Remi, founder of Freck Beauty, talks diversity, faux freckles and making it as a small business

A Google search of “faux freckles” yields over 1.3 million results, ranging from fake tan freckles to henna, there are close to 20 different ways people can achieve freckles these days – but Freck Beauty’s mission from the start, was to create an easy-to-use, natural-looking freckle product. We spoke to the founder, Remi (who goes by her first name only) on founding the faux freckles-focused brand, inclusivity and her views of the beauty industry.

Freckles remind us of youth, careless summers in the sun. Freckles are genetic patches of pigment and are more common in people with light skin and red hair.  

These days, the internet has made it easier than ever to achieve the best faux freckles. My personal experience has shown the Freck Beauty OG pen to be the easiest and most natural way of all. Remi made her love of freckles into a business that’s thriving.

Just four years after the founding of Freck Beauty, they have added Sephora to their retailers list. A dream destination for most brands and not an easy feat. The Freck Beauty description is: ‘an attitude. A bold, clean brand’.

Thank you for speaking to me Remi! Let’s start by your background in beauty and how you got into the industry first, can you share some details about that? 

OMG, thanks for chatting with me – always so honored to share the story of Freck Beauty!

I started my career as an interior designer working on hotels and residential projects in Los Angeles and throughout California. I absolutely love interiors (I just moved to a new house and I’m bursting with ideas for the space!) but the idea of a freckle cosmetic was always lingering in the back of my mind. I was born in rainy Seattle without a freckle on my body (sigh), and from a very young age became pretty obsessed with freckles, but never in a million years would have thought this would lead to my own beauty brand.

Freck Beauty ultimately came into this world as a puzzle to unlock the perfect freckle, a.k.a. FRECK OG! 

You’ve mentioned you’ve always been obsessed with freckles, ever since you were a child, but what was your ‘aha’ moment? 

The “aha” moment came about when I met my first mentor, who had years and years of experience in cosmetic manufacturing and go-to-market strategy. She was the very first person to tell me “this is actually a really interesting idea.” Her support and advice was the fuel I needed to get to work and begin formulating FRECK OG.  

How has the beauty industry changed overall since you launched Freck Beauty in 2017?

When Freck Beauty was in ideation, the industry was all about hiding your freckles and blending in – it was a time of full coverage foundation and expensive treatments to remove what people then perceived as “flaws”. Since then, the idea of celebrating what makes us unique has thankfully changed for the better. We have built Freck into a community of creative thinkers who don’t follow beauty trends and like to break the rules. 

Congratulations on your Sephora launch!! How do you recommend for indie brands to approach their retailers?

Woohoooo – thanks so much! Getting into Sephora has seriously been a forever dream of mine (I still have to pinch myself when thinking about it!). When I started Freck, we put a lot of work into our direct-to-consumer (DTC) business to really nail down our points of difference and perspective. I feel like once you have that in check, it's super important to find someone who can help you build out your retailer relationships. After joining forces with my badass partner & COO Des Wilson, who has a background in sales, things really took off and we were able to get into some incredible retailers like Revolve, Urban Outfitters and eventually Sephora. From my experience with Freck, both DTC and retail are critical in building a successful brand that reaches your community and beyond. 

What was the hardest thing about setting up an indie beauty brand? 

We had a pretty rocky start and things were tough in the beginning! In 2015 I launched a campaign on Kickstarter for Freck, completely missed my goal and became the butt of a Jimmy Kimmel Live joke which went viral (true story, go look it up!). It was a real kick in the gut and led to some nasty cyberbullying. But I truly believe that failures force you to rethink what you're doing and create something better than what you previously had imagined. If you’ve got a great idea – stick to it and pivot!

And what was the best thing?

Hands down, the best thing about starting your own indie business is ditching all the rules and expectations from other people, and doing your own thing. 

You love out-there products and individuality, how easy or difficult was it convincing people to support your vision when you first started? 

Once we launched with FRECK OG and I put the early failures behind me, it took a little convincing in terms of growing our customer base. But if you have a truly unique high-performance product, people catch on pretty quick and want to be a part of the journey. Customers were waiting for a brand deeply rooted in celebrating individuality and beauty as a way of self-expression. 

What would you do differently during the early stages of Freck Beauty, if you had to do it all over again now?

It may seem weird to say, but I really wouldn’t change a thing. Our ups and downs have helped mold Freck Beauty into the multidimensional brand we are today. I think making mistakes is actually a crucial part of success & growth- both professionally & personally.  

Tell me a bit more about the latest product, Freck Noir. I love how this can be used by everyone to create more realistic freckles, but specifically created for brown and black people

FRECK NOIR was a long time coming! I spent basically years perfecting the formula with our Production Director; it’s a deeper and cooler version of FRECK OG and XL that requires zero development time on the skin. It’s great for darker skin tones, but also versatile for anyone that wants to add dimension to their freckle look. I honestly love it as a blemish cover up – I turn those babies into beauty marks in a few seconds flat.

Do you think beauty brands have a long way to go in terms of inclusivity? Has the industry changed a lot in terms of inclusivity since you started the brand?

Changes have been made but the beauty industry (really every industry) has a long way to go in terms of inclusivity and equal representation. From the internal hiring process to outward facing marketing, we always strive to be and do better. It’s not easy to accomplish or a simple box you can check – brands need to ALWAYS consider inclusivity in every decision they make, and it's something that has been overlooked for too long.

How do you feel about the beauty industry turning to more natural, no makeup-makeup looks?

Freck Beauty is all about individuality and self-expression, so we are all for whatever floats your boat, whether that's a bold look or minimal, barely-there makeup. Personally, I rock both looks. It all depends on how I’m feeling that particular day.  

I know it’s a hard question but what’s your favorite product you’ve made? 

Formulating our unique CHEEKSLIME Lip and Cheek Tint and seeing it come to life was pure magic. Not surprisingly, the product instantly shot up as a best-seller right under FRECK OG! It’s buildable, blendable and effortless, plus the formula is infused with liquid plant collagen so your skin just eats it up. Once the slime-like formula dries down, it doesn’t budge, making it a super low-maintenance, no-fuss product. 

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given in terms of your business?

A good friend once told me to be firm in my “stick-to-it-tiveness,” and that piece of advice always stuck with me (no pun intended). It's inevitable that when you start a business, there will be many obstacles that come your way. But don’t fight it, take it all in and feel it, then move forward.  

Can you share your skincare routine?

Knock on wood, my skin isn’t sensitive/sensitized so my AM and PM routines are relatively low lift.

In the mornings, I start by washing my face with our ON REPEAT cleanser, which is formulated with delicate cleansing agents and nourishing cactus flower to gently cleanse the skin. Then I add a generous amount of our CACTUS WATER lactic acid toner on a cotton pad to remove any dirt and sweat that might have accumulated overnight. I’ve become pretty obsessed with my reusable Dieux Skin Forever Eye Mask, and the combination of that and our SO JELLY eye cream is a chef's kiss. I apply SO JELLY under my eyes and then layer on the Dieux Skin eye mask to amplify the cream. I leave those on while I do the rest of my skincare and makeup, and it leaves my eyes feeling refreshed and dewy. Next, I apply the Image Skincare AGELESS total pure hyaluronic filler (love this stuff) to my entire face followed by our RICH BITCH moisturizer which is super high in vitamin C and soothing prickly pear seed oil. 

In the evenings I wash my face again with our ON REPEAT cleanser, then I do another swipe of CACTUS WATER. I’m always shocked how much gunk I’m able to remove with toner – it’s actually pretty gross! I finish off my nightly routine with our SO JELLY eye cream and RICH BITCH moisturizer. I love our Cactus Collection cause it's super easy to use and my skin just drinks up all the nutrients. 

How do you prep your skin before applying your makeup? 

I find that our RICH BITCH moisturizer creates the perfect canvas for applying my makeup. It’s lightweight but manages to still be extremely hydrating – the worst thing is to apply foundation to dry/flakey skin! Also, it's chock-full of ingredients like prickly pear seed oil, kelp extract and rosemary leaf extract known to calm and soothe and redness or irritations. I’m also a super fan of mixing Glow Recipie’s Watermelon Niacinamide Dew Drops into my foundation to add skincare benefits whenever I can along the way.

What would tell your younger self? 

I think to trust my gut more! I had a lot of doubts in the beginning, especially after our Kickstarter [launched in 2015] didn’t perform the way I would have hoped. But deep down I knew I was on to something; I just took a less direct path to get there.  

What are you most excited about in 2021? 

We have lots of exciting products in the works that I can’t wait to share with y’all. One thing I can tease is that we’re going to expand our “slimey” offerings, which I’m high-key stoked for. 

What's next for Freck Beauty? 

So much! We actually just finished a packaging redesign that reduces our carbon footprint and are constantly coming up with new ways to make our products cleaner and more sustainable. This year is all about continuing to create killer products that we know our Freck Beauty community will enjoy, as well as working to support our amazing retail partners and internal team. Can’t wait for all that is to come!