Luxury Vegan Makeup Brand Dear Dahlia Brings All The Sparkle

Dear Dahlia is the luxury vegan beauty brand that, you’ve guessed it, is inspired by the Dahlia flower, a symbol of grace and beauty.

And the ode to the Dahlia doesn’t stop there as products contain Dahlia Variabilis flower extract, which has proven antioxidant properties, combats the signs of ageing and conditions the skin. Tick, tick, tick.

Grace Min is the founder of this global beauty brand, and it’s a brand with a conscious. The products are 100% cruelty free and 100% vegan, from their best-selling matte-finish lip mousses and dual palettes to their highly pigmented lipsticks and brow pencils to name a few.

The product line is stylish with it too, Min see’s them as little accessories, an extension of your personal style. The result? Well, it’s octagonal-shaped little cosmetic treats that’ll look cute on your dresser and in your purse.

Felicity Carter: Introduce us to the brand...

Grace Min: It all started from the belief that we shouldn’t have to choose between safety and performance. Without compromising one or the other, I wanted to make products that are as effective as they are clean. It was—and surprisingly, still is—difficult to find high-performance makeup with luxe packaging that is also vegan and cruelty-free, so it naturally came to me that everyone including myself should be able to use products that meet all these criteria.

So in 2016, I created Dear Dahlia as a 100% vegan and cruelty-free luxury beauty brand. From day one, it has always been my priority to deliver quality and clean formulations, and now our team turn this value into high-performance products with long-lasting benefits for healthy skin.

FC: What are the cornerstones of your company? 

GM:

• Dahlia flower as symbol
• Marble pattern and pink gold design to capture timeless beauty
• 100% vegan and cruelty-free

The greatest momentum and sense of direction come from the commitment to our philosophy and methodology. For instance, our symbolic flower is a part of everything we do from innovation to design. We embrace the Dahlia flower’s rich, nourishing powers* by infusing our products with its extract while the octagonal design captures the beautiful shape of the petals in full bloom.

*DD products are formulated with our Dahlia Variabilis flower extract™, supercharged with antioxidants like vitamin C to provide skin-conditioning and anti-aging benefits.

Another key commitment I made is to the environment. Our products are made without animals —whether it be testing on them or using their by-products. Instead of relying on easily accessible ingredients, we innovate mindfully using mineral-based and plant-derived organic ingredients certified by USDA, ECOCERT and COSMOS®.

FC: Tell us about the process from concept through to production and packaging... 

GM: Design - Octagonal, marble, pink gold.

The Dahlia flower inspired me not only by its inherent potency, but more so by its individuality. Although trend-conscious, Dear Dahlia promotes the timelessness and uniqueness in beauty; the one-of-a-kind beauty within each individual that isn’t forced or framed. The signature octagonal design with marble and pink gold packaging resemble a blooming Dahlia flower, while the products are easy and multi-use to make makeup more functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.

I always considered the makeup products that I carry to be my fashion accessories; something that represents my image and style. So design was a very important element in creating the brand.

Production – High performance makeup with 8-free, 100% vegan, cruelty-free formulas

Back in 2016 when DD was just getting started, most labs and manufacturers were not accustomed to working with 100% vegan brands, so it took a lot of back-and-forths followed by trials and errors to get desired results. One of the hardest ingredients to replace was carmine (ground-up female beetles), because it’s so widely used for its vibrant pigments. Many vegan brands struggle to find an alternative and often end up with faint coloring or other dissatisfactory outcomes. Dear Dahlia uses food-grade colorants to create an original color range unique to our products.

This is how we tackled fragrances as well— experimenting with multiple ratios and combinations of natural essential oils, we were finally able to find our signature scent instead of artificial perfumes. DD products are made with these ethically and carefully selected ingredients including our iconic extract for maximum effect and quality. We will always remain free of not only animal-derived ingredients but also of potentially harmful ingredients, like parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde, metalloestrogens, oxybenzone, synthetic fragrance, and sodium lauryl sulfate.

Another great challenge in our product development process was giving up expansion opportunities to stay true to our cause. Although the Chinese market is very sought after by most FMCG companies, we decided to stay away from launching in mainland China due to animal testing policies.

FC: Who is your customer base? 

GM: Our most active demographic consists of women between ages 20 and 40, who are conscious beauty consumers. They are attentive and responsive to messages on ethical clean beauty as well as wearable makeup styles using various textures.

FC: How do you see the brand evolving?

GM: We currently offer a full range of makeup for face, eyes, and lips, including cleansing products, sun care, and tools. Our most well-known products are our lipsticks and lip mousses, and we plan on expanding our complexion range such as foundation and concealer.

To progress toward higher sustainability, we have been expanding the range of reusable and refillable products while trying to source package materials from biodegradable ingredients such as coffee grounds and tree bark. While we minimize plastic use on a daily basis, we plan on implementing fully recyclable packaging by 2025. Our core values drive us to create products that are trustworthy, ethical, and of course, beautiful.

Shop Dear Dahlia online and in leading stores globally including FeelUnique, Neiman Marcus and Galeries Lafayette.