CODE Beautiful Blog

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   

Ok. Thinning lashes—not ideal. We hear it all the time from our customers; thin, short and sparse lashes are a massive concern for so many of you out there. The good news is, there are a number of steps you can take to combat the issue that don’t involve falsies or extensions. As is so often the case, a little understanding goes a long way. Let’s look at what causes thinning eye lashes and what you can do about it.

Why do Lashes Thin?

Lashes often thin as a result of the natural ageing process. As we get older, the skin loses its ability to retain moisture which in turn leads to hormonal imbalances. When this happens, follicle stimulation reduces, resulting in slower hair growth—including the eye lashes. Other contributing factors include; thyroid imbalances, eye infections, vitamin deficiencies and just general wear and tear due to poor cosmetic habits and rubbing your eyes. By identifying the underlying cause(s), it’s much easier to take the steps to protect and thicken your eye lashes and get them growing again.

What can I do?

1.) Eat well

Nourish your skin, hair and lashes from the inside out. Eating a diet rich in vitamins and minerals will help stimulate lash growth from the inside out. Food rich in iron and omegas will give your eye lashes (and hair) a boost. Also, vitamins B, C and H will do wonders to repair and protect your follicles.

2.) Sure Up your Makeup Habits

You’ve probably heard this before—but, do not sleep with your make up on! Invest in a gentle makeup remover that nourishes and moisturises the skin and gently cleanse your face morning and night, taking care never to pull or tug on your lashes. Speaking of tugging— take care when using eye lash curlers  or anything that might disrupt the follicles. Equally as important, make sure you replace your mascara every three-six months to avoid bacteria from building up in the bottle.

3.) Use a Lash Conditioner

In the same way that you condition your hair, your lashes can also benefit from being conditioned. This in turn will make them stronger and less likely to flake. CODE FFL (Forget Fake Lashes) is packed with conditioning ingredients to support the lash growth process. By wearing it every day, you will notice your lashes in better condition, and it will encourage the lash regeneration process. Within 4-6 weeks your lashes will be in much better condition.

Our very first product and still one of our bestsellers, CODE VLM is a true hero.  

We’re convinced that once you’ve tried it, you’ll be able to throw away all the mascaras you currently have in your makeup bag and just use this one, for any occasion, day and night, rain or shine.  

Sounds too good to be true? We’re here to help... we often get asked questions about our volumising, lengthening mascara because people just can’t believe how good it is, so we’ve popped answers to 5 of the most common questions we get asked below.   

What makes CODE VLM different... why is it the perfect mascara for all looks?  

It’s the combination of the brush and the formula, we spent a long time developing both of these things to make sure we had the perfect product.  

The brush is very sturdy and has different size bristles. The bristles are spaced out to get in between each and every lash to distribute the product where you need it at the base of the lash... we are always getting compliments from professional makeup artists about the brush!  

As well as the formula and brush, we also have a bit of a secret technique. Using the ‘Roots, Wriggle, Roll’ technique means you can get some serious length and curl to your lashes without ever needing to use curlers.  

Roots: Pop the brush on to your lashes as close to the root as you can. 
Wriggle: Give the brush a good wriggle back and forth, this will make sure even the tiniest of lashes are covered. 
Roll: Gently twist the brush from root to tip. 

Will CODE VLM irritate my eyes?  

Not at all. Even the most sensitive of eyes can use both CODE VLM and CODE FFL. In fact, our founder, Sarah has very sensitive, watery eyes herself so she knew how important it was to create a product that would be suitable for sensitive eyes and contact lens wearers.  

One of the things we did to make sure CODE VLM doesn’t irritate your eyes is add a sealing agent into the formula to make sure your lashes and the teeny tiny fibres stay in place all day long meaning no irritation and no fall out... a win win.   

The formula feels really dry compared to other mascaras I have used, is it meant to be like this?  

Yes, definitely the formula is meant to look like this. Most ‘wet’ mascaras that you may have used in the past often have too much product on the brush which leads to clumps or your lashes dropping half way through the day... not a good look for anyone we must say.  

We spent a long time developing the wiper inside our mascara tube to make sure you get the perfect amount of product on the brush every time. This means no clumps, no smudges and no flakes. 🙌🏽🙌🏽 

Do you make CODE VLM in brown?  

No we don’t, but we have found that lots of people that previously used to use brown mascara (including our own family!), now wear CODE VLM as it is designed to get blacker the more you apply it.  

What we mean by this is if you just apply one coat lightly, it gives you the perfect alternative to brown. But if you prefer a darker shade, you can just keep topping it up until your desired look and it won’t clump. 

Something else that we’ve discovered from chatting to our customers, is that some really fair people use CODE FFL on its own as a mascara as it has a light brown colour!    

Is CODE VLM waterproof?  

It’s water-resistant rather than waterproof. This means that you can have a good cry or laugh and it doesn’t smudge... but we wouldn’t recommend diving in a pool 😉.  

We didn’t create a waterproof formula as this makes the formula very heavy and causes lashes to droop throughout the day, whereas with CODE VLM it’s a buildable formula so the lashes stay put all day and you can build for more volume to take you from day to night.  

Many of our customers (including our founder) have sensitive eyes and love using our mascara, along with bridal makeup artists all over the world!  

We hope you love CODE VLM as much as we do, don’t forget to let us know your thoughts and share your pics in the comments below. 😘 

Our customers are the original inspiration behind our product development, we thought you may be a little excited to know that a lovely 'celeb ' has followed in your footsteps by wearing our products, she's chic and understated...The lovely Pippa Middleton has been spotted wearing CODE VLM during her shoot for Waitrose. 😱😱 

Yep, you heard it here first... even royals wear CODE Beautiful mascara! 😂 

Here is a sneak peek from the shoot...  

We have the super talented makeup artist, Eloise Parker to thank for introducing Pippa to our mascara, she did her makeup for the shoot and we think she looks naturally glowing!  

We always say CODE Beautiful is a bit like discovering the undiscovered... our inner circle of loyal customers were the first to discover us but it’s amazing to see the other celebs that have followed suit...

Giovanna Fletcher wearing CODE VLM (volumising, lengthening mascara). Makeup by Eloise Parker.

Mollie King wearing CODE SSL (soft smooth lip liner) on ITV This Morning. Makeup by Celena Hancock. 

Michelle Keegan wearing CODE VLM (volumising, lengthening mascara) at her Lipsy launch. Makeup by Emily Clarkson. 

Mel B wearing CODE VLM (volumising, lengthening mascara). Makeup by Celena Hancock. 

So again, a massive thank you to Eloise and all the other amazing and talented makeup artists who have introduced our products to celebs all over the world... we are forever grateful! 😍  

We’re going to start posting little monthly updates of what we’ve been up to each month and some behind the scenes access of what really goes on at CODE Beautiful and what we’ve been chatting about! So here’s the first one, our July round up.  

So we’re meant to be in the middle of summer, enjoying holidays and sipping on a G&T in beer gardens after work... but nope, it’s been mostly rain at our Chester office! Obviously, a bit of rain doesn’t stop us though and it’s been a busy month as usual...  

  A pic from when we popped down to London to do some research and check out one of our new retailers.  

What have we been up to? 

This year we’re really focused on being an eco-friendly brand and doing our part for the environment. Last year we were certified by PETA as cruelty-free and vegan which we are really proud of! We want to continue this approach right through to our packaging, so we have been working on reducing the amount of paper wastage, making the packaging recyclable whilst still keeping a luxury and premium feel.  

 We’ve also been featured in Collectible Dry magazine this month thanks to the wonderful makeup artist, Amy Wright. Check out this gorgeous behind the scene shot...

You’ll be excited to know we’ve also been working really hard on new product development and have lots of new products in the pipeline for the next 12 months, so watch this space...  

Office Talk...  
 

So this month we’ve been chatting mainly about James Smith PT we love how straight talking and down to earth he is, if you are up for some no nonsense training and nutrition advice just head over. We are literally obsessed with him!