The mineral makeup and skincare market is expanding year after year to offer clients better prices and products to use for their skin. Mineral makeup varies around the world in cost and variety, however, all of them have a clear vision to deliver real results for customers. Ariana Pezeshki chats to Stacey Hollands, CEO of Lust Minerals about her business and how the mineral market has changed along with the importance of being Australian Made.
“My name is Stacey Hollands. I am a beauty therapist turned entrepreneur, and I am the proud founder and CEO of Australia’s Leading clean beauty brand, Lust Minerals. I am also a wife to my incredible husband and a mother to my two beautiful children who are aged three and six. My passion since a young age has always been the beauty industry and leading a cleaner healthier lifestyle.
I founded my business, Lust Minerals in 2014 with a clear vision to redefine the beauty industry. Whilst there were plenty of natural-based products out there, I believed few married “clean” and “high performance” to deliver real results for customers. I was on a mission to prove that mineral makeup and clean, natural skincare products do have the high-performance power to change your skin and your life, while also leaving the planet a better place. At Lust Minerals, we aim to offer confidence, without sacrificing the health of our customers.
Founding Lust Minerals
Although, starting a brand from the ground up comes with its share of challenges. I’ve always been someone to look at challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow. However, I would be lying if I didn’t say there were definitely a few moments of self-doubt when I first came to starting Lust Minerals. I was up against some pretty big, well-known brands and at times felt like a small fish in a big sea. However, at the same time, this just motivated me to want to work harder to succeed. Initially, I was also wearing all the hats and running every single aspect of the business, as we didn’t have any employees to start with. I was doing this all whilst I was also working and being a mum at the same time, so this was a challenge in itself. However, I had an incredible support system from my family who really helped me to succeed.
Tapping into mineral makeup
As far as the mineral market goes, I really believe it has come a long way in recent years. Previously, fillers were used a lot and actually still are in some cases to lessen the costs of production. However, this was quite damaging as this is a huge reason why people’s perception of natural-based products is and why they don’t perform. This waters down the product and therefore meant that it didn’t last and work as effectively. This is why we invest in high-quality ingredients so we can ensure our products are high performing.
Our products are highly concentrated, and whilst they may be a bit more expensive cost-wise to buy, a little amount truly goes a long way which makes them more cost-effective, meaning the product will last customers longer.
I definitely believe that more and more people are becoming more aware and understanding the “why” surrounding clean beauty products, however, it definitely takes a lot of education. There are still so many people that are unaware of what they are actually putting onto their skin when applying a conventional brand’s products. This is why we try to ensure through every touch point, education is the main focus of every conversation, every social media post and advertisement.
In saying so, the lack of education is something that we are really trying to change in terms of cleaner alternative products. Our products offer so much more in terms of skin and health benefits. We have carefully formulated the products with specific ingredients and vitamins to be able to offer healing and soothing benefits for this skin. Our products are also non-comedogenic meaning they are breathable and won’t cause breakouts or skin irritations like chemicals in conventional makeup can do.
There are so many myths that surround mineral makeup and natural skincare, particularly when it comes to their performance, and this does deter a lot of people away from wanting to make the switch to a cleaner alternative brand.
Another challenge that we find that customers face is application. Mineral makeup does need to be applied a certain way to achieve maximum results and to ensure the minerals are binding and warming well to the skin. This is why we send every new customer an application tutorial video, and we include in our customer orders flyers that have tips and tricks on how to get the best out of your Lust Mineral products. A challenge is exciting for us as a brand. It gives us the chance to workshop a solution to overcome it, which in turn allows us to learn and grow and I feel like this outlook has really shaped the success of where the brand is today.
The inspiration behind the brand
When creating Lust Minerals I was inspired to educate and provide clean beauty products to men and women worldwide after watching my father lose his battle with cancer. Dad’s passing really made me realise that we don’t get a second chance at life and that toxins and chemicals can really lead to so many health issues. I saw a clear gap in the market and wanted to create a cleaner alternative range for men and women to minimise the chemicals put onto their skin and into their bodies, without them having to compromise on achieving the results, and quality that they desire in a product.
I worked in the beauty industry for eight years prior to starting Lust Minerals so I always had a passion and love for the industry. I also always loved helping people. It fulfilled me and gave me a real sense of purpose. When my dad got sick, I spent so long searching for a miracle cure for him, which led me to research all the harmful effects that toxins and chemicals can have on our health. It made me realise that there isn’t enough education surrounding this, and from there, I was inspired to make a difference. I combined my two passions, my love for beauty and helping people and from there, the idea for Lust Minerals was born.
Our skin is our largest organ and Lust Minerals exists to reduce the number of chemicals that men and women consume through this. I wanted to create a beauty brand that not only enhances but cares for our customers’ skin and their health, and our planet. As a brand, we are inspired by all the goodness that nature has given us and use as much of it as possible to create beauty amor for you to protect, conceal and create. We are a brand that truly values people above profits. We also pride ourselves on investing in only the highest quality and ethical ingredients that are vegan, natural and nourishing for the skin. Our products have been designed to work as a solution for our customers’ skin concerns rather than a cover-up. We prioritise incorporating superfoods and vitamins into our ingredients to offer healing and soothing benefits for the skin.
Another extremely important factor to me when creating my brand was to make sure we were Australian Made. Being an Australian made brand was always a non-negotiable for me and was always something that was at the forefront of my mind when first starting the brand. It assures the integrity of the product and allows for quality control which is more important to us than cost. Australia is my home, and it is important to me that I support my own country.
I would love our customers and the industry to understand why it is important to use a cleaner alternative beauty product and to be more conscious of what they are putting onto their skin and into their bodies. I am dedicated to spreading awareness and creating change amongst as many people as I can to help them to live healthier and happier lifestyles. There’s no need to compromise your health for you to be able to get the results you want to achieve. We remove the unnecessary and irritating toxins, chemicals and synthetic ingredients and replace them with nourishing, clean, vegan ingredients that are designed to strengthen your skin, whilst providing you with the results you are after. You really can have it all, and Lust Minerals exisst to prove that.
What’s next for Lust Minerals?
Year after year, we have experienced significant growth which is incredible, and something I am so proud of. Our aim is to become a global, iconic beauty brand and to be well-known worldwide and we are definitely making progress to get to this level. When I reflect on where we started eight years ago, it was myself running the business with the product stocked in a linen cupboard in my home. Fast forward to now, we have two warehouses, an office, and 20-plus staff members who are on this beautiful journey with me.”
This article first appeared in the January-February 2023 print issue of Professional Beauty.
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