Made in New York: Beauty Labels Based in the Big Apple

Made in New York: Beauty Labels Based in the Big Apple

From offbeat to all-business, five entrepreneurs are bringing a locavore’s approach and an artisan’s touch to urban beauty




“I look to nature for inspiration but add the best of science,” says Francesco Clark, who was prepped for a career in botanical-based beauty early in life by his homeopath father. Formulated with a jasmine absolute that Clark created to treat his own sensitive skin, his products have earned a cultish following among fans like Emma Stone and Zooey Deschanel. New next month: Cellular Lifting Moisture Mist (above right).



The concept for TenOverTen—the downtown fashion pack’s nail spot of choice—grew out of a list of mani/pedi pet peeves jotted down on a cocktail napkin by best friends Nadine Ferber and Adair Ilyinsky one evening over drinks. In addition to their Tribeca location, they have opened a midtown outpost in Le Parker Meridien, with more spaces on the horizon. Their signature polishes stay close to their downtown roots, with shades named after favorite streets.



When David Seth (a.k.a. D. S.) Moltz met his future wife, architect Kavi Ahuja, six years ago, he nicknamed her Durga, after a Hindu goddess. At the time in Brooklyn, “everyone around us was creating things,” he recalls. Why not handcraft fragrances, too? Today, the highly original scents the duo dream up in a tiny atelier in Gowanus call on influences as disparate as a blues song (Poppy Rouge) and a Russian ball from a Tolstoy novel (Siberian Snow).



“In the food world, simple is better,” says Adina Grigore, a former holistic nutritionist based in Greenpoint. “That feeling of being artisanal, small-batch, and all-natural—I wanted to bring that approach to beauty.” Products like her Exfoliant have a fresh-from-the-kitchen look but a decidedly un-kitchen-sink-like approach, listing just three ingredients: sea salt, organic almonds, and oats.



“When I was a real estate agent, I spent hours each day traveling around the city,” says Bulgarian-born Silvia Dontcheva. Her first collection of soaps featured images of the Manhattan skyline embedded in the bars; her latest offerings are inspired by “Park Avenue’s tulips, a walk in Central Park. To be able to turn a lifelong interest of mine into a business—well, that’s the New York dream, isn’t it?”



Posted by:Georgie

Credit:vogue.com