Women We Love kicks off this week in time for Pink Friday as we catch up with A Beautiful World founder Liz McCarthy to ask her what Pink Friday is all about, which products are her personal beauty heroes and why she thinks raw beauty is going to be big this year…
Liz with Emanate PR
Liz McCarthy is CEO of abeautifulworld.co.uk, the online eco-lux beauty boutique that brings the world’s leading innovations in organic and natural beauty to the UK. Since it launched last year, ABW has been featured in Sunday Times Style, Marie Claire, Grazia, British Beauty Blogger & more.
Q&A
Beauty Shortlist: Friday 10 January is #PinkFriday on www.abeautifulworld.co.uk – we LOVE the idea of a flash beauty sale with 10% of all sales going to breast cancer charities, what inspired you to launch this?
Liz: We’re super excited about #PinkFriday, because we’ve always wanted to do something to support breast cancer research. On a recent trip to California we experienced the Black Friday phenomenon, where on the Friday after Thanksgiving, retailers across the US offer one day of discounts, special offers, and limited editions. Everybody is excited and everybody gets involved.
We tweaked the concept, to come up with #PinkFriday. This will be a one day flash sale on the second Friday after New Year, where we will give 10% of all sales on the day to breast cancer charities. This will be the first #PinkFriday, and we’re really hoping to make it a THING with other retailers joining in next year too.
Save the date and stock up on your green, glam beauty on Friday 10 Jan!
BLS: ABW stocks Indie Lee, Yarok and Dahliana Naturals – three “best in class” American brands which are not that easy to find in the UK. Which is the one hero product of each collection, for you?
Liz: It’s hard to pick favourites, but I honestly don’t know what I did before these three products came into my life:
– Indie Lee Squalane Facial Oil £22 We hunted high and low to find a face oil that was light enough to wear under make-up but also super nourishing to the skin. Indie Lee Squalene Oil does both, brilliantly. This is one of our bestsellers, and as soon as you try it, you’ll know why.
– Yarok Feed Your Youth. Being a bit of a beauty fanatic I do find my hair can get overloaded with product and a bit dry from over blow drying. This is my once a week saviour. This super nourishing oil detoxes, removes build up and hydrates. It’s like rehab for my hair.
– Dahliana Overnight Fruit Lift. £56 This is part mask, part exfoliant, I use it as an overnight cream, and am totally addicted. It works to both boost natural collagen production and gently exfoliate the skin. It is amazingly effective at reducing any lines, and keeps my skin really plumped up and glowing.
BSL: How important has social media been in growing ABW online?
Liz: Social media has been a huge part of our success. We deliberately launched abeautifulworld as a socially activated e-commerce site, rather than a traditional bricks and mortar shop, or even a clicks and mortar platform. Exclusively online, and socially active even before launch, we set out to engage with women not because of where they lived or shopped, but through a shared desire for truly effective, high end luxury beauty but without the nasties.
Social media gives us the perfect medium to reach this audience. It’s an instantaneous two-way dialogue, where we bring to our customers new products, engaging content and insider info, but we also encourage customers to feedback on their experience of using our products, ask for bespoke recommendations, and even recommend great beauty finds from their travels, which we then seek to source.
…you’ve also had really strong support from the beauty bloggers
Yes it’s also a fabulous way to meet like-minded people such as the wonderful FabTips, Beauty Balm, and Ana Goes Green. As we move into 2014 we want to continue to develop the culture of abeautifulworld not just as a retailer, but an online community.
BSL: What’s A Day In The Life of A Beautiful World like?
Gosh, a day in the life of abeautifulworld is always interesting and exciting. That’s part of the wonderful things about having your own business; you can make it what you want it to be. I know it sounds a bit of a cliché but every day really is different.
A Beautiful World is sponsoring the Hemyca show at LFW next month
At the moment we’re full speed ahead with our London Fashion Week (14-18 Feb) sponsorship of the Hemyca show. We’re doing hair and body backstage. So I start the day with a catch up with our Art Editor, Annie Barley and lead writer Leonie Eastwood to chat through emerging trends/innovations to showcase there.
Next I head to a lunchtime meeting in Soho with our PR Agency Emanate. Jenny and Rosanna have some amazing plans for 2014. We discuss the trend of Raw Beauty which we think is going to be big this year.
In the afternoon I catch up with some of our brand owners. Indie Lee and I love Skype, she’s got some fab new products coming out later this year, so she gives me a sneak peek, and as ever we end up having a bit of gossip and chatting shoes – we both LOVE Lucy Choi.
I end the day with a quick catch up with Customer Service, it’s so good to hear what customers think, we really use this feedback to give direction as we grow.
BSL: What gets you going in the morning, and how do you switch off at the end of a(nother) busy day?
Liz: I’m lucky enough to be a morning person, so I’m usually up bright and early. I’ll start the day with almond milk porridge and a green juice. It’s a habit I picked up in LA and it’s a great way to kick start the day.
At the end of my work day I’ll unwind with a walk home from the office, or if I’m feeling good I’ll go to Hot Yoga. I like Yoga Haven in Clapham, it’s a great way to detox the body and mind, and also a great excuse to buy more LuLu Lemon kit! Most evenings I’m out with girlfriends, or home for dinner with my lovely husband. And I’m a big fan of an early night – after I’ve applied my Dahliana Overnight Fruit Lift of course!
Sunday Times Style – June 2013
DON’T MISS ABEAUTIFULWORLD.CO.UK‘s ONE DAY ONLY FLASH SALE TO SUPPORT BREAST CANCER CHARITIES ON #PINKFRIDAY 10 January!