At Discover Beauty, emerging brands seek the spotlight – part 2
Part 1 of ‘At Discover Beauty, emerging brands seek the spotlight’ explored launches and trends from global beauty and minimalist brands. Here it’s all about makeup, nail color, and alternative skin care tech.
And what was true for yesterday’s article is true here as well: “Many of the brands and innovative products mention…speak to the level of nuance needed to succeed in the indie beauty space today. As independent beauty grows, it’s becoming necessary for all emerging brands to evolve more swiftly and more judiciously than indie beauty pioneers did just a few years ago.”
Colorful
Ella + Mila launched in early 2014 as a “matchie-matchie, mommy and me” nail color brand, as Narineh Bedrossian, founder and VP of sales, tells Cosmetics Design. The company’s nail polish is 7-free: “It means that all Ella+Mila polishes are not only made without the 3 common chemicals found in nail polishes (Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), Formaldehyde), but also without 4 other very dangerous chemicals (Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, TPHP and Xylene),” according to the company site.
Ella + Mila launches 6 to 8 new colors every couple of months, says Bedrossian. And the older colors don’t get phased out; the brand’s extensive variation of colors is one of the things that sets Ella + Mila apart from competitors. In June, Ella + Mila launched a liquid lip product in 10 shades and has plans not only to expand that line but also to do more in other color categories.
ittsé was exhibiting in the Discover Beauty section this year too, in a booth made up to look like a high street boutique, complete with manicured shrubbery. The color and complexion product brand launched 2 years ago this summer and is best known for its customizable pallet format. Kelly McCall, the brand manager for ittsé tells Cosmetics Design that the company now has some 175 SKUs in its product portfolio. This month ittsé is launching a cream blush and later this year a series of primers in corrective tones. (And, McCall tells Cosmetics Design that the ittsé site will be relaunching very soon to include a fun, interactive pallet tool.)
Technical
Not every brand exhibiting in this year’s Discover Beauty section relies on conventional product formats. Britain Todd launched her company Contours Rx 3 years ago in November and specializes in adhesive strip technology that temporarily does the work of plastic surgery. Todd’s company is best known for its Lids by Design product, medical-grade correcting strips that are worn alone or under makeup to lift sagging eyelids. At Cosmoprof Todd was showing her neck rescue product too, a larger similar adhesive strip that lifts neck skin.
Battington Lashes were also on hand at Discover Beauty. The brand’s reusable, artificial lashes are made of silk and were developed, “to fill a void in the eye lashes market,” according to the Battington site. The company goes on to explain, “Our lineup of lashes are 100% handmade silk, that provide the most natural looking lashes in the market, all while lasting longer than any other lash (up to 25 applications).”
Cherry Blooms is a 4-year-old brand that brings innovative product tech to more conventional formulations. The company was “the first to launch a fiber lash product in the US market,” Jellaine Dee, founder and creative director, tells Cosmetics Design. Adding fibers to mascara and brow products has shifted consumer expectations about what color cosmetics can do. At Cosmoprof, Cherry Blooms launched a volumizing matte lip product “that lasts through three meals,” as Dee describes it.
If you missed part 1 of this article, read it here now!
