From Lord Sugar’s boardroom, to helming her own international beauty brand, Pamela Laird chats to Niamh O’Reilly about why the early bird catches the worm and growing her own empire.

By the time most of us are just throwing our legs out of bed in the morning, Pamela Laird has already gotten a solid few hours’ work done, dealing with calls in Australia and China and even fitting in an exercise class while she’s at it.

It’s a trait that’s served this switched-on early bird well, not least when it came to her starring turn on BBC’s hit reality show, ­ The Apprentice in 2019.

“I was a bit of a cheat in terms of the early morning scenes,” she laughs. Viewers will be familiar with the notoriously early phone calls, where the candidates are woken at the crack of dawn, with very little time to get up, get dressed and leave the house amid a mad panic.

Pamela, however, thrived in the chaos.

“When they film you answering the phone, the production team has arrived to set up that scene, so I would be awake anyway and hear them come in. I’d turn on my little ring light, because they wouldn’t let us turn on the big light until the cameras came in, and I would just start to do my hair and makeup,” she smiles. “They then refused to let me answer the phone ever again because I was practically done by the time the phone rang.”

The bright businesswoman made it all the way to the final three, before getting her marching orders from the UK’s toughest boss, Lord Sugar. “I was just trying to be myself, but if I look back and think, maybe I should have been a little bit more ballsy in terms of, ‘well I did this and I did that.’”

Pamela got on well with her fellow candidates and is still in touch with many of them today. “I’m actually flying over in July to meet all of them and that will be my first time back in London since pre-Covid so, I’m very Excited But what was it like behind the scenes on a show known for boardroom drama?

“I loved it,” she replies right off the bat. “It was a fantastic experience, it was right out of my comfort zone for a number of reasons, being reality TV for one, but also, I’m just quite a home bird.

It was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done.” Thankfully, Pamela thrives on stress. “I leave things to the last minute and let the pressure build and I work very well like that,” she smiles.

As for Lord Sugar, that’s a different story. “He’s intimidating,” she laughs.

“He terrified me; he’d still terrify me today. He never breaks character, that’s just how he is. He’s got a presence.” Underneath it all though, Pamela thinks real world boardrooms could learn a thing or two from the colossal businessman.

“He really likes giving people a chance. I’ve been in plenty of boardrooms since The Apprentice and I can tell you, the questions are very different. They’re not as much about you as a person and your merits, it’s all about projections, but Lord Sugar’s looking for someone he can back, and it would be great if that carried into normal boardroom settings.”

MOMENTS OF DOUBT

While Pamela might have found the man himself intimating, she didn’t hesitate to jump at the chance to be on the show watched by around eight million people.

“I thought, look I did Dragons Den [on RTÉ] how hard can ­ The Apprentice be?” Pamela was a natural in front of the camera, yet as confident as she was in her abilities, there were still moments of doubt.

“What I was most nervous about was that I had a consumer facing brand and I thought, ‘oh god people could hate me and in turn boycott my brand, what if I come across terribly?’ So that was playing on my mind massively. You’re in a stressful situation, how are you going to react and how are people going to react to you reacting, was what I was thinking?” she laughs.

Pamela needn’t have worried, while she didn’t walk away from the boardroom as Lord Sugar’s apprentice, it did help her build up her beauty brand, Moxi Loves, into an international success story, albeit one she’d like to grow even more. Centring on innovation as a point of difference, the waterless range includes products like the powder pod cleansers Pamela literally grew up in her mum

Yvonne’s popular salon, visiting every day after school. ­ e idea of, ‘if you can see it, you can be it,’ was daily life for Pamela, whose mum was a true inspiration, branching out into distribution, as well as running her own business.

“Back then, you either ‘do beauty’ or own a beauty salon. My mum was a real role model, she had a sort of hybrid business, which I thought was just amazing. I realised she'd put a lot of effort launching a brand into Ireland and then the brand would launch into a big retailer supplied from the UK and all the hard work was gone. I remember thinking next time we put that much effort into a brand, it will be our own brand and that stayed in my mind.”

Having the work bug from an early age, Pamela set up a nail bar in House of Fraser right out of school, baulking at the idea of a traditional college degree. She had her sights set on business and was determined to be a success, soon becoming the go-to name for celebrity nails and photoshoots. But Pamela wanted more than just being an in demand beauty artist.

“I had this ambition to just be bigger,” she recalls. “How can I scale this? How can I spread myself and how sustainable was this going to be? I’d watched my mum in the salon and she was in such high demand because people wanted her specifically and I thought do I really want this? So, I took a step back for a year and started developing Moxi Loves. I felt that a piece of me could go global and my ideas could be spread much easier than my time.”

It was the right move and Pamela has major ambitions to grow her empire further, but despite her success and ease at being on TV, Pamela still has to contend with imposter syndrome.

“­There’s a lot of things I feel extremely confident in and there are times when I think I don’t have a degree, I didn’t do business, I don’t have that stamp of approval. Not having a degree is an Achilles heel for some people, and while it hasn’t stopped me, it’s definitely something I’ve felt along the way that I don’t have. Now you couldn’t have paid me at the time to go to college,” she laughs, “but now I’m on the other side I wonder, wouldn’t I just love a formal degree to make that imposter syndrome go away?”

Outwardly Pamela comes across as confident and warm and is part of a generation of young women who are redefining what it means to be at the top of a male dominated beauty industry.

­The idea of the grey men in grey suits being the gatekeepers is coming to an end. “I really hope our generation, when we reach the point of being able to become investors and board members, that we will be able to give back to other women, because right now it is so male dominated at the very, very top.”

LEADING THE WAY

­That passion for helping the next generation extends beyond just being a role model. Pamela understands the value of giving aspiring entrepreneurs her time, as well as the benefit of her learnings along the way. She recalls an early labelling error in her first product that saw her have to re-label 60,000 products, followed by a second barcode issue where she had to re-label an eye-watering 70,000. Instead of keeping schtum however, she uses it as a cautionary tale to help others avoid her mistakes.

“If I can help people not do a lot of the things I did wrong, I will. I tell everyone about the label issue because that is expensive, it costs you time. Did I learn anything? No, because I left a barcode off the next time! If you can save someone a headache and a few tears, then why not?”

Moxi Loves has won multiple beauty awards, but it hasn’t been without issue. Some of the previous criticism levelled at the products, centred around them being single use or using too much plastic. It’s one Pamela was keen to address and has used the changing environment as a catalyst to innovate further and identify the next big issues coming down the tracks.

Namely, waterless beauty.

“In 2025, five billion people will face water shortages,” she warns.” It’s going to be a commodity we can no longer waste in formulations. Your average cleanser is made with 80-90 per cent water and that won’t be sustainable. We’ve made our range completely waterless and all of our products coming down the line are water-free.”

Of course, we as consumers have the best of intentions, but who out there can say that a paper straw is truly more effective than a plastic one? The solution, however, is a metal reusable version and this innovative type of thinking is exactly where Pamela’s mind has gone to.

“There are a lot of people who want to make a change, but not at the expense of a product that feels good and works.

We want to make it sustainable at our core, but not to compromise on the user experience, because you won’t make the switch if it’s not easy.”

Away from the busy life of business, Pamela is a passionate advocate for the Alzheimer’s Society, ever since her beloved father, Sylvester, was diagnosed with vascular dementia. It was a huge blow to her and her mum, who had to fight hard to get the diagnoses for the man they adore.

“The interesting thing about dementia is that I think the people suffering most at the time, at least in my dad’s case - he’s blissfully unaware - is the family. It’s very tough on my mum and that’s the hardest thing about it; to watch someone you love disappear in some ways.”

“I think a lot of people don’t talk about it for various reasons because it's hurtful, or can be difficult, but I think what’s really important is to just raise awareness and discuss it as much as possible.” She says.

In his younger years, Sylvester was a stunt man hanging out with the likes of George Peppard from the A-Team. Pamela credits him with inspiring her as much as her mum has.

When she's’ not busy with Moxi Loves, or supporting her family, Pamela is happiest when hanging out with her boyfriend and their feisty chihuahua Tallulah. Despite being someone who adores the buzz of being constantly busy, the enforced slower pace of life from lockdown has given her food for thought.

“I think I’m much better at it [switching off ] these days and since I left school at 18 and started working, this is the most balanced I’ve ever been.”

Pamela’s top 7 beauty essentials –

Hair

1>> L’Oréal Elvive Hyaluronic Moisture Mapping Hair Mask €10.49 boots.ie

I love a hair mask, I don’t think you always need to use expensive hair products to get results. This mask is really hydrating and plumps the hair as it contains hyaluronic acid.

2>> Moxi Loves Dry Shampoo Sheet €3.95 moxiloves.com

I have the oiliest hair of all time so this was a selfish addition to the Moxi range. The sheets absorb away excess oil without leaving behind a great powder residue perfect for on the go touch ups.

Skin

3>> Bellamianta gradual Hyaluronic Serum €39.95 mcelhinneys.com

I always try to pop a layer of tan on my face once a week, it makes me feel all the bronze summer vibes and I’m loving Irish brand Bellamianta serum. It hydrates and tans at the same time.

4>> Moxi Loves Barefaced Cleansing Pads €3.95 moxiloves.com

I cleanse twice a day and always with Barefaced, you just add drops of water to the pads and that activates the cleanser inside the pad and you are good to go. I keep a pack in my car to cleanse after the gym to prevent any breakouts.

5>> IT Cosmetics CC Cream €39 cultbeauty. com

This product is a staple in my makeup bag. It's SPF 50, brilliant coverage and lasts all day long.

6>> Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Omega-Rich Cloud Cream €46.45 lookfantastic.ie

This overnight mask is a drink of water for your skin, instant hydration and works while you sleep.

7>> Dr Dennis Gross Daily Peel Pads €102 pack of 30 spacenk.com

I have noticed a huge difference in my skin since I started using these peel pads. They exfoliate using gentle acids, it’s without doubt the best way to get radiant skin and works great on sun spots and pigmentation.

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