Hey y'all! Today on the blog I have this month's Indie Spotlight Series to share with you! November's spotlight is Message Beauty, a newer indie to our nail world. She makes nail and hand care items but her specialty, in my opinion is her acetone tonic. I reviewed it last month, you can read that HERE. Are you guys ready to get to know the maker of Message Beauty? She dropped us a line, let's jump in!
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Pish: What inspired you to start Message Beauty?
Message Beauty: I love making things for myself, but as most things in my life, my little family of 3 couldn't use enough of the products I was making to be efficient. I hate waste! It feels wrong to me. I started thinking about selling my excess product and really took off from there.
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Pish: What inspired you to start Message Beauty?
Message Beauty: I love making things for myself, but as most things in my life, my little family of 3 couldn't use enough of the products I was making to be efficient. I hate waste! It feels wrong to me. I started thinking about selling my excess product and really took off from there.
Pish: How do you decide what to do for future products?
Message Beauty: I see inspiration everywhere I go! I take screenshots of images I like, I save articles I read about the healing properties of a certain product. Then I take what I already have. What I already know, and think "How can I incorporate this?" "Can I make this, into this", or "Can I do something clever to improve this". I've honestly been trying to pace myself. I have so many more ideas that I can not wait to try out!
Message Beauty: I see inspiration everywhere I go! I take screenshots of images I like, I save articles I read about the healing properties of a certain product. Then I take what I already have. What I already know, and think "How can I incorporate this?" "Can I make this, into this", or "Can I do something clever to improve this". I've honestly been trying to pace myself. I have so many more ideas that I can not wait to try out!
Pish: What goes into the testing/prototype phase?
Message Beauty: Out of every batch, I leave product in different settings. One goes in the fridge, one goes on the porch, one in the garage, one on the counter in my kitchen and one in the damp, humid bathroom. And then I let them sit. I want to know how long they'll stay fresh, how long they'll retain their scent, how well they transport, any pigmentation issues. In the beginning, I test out all of my products on myself. I am anal about mixing products. I do tons of research before I even mix two new ingredients. I research, research and research some more. I consult with different professionals (including an aromatherapist) so I feel very confident in their safety before I use them. But having myself as the guinea pig is the best solution. After I'm pleased with their testing results, I share the product with testers. I always ask for their honest opinions. I can't improve things without constructive criticism. I am not above tweaking existing product to make it better, or even tearing it down to it's base and starting over.
Message Beauty: Out of every batch, I leave product in different settings. One goes in the fridge, one goes on the porch, one in the garage, one on the counter in my kitchen and one in the damp, humid bathroom. And then I let them sit. I want to know how long they'll stay fresh, how long they'll retain their scent, how well they transport, any pigmentation issues. In the beginning, I test out all of my products on myself. I am anal about mixing products. I do tons of research before I even mix two new ingredients. I research, research and research some more. I consult with different professionals (including an aromatherapist) so I feel very confident in their safety before I use them. But having myself as the guinea pig is the best solution. After I'm pleased with their testing results, I share the product with testers. I always ask for their honest opinions. I can't improve things without constructive criticism. I am not above tweaking existing product to make it better, or even tearing it down to it's base and starting over.
Pish: How do you decide on scents?
Message Beauty: There are so many out there! I start with what I love honestly lol. I always try and add one or two outside of my comfort zone to be inclusive of different tastes. And of course there are seasonal scents. Margarita and Sunscreen might be taking a nap until next summer shortly. I'm constantly smelling my favorite products and thinking, "What about this do I love?", pull out my favorite part and try and improve it. There are so many options out there, but I kind of want to buy them all. Kind of like my obsessive nail polish collecting. Now I'm browsing my suppliers websites thinking "Shut up and take my money!"
Message Beauty: There are so many out there! I start with what I love honestly lol. I always try and add one or two outside of my comfort zone to be inclusive of different tastes. And of course there are seasonal scents. Margarita and Sunscreen might be taking a nap until next summer shortly. I'm constantly smelling my favorite products and thinking, "What about this do I love?", pull out my favorite part and try and improve it. There are so many options out there, but I kind of want to buy them all. Kind of like my obsessive nail polish collecting. Now I'm browsing my suppliers websites thinking "Shut up and take my money!"
Pish: What do you think will make Message Beauty a success?
Message Beauty: Honestly, my customers. It's my job to make great products and I'm hoping to find my own little niche but it would be futile without all that my customers do. Social media is such a weapon these days, especially in an over saturated market. I do my part. Run a professional business, make great products and give responsive customer service but that is to be expected of any business! It's you that makes the difference. It's you taking a picture of your haul, or highlighting what you think is cute packaging or a nice finishing touch. It's you talking about your love for a product. It's you that misses a restock but shares it anyway. You are our voice.
Message Beauty: Honestly, my customers. It's my job to make great products and I'm hoping to find my own little niche but it would be futile without all that my customers do. Social media is such a weapon these days, especially in an over saturated market. I do my part. Run a professional business, make great products and give responsive customer service but that is to be expected of any business! It's you that makes the difference. It's you taking a picture of your haul, or highlighting what you think is cute packaging or a nice finishing touch. It's you talking about your love for a product. It's you that misses a restock but shares it anyway. You are our voice.
Pish: I know you work by day and make your products by night. What drives you to keep going with Message Beauty?
Message Beauty: Have I mentioned I want to buy all the things to make products? Joking aside, I do LOVE making new products. It's a great creative outlet for me. It is incredibly fun. I specifically kept the brand name vague, because I have so many ways to expand. I wanted to business to be able to grow and mature with me.
Message Beauty: Have I mentioned I want to buy all the things to make products? Joking aside, I do LOVE making new products. It's a great creative outlet for me. It is incredibly fun. I specifically kept the brand name vague, because I have so many ways to expand. I wanted to business to be able to grow and mature with me.
But the best part is seeing product make it to it's new home. Seeing the customers using them and loving them. That gives me so much joy. That has always been a part of my personality. Luckily, I only work part time so that gives me plenty of time to work here. I guess technically I work outside of the home part time, at home part time and as a mom full time. Those are all a luxury and I am very thankful for that. If it ever gets to a point where Message expands, I can easily step aside from the outside of the house job, no strings attached.
Pish: Can you show us some behind the scenes/testing areas for Message Beauty?
So that's it for this month's Indie Spotlight Series featuring Message Beauty. If you haven't tried her acetone tonic yet, I highly recommend it! It turns your acetone into a useful tool that won't dry out your nails and it leaves behind a yummy scent! You can find all of her products HERE. She's launching some new seasonal products tomorrow as well as her Black Friday sale! Use code FreeShip for free US shipping on orders over $20 and FreeShipInt for free shipping on international orders over $30! The time to buy acetone tonics is definitely tomorrow as well as she will be offering a 50% off coupon if you buy 3 or more, use code TonicBF. Make sure you add them separately and not the 3/$10 option at checkout!
Thanks for reading!
Pish: Can you show us some behind the scenes/testing areas for Message Beauty?
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| Mixing acetone tonic! |
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| New supplies! |
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| Liquid storage! |
Thanks for reading!
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I've never heard of this brand, but I'm excited to check them out now.
ReplyDeleteI need to get me some more tonic from her! And I want those sparkly mini mani bombs!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I really wan to try the tonics!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the wonderful blog post Pish!
ReplyDeleteNew seasonal products with hit the store tomorrow.
Black Friday codes go active tomorrow as well!
FreeShip for free US shipping on orders over $20
FreeShipInt for free shipping on international orders over $30.
TonicBF for 50% off Acetone Tonic when you buy 3 or more. You have to add the tonic to your cart separately, and not as the 3 pack, for the code to work.
New to me brand and love learning about new brands!
ReplyDeleteNew to me brand and love learning about new brands!
ReplyDeleteAwww, Roxy!! Pish, I love your indie spotlight series!! I look forward to reading them all the time!
ReplyDeleteI still need to get some of that acetone tonic
ReplyDeleteThis brand is nice, I want to have a try
ReplyDeleteThis is a Newton me brand. I always like reading these features!
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of this brand before. Thanks for the good read!
ReplyDeleteLove get-to-know posts!!! Lots of great info!!
ReplyDeleteI love reading the stories behind indie brands!
ReplyDeleteI love these behind the scenes posts!
ReplyDeleteGreat post Pish! And congratulations to Roxy! The acetone tonics from Message Beauty instantly became a product I couldn't live without and I'm looking forward to what else is I store!
ReplyDeleteI've got my first tonics ordered, cannot wait to try them!
ReplyDeleteI need to order some tonic! I keep forgetting. Great interview.
ReplyDeleteThese are awesome!!
ReplyDeletewhite pumps