the business of beauty Archives - Politics of Pretty

Beauty & The Biz: Nailing it with Kitiya Mischo King

I first met Kitiya Mischo King at a local beauty event (surprise, surprise) but when I heard the news she was launching her own luxury nail lacquer line, I knew I had to snag her for Beauty & The Biz. The super beauty blogger turned entrepreneur explains how she turned her problem in to a pretty sweet nail polish line (Pss.. her luxury nail lacquer collection launches November 1st! You can sign up for exclusive VIP access to shop the new line here).

What inspired you to start a luxury nail lacquer line?

During my pregnancy I had the hardest time finding non-toxic and fashion-forward nail polish. I actually didn’t polish my nails during the first six months of my pregnancy. It was during that time that I decided to that I would launch Mischo Luxury Nail Lacquer, a 5FREE, non-toxic, cruelty-free nail lacquer collection.

Tell us about the line.

The line is 5FREE, which means it contains no formaldehyde, no formaldehyde resin, no toluene, no DBP and no camphor. These are all harmful toxins responsible for causing birth defects, reproductive issues and cancer. Toxins such as these should be nowhere near your nails.

The formula is easy to apply, chip-resistent and delivers perfect shine. The debut collection, called The Fashion Week Collection, is made up of seven shades inspired by the fashion weeks around the world (New York, London, Milan & Paris) and the beauty superstars who work tirelessly backstage to make designers’ visions come to life!

Check out a sneak peek at the collection after the jump!

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Beauty & The Biz: Ada Polla & Alchimie Forever

I’m excited to share with you (another) new series on the blog (talk about a productive October!): Beauty & The Biz. Ever since I started this beauty blog, I’ve spent much of my time, picking the brains of beauty gurus and entrepreneurs, and after much thought I decided, why not turn it in to a blog series? Beauty & The Biz is dedicated to beauty entrepreneurs, businesswomen (or men), makeup artists and every beauty professional in between. As a consumer, we’re only exposed to the beauty products through endless advertisements, magazine and blog features and online reviews. I’m interested in the story that can’t be told on the back of the box, and I hope you are too!

To kick off the series, who better to feature first than a Washingtonian skincare and business guru? If you read my blog regularly, you’ll know I am a huge Alchimie Forever loyalist (I love their cream cleanser, gentle refining scrub and brightening moisture mask). Ada Polla is the CEO and co-founder of Alchimie Forever, the amaze swiss skincare line. Today, she shares the inspiration behind the family owned business, what a typical day is like and her best advice for aspiring beauty entrepreneurs.

For those who aren’t familiar with Alchimie Forever, tell us a little bit about the brand and how it began.

Alchimie Forever started in my father’s (Dr. Luigi Polla) medical office. He was the first physician to do laser therapy in Europe, and wanted skin care products that would heal the skin post procedure, and enhance the rejuvenating effects of the treatments. He started creating his own formulations, giving “cream prescriptions” to his patients and sending them to the compounding pharmacy, until he thought “Why don’t I just make these creams instead?!” I expanded the business to the U.S. when we had just five products, in 2004, as a way to bring the best skin care Switzerland has to offer on this side of the Atlantic.

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