Nevena Tomic is doing things her way when it comes to making a mark in the beauty industry. As the Founder & CEO of La Beaute Fatale, cosmetics brand she launched in March 2018, Tomic is committed to providing high-end beauty products made with only top-quality ingredients and minus harmful chemicals. The end result…everlasting youthfulness.
Nevena has worked in the fashion & beauty space for over ten years at corporate companies such as Walgreens, Sears, and Claire’s. She was a buyer for some of the largest cosmetic brands including L’Oreal, Maybelline, Revlon, Neutrogena, Cover Girl, Almay and many more. While continuously choosing and sampling makeup items for the store display, Tomic began to learn about the types of ingredients used in makeup. It is through this role where gained the knowledge and product intelligence to envision a better future for makeup, where products complement the natural health of a man or woman’s skin.
Nevena moved from the sidelines of the beauty biz, to front and center where she could have a say in what ingredients were being put into specific cosmetics. She launched La Beaute Fatale, which translates to “The Fatal Beauty,” a notion that every woman carries an inner beauty that is powerful, strong, and destructive. Within, the first two years, the company sold over 1.3M units making them a top emerging brand in the market.
FWM: You worked in the fashion & beauty space for over 15-years. Share your background and what led you to launch La Beaute Fatale.
I have always worked in Beauty and Fashion as a young adult ranging from being a traveling makeup artist, talent scout, fashion school student, talent booker for a modeling agency, working in retail, etc. The idea of launching a business didn’t occur until I identified a key problem in the color cosmetics industry as customers were not aware of the chemicals most commonly found in cosmetics. When I was working as a buyer for Color Cosmetics for a major Drug Store, I began researching the brands that we brought into the assortment and how the items could live on the shelf for over 5+ years. It was that point in my career where I felt misled as a consumer and wanted to make a difference. I leaned into my previous experiences working Beauty and Fashion to build a brand that educates women and men about the harmful chemicals used in cosmetics which allow the item to be preserved for many years, launch a high fashion brand that gets inspiration from NYFW trends every season to inspire our innovation, and introduce a line of products that have more natural ingredients and eliminate harmful chemicals.
FWM: LA BEAUTE FATALE translates to “The Fatal Beauty.” Share your philosophy behind your brand.
La Beaute Fatale translates to Fatal Beauty in French. Therefore, our goal is to incorporate ingredients that help maintain your everlasting youthfulness. By incorporating components like antioxidant Vitamin E and Natural Vanillian Extract we can stay true to our brand mission. Most consumers are not aware that color cosmetics includes plastics, alcohol for fragrance, glues, and preservatives which penetrate your blood stream in 25 seconds and can lead to negative impacts to our bodies and health. Our products are animal cruelty free, paraben free, noncomodegenic, hypoallergenic, allergy tested, fragrance free and we just added EU complaint and Halal certified to our list!
FWM: Within the first two years, your company sold over 1.3M units making La Beaute Fatale a top emerging brand in the market. Why is La Beaute Fatale adored globally?
When we first launched, brands were not investing in claims that would resonate with the consumer therefore we identified a gap in the market. For example, we were one of the first to expose Animal Cruelty in color cosmetics testing and that really helped us build a relationship with a large customer base. It was not long before we started hearing from retail partners in France, Italy, China, Hong Kong and others with a strong interest in our mission. Within a few years, the food industry began moving towards Vegan, Gluten Free, Diary Free and that evolution allowed us to maintain our position on “clean cosmetics” to partner with those moving towards “clean eating”. We found a strong affinity between those who are focusing on the clean ingredients in their food and wanting to protect their skin/bodies with better consumer packaged goods.
FWM: What’s trending?
There was a consistent trend of beauty looks that pushed the envelope when it came to classic vs. on-the-go drama. As we approach Spring/Summer 2023, it was apparent that designers pulled inspiration from events that fashion enthusiasts would be attending such as weddings, traveling, and getting back to their normal on the go selves. Lip stains are back! Contour is dying off while blushing and illuminating on the cheek bones are back. Our key sellers continue to be Brow and Lip focused as those are the most convenient for consumers to purchase online without testing them directly.
FWM: Share some of the challenges you have faced while building your power brand.
Finding your place in a highly saturated market is the biggest hurdle an entrepreneur faces when building a brand. There is a strong sense of trust that consumers look for when deciding who to purchase from so they heavily rely on ingredient lists and claims to drive their choices. Every brand faces their own set of challenges from supply chain, product development, innovation or distribution however a power brand will always find strategic ways to stay ahead of their competition.
FWM: How important are collaborations?
Partnerships allow us to reach a population that we are currently not targeting and this is key in growing purchase behaviors. Consumers have their go to brands that they trust and have regularly shopped therefore our collaborations (specific to NYFW) have allowed us to attract new demographics and assisted in elevating our brand in the Fashion industry as a leader.
FWM: What can we expect to see in 2023?
We are looking at new categories that have a high-affinity to Color Cosmetics like Skincare and other lifestyle sub segments. In 2-5 years, we expect to see significant growth in distribution, ecommerce penetration, retail partnerships and international expansion.
