I do so love an independent woman's-owned-and-run company. If it's makeup-oriented all the better. And if a cult of feverish devotees has surrounded it like a bunch of bedazzled buzzards over a glittery prize on the side of the yellow brick road, well, there's nothing that can beat that.
I haven't been this intrigued by a indie company since I met BPAL (and we all know how that turned out!). I recently was exposed to mineral makeup experience Aromaleigh, and I'm hooked. I've really labored over this post, because I want to do Aromaleigh justice without being overwhelming (their arsenal of products is large!).
By the way, there's a whole Cult-following thing going on with the brand. You can dive into their forum, Aromaleigh Aficionados, and enthuse with everyone else by clicking on this link here.
About the Queen of the Sparkle: Miss K
Where would a woman-owned and woman-run company be without the woman behind the desk? Or, in this case, behind the sparkle machine?
Aromaleigh founder Kristen Leigh Bell is also the CEO and Creative Director for the brand. Kristen also goes by "Miss K" which she refers to as her fashion alter ego.
From the research I've done and from a few chats with Kristen it's obvious she has that "something". She's got a spark from within and what seems to be boundless energy and is somehow always positive and upbeat.
Looks and smells like success!
A woman after my own heart, Kristen seems to have taken many different paths to get to the road she walks on now.
The colorful and well-designed collections should come as no surprise, as Kristen has an education in art (An AAS in Fine Art Photography, a BFA in Advertising Photography, and an MFA in Visual Arts/Graphic Design from Rochester Institute of Technology/RIT).
The fragrances she sells and the fact that she started a makeup company based on natural ingredients will shock no one who knows she trained with Kurt Schnaubelt and the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. She's a published author in that field, with her book Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals doubling as her Master's Thesis.
Add wife and mother, and this woman is a modern day marvel!
To top it all off, she's a savvy social media maven who spends a good deal of time online talking to customers and fans and sharing her thoughts, answering questions, and the things that tickle her fancy.
Please read more by making the sparkly jump!
I asked for some random tidbits about Kristen, and loved her list:
- I recently started taking Kung fu classes with my son- I love it and it is extremely empowering!
- No one has ever beaten me at Scrabble.
- I have no intentions of aging gracefully...
- I'm learning to speak Italian and am determined to move there eventually, for at least part of each year.
- My son Connor is my life's greatest achievement- without him, I wouldn't be in the place I am right now.
- The older I get, the more I want to give back. It's something I try to do every day.
- I'm extremely shy.
- My hair has been almost every color, but bright red is my favorite!
- I wear high heels almost every day of the week.
- If I were not running Aromaleigh, my dream jobs would to be a florist or a pastry chef.
- My greatest fear is being bored, and wasps.
- I wish each day was 48 hours long.
- I am addicted to Etsy.
- I think that hot baths, cupcakes, glitter and taking time to reflect on the "little things" cures all ills.
- My favorite music is, and will always be Classical music even though I still love to rock (hence, the Rocks! line!)
From Photography to Sparkles
How does an aromatherapist/model/photographer/graphic artist find herself knee-deep in makeup? As she tired of her more mainstream job as a graphic designer, which began to sap her creativity and spark, she started looking for her next step. She can actually thank her sensitive skin and allergies for what she has now, since they led her to "natural essential oils and
botanicals" that didn't cause her misery. During a time where she was searching for "more" she also started looking into these natural products.
Her searching led her to create a line of holistic products for dogs. That's right: dogs! Divine Dog Company was so successful that her customers started asking Kristen about holistic products for themselves. Bath and body products were her forte at first, but as she investigated the concept of healthy, natural products further, she slowly transitioned into what is now known as the mineral makeup industry.
Sounds to me like she was on the forefront of the "mineral movement", discovering how these pure ingredients can keep your skin clear and healthy while still being beautiful! What started as 5 face powders has grown to the booming business it is now.
Becoming Aromaleigh
Aromaleigh (a blend of her passion of aromatherapy and her middle name, Leigh) started as a side project, but eventually devoted her whole attention to the company. Much like I switched careers to indulge encourage my artistic nature when I was pregnant with Ara, Kristen found herself really motivated to build her company when she found herself as a single mother to son Connor.
I love this quote from Kristen, which I'll share in its entirety:
"Aromaleigh began over a decade ago with a single blue glass bottle and a dream. That dream was to use the internet to share my love of aromatherapy with the world. In doing that, I connected with my customers, made wonderful friends and colleagues and realized that makeup was a unifying "cosmic" force for almost every single woman that I met. This has become my motivation in connecting with my customers on a daily basis. I love to create new products and colors based on their needs, and color has become a language through which I see women blossoming, feeling joy, self-confidence and the realization that they are far more than the sum of their parts. It's amazing when you realize that a single jar of eyeshadow or lipstick can hold that type of transformative power."
Inspiration
As an artist, the creative process is always so interesting to me, so naturally I wanted to know about Kristen's inspirations!
A former model and, as we already discussed, an artist, Miss K can find inspiration everywhere. She's obsessed with ballet, loves the color pink, a fan of cupcakes, passionate about the arts, and convinced heels and the perfect dress can change moods, if not the world (odd, for a self-professed former tomboy). Factor in her love of chocolate, glitter, bats, Halloween, Google, sarcasm, friends of the canine variety, and changing her hair color (she prefers red), and I think we're kindred spirits!
"I might find new colors or concepts in something as simple as a cup of coffee or a flower... or as complex as a painting, a new CD or a great book." - Kristen Leigh Bell
Keeping up with Kristen:
- You can Tweet with Kristen here: aromaleigh_MMU.
- Read Miss K's Blog to keep up-to-date.
- Enjoy Kristen's Tumbler here: Aromaleigh.tumblr.com.
- Be friends with Kristen on Facebook: Facebook.com/aromaleigh.
- Schmooze with Kristen on her forum (she's "Mineral Makeup Maven").
- Watch some fascinating videos on YouTube!
- Shop with Kristen on eBay: Aromaleigh_mineral_cosmetics.
About the Products
"Here I am... hundreds of eyeshadow colors, formulas and options... and more always on the way. I love my work, I love putting happiness out into the world. It's not about being in every store, wholesaling, having the most fans on Twitter or Facebook, or getting into every magazine or every blog. Building a business is a slow process and staying true to your art means that you either stay small and creative/flexible, or you go bigger and accept the limitations that come with that. I don't like creative limitations, and I know my customers wouldn't either." - Kristen Leigh Bell
How Aromaleigh is different
In the world of mineral makeup, there are the large companies who crank out tons of product (we can name a few, can't we?) and smaller artisanal companies. Aromaleigh is the latter type.
At Aromaleigh, all products are hand-blended in small batches of 1/2 gallon to 5 gallons. Shades are uniquely theirs, conceived of by Kristen and put together by her and her team.
What you will not find at Aromaleigh are repackaged products created by someone else (and there are mineral makeup and other "indie" companies who do this. Please read more about Kristen's view on this here.).
Nor will you find micronized ingredients or nanoparticles or, to my delight, my nemesis: bismuth oxychloride. You will find only "pure, refined, and finely millled cosmetic-grade minerals". Oh, and a delightful array of skintone-matching skin products and color products every color of the rainbow (and then some!).
The Product Range
I'm not going to tell you all of the products Aromaleigh makes. That would be ridiculous. You can see them all here. But I will give you a run-down of the types of items you can find there, so you can get an idea of the expanse of Kristen's glittery kingdom...
- Over 500 eyeshadow / pigment colors including Limited Editions and
- Three types of foundation / face makeup
- Primers, concealers, and several different types of finishing powders (including some that are color-correcting)
- Blushes, bronzers, shimmers, and rouge
- Lipstick, lip balms, tints and glosses
- Fragrance
- Specially-designed kits (to take the worry out of choosing or to make gifting easy!)
- Brushes, sifter jars, flocked sponges and a touch-up compact
- A vitamin C-based skincare line endorsed by Miss K
- In response to customer demand, Aromaleigh created a line of more intense pigments that are a blend of natural and synthetic: Aromaleigh Rocks!
- "Traditional Cosmetics" are also available from Aromaleigh, so you can pick up your Eyeliner Sealant; gel liners; Creme Shadows; creme concealer; shadow primer/base; lip primer; brow, lip, and eyeliner pencils; setting/finishing spray; clear brow gel; liquid primer; clear mascara/brow gel; and lash primer/conditioner from someone you trust!
- Super pale girls (or those who want to enhance that porcelain look) can find super pale shades at Aromaleigh.
Hidden Gems
Did you know...
- Aromaleigh is cruelty free?
- The offer a Customer Loyalty Program?
- Aromaleigh offers regular sales?
- You can get free samples with every order? Speaking of samples...
- Aromaleigh offers a generous Sampling Program?
(Bonus: if your order is samples only you get free shipping!) - You can get a very full education in mineral makeup by reading this?
- Aromaleigh has a Makeup Artist's Program?
- The company is quite philanthropic?
- You can check out Aromaleigh products in use in the galleries?
- You can get a big old dose of Aromaleigh love by reading these customer testimonials?
- Aromaleigh Rocks! sponsors musicians Emilie Autumn and Mina Harker?
Aromaleigh's Mission Statement:
Helping other women feel good about themselves and reap the benefit of natural products, with formulations and colors that are good for the skin and contain ingredients that the average person can actually pronounce.
Subliminally forcing you to have fun with color! I dare you to try it... It's addictive!
Helping you realize that age is juuuust a number... (really!) Sharing with everyone that being Pretty on the outside means nothing if you're not pretty on the inside. In other words, you get what you give...
So... are you an Aromaleigh fan?
Gonna try it out?
Got questions or comments?
Let us know!
All images used in this post are property of Kristen Leigh Bell and Aromaleigh unless otherwise noted.