Georgie Greville is the ultimate power woman who proves you can 100% have it all — brains, your own business and beauty, of course. Literally. Aside from being a writer, film director and overall creative powerhouse, Georgie is the driving force behind Milk Makeup, the latest line of beauty products built for the cool girl. Oh, and did I mention this line uses natural ingredients too? Nope, it’s not too good to be true. This line is real and it’s good.

I was lucky enough to catch Georgie one afternoon in NYC (she’s very busy, as you can imagine) to chat about her life, her brand and her routine. From the best energy-boosting coffee recipe to the ultimate pre-party prep routine, I think it’s safe to say we covered a lot. I can’t wait to hear what you think!

What is the Milk Makeup mantra? Who is the “Milk Girl?”

The Milk Makeup mantra is Milk Girls Do Their Makeup Quick. It just says it all. Milk Girls (and Boys) are modern individuals with busy schedules, great taste and high standards. They curate every choice they make in order to be more true to themselves and streamline their life. Because of the thought they put in to who they are and what they like, they surround themselves with useful products that work to get them ready super quick. We also call this kind of lifestyle High Concept, Low Maintenance- thoughtful intentions with efficient, chic results.

The Milk Girl gets ready in under 10 minutes, for me it would be under 3 minutes since I have a toddler running around that I usually need to wrangle and get to school on time. There is some simple skin prep – I use hydrating face mist, Sunshine oil on my face and Cooling Water under my eyes to depuff. Then I dab on concealer under the eyes and smudge to blend. I then layer on Ubame mascara to my eyelashes, swipe the Highlighter on my cheek bones and Lip + Cheek in Rally on my cheeks and lips. Then I’m out the door. Depending on my mood, I will add on a thick brown, purple winged eyeliner or bold pink or deep bluey-red lip color when I get to Milk.

What is your biggest inspiration for starting Milk Makeup? 

The amazing, ambitious and naturally cool women that work at Milk. We all share a similar ethos- we work hard but have fun and love to play with our personal style.

What are your favorite Milk products? Is there anything coming out we need to know about?

My favorites right now are the Highlighter, Lip + Cheek in Rally and Lip Color in Gnarly and GRRRL. And yes, we have some really exciting new products coming out in August for fall. I don’t want to give away too much, but we have some gorgeous, every day workhorse products (with natural SPF!) balanced with some really fun, rave-inspired products that no one has ever seen before. We are actually shooting the campaign this week with Collier Schorr and I am so excited to see how it turns out.

You and your husband are a writing/directing duo and have done some incredible films together! Has your experience as a director influenced the makeup you’ve created? 

I think my experience as a Director has influenced the personality and image of the brand a lot. We are more video-driven than most beauty brands and visuals across the board lean to the artistic and conceptual side. I direct all the How To and Generation Milk videos, so my Milk Girl POV comes through in those.

Being a Director is an intensely collaborative experience so I like to bring that energy to my team. Our creative team is all women and we have such a good time collaborating and pushing each other to make things better. Egos are checked at the door. As a Director, you have to constantly multi-task too, which I naturally do a lot in my life (who doesn’t). I am a brush my teeth in the shower while my conditioner is washing out kind of girl. That multi-tasking attitude is definitely something from my initial brief for our products – we try to make each product as multi-faceted and multi-functional as possible. The way we see it, we multitask non-stop, so our products should too.

It is incredibly important to me. In my past life as a writer/director at MTV, I actually wrote and directed the Environmental Awareness PSAs, so I am painfully aware of the state of our planet. I try to live green as much as I can in an apartment in NYC, but I am very conscious that there are always ways to be better – less amazon-ing and plastic across the board, for starters. I belong to a CSA, which I love because it supports small local farmers upstate. At Milk Makeup, we are always researching ways to make our products more and more natural and the brand more sustainable and eco-conscious. All our products are recyclable, and our packaging is made from recycled materials with soy-based ink.

Building off that. Let’s talk about your personal routine. What does the first hour of your day look like?

The first hour at home? Kiss my husband, make coffee and a bottle for my son Syd then snuggle on the couch with him for about 10 minutes (he’s really in to snuggling right now). Sometimes, we read a book, sometimes we just stare out the window while we wake up. Then I make Syd’s school lunch, grab a quick shower, get him dressed while my hair dries a bit, then I get dressed and do my makeup with him running around in usually about 10 minutes. When I’m lucky, my husband is around to help but he is about to shoot his first feature film which he wrote both the script and the score for and is directing…so he’s a bit busy. My first hour is taking a deep breath, enjoying my deluxe hippy coffee, then swirling in to a hurricane of productivity. One day, I will put those TM classes we did to good use and get a 20-minute mediation in.

What is your skincare routine?  

I use a lot of oils and take a lot of long baths. My favorite cleanser is either just Sibu Sea Buckthorn Oil or In Fiore Lustra illuminating Cleansing Essence. After cleansing, I spray on Tata Harper’s Hydrating Floral Essence and then apply June Jacobs Brightening Moisturizer. I use June Jacobs Intensive Age Defying Brightening Eye Cream around the eyes.

After applying makeup, I will apply June Jacobs Intensive Age Defying Hydrating Complex SPF 25. DISCLAIMER: I was gifted a load of June Jacob’s Anti-Aging products by a friend – I have been using them and I have never gotten so many compliments on my skin….so now I’m a total convert. At age 36-almost 37, I will take all the age-defying luminance I can get!

For irritated skin, I love Jurlique’s Calendula Cream.

At night, I will use May Lindstrom’s The Blue Cocoon or Weleda’s Wild Rose Smoothing Night Cream. Both are so lovely and rejuvenating. For exfoliating and clearing masks, I love May Lindstrom’s The Problem Solver and Naturopathica’s Pumpkin Purifying Enzyme mask. I am also loving our Milk Makeup Urban Defense Mask and June Jacob’s Mandarine Moisture mask.

I am a bit obsessed with natural and organic skincare and will pretty much try anything from Shen or CAP Beauty.

What do you normally eat in a day?

I feel like I am constantly eating as my days are pretty packed and high energy. My new obsession is this coffee “elixir” I drink in the am, which I learned from my facialist Cara from CAP Beauty. It involves 1 tblsp Sun Potion’s Tocos, a pinch of Sun Potion’s Ashwaganda, 1 tblsp of Coconut Meat,  a little agave and hemp milk for taste. It’s like the vegan version of Bulletproof coffee and I have to say, it keeps me going. My husband and I love it.

My favorite new breakfast has been sauteed asparagus, 2 eggs and avocado. I try to keep it light at lunch. Lately I have been loving the Clean Green Smoothie and Pico De Gallo Salad at Juice Press. Pumpkin noodles and Kale Salad from Nourish Kitchen is another fave.

For dinner, we have a lot of roast chickens and salad or salmon and salad. I also love making different versions of dinner on toast made with She Wolf Spelt bread. If I am home alone, I will be happy eating 2 pieces of toast with lots of Mayo, Goat Gouda and Sliced tomatoes. I will also cook anything from Gwyneth Paltrow’s past 2 cookbooks. I love her recipes.

As far as snacks go, I love green juices, almonds, RXBars, popcorn and seaweed snacks. I also love good red wine and tequila and pizza with loads of salad on top of it.

Milk Makeup Ubame mascara, Milk Makeup Lip + Cheek in Rally, Milk Makeup Oil Lip Stain in Vibes, Milk Makeup Coverage Duo in Medium, Milk Makeup Gel Brow in Dark Brew, Milk Makeup Lip Color in Gnarly and GRRRL, By Terry Ombre Blackstar in Brown Perfection, Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow Stick in Tuxedo Black and Violet Plum, Le Labo Rose 31 sample, Milk Makeup Micellar Water individual wipes and Q tips.

How do you prep for a big party or event?

In an ideal world, it would be a bath with a calming, hydrating face mask and book or the latest issue of The Week and an extra large glass of sparkling water with ice. Then I would lie with my feet up 90 degrees on a wall for 10 minutes and make myself a Tequila and Grapefruit cocktail with a little agave in it to sip on while I do my make up. Tequila is great for getting out the door.

You’ve mastered cool-girl style. What’s your most recent fashion purchase that you are really excited about.

Ha! That is incredibly sweet of you – not sure if I agree but I’ll take it. My most recent fashion purchase was a splurge on a Dries Van Noten leopard print and palm print shirt from the mens collection that I wear oversized over a slip dress. It’s Lebowski-chic.

Obsessed with you hair. Where do you get it cut and colored?

Thank you! Since I have very little time in the work day, I actually get friend and amazing stylist Glenn Ellis to come over and give me trims. He cuts my hair at my dinner table and we get to catch up and have wine. I color once or twice a year with Aura Friedman and Sally Hershberger Downtown.

What is your best advise for a girl who wants to start their own beauty line? 

Dig deep and create a concept that reflects your ideals and values. Intention is everything. Then find an amazing product developer who shares your vision and work on the details of how to make each one of your products innovative and new.