Cover Taylor Frankel, co-founder of Nudestix (Photo: Nudestix)
Taylor Frankel, co-founder of Nudestix (Photo: Nudestix)
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After a decade in the beauty industry, the 26-year-old co-founder of Nudestix shares why her “less is more” philosophy is more important than ever
Founded in 2014 by Jenny Frankel and her daughters, Taylor and Ally, Nudestix broke onto the beauty scene with its unique “go nude but better” philosophy. Its multi-tasking make-up sticks encouraging users to embrace natural beauty were groundbreaking at a time when trends put a heavy emphasis on using an armoury of products to achieve full glam looks everyday, from glamorous cut-creases down to the perfect base, with full contouring and ultra-high coverage foundation baked to perfection.
With its signature black tin box, Nudestix was also one of the early proponents of clean, vegan beauty and sustainable packaging. “We designed the packaging to be reusable! For me, I use it to store my bobby pins because I always end up losing mine. But we also chose tin because it is a material that can be infinitely recycled,” shares co-founder Taylor Frankel during her recent visit to Kuala Lumpur to launch Nudestix’s latest product, the Nudies Matte + Glow Core.
Related: Sustainable Sunday: Meet the man behind Korea's leading sustainable beauty brand
Tatler speaks to Taylor Frankel about what sustainability means to her and why she takes a meticulous approach to sustainability when it comes to her beauty brand.
Above Nudestix was founded by Taylor and Ally Frankel, as well as their mother Jenny Frankel
Nudestix was founded by Taylor and Ally Frankel, as well as their mother Jenny Frankel
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Why was it important for your brand to be sustainable?
My sister, Ally and I belong to a generation which is looking to make a difference. (The two were 14 and 17 years old respectively when the brand was founded in 2014)
Growing up with an acute awareness of what’s happening in the world and how it’s affecting the environment, we always say that we’re cleaning up the previous generation’s mess. That’s why we are constantly looking to innovate and identify packaging systems that are as minimal as possible and conscious of the environment.
For instance, we listened to feedback from hardcore fans who said that while they love our iconic black tin boxes, they could do with less of them. So for our latest launch, we are using biodegradable packaging instead—and we are not about greenwashing; we are transparent about how long it takes to biodegrade, two years.
I’m also proud of how we’ve progressed to make our formulations more sustainable. Our sunscreen formulations are reef safe because we formulated it with non-nano zinc oxide. The particles are larger than a hundred nanometres, which means the product cannot be ingested by coral.
Don’t miss: Catching up with Guerlain’s creative director of make-up, Violette Serrat
Above Nudies Matte + Glow Core
Nudies Matte + Glow Core
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What do you do in your personal life to be sustainable?
We are a society that likes to consume a lot of things because we are encouraged to left, right, and centre. That’s why I always try to consume less and, in part, why Nudestix’s products are always multitasking—to eliminate the quantity of products you have to buy to achieve the perfect natural look.
What advice do you have for people hoping to be more sustainable?
Be conscientious when shopping, as much as you can. Be mindful of what you really need and look for products that do the least harm, whether it’s refillable packaging or clean ingredients. If everyone adopts this mindset, it could make a huge impact.
Based in Kuala Lumpur, Zue Wei Leong is the senior style writer at Tatler Malaysia. Read her stories on the latest in fashion, beauty and jewellery or follow her on Instagram at @fshnbrnr.
