How I Created A Lip Colour Company For Women of Colour
By: Arooj Mazhar
Arooj Mazhar has been with The Sunscreen CompanyTM for almost six years providing customer service and as an advisor. She started her company A’Rouge Cosmetics 2 years ago and continues to pursue her passion of all things beauty.
Hi! It’s Arooj here doing a blog take-over. I’ve been with The Sunscreen Company ™ for almost 6 years and working in the beauty industry for almost two decades. I still can’t seem to get enough! After doing a Bachelors in Economics, I did a complete 180 and found myself working in the beauty industry. I feel confident in saying that I understand women when it comes to their make-up concerns.
I have worked as a makeup artist, a skin consultant, as well as having done makeup for bridal and model shoots. If I’m being honest I find it all so addictive. Growing up in Pakistan, I was always very interested in makeup and fashion. My family was conservative though and I wasn’t allowed to use much until my late teens. My first couple of makeup products were a Kajal Pencil, used on the waterline in the eyes, and mascara. Foundation is not very common there due to the extreme hot weather, and is only worn on special occasions. Women like to focus more on their eyes and bold lip colours. They are not shy about wearing bright shades. Due to the hot and humid weather a lot of water-resistant makeup is used. For the most part, a majority of women don’t work and their go-to makeup items are lipsticks and mascaras for everyday errands. Everyone in Pakistan wants to have a brighter complexion. There are lots of skin lightening products available that women love to use, from homemade masks to high end creams.
I would always watch my mother and aunties get dolled up for parties and weddings. Big weddings that go on for days is a big part of our culture. Women like to wear lots of makeup and heavy jewelry, and I found it very fascinating. I learnt the basic makeup tricks from my mother, then started practicing on friends and finally got professional training. I would volunteer my makeup services to practice. I had a family friend who had a makeup studio and a little puppy. Between makeup and his dog, I would spend hours at his place. I would watch him apply makeup on his clients and he would sometimes let me practice as well. In return, I would clean all his makeup brushes for him. I would see women requesting for cat eye liners and peacock colour shadows. He would make their lips big and bright. They loved it and so did I.
Being a woman of colour, and now living in North America, I noticed there is a lot of room for new ideas and products as there were far fewer options, and less brands catering to my skin tone.
If I had to pick one makeup product that I couldn’t live without, I would pick a bright coloured lip! I have enough colour in my skin to get away with skipping bronzers and mascaras. If anything, I need something to just give me a pop of colour and lip colours are the easiest and most fun way.
The many different shades offered by the A’rouge lip line of cosmetics.
I came up with the idea of launching a lip collection in 2018 that would cover all needs and be more suitable for different skin shades. I have trendy, fun shade lip kits for my market back home in Pakistan, and I have long lasting mineral lipsticks for my Canadian clients. I wanted products that were moisturizer and did not require frequent touch ups. Long lasting stains can leave your lips looking dry and cracked. I also found that there are plenty of moisturizing lipsticks, but they often disappear in a couple of hours. This brings us to the million dollar question, how do we make a perfect product that combines the need for hydration and a long lasting colour? That was the biggest struggle. I tried and tested multiple different formulas and wanted to have a clean beauty product.
Finally, after plenty of trial and error, I found the perfect combination. I named it, A’rouge. FYI, this is just an easier way to pronounce my name, I am sure my fellow brown girls know the name pronunciation is a real struggle!
The Sunscreen Company has been a huge supporter of mine, and the CEO, Sara Dudley, wanted to stock it in her retail store right away. Every shade is picked with keeping all skin colour and ages in mind. From a bright spring coral, to a plum fall shade.
Now that a lot of us are working from home, you often may find yourself needing to jump on quick video call meetings. I’ve found that we don’t need a full makeup face these days, and a bright lip colour will do the trick. It’s easy, quick and makes us look put together in just a matter of seconds. I believe I speak for a lot of women when I say that a stunning lipstick has the ability to lift your mood and make you feel your best. Money can’t buy love, but it sure can buy the perfect lipstick!