How the people who use our products inspire us

Since the beginning, we have always set out to do things differently. Our concept came from a simple (but infuriating) frustration with products that over-promised and under-delivered, as well as with this ever-present message that women need to look and act a certain way to be beautiful; we went to work creating a cosmetics brand that didn’t fall short. 

We found ourselves wondering, “Why should a person need to buy 3 products instead of one? Why are we being told we need all of these things to be beautiful? And actually, why should we have to spend our time thinking about it when we have other things to focus on?”

Instead of us trying to sell products by telling women they need them in order to fit a specific idea of what’s beautiful, we decided to do things the other way around, only creating products that we and our customers actually wanted. 

By simply asking, listening to the feedback and then committing to creating high quality products; we have taken a very, “you tell us, we won’t tell you” approach to building the company. 

We create standout beauty products that do what they are supposed to do and more. No trends, no nonsense; just the products you’ve asked for, upgraded both in the way they are produced and the way that they perform to enhance the way women (and men) naturally look and feel. 

This is very much a reflection of our personal values and attitudes towards the world; it’s all about saying no to convention for convention’s sake and empowering women to live by their own code. 

Being a brand that’s meaningfully led by customer feedback has taken us down some unexpected paths. Shaping far more than which products we create, it has also impacted the way our products are produced and packaged. 

From reaching out into the world for feedback and talking to people, it became increasingly apparent that it was incredibly important for a product to be 100% Vegan and cruelty-free. 

We’re the first to admit, we’re far from Vegan ourselves—  animal lovers to be sure, but definitely not adhering to a plant based diet or lifestyle. But CODE Beautiful is about much more than the preferences of ourselves —central to values of women coming together to inspire each other and exchange thoughts on the things that are important to them.  Though perhaps not part of the original plan, we were indeed inspired by our customers and got to work on ensuring our products were all PETA certified earlier in the year. If asked now— we would never consider operating in any other way. 

A few months ago, we reached out to our customers again to ask for feedback on our packaging and again were prompted to make some changes. In response, we have significantly reduced the amount of packaging we use for our products and shifted to 100% recyclable boxes. Not only that, but we are also in the process of replacing all of the plastic in our warehouses so that the boxes used for shipping are also recyclable. We expect to have completed this transition by the end of the year! 

Now on the lookout for additional ways to improve our sustainability efforts, CODE Beautiful is fully committed to being an environmentally friendly brand. More than simply giving people what they want, this shift is an example of what can happen when companies create a meaningful dialogue with the people that use their products. We hope that by creating a conversation and a community around women who are living by their own personal codes, we will be able to turn CODE Beautiful into a brand that positively contributes to the world in a myriad of ways extending far beyond cosmetics.   

Thanks for reading,

Sarah and Emma x