Name Change Gives Startup ‘Move Makeup’ New Momentum

Move Makeup Chief Executive Leah Patterson has a product that literally could change the face of women in the competitive personal care and makeup industry. Yet, she readily admits that her company couldn’t get much traction in the past because of its former name.

Formerly Etniq Mineral Cosmetics, Patterson said she recently changed the name of her company to “Move Makeup” because the previous moniker created confusion about the product and prevented her from effectively marketing her natural, “sweat-proof” makeup product line.

Asked to spell the name of her former company, Patterson expressed “that’s part of the problem.”

“At the beginning of this year, I changed the name because people couldn’t pronounce or spell it, they thought it meant ‘ethnic,’ and they had so many questions that I had to do too much education just trying to explain the product,” she explained. “Now the focus is on the product, not the name. That was the biggest challenge because when people try the product, they say they ‘love it.’”

On Wednesday, the Move Makeup founder and CEO was the lone presenter at Wednesday’s edition of 1 Million Cups at the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. After the presentation, Patterson spent time eagerly telling attendees at this week’s event the story of how her company has a chance to fulfill a niche market in the competitive multibillion dollar beauty and personal care market.

What is unique about Move Makeup is that the development of this Little Rock startup firm only resulted after Patterson decided to combine all of life’s experiences to solve a problem she was experiencing as a professional salsa dancer.

The Little Rock native told the 1 Million Cups audience her product came out of her passion for the popular, but physically demanding Latin social dance, and a simple need.

“As a dancer, I sweat like crazy. And when I started performing, the heavy performance makeup available broke my sensitive skin out, yet the everyday makeup sweated right off. Plus it was full of unnecessary toxins anyway,” she told the audience.

Patterson continued: “The waterproof traditional makeup would break me out, and the natural makeup that was available didn’t really last.”

CREATING A NICHE PRODUCT
So Patterson decided that she would put to use her background as a holistic esthetician – training that allows her to offer licensed skin care treatments and other cosmetic therapy to her clientele. But more importantly, she is also a graduate of Washington, D.C.-based Howard University with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, a skill that gives her the ability to oversee the creation and development of the natural formulas for her product line.

Using those combined personal talents and professional skills, Patterson said she has continually worked on evolving and refining her natural makeup product over the last two years.

“I combined those two backgrounds to create a sweat-proof makeup that lasts,” she said proudly. “That is really where the makeup came from – that is where I got the passion and the impetus to create it.”

FOCUS TURNS TO ONLINE PRESENCE, SOCIAL MEDIA
Today, Move Makeup’s product line includes kits and packages with different shades of concealer, eye shadow and foundation “for the woman on the move,” said Patterson.

The professional salsa dancer and startup CEO says her company uses the highest quality minerals for all her products.

“No irritating substances, no parabens, no talc, no fillers, no bismuth oxychloride,” says the product specs on the Move Makeup website. “We infuse our formulas with soothing, reinvigorating essential oils, plant extracts, and other nutrient-rich ingredients to create formulas that not only look good but are good for the skin too.”

Going forward, Patterson said she hopes to build her fledging company’s online presence and marketplace over the next year, and grow her customer based through social media, “word-of-mouth,” and other grassroots marketing efforts.

Long-term, Patterson said she hopes to have Move Makeup products on the shelves at a major department store chain or a national beauty care retailer in the next five years.

Last year, market researcher Lucintel said the global beauty care industry is forecasted to see nearly $265 billion in annual sales by 2017, a huge marketplace that Patterson says she hopes will propel her company to success.

Patterson said her company is now in the very early stages of its development, and she hopes to tap into Central Arkansas’ growing seed- and venture capital market to help fund future opportunities.

To learn more about Move Makeup, visit the startup firm’s website here, or follow the personal care company on Twitter @mymovemakeup.