14 August 2025 |
The duo behind the sun repair line talk science, soundtracks, and desert island must-haves.
Are you on vacation getting your daily (over)dose of sun? Or, do you find yourself exposed to strong UV rays courtesy of your commute? However you’re spending these last weeks of August, even the most diligent among us can forget to reapply sunscreen leaving skin dry or even worse, burnt. Enter Zure Solaris, a skin and bodycare line to help atone for your summertime sins. Founded by Samuel Cheney (a creative director) and Aaron Hurley (a photographer), the duo came together over a shared desire to create a visual world around the rhythmic energy and cycle of the sun. What began as a creative project turned into a tightly edited series of four aftersun care products. Consisting of a calming serum, an anti-aging serum, a shower rinse, and a body treatment, Zure Solaris aims to boost hydration, brighten tone, combat the effects of pollution, and strengthen the skin barrier. Meant to be used in tandem with your favorite SPF, Cheney and Hurley think of their brand as an essential part of your year-round daily routine, rather than a summer-only addition.
We caught up with the two to discuss skincare innovation, summertime soundtracks, and deserted island essentials.
- What inspired the line of post-sun skin products?
Cheney: The creative vision came first: a world [made] out of imagery, music, and other mediums saved on our desktop and Pinterest boards. Then, through market research, we looked at the sun category which we initially found quite boring. It’s driven very much by fear — everyone’s using SPF now and it’s so functional. We realized that there wasn’t really a market leader in the premium space for after-sun care. While SPF is about protecting the skin, post sun is about repair. As 90% of skin aging is caused by the sun, there’s definitely a requirement there.
2. Describe the visuals and creative direction for the brand.
Cheney: It’s all about the sun: golden hour and the rhythmic energy as it rises and falls which is transportive and evocative for us. The post sun care product idea lent itself so beautifully to this brand world: the golden hour. It’s the time between day and night when you have this after-sun moment.
3. Samuel, you’re a Creative Director, and Aaron, you’re a fashion photographer. What was the process like of starting a venture in a completely different field?
Hurley: What’s so amazing about this process is that there’s no client. We are the client. It’s incredible getting to the endpoint of a project and having it be true to what you’re feeling, without the input from other parties.
Cheney: And then there’s new enjoyable aspects that we both have never done before, like fundraising. There was such powerful insight that we got from conversations with potential investors who have experience and want to be part of it.
4. What don’t people know about skin repair and what were you surprised to learn?
Cheney: We were so shocked by the plethora of effects sun exposure has on the skin, both from a surface and a biological level — things like lymphatic changes, microbiome depletion, barrier impairment, hydration loss, inflammation, immune disruption, cellular damage and structural breakdown – it’s not just what we see on the surface like hyperpigmentation.
5. If the Zure Solaris had a soundtrack, what would it be?
Hurley: Ben Böhmer, a bit of Rüfüs Du Sol, something sexy in the evening. It doesn’t have to be overloaded with lyrics. It just has a really nice vibe to it.
Cheney: Whatever reminds you of coming back from the beach, blasting the air conditioning, taking a shower and getting ready for the evening to go to a sundown party in Ibiza.
6. Talk us through the products!
Cheney: We have two products for the body and two for the face. The body products are sublime as they are very ritualistic and combine clinical efficacy with innovative textures. Our signature scent conjures olfactory memories of the golden hour.
The body ritual starts before your nighttime shower with the Shower Rinse — it exfoliates and removes product build up from the day. Follow up with our Body Treatment, a formula that addresses all sun-induced skin aging concerns with a set of clinical results we’re incredibly proud of. It has a stunning texture that dries to a silky finish, so you can put on lightweight clothes after application with no risk of sticky residue.
For the face, we have the Cooling Infusion which is the first step after cleansing and is best kept in the fridge. This lightly textured product, with rich hydration delivery, works to improve lymphatic draining, hydration, skin coloration and barrier function. And our holy grail product is the Essential Serum. It’s really five serums in one and we’ve seen it transform users’ skin, as it improves things like barrier function, elasticity, fine lines & wrinkles, skin coloration and luminosity.
7. Where do you see the brand in the next couple of years?
Cheney: We’re working on so many new formulas at the moment, which is really exciting. We’ll be building out the range in terms of different climates, different locations. and so on.
Hurley: We also have an exciting spa concept launching in 2027. Zure Solaris has this opportunity to be super experiential.
8. What are your best tips for post sun care after a summer spent outside?
Cheney: We want to move the conversation from summer after-sun care to year-round repair as UV exposure is impactful regardless of the month. In the same way that you’re applying SPF daily, you also need something to strengthen and fortify your skin.
9. In a time of skincare over-saturation, why do we need Zure Solaris in our lives?
Cheney: Exposure to UV means that the skin is less able to accept anti-aging ingredients which leads to further sensitivity. Our products puts your face and body back to a place where it’s able to accept clinically active ingredients. It’s an incredible solution for people that have extremely sensitive skin but want clinically proven results.
10. What are the three things you would bring to a desert island?
Cheney & Hurley: A satellite phone, because we could never be disconnected from the world, the Zure Solaris Essential Serum, and a personal trainer so that we look absolutely iconic for when we finally get rescued.
