Chan grew up in San Francisco, in the United States, and graduated from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire – one of the country’s most prestigious universities. Before entering the beauty industry, she worked in a very different field, selling complex software for data centres.

That job necessitated frequent travel to Hong Kong, which is where she met her now-husband. It was while waiting for pandemic-related restrictions to lift that Chan began thinking about make-up that could double as skincare, based on her own youthful experiences.

“I hadn’t put on any make-up for a week, but started thinking about my younger days when it was all about getting ready and putting on make-up and going out with my friends,” she says.

“Sometimes we had too much fun and I would come home and fall asleep with my make-up on. My skin would have allergic reactions. So I started thinking about creating make-up I wouldn’t have to worry about if I left on, at any time of day.”

Chan eventually moved back to San Francisco with her husband and used her savings to launch her brand. She says she kept her plans secret during this incubation period, as she didn’t want to be talked out of them.

The BYO Blush Color Changing Blush Oil, which retails at US$36 (HK$280), was the first product Chan launched and remains Youthforia’s bestseller. It’s a smooth, translucent oil that glides onto the skin to create a different texture than that achievable with a liquid, powder or cream. It also changes colour depending on the skin tone of the wearer.

“We wanted a universally flattering blush,” Chan says of the product. “My husband has a slightly darker skin tone than mine, and the colour was different on me than it was on him.

“We slept in it to see how it reacted with our skin, and our cheeks still looked bright in the morning, with no reaction.

“The blush has a very natural look to it, reflecting the light with the contours of the face and bringing in a natural highlighting feel. It’s just visually very different.”

A year and a half on, Youthforia’s line has grown to include 11 products, including lip glosses, a primer, a setting spray, and multiple shades of its flagship blush – released in response to customer requests.

Youthforia then got picked up by US-wide beauty product chain Ulta, the department store giant JC Penney, and global online retailer Amazon. Chan’s products also ship internationally.

Chan says the TikTok traction was organic and unexpected: she posted videos showing how the BYO Blush compared with a traditional powder blush – and demonstrated how to use it – and the videos blew up almost immediately. People who then bought the product created their own videos, and a viral hit was born.

“It’s a very visual product, and you see it working in five seconds,” Chan says.

Social media fame alone is not enough, however, to maintain the success of the brand, and Chan knows that her products need to deliver. She is a keen believer in clean ingredients and in creating products that work for all skin types and tones.

“Textures are super, super important to me, and I like to get down to very technical, molecular details,” she says.

All the Youthforia products are vegan and cruelty-free, and contain ingredients such as almond oil, apple and willow bark extract – selected to nourish the skin “through all seasons and climates”, Chan says.

Moving forward, Chan envisions creating a “whole face” line, including products such as foundation. The challenge, she says, may come in eye make-up: anyone who has fallen asleep without removing eyeliner and mascara knows the mess that awaits them in the morning.

“I’ll figure that out when we get there,” she adds.