Patricia Knudsen on motherhood, minimalist skincare, and new beginnings

The Danish-Malaysian beauty entrepreneur opens up about being a single mum and how her relaunched skincare brand P.S. Knudsen reflects her life story

Patricia Knudsen has streamlined her daily routine back to the basics. Between caring for her seven-year-old daughter Sophia and running her own skincare brand, P.S. Knudsen, the former DJ, emcee and TV host, doesn’t have much time to spare. Since moving back to Denmark from Malaysia with her daughter and rebuilding her life from scratch, she’s learnt to let go of what is unimportant to her—from the baggage of past wounds to needlessly long skincare routines.

“When I had to move, that’s when I really found out how many boxes of skincare I had that were half-used,” the 36-year-old mum tells Tatler during a recent visit back to Malaysia. “I packed up what was probably 60 kilograms of my and Sophia’s life, and when we got to Denmark, I realised I don’t really need this stuff. Before, I always felt so much pressure to look like or be a certain kind of person. I guess I was also slowly becoming more conscious about what I put on my skin. And I’m a single mom, so I prioritise my time and I just don’t feel it’s necessary to do all the same things I used to.”

Above Photo: P.S. Knudsen

At that time, P.S. Knudsen (which she started in Malaysia in 2019) was kept in ‘sleep mode’ while she focused on managing the challenges of starting life afresh. She even considered closing the business at one point, even though its products often sold out quickly. “Being an entrepreneur meant I did everything, I packed products, sent them out, wrote emails—everything,” she says. “There was a time when I thought I’d shut it down because I couldn’t manage it. But I realised I believed in the product so much, which I myself use all the time. I started it back up again in February 2023, and it’s taken nearly a year to relaunch.”

Now with a sleek, clean look, new packaging and new products, P.S. Knudsen has come a long way. Its bestselling skincare product, the Prickly Pear Seed Oil, is a versatile moisturiser and a personal favourite of Knudsen, whose daily skincare routine consists of applying the oil after cleansing each day and topping it with sunscreen.

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At the surface, users will see a clean, back-to-basics aesthetic when they look at P.S. Knudsen. But for Knudsen herself, the brand’s facelift represents a life change that’s been years in the making. “It hasn’t been easy. A lot of changes had to happen in my own life first before all of this,” she says. “A lot of what I’ve been through and how I felt in those years is coming through the brand, all my struggles, the pressures, and the drastic changes. All this is personal to me and to my daughter as well. It’s called P.S. Knudsen because of my initials, but the ‘S’ in there stands for Sophia. So when she looks at the brand, she feels part of it.”

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Reaping the time-flexible benefits of running her own business, Knudsen is conscious about spending more time with her daughter and including her in this entrepreneurial journey. “She’s been through the whole process with me. I show her when I’m working, I show her the end product and I let her try it. I like to show her how hard work can pay off. The best and most personal part of it is I can look back and remember all these beautiful moments whilst trying to make the brand work.”

As P.S. Knudsen is on the verge of adding more products in the new year and launching its revamped website, Knudsen hopes it will reach a wider audience of like-minded women and men who favour a simpler, more basic skincare routine. “I want to show that [P.S. Knudsen] is for everyone. Personally, my skin is way better now after choosing a simpler skincare routine than when I was using all these different products. I used to have acne break-outs, which I realised were because I layered my skin with so much makeup and other stuff. Now, I rarely get break-outs.

“In the past, I would look at people on Instagram and YouTube and wonder why I didn’t have skin like theirs. My advice now? Never compare yourself to others. I’ve learnt that if you know yourself and if you’re confident in yourself and in your morals, it doesn’t matter what other people say or think about you.”

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Patricia Knudsen P.S Knudsen beauty prickly pear seed oil beauty product

Tatler Asia

Patricia Knudsen on motherhood, minimalist skincare, and new beginnings