There’s a likely chance that you’ve come across this thriving homegrown beauty brand when you’re scrolling through the gram, yes we’re talking about the cult-favorite brand, Kayman Beauty! Founded by Nabella Anuar in 2017, Kayman Beauty has garnered tons of positive reviews and a mass of loyal consumers. Needless to say, they have been highly raved by the beauty community for their high-quality products. Nabella Anuar candidly chats with Beauty Insider as she shared her inspirations, challenges, and advice for aspiring beauty founders.

What inspired you to create Kayman Beauty?

I wanted to create something that I would be so proud to call mine. I wanted to create something that people would use everyday. I want to see my creation used by everyone. I want our local beauty industry to bloom. Creating skincare products has always been my joy and I want to share that joy by continuously creating through Kayman Beauty and building the brand. By looking at the Korean and Western beauty industries, it makes me think, “Why not?” Malaysia can create skincare just like this; creating skincare that aligns with our environment and skin.

What are the greatest challenges you’ve experienced with the brand?

Gaining trust from the people. We are new and we offer something which involves their skin. Luckily, after one year in the market, Kayman began gaining traction and slowly won the trust of the people, after looking at the result from using our products and the formulation we made for them. Even though skincare is not one-size-fits-all, we are glad that most of them get positive progress on their skin and love it. Another challenge is creating the formulation itself. Creating skincare isn’t easy and it takes months, sometimes even years. The challenge also lies in changing from one sample to another in order to get the right one.

How do you stay creative in coming up with new formulations, designs and products? 

By reading and meeting new people. I read for the knowledge and talk to/meet new people for the perspective. I always get new information and ideas whenever I read books, magazines and scroll through social media; we can travel without traveling, with social media. We can see trends in the UK without having to leave Malaysia. We can see the newest formulation and technology in Korea without going to Korea. What a blessing it is to live with social media.

Meeting and speaking with people also helps me to stay creative. I don’t want to sit in my own bubble as the world is changing. Talking to people exposes me to their views, what they want to see, what they want from us as a beauty brand and what they want us to represent as a brand.

What’s in store for Kayman Beauty this year?

We have a lot of new upcoming products this year. This year, we want to focus on the basics and essentials in skincare products. We invested a lot in the new ingredients and formulation. We want to introduce something different, convenient and effective to the people.

We also started our new line, Kayman Lifestyle, where we provide lifestyle items such as sweatshirts, skincare fridge and more to come.

What are the 5 beauty products that you can’t live without?

I would say facial cleanser and makeup remover because I love to wear makeup and not removing makeup is a sin in taking care of your skin. Third is moisturizer. I have dry skin, so moisturizer is a need for me. For makeup, I can’t live without lipstick and compact powder.

Can you share with our readers your go-to skincare and makeup routine?

People think I have a very long skincare routine because I own a skincare company but the truth is, I keep my skincare routine very simple. I cleanse my face with Kayman CoalBerry Cleanser, then I apply Kayman Rosa Glow Treatment Essence to give my skin a bright, healthy glow. Next, I moisturize my skin with Kayman Skintella Moisturizing Gel and protect with my go-to sunscreen from Innisfree. I cannot skip that! My go-to makeup routine would be compact powder, blusher, eyeliner and lipstick.

What are the things that you wish people knew about you or Kayman Beauty?

We have a very passionate team that loves creating skincare and building Kayman Beauty together with me. I am blessed, having a team with the same vision as me in building and leading a brand. I wish people knew how hard they work to make sure Kayman gives the best product, the best value and the best representation of a Malaysian brand.

What’s your advice for aspiring beauty founders?

It’s not an easy journey or smooth road ahead. Sell your stories and why you decided to create a beauty brand; do not only sell the product. People buy because of your vision and what your brand represents, not solely based on the product itself. Everyone can create the same product as you but not everyone has the same story as you.

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