivea Soft for your face - hilarious. You always have such healthy, fresh looking makeup - has that always been your ‘look’? Was this inspired by anything in-particular?”

MG: Ah thank you! I realised in my twenties that I don't actually suit a heavy makeup look and through trial and error, I've now got a really simple go-to routine which really never changes. I would always prefer to spend time putting on a good mask than time applying loads of makeup. I'm lucky to have quite good skin apart from a little rosacea on my cheeks so I like to enhance rather than cover up too much. I also just love a bronzed glow with a feline flick, and think it works for every occasion.

AO: “Personally, I don’t think you can go too wrong with bronzed skin. Simple & radiant! Now, going back to the start of your career, where did it all begin for you?”

MG: I studied Retail Management at university so came out of uni thinking I wanted to be a fashion buyer. I applied for several internships during my last few weeks of uni and got a call the day before my last exam, asking me to come for an interview for an internship in the Burberry Press Samples Office. I got the job, and the day after my last exam, I packed all my stuff and moved to London. I didn't really know what PR was exactly so this was my first insight into it all. I then stayed at Burberry for 9 months, which although I was surrounded by the best people (who I'm still friends with now), it did make me realise fashion maybe wasn't for me. I then went on to apply for an internship at Beauty Seen and fell in love with the world of beauty. After interning there for more than 6 months, I got my first Account Executive role at another agency and it all went from there. I've worked in-agency including TCS & Purple PR and in-house at L'Oreal & Show Beauty. And after 8 years, I decided to go freelance. I initially freelanced at agencies, and after a year of that - I decided to start Wave (my consultancy) where I now have my own clients. 

AO: “What an incredible career you have paved so far. From years of working in PR, were there any people you learnt the most from or found the most inspiring to work with?”

MG: I've worked with a lot of inspiring people, both in terms of my managers through the years, and my clients. My first manager at Burberry, Amanda, was probably the person that stuck with me the most, she taught me early-on to always stand up for yourself and to be strong in the workplace. I've also had the chance to work with people like Jo Tutchener-Sharp and Jo Jones who have gone on to do amazing things! 

AO: “Lets talk about the one thing I am most excited about discussing with you - TORT. What an amazing venture. Did you always want to be your own boss and have your own company?”

MG: I think I realised 3-4 years ago. I found myself getting bored of jobs after about a year and getting frustrated with inflexibility of office culture, which is what made me realise freelancing might be better suited to me. And after going freelance, I was definitely happier, and had the flexibility I always craved, but felt like I was missing a more tangible form of creativity. So one night at my flat whilst looking for wedding accessories for my best friend, I just suddenly had the idea. We joked about it at first but I couldn't stop thinking about it and after discussing with those closest to me, I thought why not. It happened pretty quickly, and within four months, I launched the brand in April 2019.

AO: “What was the inspiration behind starting your own luxury hair accessories brand?” 

MG: Simply something me and my friends wanted but couldn't find. We wear hair accessories as we do jewellery, but there aren't many accessible brands who specialise in hair accessories as there are brands who just do jewellery. I was also disappointed with the lack of inclusivity with hair types so whenever I'm launching a new product, I make sure it's tested across a variety of hair.

AO: “I love the purity of how TORT started. The best things come from conversations with friends! I’m interested to know if there is a particular process behind each clip you design… How do you know what is going to be a popular style or colour? They are all so beautiful!”

MG: There's not a particular process when it comes to designing. My inspiration actually tends to come from interiors, especially when it comes to colours. Most of my clips are made from eco-resin, and what I love about resin is the choice of colours and all the effects you can create. In terms of clip shapes etc, some of this comes from trends and some of its from 80s and 90s hair accessories that I like to research. I tend to come up with the shape first, then decide on the colour/resin that I'd like to use. I have to make a lot of decisions on my own, but when I can, I use my friends and family as my personal focus group.

AO: “Is there any advice you would give to someone wanting to start up their own business? Is there such thing as ’the right time’ or is it all about taking a risk?”

MG: I think anyone can start a business, it's just whether or not you want to take the risk of your business becoming your full-time job from the offset. If you're worried about finances, I'd always try and start something as a side-hustle first and go from there.

AO: “What has been your career highlight with Tort so far?”

MG: Some of the press we've received, creating custom clips for Jorja Smith at Glastonbury and the amazing messages I receive from customers are all highlights. But what I'm most proud of is having just celebrated Tort's 1st birthday.

AO: “I remember seeing the custom clips you created for Jorja Smith and thinking what an incredible achievement. Proud friend moment! Let's talk a bit about your current routine and beauty rituals…. What is your most reached for product on your skincare shelf right now?”

MG: The Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask - I bought it a few weeks ago and I've been using it as a sleep mask every night.

AO: “& what does your at-home beauty routine consist of?”

MG: I have a lot of products, but mostly because I don't use the same products everyday. The best advice I received was from my old client Ole Henriksen in 2012, he told me to look at my skin every morning and assess what it needs before applying anything as it's most likely to change on a daily basis. My typical at-home beauty routine consists of a mask every other day, the Dr Dennis Gross Tanning Acid Pads once a week, Retinol 1-2 times a week and then cleanser, essence, serum, moisturiser in the AM and cleanser, essence, overnight mask in the PM. But most importantly, I always make sure to have 8-9 hours sleep and drink loads of water and fresh mint tea.

AO: “Sleep, water & mint tea - the secret to Mona Ghafoori’s beautiful skin! Before we have a quick-fire round, do you have any tips for being a successful woman running her own business?”

MG: Make sure you really love what you're doing as working solo can be lonely and tough. It's never as glamorous as it looks :D

AO: Before you go, I have 3 last questions to ask you…

MG: Sure!

AO: “Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?”

MG: Be nice to people, even when they aren't being nice.

AO: “Who are your icons and inspirations?”

MG: I love Man Repeller and anything Leandra Medine creates content-wise.

AO: “What is one thing you are going to do when we are out of lockdown?”

MG: Hug my friends and family <3

Follow TORT’s journey on Instagram for behind the scenes, new products & exclusive discount codes. Shop here.

Thank you so much for reading and I look forward to sharing next weeks guest with you!

Interview by Jasmine Harding

Images by Mona Ghafoori