It’s wild to me that Gen Alphas are treasure-hunting Sephora stores seeking Hyaluronic Acid and anything that will prevent wrinkles on their prepubescent faces. While I appreciate their intention for self-care, I wish they’d be more thoughtful about where all their empties will end up or where their products came from in the first place. So it was incredibly refreshing to me when I learned about Robin Doyle’s online beauty marketplace, Beautyologie. Robin and I go back way before Covid times, when I was consumed in the editorial world and she was on the PR side of some amazing beauty brands and projects.
Beautyologie is not your typical etailer hocking the latest viral Tik Tok trends. It’s a highly curated collection of 50+ beauty brands from all corners of the earth that actually give a shit about the world. Robin draws from 25 years of beauty industry experience as a writer and PR agency owner (Charmed PR). She confesses her idea to create a beauty marketplace for brands using the industry as a vehicle for soclal good came from working with clients who founded the fair trade beauty brands Shea Yeleen and Silktage. Both have been on her site since day one.
“Once I realized that these women weren’t just making skin care products for the hell of it, but they were doing it to help the ingredient producers in places like Ghana and Morocco make a living and pay for books and food for their kids, I thought, there is so much more good that could come out of the beauty industry if people just paid attention,” she says.
She also took a trip to India right before the pandemic which transformed her outlook on the consumer industry. Witnessing firsthand how western shopping behavior affects a developing country, she felt incredible guilt for the 20+ years she spent in PR pushing the promotion and sale of endless beauty and accessory items.
So many of the ingredients that go into our beauty products are farmed and tended to just like the food we eat. Much of them come from the global south and are produced, not always in the best conditions by people who are not always treated or paid fairly. This topic is covered extensively on Robin’s site as well as highilghting where brands are from. In browsing the Countries tab, I can find beauty from Bangladesh to Zambia.
What I found myself going down a rabbit hole was the Ingredient Checker, a comprehensive guide to all the ingredients used in the products she offers. “I believe that everyone deserves to know exactly what’s in their beauty products and where those ingredients come from,” she explains.
That’s not to say you will only find crunchy Shea Butter and Argan Oil brands here. A self-admitted beauty snob, Robin looks for efficacious formulas that blend science with ethically sourced ingredients too (Moon Beings Skincare), or Zero-Waste brands (Parrotfish and Axiology). Gorgeous hair accessories and cosmetic bags from India and Guatemala are available too.
Robin dreams of opening her own beauty boutique one day, but rent in LA is ridiculous so she’s created a work around with a collections of Pop-Ups, her largest in the Valley Salt Cave in Woodland Hills on Ventura Blvd. which I plan to visit soon. I love a good Salt Cave, and I hear this one does Tarot Card Sound Baths…ahhh.
A beauty aficionado myself, I am drooling over some of the products I found on Beautyologie that I’ve never heard of before. Here’s a sampling of my faves from above:
ABHATI Suisse Chambral Sacred Hair Oil – a rich, golden, healthy growth-encouraging blend of ayurvedic botanicals and Indian oils including Himalayan Wild Cherry Oil.
Amazonian Skinfood Magic Wand: All-in-One Gentle Face Cleasner: a travel-ready solid face cleansing stick made with Acai, Passion Fruit and Yerba Mate.
Odylique Mineral Lipstick in Praline – it’s the perfect taupe / nude shade you dream about and it contains Fair Trade Certified Shea Butter.
Violet Botanical Egyptian Marula Oil – Sourced from Botswana, the texture says it is lightweight and non-greasy. I just want the gorgeous blue glass bottle to have a permanent residence on my vanity.
Nourishe Supreme Rose Invigoratin Cream – Infused with nine different types of organic roses, and Ayuvvedic herbs. The nutrients of 37 plants create this velvety cream.
Katari Beauty Argil Mediterranean Green Clay Facial Masque – Mined from the Atlas Mountains in Africa, the mineral-rich green clay helps clear acne-prone skin. Housed in a glass bottle with a cork topper.
Use GROOMED15 for 15% off orders $50 or more.
