Today we’d like to introduce you to Elin and Anh-Thu Dannerstedt.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elin and Anh-Thu. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
NCLA Beauty was founded in 2010 in Downtown, Los Angeles. The brand was founded with a selection of unique, hard-to-find, nail wrap designs. NCLA Beauty burst into the scene when nail art was at its peak with a product that was easy to use. We quickly made headlines with the press by collaborating with the likes of Hello Kitty, Beyonce, Barbie, and more. From there, the brand soon developed a line of 7-Free, Vegan nail polishes and treatments. NCLA Beauty became the destination for clean, vegan, nail polishes, while also becoming a celebrity favorite line. Since the 2018 launch of color cosmetics and lip care, NCLA Beauty has proved that we can satisfy cravings for clean beauty while remaining flirty, cute, and true to our L.A. roots! The brand’s mantra has always and will always stay committed to never testing on animals, and maintaining 100% vegan formulas.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
While we enjoy the journey of entrepreneurship, it comes with the price of a lot of struggles and learning along the way. Aside from the daily – production, planning, and product development, the biggest struggle that we’ve had to overcome is becoming our own. It’s easy to see other brands, other big companies owned by even bigger conglomerates pump out products or have huge successes and get discouraged. As a smaller brand, we’ve had to come into our own at our own pace. It’s important to stay true to our identity and not get derailed. Seeing how many people truly love our products, engaging with our customers, and the awards we’ve received are wins that keep us motivated to create products we know you’ll love. (I’d say this is an important philosophy to go off of even if you aren’t a business owner. Constantly comparing yourself to others won’t benefit you).
So, as you know, we’re impressed with NCLA Beauty – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
Our brand specializes in color cosmetics and treatments that satisfies cravings for clean beauty, all while remaining flirty, cute, and true to our L.A. roots. NCLA Beauty’ mantra has always and will always be to create 100% Cruelty-Free and Vegan products.
In a beauty world that has so much going on, we’re proud to have created cult-favorite products that have stood out. Who remembers our viral So Rich Pumpkin Spice hand and cuticle oil? We were the first ones to ever come out with a product like that. These successes are what drives us to continue to create products that set us apart. Take our all-natural Balm Babe lip balms — we have scents like Horchata and Watermelon! We like to have fun because we want our customers to have fun, while never deviating from our brand standards.
We have so much fun collaborating with brands too – it’s a way for us to create a collection of products that go a bit outside the box, like the NCLA x Barbie collection or NCLA x Sivan Ayla!
We’re proud to be women-owned, and proud to know some pretty inspiring women we’ve met along the way. Whether it’s the makeup artists and nail artists who have made NCLA a celeb-favorite brand, founders of other amazing brands, or women who have started non-profits, we’re so lucky to have this network of amazing women.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
While most of our product development is under wraps, we look forward to expanding our line. We listen to our customers the most and are always fine tuning our process based on what they want. A few of our scents have become cult-favorites, and we’re looking forward to expanding this into other product lines!
Contact Info:
- Website: nclabeauty.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/nclabeauty
- Facebook: facebook.com/nclabeauty
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