This Noughties Model Is Now A Facialist – And Everyone In London Wants An Appointment
It all started in a Marc Jacobs casting room in the mid-Noughties. Gormley, a plucky twenty-something with the gothic complexion of Susie Cave and the bone structure of Keira Knightley, caught the eye of the creative director himself thanks to her jaunty “I Love Belfast” tee, but had to forfeit the gig because of a breakout. She was sent to get laser acne treatment, which burnt her face and took weeks to calm down. “There’s a vulnerability to getting a skincare treatment,” Gormley muses now. For her, beauty buzzwords – think: repair, remodel – equate to what’s going on inside, not merely that surface-level glow-up.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Her time in the make-up chair learning from industry greats like Val Garland – who got her an “in” at British Vogue – helped cement Kiera’s obsession with massage techniques and masks, peels and powerhouse ingredients. But it was almost two decades after she fronted Christopher Bailey’s era-defining Brit-girl Burberry campaigns, alongside Agyness Deyn and Lily Donaldson, that the seed for Plump was truly planted.
Four years ago, as the memories of chaotic backstage camaraderie and post-show debauchery (ask her about the first time she met Alber Elbaz and that chance encounter with Madonna), began to fade, Gormley was undergoing a rigorous form of IVF, to try and conceive a second child with her second husband. When it failed, she had to “recentre, regroup, find some clarity”, and so, she went back to school to study the physiology of skin – in other words, the very foundations of us as beings. A small glass studio, inspired by Bangkok beauty outposts, in N16 followed, with no waiting room or receptionist, just Gormley, her tools and her hands. Skincare enthusiasts (hi, Pixie Geldof, Nick Grimshaw and Daisy Lowe), soon caught wind of her skill, and her star has – once again – been in the ascendant since.
What makes Plump all the more exclusive is that Gormley splits her time between east London and Positano. Not because she’s trying to snaffle up the custom of the KarJenners on their annual Amalfi trips, but because she met the love of her life there. He, a dedicated businessperson like herself, could never up sticks and leave his family-run company in the lurch, and so, one week per month, you’ll find Gormley shacked up at Palazzo Murat, offering her signature Sculpted Sally treatment rebranded as the more chichi-sounding Bella Vita.
Were she to relocate to the picturesque cliffside village on a more permanent basis, you can bet her loyal client list would make the journey. Fortunately, you can catch her in Fitzrovia as she branches out to another pop-up site – still just Gormley, her tools and her hands.
The skin therapist sends all her clients away with recommendations on vitamin C (“the holy grail of skincare”), electrolytes (again, God’s work) and pillows (she’s horrified when bed linen isn’t changed every other night). Yet her guiding principle is simple: “Stress really shows on the face.” Despite navigating a newly bulging Rolodex of VIPs, all desperate for another Glow and Show, Gormley maintains that a balanced approach to meditation, exercise and diet is the key to good skincare days years. A trip to see this disarming chatterbox, who’s happy to wax lyrical about the halcyon days of modelling or growing up in Ireland with six siblings, is a little like an emotional support session with that friend who always knows just what to say when you really need to hear it. If you’re still reading this and haven’t already booked, we’re impressed.