Professional Beauty Solutions has added LükBeautifood – the creator of beauty products made from ‘active foods’ – to its stable of brands.
Established by Sydney-based food scientist Cindy Lüken, Lük’s hero product is Lip Nourish Sheer Natural Lipstick.
Available in 12 colours/flavours, the ‘100 per cent natural, toxin-free’ lipstick is made from “the foods you eat for beautiful skin” – avocado oil, sesame seed oil, castor seed oil, cocoa bean butter, citrus and spice oils, corn flour and lecithin – without any “synthetic dyes, artificial flavours, synthetic fragrance, parabens, phthalates, mineral and nut oils, synthetic emollients, silicone or lanolin”.
Cindy says she decided to launch Lük Beautifood 10 years ago after seeing how lipstick was made.
“As a food scientist I was intrigued to delve deeper into the process,” she says. “After some researching I quickly understood that lipsticks are made of oils, waxes, butters, binders, colours and flavours and that the recipe looks a lot like a chemical cocktail rather than the skin healthy recipe it could be.
“This simple fact inspired me to create innovative make-up by swapping in extraordinary quality skin foods, without adding synthetics and hazardous chemicals, for outer beauty and inner health.”
PBS marketing manager Alison Mattock says the distributor has taken on Lük Beautifood to cater for the market’s growing demand for “clean beauty” products.
“The Clean Beauty movement is gaining even more momentum, now extending beyond a fringe group and into the masses at beauty counters,” she says.
“Terms like ‘healthy’ and ‘toxin-free’ are prominent buzzwords among the modern beauty user, who will unreservedly demand products that align with their lifestyle and values.
“It is therefore crucial for businesses like us to cater to this forward-thinking market with beauty brands created to accommodate this trend.”
Since “more than 75 percent of lipsticks on the market contain toxic heavy metals” PBS wants to offer its salons, “a lipstick brand that ticks all the boxes (100 percent natural, toxin-free, nutrient-active) and meets the demands of savvy beauty clients”.
“When the distribution opportunity for Lük Beautifood came to us, we knew straight away it was the right fit for PBS, our values and one that complemented our current offerings,” she says.
The brand has already “captured attention in the wellness industry across Australia” so during the next 12 months PBS plans to expand that reach into salons and spas nationwide.
According to Cindy, Lük’s customers are “not a single age group or demographic”.
“As a community, we [Lük and its customers] are connected by a desire to be naturally beautiful, to glow, to make healthier choices, to take care of our bodies, families and those we love and appreciate,” she says.
“A Lük woman is concerned about what goes in and on her body. She is not extreme in her product purchases but wants to make changes for the better – she wants to not only look good but feel good, knowing what she does is making a difference.
“She starts the day with at least a kiss of lipstick and maybe some mascara or colour on her cheeks (but she is not obsessed by the latest look).
“She loves multi-use products and feels comfy using a foundation that feeds, not blocks and blankets, her skin.”
She concludes that Lük is a universal brand that appeals to a broad age range with products that are suited to variations in skin tone and condition.
“Our mission is to disrupt the beauty industry by giving every woman the opportunity to cultivate her natural beauty without compromising her health and wellbeing with out-dated, chemically formulated cosmetics and time-consuming beauty practices.”
PBS will exhibit the brand at Sydney’s International Beauty Expo in September.