Healthy skin, not perfect skin.
Barrier-first skincare, formulated by a biochemist in Montréal.
Most routines are built on the surface
Redness, tightness, breakouts, a serum that “stopped working.” These rarely start where they show up. They start with a barrier that’s been stripped, over-exfoliated, or never supported in the first place.
The industry’s answer is more: more actives, more steps, more products that undo each other. That’s not a routine. That’s a cycle.
For years I had cystic acne and rosacea. I tried Accutane, prescription topicals, facials, dermatologists. Everything was aimed at the breakout. Nothing was aimed at the barrier, and my skin stayed red, angry, and inflamed.
That’s where the question started.
— Raquela
We start at the root
Étymologie comes from the Greek étumon — the true sense of a word, its origin. We named the brand after the habit of going back far enough to find what something really means.
Applied to skin, the root is the barrier. Keep it intact and most problems get quieter on their own. So we build for the barrier first, and every product has a specific job in that order.
Cleanse without stripping.
Hydrate before you treat.
Seal it so it holds.
What we won’t say
You’ll read “barrier repair” here, because ceramides do replenish the barrier’s lipids. You won’t read “repairs skin” or “heals.” Cosmetics reinforce and support; they don’t perform surgery.
“Clinically studied” refers to an ingredient. “Clinically proven” only if the finished formula was tested. Real percentages when they matter, and no percentages when they’d be theatre.
If a claim can’t survive our own scrutiny, it doesn’t survive the label.
Formulated by the founder. Literally.
Raquela is hands-on at every stage of formulation, working with a team of expert chemists to build the best formulas for your skin.
She trained as a biochemist and food scientist at McGill. Food science is about stability, texture, and what a formula does over months on a shelf — the same standard every Étymologie product is held to.
Every formula is proprietary. No private label, no white-label base with our name on it. That’s what lets Raquela control every stage of formulation, and it’s why we can publish every ingredient in the Index without asking anyone’s permission.
Integrity, origins, and the power of science.
Raquela Cheesmond, Founder
If it’s in the bottle, it’s in the index
The Ingredient Index lists every ingredient in every formula, with what it does and where it’s from. All of them, not the three we’re proud of.
Most brands give you a hero list and an INCI panel and leave you to reconcile the two. That gap is where trust gets lost.
Made in Montréal
Final formulation and finishing happen in Montréal, where Raquela is in the room for batching, testing, and adjusting.
Start at the root
Three products, built in order. Refills when you run out. An index that tells you what’s in them.