It’s the smart way to shop beauty, but if you’ve ever wondered how BEAUTY PIE actually works, or what our best selling products are, or which product to start with, or when Founder Marcia Kilgore had her big, lightbulb moment, industry-disrupting BEAUTY PIE idea?
Well, you’re in the right place. BEAUTY PIE Founder Marcia Kilgore explains all – below – before revealing her skincare favourites, including her current “it’ll blow your mind” number one beauty buy:
Marcia, Can You Explain Why You Took The Leap And Launched BEAUTY PIE?
“The idea for BEAUTY PIE came to me one afternoon in a Milan train station, as I was making my way back from a beauty manufacturing region in Italy, known as ‘Lipstick Valley’. I had about $5,000 - let's call it ‘street value’- of cosmetic and skincare product samples from all the best labs and third party manufacturers in my shoulder bag and suitcase, and they had cost me nothing.”
What if all the women who usually buy these products at crazy 10-20X markups could have this feeling - like being a kid in a cosmetics candy story
Marcia Kilgore, Beauty Pie Founder
“And I suddenly thought, what if all the women who usually buy these products in Sephora or luxury department stores at crazy 10-20X markups could have this feeling that I have right now - like being a kid in a cosmetics candy story. After all, what you pay at retail for a wildly effective Swiss anti-ageing cream is ridiculous, compared to what it cost to make.“
“And I thought: ‘I bet a lot of women would love to come on these trips with me and have this kind of access,’ even if it meant putting some noses in the industry out of joint. But then even better would be thousands of lab-direct items in a warehouse that women could online shop.”
“I love beauty products. I love being able to help women look better and feel more confident. The discovery and creation gives me an enormous amount of energy and working with brilliant chemists and new ingredients is the best part. And I’ve worked in the industry for 25 years already!
But for me, negotiating with retailers and pretending a product is worth 10X more than it costs to manufacture in order to pay for the retailer margins, the free samples and the advertising - that has always made me really uncomfortable. It took the internet and the power of social media to think: BEAUTY PIE is the way forward. I know how to formulate. I know the best chemists and the best labs. I want to give people a bigger piece of their BEAUTY PIE.”
Please Explain How BEAUTY PIE Works
“BEAUTY PIE is the world’s first luxury beauty and wellness buyers’ club.“
“We order super high-quality products by the thousands - just like other luxury beauty brands do. From Japanese formulated face cleansers, and pure marine collagen powder, to high-tech Swiss Anti-Aging Moisture Creams - but instead of marking them up 1000-2000% and selling them through e-tailers or retailers, we ship them to our warehouses, where members can buy them direct for a whole lot less.“
A lot of people, when they first see our prices, think: ‘Is BEAUTY PIE A Scam?’ or ‘Is BEAUTY PIE legit?’.
“A lot of people, when they first see our prices, think: ‘Is BEAUTY PIE A Scam?’ or ‘Is BEAUTY PIE Legit?’. And I get that it can be shocking at first to see what beauty products really cost to make. But once you start shopping and get your first box, you get used to it really quickly!”
“So our sourcing teams work with the best suppliers in the business - think premium Japanese skincare, luxury Italian lipsticks, high-performance reparative haircare, spectacularly luxurious bodycare, artisanal scented candles (made in France), deluxe fragrance, the best bioavailable nutritional supplements, we buy them in, and our members can shop as if they’re sneaking in the warehouse of every one of those labs, before the crazy industry markups are added to the products.”
I Suspect There Is A Bigger Mission Behind BEAUTY PIE? Is There?
“I think it would be that while BEAUTY PIE is about skincare, makeup, shopping and killer deals, really, it’s about empowerment, self-worth, and teaching people that they deserve a bigger piece of it, even if ‘getting more’ starts with the price of an amazing moisturiser."
Really, it’s about empowerment, self-worth, and teaching people that they deserve a bigger piece
Marcia Kilgore, Beauty Pie Founder
"And that the chandelier, the marble countertops, the fish tanks, the landfill-bound bag of glitter, none of that makes your skin look more beautiful.”
What Are BEAUTY PIE’s Best Selling Skincare Products?
“We only launch products that we think are world-class. And we don’t work backwards, removing ingredients to try to fit a skincare formula into a cheaper price point so we can give retailers more margin. So we’ll go to the leading third-party skincare lab in Switzerland (and yes, they also make products for ‘that’ brand) and we’ll work with the chemist to make the best possible product. Or we go to the best Italian lipstick lab (yes, the same one that makes the $60 lipstick for the ‘super luxury’ brands) and ask for their very best luxury formulas. EVERYTHING is excellent."
"Right now, I can’t live without:
and that’s just skincare. Our bodycare is killer. I always have a few candles going (or in the closet in case I need gifts), and daily, I either wear Orange Absolute EDT or Love EDP. Wait, did I mention our incredible Foot Cream?"
And If You Were Going To Treat Yourself To Something Really Deluxe?
“One? That’s impossible. OK. Maybe start with this, our Super Healthy Skin Soft Oil Drop Body Cream. It will blow your mind.”
Everywhere I Look, I See BEAUTY PIE. What Are You Going To Do Next?
“World domination! More product categories (everything health and beauty that we can deliver at world class quality, for a lot less for all our customers, is up for grabs). New territories, because we have a lot of unanswered fans, continuing to improve our eco-footprint, and always raising the bar to deliver more, for less.”
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