Instagram.com/LilyLolo
It is no secret that clean and natural beauty is on the rise, and with it Mineral-based cosmetics. Winning countless awards, Lily Lolo is soon to arrive in the region with Balmessence. The UK based brand founded by Nikki Khan has been created with every woman in mind. Promising skin-loving formulas that don’t compromise on color, texture, and performance Khan unveils the story behind her brand.
Why did you decide to launch Lily Lolo?
I was bored in my office administration role and looking for a career that would be a more creative outlet for me. At the same time, I’d discovered mineral makeup in the States and found that it was both expensive and difficult to get hold of in the UK. From a very young age, I’d always loved makeup and after having the initial idea to set up my own brand I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I somehow knew I could make it successful.
How did you come up with the name?
Honestly, I was really struggling with a name for the brand. I launched it completely on my own, without the help of any creative agencies or branding specialists, so I only really had friends to brainstorm ideas with. Nothing we were able to come up with felt right and so I just decided to make it really personal to me and name it after my two sisters, using their nicknames rather than their full names, Lisa and Lorraine. It’s really worked, people love the name and they love the story of how it came about even more.
What is mineral makeup?
Mineral makeup is made using natural minerals that are blended with pigments to create smooth and creamy powders that are easy to apply. It contains all the pigments that a conventional makeup product would contain without any of the preservatives, irritants, oils, waxes, synthetic fragrances and bulking agents. It still creates a barrier between the elements and your skin and even has an SPF built-in. It’s great for sensitive and blemish-prone skin as it won’t clog pores and feels extremely lightweight to wear.
Was it a challenge to create a formula free of dyes, fillers and harsh chemicals?
Initially, no. We only had a fairly small range of powder products that are relatively easy to produce whilst avoiding synthetic dyes, fillers and preservatives. As we had demand for additional products, that definitely became more of a challenge. Now clean beauty is becoming more mainstream it’s getting a little easier to formulate as there are more clean ingredients on the market, but there are brands that use ingredients that we avoid. Customers don’t always understand why we can’t produce products that other brands are marketing but we’ve always been stringent with our ethos and the ingredients we will and won’t use.
Talk to us about your foundation?
Our mineral foundation is definitely our clean beauty hero. It’s been our unequivocal best seller for 15 years and so if someone wanted to try something from the Lily Lolo range we’d always recommend that first. It’s a simple formulation of only five ingredients that I absolutely love as you can achieve very light natural coverage to full coverage based on how much product you use and your application technique. We’re now starting to add additional foundation formulas, we’ve recently launched a cream foundation and liquid foundation will be next but I still love the original mineral powder as it’s so quick and easy to apply.
Courtesy of Lily Lolo
What advice would you give to women looking to invest in clean and natural beauty?
I’d say start with lipstick as you can actually consume some lip product so cleaning that up would be a great first step. After that base products would be the next most important as everything else will sit on top of your base. Take your time trying out different brands and formats until you find a product you’re really happy with. Don’t discard something after one try as your skin may go through an adjustment period just as you’d expect your hair to if you revamped your hair products. It may be a little oiler for a few days as it can actually breathe with a clean beauty base product but it’ll stabilize after a few days and then you’ll start to notice the benefits of healthier skin.
What does clean beauty mean to you?
Clean beauty means products with clean healthy ingredients that won’t harm the skin and which preferably benefit the skin. There’s nothing more rewarding than receiving emails to say that someone has been suffering from a skin complaint and it’s cleared up after using our products. It’s also becoming a huge priority to reduce plastic waste and that’s something the team and I are working really hard on at the moment. Our customers expect us to be more sustainable than a conventional brand, clean beauty and sustainability have a natural synergy.
What is your personal beauty routine?
As I’ve gotten into my 40’s my beauty routine has expanded from just products and gadgets to lifestyle. I’m much more careful now about getting proper sleep every night, not eating too late, exercise and relaxation. I do wear makeup everyday though! I keep my everyday look pretty quick and simple, always remove makeup at night and use a hydrating night cream. If I’m looking particularly tired in the morning I’ll do a quick Gua Sha massage which helps to take any puffiness down. I’m also a huge fan of acupuncture facials which I’ve been having every couple of weeks for the last 2 years.
And, your go-to beauty look in the day and night?
My daytime look is a really great base, blush, a bit of highlighter, smudgy eyeliner with lots of mascara (our Big Lash is my favorite) and a nude lip. For evening, I’d go with a classic smoky eye in brown tones and a slightly darker lip shade. Nothing too adventurous!
What’s next for Lily Lolo?
There’s always something new in the world of beauty which I why I love cosmetics so much. We’re experimenting with new textures at the moment, cream products that are so lovely to apply, revamping packaging to make it more sustainable which is a huge passion for me. We’re always looking to expand into new markets of course and share our clean beauty philosophy with new audiences.
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