MAC Alum Nick Gavrelis Launches Holistic Beauty Brand, Ieró Beauty
Ieró means “sacred” in Ancient Greek.
For Nick Gavrelis, a MAC Cosmetics alum of more than 18 years who most recently served as the brand’s senior vice president of global product development, the concept of beauty as a sacred practice, or an act of self love, was integral to the genesis of his new brand, Ieró Beauty.
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Launching this month is the brand’s first Moonkissed Collection, which consists of four products that range in price from $32 for a pH-reactive lip treatment, to $72 for a restorative serum-oil.
Pairing plant-based ingredients such as rosa damascena water with essential oils and crystals including amethyst and hematite, the vegan, cruelty-free line aims to provide consumers with a soothing, multisensorial experience.
“Ieró helps you anchor and be present so you can reveal the very best parts of yourself,” Gavrelis said. “That is how we approach the product development, the packaging and even how the consumer is going to use these products.”
The founder worked with a spiritual healer to codevelop rituals that correspond with the application of each product, such as pouring a sachet of pure amethyst crystals into the Serene Essence Replenishing Mist before use.
By engaging in these rituals, Gavrelis wants consumers to feel more connected to the products they are applying, and more in tune with their own selves — a message echoed by the bottle design itself, which is plastered with the flower of life symbol.
“I had to ask myself, ‘What can I do in beauty that would be different?” Gavrelis said. “I started to daydream, do research and start this mindfulness journey of my own with meditation, breathwork, yoga and going back to my cultural roots in terms of Greece.”
With wellness more firmly anchored in the public consciousness than ever before, spiritual beauty has risen in both popularity and prevalence. With Ieró, Gavrelis seeks to not only tackle consumers’ skin (and eventually, makeup) concerns, but emphasize the benefits of mindfulness in beauty, which he says exist beyond just the product application process.
“I knew I wanted to deliver something that would treat the whole self, not just the skin, and that would be uplifting in a time of turbulence, of conflict, of fear,” Gavrelis said.
The venture marks Gavrelis’ second brand launch to date, with the founder having previously run a cosmetics line called Pretty Pretty from 1999 to 2001 in partnership with fellow makeup artist, James Vincent.
Ieró is launching direct-to-consumer to start, with Gavrelis eyeing potential retail and category expansions in the near future. The founder and chief executive officer did not specify sales expectations for the brand, but industry sources expect Ieró to do $500,000 in retail sales by the end of 2022, and estimate it could reach $2.2 million by the end of 2023.
“We see Ieró Beauty as an amazing opportunity to transition, as a lifestyle brand, into other categories,” Gavrelis said. “There could be fragrance in our future, home decor and tools that are designed to deliver [crystal-]infused makeup artistry with mindfulness.”
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