Four years ago, Shannon and Glenn Dellimore were at a party with their friend, actor Keanu Reeves, who was complaining to them about his skin problems.

How nice it would be if there was a product that could shrink pores and tighten skin within minutes, he told them.

The married couple took it upon themselves to find such a product in the market for him. When they could not find one, they decided to create one themselves.

Never mind that they did not have any formal knowledge of skincare - Mr Dellimore, 41, was then working as a business consultant to spas, while Mrs Dellimore, 39, was a former paralegal in an entertainment law firm.

After doing their research, which included talking to plastic surgeons and aesthetician friends and reading medical journals, the couple came up with the anti-ageing Youthmud in 2010.

It has gone on to become a phenomenal success. Within a year of its launch, Youthmud made US$3.2 million (S$4 million) in retail sales in 2011.

Last year, GlamGlow, the beauty brand behind Youthmud, recorded US$106 million (S$134 million) from the sale of Youthmud and Supermud, another product the couple launched last year after another celebrity friend, Jennifer Lopez, asked them for something to treat breakouts.

The brand has also won numerous awards, including the Elle International Beauty Awards 2014 for World's Best Mask and the Neiman Marcus Beauty Awards. The couple, who have been married for nine years and have a five-year-old daughter, have also been profiled in Forbes magazine because of their success.

GlamGlow products are now sold in 80 countries. In Singapore, they are available at Escentials (Paragon and Tangs Orchard) and Sephora stores.

The strength of their products lies in their ingredients.

Youthmud's key ingredients are volcanic pumice rock (for exfoliation) and green tea leaves.

"Green tea has amazing antioxidant properties," said Mrs Dellimore, who was in Singapore last week with her husband to launch GlamGlow. "Most people only use the extract, but we found that by using the leaves, we could generate a product that was 500 times more powerful than those with just the extract."

"We did not think about cost. Our chemist suggested using the extract, but we said no."

Supermud, which claims to treat pimples, in-grown hair, razor bumps and black and white heads, is a mixture of six acids.

It contains common acids found in products that treat acne, such as glycolic and salicylic acid, but also less common ones such as pyruvic acid - which is used by doctors to treat scarring. The formula also contains charcoal that is able to absorb toxic substances up to 500 times its mass.

Both products (50g of Youthmud and 34g of Supermud) cost $91 each.

CELEBRITY FACTOR

Their Hollywood connections have certainly paid off.

Aside from Reeves, the Los Angeles-based couple also gave Beyonce a pot of Youthmud when they first developed it.

"Beyonce initially said she does not try new products. But after she tried it, she wanted some for her husband Jay Z (American rapper), sister and mother," said Mr Dellimore.

Word spread among the Hollywood set and, soon, even executives from entertainment companies such as 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures were placing orders so that actors could use it before filming.

Mr Dellimore said the products were initially created to be used only within the entertainment industry, until a major department store convinced them of the product's retail potential.

In 2011, American luxury department store Neiman Marcus approached the couple to stock their GlamGlow products. That was when they decided to leave their day jobs and focus solely on their beauty brand.

Thinking back to their fateful conversation with Reeves, Mr Dellimore said: "We did not set out to make a brand new product - we were confident that there was already a product on the market. We asked people in the skincare industry and visited stores, but no one had heard of a quick fix."

"The Internet provides all the information you need in the world. We could not make what we wanted, so we took what we had on paper to a chemist - who makes sure that we are compliant with all the requirements."

The products are manufactured at two of their factories in Los Angeles.

There are now four mask products within the GlamGlow range. The other GlamGlow products - an eye mask and a hydrating mask - will be launched here in the middle of the year.

GlamGlow is currently focused on treatment products, but its founders are not ruling out venturing into other skincare products and make-up.

Mr Dellimore said the company is not concerned with "profits, but at getting amazing ingredients, no matter what they cost". The first sample they handed Reeves cost about $80 to make. He added that pyruvic acid alone costs more than all the other ingredients in Supermud combined.

They said their products are suitable for men and women of all skin types. While sceptics might doubt such a claim, Mr Dellimore said it is possible, but that most skincare companies would rather tell customers otherwise.

"The reason companies create different products for different types of skin is just money," he said.

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