How Do You Keep a 78-Year-Old Skincare Brand Relevant? — with Margot Grant Witz

What does it take to inherit a skincare brand — and then prove that its future belongs in your hands?

This week, Carmine sits down with Margot Grant Witz, Vice President and third-generation steward of Elizabeth Grant Skin Care, the family- and female-led Canadian beauty company founded by her grandmother in 1948.

Elizabeth Grant’s remarkable story began after a World War II injury left her with significant damage to her skin. Her search for a solution ultimately led to the creation of Torricelumn™, the proprietary marine-derived complex that remains at the heart of the company catalogue today. Decades later, Margot’s mother, Marion Witz, persuaded Elizabeth to revive the business — transforming it from a deeply personal formula into an international skincare brand.

Margot’s own path was anything but automatic. After resisting the family business, moving to France and earning her MBA, she returned ready to begin at the bottom — working in customer service, public relations and eventually live television before earning her place as a leader within the company.

Together, Carmine and Margot explore why inheriting a name doesn’t automatically earn respect, how she learned to introduce change without abandoning the brand’s history, and what it means to disagree with your mother when she is also your boss.

They also examine why Gen X and women over 50 remain overlooked by much of the beauty industry, how skincare can promise visible improvement without turning aging into the enemy, and why getting older should be understood as an opportunity rather than a loss.

Finally, Margot takes Carmine inside the brand’s new Collagen Re-Inforce 3D MarineDNA collection featuring PDRN — sharing what attracted the company to one of skincare’s most talked-about ingredients, how the complete formula shapes the consumer experience, and why hydration remains foundational to healthy-looking skin.

Along the way, they discuss true resilience, manufacturing skincare in-house, the importance of earning your team’s trust, and why holding too tightly to who you once were can prevent you from discovering who you are becoming.

Key Takeaway

A heritage brand remains relevant neither by discarding its past nor by preserving everything exactly as it was.

For Margot, stewardship means understanding why customers trusted Elizabeth Grant Skin Care in the first place — then evolving its identity, formulations and conversations without sacrificing that trust. It also means recognizing consumers whom beauty has too often made invisible, particularly Gen X women over 50.

The most meaningful form of reinvention may not be looking younger. It may be learning to see aging as movement, possibility and the privilege of becoming someone new.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

How a wartime injury ultimately inspired Elizabeth Grant to create Torricelumn™ and launch her skincare company;

Why the brand experienced a remarkable second beginning decades after its original founding;

How Margot went from packing boxes in the family basement to representing the company on television around the world;

Why inheriting a family name did not automatically earn her authority inside the business;

What working alongside her mother and grandmother taught her about leadership, disagreement and generational change;

Why Margot believes Gen X and women over 50 have become largely invisible to the beauty industry;

How skincare brands can advocate for visible improvement without presenting aging as failure;

And what Margot hopes her own generation will contribute to the Elizabeth Grant legacy.

Connect with Margot Grant Witz on Instagram at @margotgrantwitz and learn more about her story here. Follow Elizabeth Grant Skin Care on Instagram at @egskincare and explore the complete collection at elizabethgrant.com.

Carmine’s featured products include the Collagen Re-Inforce 3D MarineDNA Day Cream and Professional Institute Niacinamide Booster Drops. Skincarma listeners can receive 25% off at elizabethgrant.com with code SKINCARMA25 at checkout.

—

Follow Skincarma on Instagram and on TikTok. Catch product reviews of Carmine’s top picks of the best skincare on the Skincarma Blog. You can also connect with Carmine on Substack and LinkedIn – and explore his extensive work in beauty on the Carmine Montalto INK website here.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate and/or leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Substack, or Spotify to help Carmine reach more curious listeners.

Explore more:

Collagen Re-Inforce 3D MarineDNA Day Cream

Professional Institute Niacinamide Booster Drops

Supreme Essence of Torricelumn™ Serum

Product reviews on the Skincarma Blog:

Explore the Best Sunscreens for Face here.

Explore the Best Retinol Face Creams and Serums here.

Explore the Best Vitamin C Serums here.

Explore the Best Niacinamide Serums here.

Explore the Best Acne Treatments here.

Explore the Best Anti-Aging Creams and Serums here.

Explore the Best Face Creams for Dry Skin here.

Explore the Best Face Creams for Oily Skin here.

The Skincarma® Pod is where indie beauty meets fearless curiosity. Hosted by Carmine, his podcast pulls back the curtain on the beauty industry with sharp insights, candid interviews, and a healthy dose of irreverence. From deep dives into ingredient science to raw conversations with dermatologists, brand founders, and industry insiders, each episode is a no-BS exploration of what really matters in skincare: how to attain and maintain healthy skin. If you’re obsessed with products, passionate about transparency, and love calling out hype, this is the place to learn, question, and glow smarter.

The Skincarma® Blog is written and curated by skinfluencer, skincare junkie and Brooklyn writer Carmine Montalto. With 25 years of expertise in beauty across every category, Carmine has helped build multiple consumer brands from the ground up. He’s named 100s of skincare, haircare & makeup products – some of which are probably in your bathroom cabinet right now! And, he’s tested 1,000s of products, the best of which can be found reviewed on his blog at skincarma.com.

With the right skincare routine including sunscreen...You CAN change your skin’s destiny!™

Get full access to Skincarma® at skincarma.substack.com/subscribe