A range of make-up created exclusively for olive skins – from Asian to far eastern, middle-eastern and Mediterranean – is at the heart of a make-up revolution.
The founder of the EX1 Cosmetics, Farah Naz, was recently named ‘Most up and coming British Pakistani Entrepreneur’ by H.E Wajid Shamsul Hasan, High Commissioner of Pakistan.
The High Commissioner commented that “her extraordinary talent, vision and focus have enabled her to innovate a brand that is changing the landscape of the Cosmetics Industry as we know it.”
The British born Pakistani used her background as a biochemist and dedicated two years to create the multi-award winning EX1 Cosmetics brand – a range of five foundations, five mineral powder foundations, three powders, three concealers and four blushers – catering for the 4.5million women living in the UK with olive skin tones like her own.
Although the vast majority of women in the UK choose to buy high street brands over premium, until now women with olive skins have had no choice but to buy expensive department store brands just to find make-up that matches their skin.
EX1 Cosmetics is trying to change all that by providing bespoke shades from very fair to deep olive, using unique yellow/golden undertones which are designed to mimic the natural pigments found in this skin type – and for the very first time, at a high street price point.
Farah said: “My philosophy was simple. I wanted to design the highest quality collection of products for olive-skinned women, using only the best in cosmetic technology. I myself have sensitive skin so EX1 Cosmetics only uses ingredients which are non pore clogging and I’ve avoided a black list of products that are often found in other commercial high street preparations. All products have been both dermatologically and clinically tested and are free of both lanolin and mineral oils.”
The company behind the brand has recently won a contract with Europe’s largest online beauty retailing group, The Hut Group, securing retail distribution on four of their websites.
A Global Industry Analysts report reveals that the global colour cosmetics market is predicted to reach $41.4bn by 2014. Crucially it highlights that “performing well in this market relies heavily on addressing the ever changing needs of consumers, such as multicultural communities”.
Farah added: “We intend to develop a full line of colour cosmetics but the focus of new product development will be in-line with the current consumer fashion and beauty trends. This expansion will include Eye shadows, Lipsticks, Lip Liners, Eye liners, and Mascaras. We intend to keep pace and continue to provide increasingly savvy consumers with the novel new products they demand.”
