Launch Pad: Beauty Addresses Anxiety
The Nue Co Forest Lungs
Since its inception, The Nue Co has posited that it’s impossible to have a conversation about health without talking about mental health, an ethos that informs every launch, including its latest. Forest Lungs, a fragrance blended with vetiver, cedarwood, benzoin, pine, patchouli and bergamot, harnesses the power of nature by utilizing phytoncides, the same chemical compound emitted by trees, which is proven to aid anxiety. “We’re going to start seeing in the years to come more investment into alternative therapies to help deal with depression,” said Jules Miller, founder and chief executive officer of The Nue Co. “This is one of the reasons that we decided to launch Forest Lungs. The National Health Service in the U.K. just invested about 5 million pounds into research on how spending time in nature can help with anxiety and clinical depression.” To further its approach to health and mental health, The Nue Co is working on a new supplement launching in June, which works with principles of Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine to heal and soothe the body. According to the brand, The Nue Co has experienced triple-digit growth every year since launch and is set to do the same in 2021.
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Arrae Calm and Bloat
A year prior to Arrae’s launch, cofounder and CEO Siffat Haider noticed that a slew of the conversations she was having with wellness professionals and naturopathic doctors on her The Dream Bigger podcast spoke about anxiety as a common theme. Haider noticed that anxiety was most prevalent amongst women. As a response to those various conversations, Arrae created two supplements — Calm, to relax the mind and body, and Bloat, to ease digestive discomfort. The brand found that the two are inextricably linked since digestive discomfort tends to lead to anxiety. Arrae’s supplements are a blend of herbs, minerals and vitamins, encapsulated in a vegan shell. Haider also enlisted naturopathic doctor, Dr. Natalie Mulligan, as the formulator, who specializes in eating disorders and mental health. “When you’re anxious, your body goes into fight or flight, said Haider, “and it makes it very difficult to digest food. It’s why so many women deal with digestive discomfort or bloating when they’re feeling anxious.” Industry sources estimated the brand could reach $10 million in retail sales in 2021.
Topicals Faded and Like Butter
Founded by Claudia Teng and Olamide Olowe, Topicals is normalizing the conversation around what constitutes “good” skin. “We know that people who have chronic skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are six times more likely to experience anxiety and/or depression,” Teng said. “It’s because these skin conditions are still considered kind of taboo. We try to find creative activations and speak to our community through our social media platforms by having really frank and open conversations about mental health.” From inception, Topicals has donated to mental health organizations and devotes 1 percent of all sales to to raise awareness around the connection between mental health and skin health. The brand’s first two products include Faded, a brightening and clearing gel, and Like Butter, a rich whipped hydrating mask. Both have been formulated with input from a scientific advisory board and use active herbal ingredients. According to the brand, Topicals achieved its first-year sales projection in four months and sold out within 48 hours at Nordstrom.
Klur Supreme Seed
Klur founder Lesley Thornton believes there’s no good health without mental health. The botanical skin care line based in Los Angeles has always been deeply rooted in caring for the community. It all began with Thorton, who as an aesthetician became accustomed to listening to clients in their most vulnerable moments. “When I started formulating Klur, I was working on really acnaic clients at the very beginning of my journey,” Thornton said. “We’re talking about people who are dealing with severe cystic acne and along with that are the mental and social ramifications. There’s a lot of emotional trauma because your face is clearly your presentation to the world.” Thorton speaks to her community on Instagram just as she would her clients, asking how they’re doing and make sure they feel nurtured and cared for. Klur’s latest launch is a purifying mask called Supreme Seed that blends panthenol, calendula, cacao, kaolin clay and honeysuckle to soothe and calm redness and irritation. According to the brand, Klur has experienced triple-digit growth every year since 2019 and is set to do the same in 2021.
Rare Beauty
With Selena Gomez at the helm, Rare Beauty is breaking down unrealistic standards of perfection in a multitude of ways — most notably its Rare Impact Fund, which plans to raise $100 million over the next 10 years to support nonprofit organizations and strategic initiatives that help bridge access to mental health services in underserved communities. “We make the clear distinction between mental health and self care,” said Elyse Cohen, vice president of social impact at Rare Beauty. “There is no health without mental health. We also talk about that makeup is meant to make you feel good. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you wear, but it’s about doing the things that support your health on a daily basis.” Each Rare Beauty product name comes from a positive and uplifting place, further speaking to the brand’s mission. For example, one of Rare Beauty’s bestsellers, the Soft Pinch Liquid Blush, includes shade names like Love, Faith and Joy.
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