Makeup of black and mixed skin: interview of a specialist
How did you come up with the idea of creating Colorii?
I realized that there was really a lack. As a black woman of Senegalese origin, I was tired of always going to the other end of Paris to find my makeup products! And I found it really unfair that in the general perfumeries we have only the choice between some specialized brands. It is true that MAC, Make Up For Ever or Gemey Maybelline have made efforts ... but I thought we had to go further.
One day I exposed the problem to a friend, Cécile Abric, and we had the idea to create Colorii.
What is the concept?
A Colorii shop is the temple of beauty for a black woman because she finds everything! She can be advised by pros, have the choice between different brands of cosmetics, but also have her hair done or pampered, since we have set up in each shop a salon of hairstyle and a beauty institute.
The idea was also that these stores are on the way women when they do their shopping, for example ... No more miles to go to be beautiful!
In fact, all the black women had been waiting for this for a long time so the project went up quite quickly and we launched our first shop in September 2007, at the Forum des Halles.
Since then, two more have been created in the Paris region, in the Rosny II and Evry II shopping centers.
We would like to launch shops in the region but it's not for now. In the meantime, women living in the provinces can place an order on our website www.colorii.com.
What are the pioneering cosmetic brands in this field?
The first brand in the world to be interested in the specifics of black skins is Flori Roberts which was created in 1965 in the United States. Shortly after, in the 70's, Fashion Fair, another American brand, was launched. But if Fashion Fair has conquered the hearts of our mothers and grandmothers in France and Africa, Flori Roberts has had more trouble. It managed to get established in the 80s but did not fizzle. It has just been reintroduced in France, having long been confined to the United States. It is now distributed in our shops. The challenge of our work is actually to better distribute the products of the ethnic brands. In this, Flori Roberts is a great success!
Are there shops that sell questionable cosmetics on this market?
Unfortunately yes. They are found in popular neighborhoods mainly. You have to be very careful, a lot of counterfeit products are sold and some are based on dangerous substances. Rogue traders continue to sell whitening creams containing hydroquinone or cortisone to fight against pigmentary spots, due to acne for example. But these creams destroy the epidermis, that's all! Not to mention that these substances are carcinogenic ...
It is better, anyway, avoid this kind of shop where we ignore the traceability of cosmetics ... and where we can sell you anything!
For more info:
www.colorii.com
tel: 01 78 76 89 42
email: contact@colorii.com
Some brand sites:
arsenevalere.com
fashionfair.com
blackup.fr
sleekmakeup.com
makeupforever.com
gemey-maybelline.com
maccosmetics.fr
bobbibrowncosmetics.com
I realized that there was really a lack. As a black woman of Senegalese origin, I was tired of always going to the other end of Paris to find my makeup products! And I found it really unfair that in the general perfumeries we have only the choice between some specialized brands. It is true that MAC, Make Up For Ever or Gemey Maybelline have made efforts ... but I thought we had to go further.
One day I exposed the problem to a friend, Cécile Abric, and we had the idea to create Colorii.
What is the concept?
A Colorii shop is the temple of beauty for a black woman because she finds everything! She can be advised by pros, have the choice between different brands of cosmetics, but also have her hair done or pampered, since we have set up in each shop a salon of hairstyle and a beauty institute.
The idea was also that these stores are on the way women when they do their shopping, for example ... No more miles to go to be beautiful!
In fact, all the black women had been waiting for this for a long time so the project went up quite quickly and we launched our first shop in September 2007, at the Forum des Halles.
Since then, two more have been created in the Paris region, in the Rosny II and Evry II shopping centers.
We would like to launch shops in the region but it's not for now. In the meantime, women living in the provinces can place an order on our website www.colorii.com.
What are the pioneering cosmetic brands in this field?
The first brand in the world to be interested in the specifics of black skins is Flori Roberts which was created in 1965 in the United States. Shortly after, in the 70's, Fashion Fair, another American brand, was launched. But if Fashion Fair has conquered the hearts of our mothers and grandmothers in France and Africa, Flori Roberts has had more trouble. It managed to get established in the 80s but did not fizzle. It has just been reintroduced in France, having long been confined to the United States. It is now distributed in our shops. The challenge of our work is actually to better distribute the products of the ethnic brands. In this, Flori Roberts is a great success!
Are there shops that sell questionable cosmetics on this market?
Unfortunately yes. They are found in popular neighborhoods mainly. You have to be very careful, a lot of counterfeit products are sold and some are based on dangerous substances. Rogue traders continue to sell whitening creams containing hydroquinone or cortisone to fight against pigmentary spots, due to acne for example. But these creams destroy the epidermis, that's all! Not to mention that these substances are carcinogenic ...
It is better, anyway, avoid this kind of shop where we ignore the traceability of cosmetics ... and where we can sell you anything!
For more info:
www.colorii.com
tel: 01 78 76 89 42
email: contact@colorii.com
Some brand sites:
arsenevalere.com
fashionfair.com
blackup.fr
sleekmakeup.com
makeupforever.com
gemey-maybelline.com
maccosmetics.fr
bobbibrowncosmetics.com
