BEAUTY RUSH, an Auckland beauty supplements brand, is built on the idea of working with time, not against it. Its Asia-Pacific CEO Zoe Zhu is now taking that message to women’s leadership.
For many women, the phrase “time is not your friend” has been ingrained since childhood.
Whether it be the “ticking” biological clock, “reversing” the signs of aging, or “girlboss” culture normalising million-dollar businesses by 30, women have been taught to fear time, rather than embrace it.
Zoe Zhu, the Asia-Pacific CEO of beauty supplements brand BEAUTY RUSH, is hoping to change that narrative. Founded in Auckland in 2021, the business initially began with a simple question: why does the beauty industry ask women to fight time, instead of work with it?
“Around a kitchen table, our founding team kept meeting women exhausted by their own routines,” Zhu says. “We believed there was a kinder, more intelligent proposition: support the body’s own processes, consistently, and let beauty arrive as a byproduct of health.”
BEAUTY RUSH specialises in drinkable supplements with a three-phase approach: nourishment, repair and radiance. In its first year, the brand introduced its beauty drink range to the Chinese market, but continues to make, fill and seal every product in Aotearoa.
Each active ingredient and botanical is selected on the strength of published research, while the brand’s hero ingredient, mānuka sap extract, anchors its flagship products CELL X BEAUTY and LIGHT+ BEAUTY.
These aren’t “quick fixes”, says Zhu. Instead, they are designed to support the skin over months of consistent use.
Now, the brand is applying that same philosophy to women’s lives more broadly: to work with time, not against it.
Whether it be hitting career milestones or supporting yourself to feel your best at any age, they want women to know self-development isn’t a deadline or a destination – it’s a lifelong journey we undertake at our own pace, on our own terms.
“Time is the frame through which women are so often told to see themselves – and too often, to fear themselves. Our culture teaches women to treat birthdays as deadlines. Every woman has the right to her own time,” Zhu explains.
With this ethos in mind, ‘Time, On Her Side’ became the theme of BEAUTY RUSH’s inaugural event, The Era of Her Women’s Leadership Dialogue.
On October 13, the brand partnered with Eye Magazine to bring together women from various sectors – public service, business, science, the arts – for an open dialogue on reclaiming time.
After arriving at the stunning Glasshouse in Morningside, Auckland, guests were welcomed by Lulu Wilcox, Eye Magazine’s Chief Style Creator, who introduced the world premiere of BEAUTY RUSH’s brand film, A Light of Her Own. Zhu then delivered the keynote address, followed by remarks from Helena Roza, Premier Brand Witness of Beauty Rush New Zealand.
The highlight of the event, however, was an engaging panel of four women leaders, who shared their insights and perspectives on key themes such as ownership of time, balance, identity, growth, leadership, long-term wellbeing, and self-worth.
Moderated by Wilcox, the panelists – Deputy Mayor of Auckland Desley Simpson, MP Nancy Lu, former MP Naisi Chen, and Miss World New Zealand 2026, Chloe Robinson – spoke candidly about their own timelines and achievements, including the choices, decisions and turning points that shaped their journeys.
Four learnings, in particular, stayed with Zhu.
“First, that leadership is service – authority matters less than the room you make for others. Second, that balance is a daily practice: nobody hands it to you, and nobody keeps it for you. Third, the reminder that when women rise, we lift other women with us. [And] fourth, from the youngest voice on the stage: authenticity outshines performance. Women do not need to become someone else.
“What moved me most was how different the voices were, and how naturally they agreed.”
The event closed with the signing of the platform’s founding document, The Era of Her Manifesto – a series of statements beginning with the words, “We believe”. Examples of the statements included, “We believe time was never anyone’s adversary” and “We believe every woman has the right to her own time – undefined, unhurried.”
Signatories included the four panellists, Wilcox, Zhu and Roza, alongside BEAUTY RUSH’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Thomas A. Luger, a senior professor at the University of Münster’s Faculty of Medicine.
As time goes on, the pledge will continue to gather names, Zhu says – from new fields and new generations.
“That, to me, is a real outcome: something written, witnessed and carried forward.”
As a long-term initiative, Zhu hopes The Era of Her will continue to grow into a supportive platform, for women, by women. The goal is to hold annual events across the Asia-Pacific region.
“Future editions might pair the dialogue with mentorship between established and emerging women leaders. Whatever form it takes, the platform will keep its founding character: warm, cross-sector, independent of politics, and always centred on women’s real lives.”
Ultimately, the key message that unified the inaugural event was that true growth is an ongoing process – just as BEAUTY RUSH’s products are designed to be.
“Women’s growth is not a race – it’s a lifelong practice, and time is on her side.”
For more information, visit beautyrush.nz