Model Marie von Behrens-Felipe’s Simple Skincare Line Is Inspired by Slow Living

There’s something so clean and effortless about your personal style. How would you describe it? Does the same approach apply to how you approach natural beauty?

Thank you. In most aspects of my life, I prefer simplicity over complexity. Over the past few years, I’ve found more and more beauty in the natural and intuitive parts of my everyday routines—whether it’s how I decorate my home or how I get dressed in the morning.  

When I began brainstorming the first ideas for Sonsie, a lot of my motivation was coming from my own needs and desires. I wanted a skincare routine that was simple but impactful. I wanted just a couple of perfect products that would allow me to reset from all of the many-step routines. 

To me, simplicity means elegance. I want things to feel easy and minimal but always with a touch of fun.

Sonsie offers minimal, simplified skincare. What inspired the brand, and why did you decide to focus on skincare?

When I moved from Germany to New York at 21, I was working, traveling all the time, and enjoying this new city to the fullest. I was constantly busy and would eat out for every single meal. My skin became stressed and unhappy. I tried to fix it with all the products I had access to due to my work, which in turn made things worse. When the pandemic came, I did a full reset. This meant slowing down, eating clean, and researching the science of skincare and what my skin actually needed.

All these ideas led to Sonsie, and I started working with a chemist to create my dream products: effective formulas that would simplify my routine and that I could use in different ways depending on the season or occasion.